So, despite having one major restoration in the works and another smaller one on the back burner, I have managed to get myself into something new. While walking around the Springfield Cars & Parts swap meet a couple weeks ago, I came across a scruffy but very solid 63 Riviera with $4,500 on the windshield. "Hmmm, seems like a fair deal".
There is a back story to this. About 15 years ago, I picked up a cool silver/silver leather 63 Riv out of storage in Cincinnati. I was young and fairly broke, but gradually began the process of getting it running and repairing the rust in the quarters and trunk. I had a lot of fun with that car.
Eventually, about 12 years ago, I had to sell that car to finance another toy. I hated to see it go away. It ended up at Bobby Alloway's shop where he built it into the giveaway car for the Shades of the Past show. Still brings a tear to my eye to see how much potential that car had. The silver leather interior was spectacular!
So back to the white car.... The more I looked at it, the more I saw that it had great bones. Seriously, as ratty as it looked on the outside, this thing is so clean on the bottom. It's factory primer with white overspray. Body mounts are perfect. Yes, the interior is mostly missing, as is the AC and much of the heater, but I've never seen one more solid underneath. On my third trip back to look at the car, the owner made a significant price reduction and I ended up driving it home.
Memorial day weekend was spent trying to clean the paint up somewhat and pulling the ugly brown pinstripe off. That was a big improvement. The goofy 265/50-15 tires were really killing the look. Something needed to be done.
I found a picture of "just Matts" white 64 in another thread. I really liked the stance and tire sizes, so I set out to copy it. Matt was helpful in sharing some tips with me private message. I want to go with a 60's mild-custom look on this one, so the skinny whites really work for me.
Next up was an attitude adjustment. I'm really trying to stay on a modest budget for the time being, so instead of buying new springs, i trimmed 1 1/4 coils from my front springs and removed the aftermarket spacers from the rear. I have only put a couple miles on it so far, but it seems to ride really good still. I still need to put new front shocks on and bring the rear down about 1" more to be perfect.
Brake upgrades are next on my list. I've never been comfortable with the single circuit system, so I ordered a dual circuit kit from OPG along with some new lines. That is next weeks project.
What started as a simple brake upgrade quickly got out of control. The master cylinder project lead to power steering hoses and pump replacement which led to all the accessory brackets coming off and so on and so on. The engine had a valve train noise which concerned me. So, since I was in there I tore off the rocker covers. The culprit was a collapsed lifter – easy fix! Here is where I am currently. Since it's all apart, it will get a rattle can restoration.
Many years ago a very good friend of mine owned a '65 and I just loved that car enough so I bought it off him when he went for a later year Eldorado. Wow, what a nice car. Silver with black interior and a set of Cragars. Like to have it back! Good luck with yours.
Here is the engine after getting it all back together. Looks pretty good for a rattle-can resto. Only real rust on the car was where the rear window lower channel had filled with pine needles and rusted out. Winter project has been to repair that...coming along pretty good. Once I have it water-tight, I can start re-doing the interior this spring.
A lot has changed since the last post. The car got painted and I’m trying to get the interior back in. My goodness these are complicated cars. I can’t believe how difficult the interiors are to restore. I don’t know how GM made any money on them when they were new.
The Jalopy Journal
