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A light 50 odd year old car with a v8 and typical gearing on about a 205mm tire will always demand respect in the rain. No reason not to drive it just keeps you on your toes vs modern rides.
And when you bump the horsepower to over 500, it gets even more interesting! That being said, my turbo'd Mini gets squirrelly too easily as well.
And regarding high speed on those wipers, I agree, that speed is overkill! I've pretty much stopped using my wipers on all my cars preferring RainX as once I'm moving, the windshield is clearer than with wipers and no RainX
Last edited by 65air_coupe; 04-17-2019 at 05:38 PM.
Richard - If you run out of room in your jack box for tools and parts, Harbor Freight sells aluminum storage boxes that fit exactly, side-by-side, between the wheel wells in the rear compartment.
Steve
That's pretty cool! I was kind of thinking of using the spare tire area for stuff. I have knock-offs and did not get a spare and can't afford one wheel right now--even a repro--so will rely on AAA to take care of me if I get a flat on my new (coming soon!) gold line radials. I see you have a lot of stuff there; I would be inclined to use their cases for a trip as well...no screaming at me for going without a spare for a while, please! I am a premier AAA member and my x worked for them, so they are OK to me so far!
I see you have the shoulder belts. When I went to put on the passenger side buckle side, I realized that the factory bolt is WAY too close to the floor to use the bottom of the plastic cover they give you with that side. I am going to cut off the bottom of it so it will fit that tight space. Is that what you did to get it to fit?
And when you bump the horsepower to over 500, it gets even more interesting! That being said, my turbo'd Mini gets squirrelly too easily as well.
And regarding high speed on those wipers, I agree, that speed is overkill! I've pretty much stopped using my wipers on all my cars preferring RainX as once I'm moving, the windshield is clearer than with wipers and no RainX
I bought some replacement blades today, but I am with you--RAINX seems to do the job. I even put a bit on the wipers themselves. The fast speed is pretty important should I get caught in a Florida Tropical Frog Strangler...hopefully I will NOT be driving this car in such weather, but as everyone knows, you can be at a show and all of a sudden...especially in the tropics.
Aha! Another Buick Man with a C2!!! What have you in the Buick realm?
Might interest you to see my other ride, a '65 Riviera Gran Sport. I've owned this one for 35 years:
Cheers!
Superb RIV, man! Love those cars--every single year until the very end. Neighbor in college had a '70 while I had my '70 GS 350--black.black like your RIV. A couple of mine--don't have all of them "scanned" and pics are in storage right now. First is my '72 S1 Convertible I ordered in late '71 and kept for 40+ years--one of 81 made. The other is the last one I "refreshed" by making a Skylark into a GSX clone except for the stripes. Very expensive as they are painted on--over $2000 to do it today. Person who painted them at the factory spoke at a GSCA meeting once years ago. HATED painting them, and REAL ONES have misaligned stripes from the door to the quarter panel; one of those facts known only to judges and Buick aficionados. This one went back to CA where it was born--totally rust free car--amazing!
Buicks rule!!
Cheers,
Richard
(OK, LOVE my C2, and it is clearly a beautiful design or I would not own one!)
I see you have the shoulder belts. When I went to put on the passenger side buckle side, I realized that the factory bolt is WAY too close to the floor to use the bottom of the plastic cover they give you with that side. I am going to cut off the bottom of it so it will fit that tight space. Is that what you did to get it to fit?
Cheers,
Richard
Richard - I didn’t use the plastic sleeves. I didn’t like the way they looked. Instead, I attached disk magnets to the back of the seat belt buckles which allow me to “stick” the buckles to the vertical chrome piece on the sides of the seats. I think this looks better and provides good “seat belt buckle management” when the seatbelts are not in use. Here are some photos.
I forgot to say that I put a piece of clear packing tape on the chrome piece where the magnet sticks to prevent scratches on the chrome.
Steve
Hi, Steve,
Many thanks for this. I, too, was thinking of not using them and love your solution. Not sure if I will copy it, but glad to know what you did and how great it looks as well as being functional.
BTW - A/C was never offered from the factory on the solid lifter big block cars.
Yes, you could order A/C with a 390/427, but not the 425/450hp ('66) or 435hp ('67), or the 396/425hp ('65) for that matter.
Thank-you! I am having a good time with it--mostly, anyway. Door panel on the driver's side does not fit very well, but will figure it out. Called them, but no help there. I am sure that doors were not "perfect" when they were made, but can't see factory people taking the time I am to fit everything. As I told a buddy the other day, I have come to the conclusion that these cars were basically hand-built on an assembly line and that the variations are so massive that they did the best they could with what they had. Can't stop the line for a slightly out-of-perfect body part made of fiberglass, right?
Anyway, learning a lot and enjoying the overall aesthetic of the car after years of A-Body work. (They have their OWN little deviations as well, of course.) As I always say, these people were not building "classic cars" in the day. They just wanted to get the job done and get paid like most workers.
