Projects New Ride - 65 Riviera

Yes. It feels like a modern power steering system.

 

Rock, did you upgrade your master brake cylinder or just use the stock one?

 

That is one of my favorite cars, love the hidden headlights.

 

I have a feeling that @Ryan is drooling over this thing right now.

 

I thought I had posted this picture of it lowered. I dropped it about 2".

 

I put a replacement single circuit MC in. Reason being, I am trying to keep this car mostly original, except the suspension upgrades. I thought I might take it to a few AACA shows and see what that is like. Besides, the rest of it works well enough to suit me now that I have done the suspension mods.

 

That’s a nice looking car! I like it lowered

 

It looks much better lower, but single master cylinders sketch me out

 

We drove with them for years. Everything that I thought could possible fail has been replaced. Who knows, I may change to dual later.

 

When did GM switch to duals anyway? Mustn't have been much later than that?

 

Lowered that car is perfect! Looks good.

 

Name it Old Yeller - Max Balchowsky will approve.

 

That is what I call it.

 

I think EVERYTHING changed to dual in '67, as mandated by the fed's.

 

Great car! Good on you! A note about mice. Ever hear of HANTA virus? Nasty bug. Hides out in dried mouse turds. Will seriously f*ck you up if you breathe it in when using a shop vac or compressed air and you make it airborne when cleaning a car. Buddy of mine got really sick cleaning out his large shed with a broom and a blower a few years back. Wound up in the hospital with endocarditis. Touch and go for a while. Docs couldn't figure out what caused his problem because he didn't even mention the shed cleaning episode. He had lingering respiratory issues and heart issues for months after he got out of the hospital. He's a pretty smart guy (electronic engineer) and asked me what I thought about Hanta virus (that's when he told ME about the shed). It ticked off all the boxes. It's a nasty bug. Hard to diagnose and as far as I know there is no known direct treatment for the virus. This shit (literally) should be handled just like asbestos. Wet it down with soapy water and wipe it up wet. Wear a GOOD respirator, not a paper mask. Protective Tyvek paint suit from Home Depot. Cover your hair, hands and shoes. Throw out protective suit and shower immediately after. An ounce of prevention. I am certain that there are more than a few car guys that have gotten Hanta from cleaning out their barn finds and probably didn't even know what it was that made them so freaking sick.
Andy

 

Installed new cardboard panels and cleaned up the original trunk liner.

 

That's going to be so nice you won't want to drive it!

 

Oh yes, I will. Drove it 100 miles this afternoon! If you've got a cool car and don't drive it, it's like having a hot girlfriend and saving her for the next guy!

 

After seeing your other cars I knew there was no doubt you would turn this into a jewel.
Beautiful car in a seldom seen color, like the lowering also.

 

Naw, I'd ride her.

 

In an attempt to improve gas mileage, I recurved my distributor. This requires disassembling the distributor. Be sure you know how to put it back together.

First, you must replace the plastic bushing that deteriorates and falls out. This restores your initial idle timing. I used a piece of plastic tubing that is a snug fit over the pun.

Next, you need to limit the vacuum advance. I measured 18 degrees of additional advance and that was more than I wanted. So, after some careful measuring I determined I needed 5/32 travel to give me 12 degrees. I made a small stop out of sheet metal, tapped a 6-32 hole in the vac can bracket and put it together for a trial fit. After some filing and sanding, I snuck up on 5/32".

The distributor was reassembled and springs added. Prior to disassembly, I had experimented with different springs and got a combination that gets my mechanical advance all in by 2500 rpm.

I stabbed the distributor back in and set the timing at 30 degrees btdc with all mechanical advance in and vacuum disconnected. I tested my mechanical advance using a hand vacuum pump. It starts coming in at 7 degrees and is all in at 13 degrees.

All you need to do this are your hand tools, a digital timing light (displays rpm, as well as timing) and a hand vacuum pump with a gauge.

 

I fell down on the job of keeping this thread up. After replacing about 50' of vacuum lines, I got the Heat and AC to work like they are supposed to and got all the mechanical bugs sorted out. This past week, I had to pull the radiator and am waiting for it to get re-cored. I added some cast aluminum valve covers to the engine to dress it up a bit. The list of things I've done is long but it is now road worthy. I drove it to Myrtle Beach in March and aside from the temperature getting a little high, it was flawless. Also, it drew a lot of attention. Fun car to take to shows.