If anyones seen my wanted adds in the classifieds, we finally found a car for my girlfriend. A '64 Riviera!, 401 runs very well, all VELOUR diamond tuck interior (very swanky), for a little under $1500. Maroon in most places, primer in the rest, but the bodywork was done well (whole 1/4 panel replaced). My question is...any of you Rivi owners got some advice? What are any typical problems, hard to find parts, anything i should look for to fix? Gonna be a daily driver. Thanks a lot guys. Oh, and should funds allow, those wheels will be GONE
They rust out around the bottom of the back window and leak into the trunk, especially in the corners. I hope there's actual paint under that back glass adhesive where that primer is, or it won't last too many seasons. (Don't take it out to check because they quit often break cutting them out) That dark red rust on the "new" 1/4 panel should be got rid of TOMORROW MORNING or it will eat through. Cool looking car! Good find and a cheap price!
super cheap..!! good score man... DrJ is right about the rust at the bottom corners of the rear windows... last spring I took my '65 to my buddy's shop to address that very problem... ended up digging into the body etc.(I knew there were some other problems...) it's still there after 16 months of body work, prep, etc. for a brand new custom metalflake paint job... (you know, the classic 'bro deal', with the non-bro price overall...) It's painted now, finally, just needs polishing and assembly pretty much... Hopefully I'll get it back before the end of the month... also, those are the original rally wheels...worth some $$$ to some people... I suggest Supremes with skinny whites... (and if lownslow is reading this, I claim no knowledge of what I just spoke of...I don't own that Rivi...)
I've seen that car somewhere on the net... ebay? or classic car trader.com? I was thinking of what a sweet deal it seemed to be too... but far out of my reach I love those Rivs... a 65 has been my dream car for quite a while now!
yeah, it was on ebay. we checked it out last weekend and it looked good if the auction didn't get to high...well it didn't, so she bought it. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2430659221&category=6142
Very Cool, Those cars are good looking to begin with. A friend Rod Dotten has one almost the same color that I really dig, It's in Super Rod this month, not a HAMB style car but I really like it.
Another place where they seem to rust quite a bit is around the seam in the front part of the hood right over the grill. I own a black on black 65 that is pretty much all original. I have found mine to be extremely reliable. When I 1st bought it, it had been sitting for a few years. I basically slapped a new carb, plugs, & wires on the motor & she fired right up & pulled daily driver duty for a year straight. Mine is basically stock right now, but I'm about a month away from a new intake, exhaust & HEI. T/A Performance makes shorty headers & an exhaust to with it. http://www.taperformance.com/nailhead_shortys.htm Jim Burek @ PAE performance in Texas built my ST400 (I highly recommend this guy) - http://www.paeenterprises.com/ Riviera Larry's stuff ain't exactly cheap, but he's a decent guy who helped me out with tons of tech advise during my restoration. - http://www.ranchoriviera.8m.com/ Another good investment is joining the ROA - http://www.rivowners.org/ They have a monthly publication - "The Riview" with tons of tech and classifieds. It's worth the $35 a years for the classifieds alone. If you need help finding a part, shoot me a PM. I was basically hunting Riv parts for a year & a half straight, and turned over a lot of rocks in the process. Good luck.
Good score...damn good price. I've got a couple of these out back if you need any parts...check the front lip of the hoop for filler...they usually rust out there too. Brian
One thing I'd definately like to look into, is getting an HEI dist. for it. Did nailheads ever come with one, or do other Buick dists. work? If not, where can I get one? Thanks a lot for all the advice.
i've had three of them now and every one of them was rusted out at the front of the hood and below the rear window as everyone said. i do however still have ALOT fo parts for the Rivis if anyone needs any. i have doors, fenders, bumpers, trim, glass and even a great driver side quarter. look me up if any of you need any parts. i need to clean out my stockpile a bit and make some money for the model A i am building. Mike Brimm
[ QUOTE ] One thing I'd definately like to look into, is getting an HEI dist. for it. Did nailheads ever come with one, or do other Buick dists. work? If not, where can I get one? Thanks a lot for all the advice. [/ QUOTE ] This guys builds them into your stock distributor - http://www.davessmallbodyheis.com/
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