I laugh sometimes at the silliness, but hey, it is all part of our great hobby, and seeing and driving these cars on the road is the great reward, along with keeping many people employed helping us out.
Regarding the A/C issue, WOW, I was wrong on that car. It must have not been the '67 435/427. Could you get it with the L68 400/427 or was that a solid lifter engine as well? Keep me learning!
Thank-you! I am having a good time with it--mostly, anyway. Door panel on the driver's side does not fit very well, but will figure it out. Called them, but no help there. I am sure that doors were not "perfect" when they were made, but can't see factory people taking the time I am to fit everything. As I told a buddy the other day, I have come to the conclusion that these cars were basically hand-built on an assembly line and that the variations are so massive that they did the best they could with what they had. Can't stop the line for a slightly out-of-perfect body part made of fiberglass, right?
Anyway, learning a lot and enjoying the overall aesthetic of the car after years of A-Body work. (They have their OWN little deviations as well, of course.) As I always say, these people were not building "classic cars" in the day. They just wanted to get the job done and get paid like most workers.
I laugh sometimes at the silliness, but hey, it is all part of our great hobby, and seeing and driving these cars on the road is the great reward, along with keeping many people employed helping us out.
Regarding the A/C issue, WOW, I was wrong on that car. It must have not been the '67 435/427. Could you get it with the L68 400/427 or was that a solid lifter engine as well? Keep me learning!
Cheers,
Richard
Hi Richard,
Yes, you could get factory A/C with the 400hp/427 engine. I forgot to include the L68 in my earlier list of engine options which could be combined with A/C.
The L68 is exactly the same engine hydraulic lifter engine as the L36 -390hp, except for the induction setup.
The L-36 had a single 4-barrel Holley. The L68 sported the 3x2 multi-carb setup also used on the L71 435hp solid lifter engine.
Superb RIV, man! Love those cars--every single year until the very end. Neighbor in college had a '70 while I had my '70 GS 350--black.black like your RIV. A couple of mine--don't have all of them "scanned" and pics are in storage right now. First is my '72 S1 Convertible I ordered in late '71 and kept for 40+ years--one of 81 made. The other is the last one I "refreshed" by making a Skylark into a GSX clone except for the stripes. Very expensive as they are painted on--over $2000 to do it today. Person who painted them at the factory spoke at a GSCA meeting once years ago. HATED painting them, and REAL ONES have misaligned stripes from the door to the quarter panel; one of those facts known only to judges and Buick aficionados. This one went back to CA where it was born--totally rust free car--amazing!
Buicks rule!!
Cheers,
Richard
(OK, LOVE my C2, and it is clearly a beautiful design or I would not own one!)
Nice Buicks you have there Richard!
Yes, those GS's, including your 'A' body cars were Buick's answer to the muscle car craze. The '65 Riv GS was dubbed the "banker's hot rod' and yes it does move out very nicely with 425cu in with dual quads. I embarrassed plenty of Camaro's and Mustangs at stoplight grand-prix with my Riv over the years. I bought this car in Seattle in 1983 and had no idea what it really was until much later when I learned they only made about 3,400 Gran Sport Rivieras in 1965. I just thought it was a neat looking car with a semi-custom look. The clincher for me was its way-cool 'Pac-Man' clamshell hideaway headlights! I don't think the previous owner knew what it was either, as I paid next to nothing for it. I drove this Riv for 10 years as my daily driver and it was extremely reliable, albeit thirsty! When I got married and settled down (ha!) I relegated the Riv to occasional duty and slowly restored it over time. Now these car bring upwards of $50k in good condition, something I never thought would happen.
The '63-65 Rivs, along with our C2's are my absolute favorite car designs of the '60's, and among the best the GM had to offer of any era.
Yes, you could get factory A/C with the 400hp/427 engine. I forgot to include the L68 in my earlier list of engine options which could be combined with A/C.
The L68 is exactly the same engine hydraulic lifter engine as the L36 -390hp, except for the induction setup.
The L-36 had a single 4-barrel Holley. The L68 sported the 3x2 multi-carb setup also used on the L71 435hp solid lifter engine.
Thanks! I was pretty sure this one had the L68 intake set-up but I must have read the decal on the air cleaner incorrectly--my fault; I was so blown away by the car that I forgive myself! It was a truly amazing car, and got me interested in getting one of my own, and now what have I done! (HA!). I doubt there were many white/blue tri-power big blocks with A/C sold in '67, so a unique ride.
Spent 8 hours today fixing the fit on the passenger side door panel and installing the driver's side one. Took one of those hours getting the bolt onto the passenger side seat belt--lots of carpet in the way, but I was determined that the washer was going on for safety. Success!
