Customs '63-'65 Rivieras....the GOOD, the BAD, and the UGLY from an owners perspective

Welp.......I'll be on my way this weekend to pick up a '63 Rivi project. YIPPIE!!!
It will be my "new" daily driver once I go through a few minor things....

Curious to hear from the guys who own, or have owned, one of these year Rivis as to what some of their "quirks" are....things to look out for, areas needing closer inspection, good parts sources (and one's to stay clear of), etc....

Thanks!

I'm pretty damn excited to go pick this car up........

 

Congrats on the Rivi, I have had mine about 6 months and am just finishing it up,

 

i had two 65s, wish i still had them!

 

I love mine. Clark's Corvair has some parts, mostly interior and weather stripping. Catalog is a little tough to navigate.
http://www.corvair.com/user-cgi/catalog.cgi?function=previous

 

x2. Difficult to find what you need in the online catalog, but give them a call. Nice people to deal with.

 

I used their carpet, headliner, and seat cover on my '65, nice stuff.

 

I think the '63 Riv used a variation of the Dynaflow trans? The later ones used the more common Turbohydramatics. Don't know many details, but I'll bet someone here does.

 

Yes, The 63' used the last version of the Dynaflow trans, a good tranny that was praised in all the contemporary road tests.The 63' is the first and only year that a leather interior was available for the first gen cars.There are subtle differences between the 63 and following 64 and 65s and they are generally considered more desirable. The lack of hidden headlights eliminates a lot of headaches, (but,they are so cool).I was looking for a first gen car while I was looking for my 66. The first gens have a lot of unique parts which are not shared with the rest of the 66 and up E cars. (Eldorado, Toronado). Check out the Riviera Owners Association website.Good score!

 

Changing the heater core out is a real bitch, hope yours doesn't need replacing, "ever". On the 63's the carrier bearing is about the hardest thing to find if you ever need to have it replaced. Clarks corvair is a good place for parts so is Classicbuicks.com. Check the gas tank for rust ,mine was full of varnish and rust. Ditch the points and get a Pertronix ignition setup. That about sums it up from my experience with my 63' Riv.

 

Thanks fellas.....good info.
From what the seller has told me, the car is fully loaded, so a leather interior would be kinda sweet....from the pics it looks white.

I'll be sure to post up once I get 'er home Monday.

 

Never owned one but always admired them. I think they are one of the best looking cars ever.

I know where I can buy a `66 for CHEAP CHEAP . It hasn`t ran in 30 years but is all there and pretty solid. Hmmmmmmm ....

 

There's a beautiful '65 For Sale on the way home from my job. It's purple,shaved handles,bagged,polished Americans(needs Astros) but only $15k!!!!! Well worth it. I called the number and asked if he would trade for my Hotrod,but he wasn't going for it...

 

Buy LOTS of vaccuum hose ...You're gonna need it . I met more rivi freaks when I owned mine every one of them loved theirs and they want to talk about them endlessly .Good luck with yours.

 

Welcome to the wonderful world of Buicks!
Post up some pics when you get it home!
The standard engine in 63 was the 401, only year with leather as an option.
You can get parts at www.oldbuickparts.com, www.classicbuicks.com, and OPG was supposed to start doing parts for the first Gen Riv.
Not to sure of where to look at as far as areas prone to rust. I know that jetback50 used to own a couple rivs. You could send him a PM.

 

OPG has a riv catalog out now but haven't looked through it.

 

awesome cars to drive. way ahead of their time

 

Sounds badass! But no pics? Yer slackin' holmes...haha!

Thanks Neil.....supposedly it's got a rebuilt 425.

 

Ok help....the wiper motor....where is it? Looks like the fender needs to come off? The wiper is currently wired to a toggle switch to work at full speed....as when the wiper is hooked up to the stock switch, it only sweeps @ 2". The switch seems good.

 

yeah its on the fire wall drivers side. its up in the fender area, but it does not have to come off to get at it. the wiper motor is the same for most GM's that year easy to find.

 

This is awesome...anymore info would be awesome.....anything to beware of other than the carrier bearing?

 

I just picked my 63 rivi over the weekend, rust every where. Found rust in the trunk, behind the rear wheels, around the front/back windows...but its got all the interior and exterior and it came with extra parts. thats my info to share, so far!

 

Three tips,
www.oldbuickparts.com
Check for parts at autozone, I'm amazed at the machanical parts they have been able to get me at 1/2 what they sell for on the net.
Never ever buy anything off e-gay without checking these two sources first, (I swear people buy parts out of oldbuickparts.com and list them for twice as much on other sites.)
oh as an extra, Rancho Riviera in Riverside Ca.

 

That's the guy I've been looking for!
P.S. Beautiful '64.

 

I love my '63.

As far as parts, some have mentioned some places I've used, and I have the new OPG catalogue, they don't have anything Car's Inc (http://www.oldbuickparts.com/) doesn't have and I get lots of common stuff at O'Reilly's and NAPA. There are some parts for the '63 that are common with the '64 & '65, as well as other big Buick models, so a good parts man is gold. I'll second Rancho Riviera, too. He didn't have the only parking/running light grill and lens, but he had the best one.

For your nailhead, TA Performance has been my primary source (in addition to Egge) for rebuild/performance parts. And Mike at TA Performance has been a generous source of tech info/advice. He's spent so much free time helping me on the phone that I'd feel guilty if he weren't so enthusiastic about it.

You don't have to take your fender off to get to the wiper motor, but you do have to take the hood hinge off. I've been looking for a new washer motor for mine with no luck.

I swapped in an aftermarket A/C & heating system, not easy, tight fit, but cheaper than an original and it works better. A good A/C matters in South Texas.

And as for the Dynaflow, switching to a '65 ST400 was the best modification for the buck I've made on the car. If you keep the Dynaslow, you'll have a hard time finding the long snout starter, I just had mine rebuilt.

There are Buick and nailhead social groups here. They could use some more members.

 

Theres a cat in riverside cali that specializes in riviera parts,not the cheepest but a good source.(p.s. I had to replace the flexplate on my 65,bent it on a train track find a spare,hard piece to find)

 

The guy in riverside is called rancho riviera!