Got a replacement courtesy light socket from LI Corvette--no one else had them. Stock ends will not go into the socket, so useless. Do these companies actually try out their parts before they sell them? Whatever--more wasted time and $$. I will somehow get the factory one to work; someone chipped a small piece off the plastic at the top, but it can be used. I will use the other one to remind me not to order stuff that doesn't work...
Going down to my painter friend's on Sat to weld a bolt to the seatbelt mess on the driver's side and see if we can remove it. He is the best car painter I have ever seen, and I have seen a lot of them. He let me blast the rocker panel supports and the wire channel covers that were a mess. I was able to prime and paint them and use them on the car, along with a handful of brackets, etc. Once you blast them, you can reuse pretty much everything.
Once that is done, I can glue down the carpet on that side. After that, going to work with a buddy to get the rear wheel well carpets to fit; not sure what happened, but they don't fit right. He is a "carpet guy", so will know what to do.
Once that is done, seats go in and car is ready for oil change and new tires--next week, I hear from the person helping me with that--and then time to enjoy the car for a week when my daughter comes home for a short visit. Then, carb off to All American for a complete refresh. Try to get the exhaust manifolds ceramic coated while the carb is off, and then it hits the road.
Looking to have it running in top shape by my birthday at the end of July if not sooner. Hands hurt--no one told me I would inherit my mom's arthritis!
Yes, those GS's, including your 'A' body cars were Buick's answer to the muscle car craze. The '65 Riv GS was dubbed the "banker's hot rod' and yes it does move out very nicely with 425cu in with dual quads. I embarrassed plenty of Camaro's and Mustangs at stoplight grand-prix with my Riv over the years. I bought this car in Seattle in 1983 and had no idea what it really was until much later when I learned they only made about 3,400 Gran Sport Rivieras in 1965. I just thought it was a neat looking car with a semi-custom look. The clincher for me was its way-cool 'Pac-Man' clamshell hideaway headlights! I don't think the previous owner knew what it was either, as I paid next to nothing for it. I drove this Riv for 10 years as my daily driver and it was extremely reliable, albeit thirsty! When I got married and settled down (ha!) I relegated the Riv to occasional duty and slowly restored it over time. Now these car bring upwards of $50k in good condition, something I never thought would happen.
The '63-65 Rivs, along with our C2's are my absolute favorite car designs of the '60's, and among the best the GM had to offer of any era.
Your Riv was definitely one of the rare ones, and the clamshell lights were a huge hit back then. Even in Roadhouse, the Dalton character asks if they work before he bought one (not a GS). He knew good cars!
Yes, it has always been a good runner; glad to see you drive it and waste those Rustangs at the lights. People have to learn the word "TORQUE" when they hear Buick from those days. Stage 1 cars had 550 lb ft of the stuff, and the biggest issue was keeping the tires hooked--never figured out how to do that!
Also interesting that the owner had no idea what he had; good deal for you, and now that it is restored, it will certainly bring the buyers who get what you have when and if you decide to move it out.
Funny stuff - and not much different than most of us have been through - it takes me 6 months to a year to get a classic car up to my acceptable threshold usually.
Beware the butchered wiring - its worth just doing a wholesale replacement of harnesses if things have been Bubba-ed excessively...
Frankly - I avoid driving in the rain for the most part....I get caught once in a while but "suck it up" and deal with it..
Yeah, I know what you mean. It’s amazing the wrong stuff you find that didn’t get your attention when you bought it. Had the 65 a year & a half now, not overwhelming if you just take one area at a time and work through it.
Yeah, I know what you mean. It’s amazing the wrong stuff you find that didn’t get your attention when you bought it. Had the 65 a year & a half now, not overwhelming if you just take one area at a time and work through it.
You can take THAT to the bank.
I keep thinking about the NEXT C2 I get, which probably is not going to happen unless someone sees this one and demands to buy it for a good price. (Don't laugh; I drive a 2007 Corolla CE (lowest level model) and people ask me to buy it almost once a month! Sure, I keep it showroom clean from top to bottom, and it runs better than new with 137K on the clock, but it is not rare for someone to roll down their window and yell at me in traffic wanting to buy it. Funny stuff!)
What I think about is how carefully I am going to look at EVERYTHING on another one based on what I am doing on this one, and of course I will miss 100 things, but at least my eyes will be open based on experiences with my first one. It isn't rusty, so no worries there. It was simply not cared for like you would a great car, which it is by definition. I am fixing it, and while I will never go to a judged show, nor do I care about that any more, everything I do will be done correctly if I can. I can't afford a '66 brake master, so I have a '67--works fine and I have other places to spend that $1000.00 that are more important to ME. But, if a screw, wire, clip, or other item needs replacing or refreshing, I do that with the closest-to-stock I can find these days. I have learned over the years, as probably all of you have, that fixing something correctly is usually easier and less costly than screwing it up.
04-17-2019, 05:31 PM
