Project Franken-Riviera -1964 Buick Riviera-

[CTX-SLPR]

two months to get that done.... wow. I'm cheering for you - that's an impressive list.

Well just the first list needs to be done to go, the rest will be winter projects probably. I also have a partial floor pan replacement, working AC, more of the suspension rebuild, and getting the Eldorado seats installed this winter.

[Bob Holmes]

Pictures, please!!

Nice list, should keep you busy for a while.

[CTX-SLPR]

PROGRESS!!!!

Over the last handful of days I fired up my mill and got the head aligned then proceeded to make a lot of aluminum shavings!!!! Cross the new AC compressor 90% off the list! Have to find a missing bracket to hold the alternator in place then I can build put the rest of the mounting brackets together.

Check out the pictures!

[TheSilverBuick]

Looking good!

[SuperBuickGuy]

what turbo did you use?

[CTX-SLPR]

what turbo did you use?

None right now, it's just a blank stock (for a Buick Turbo6) exhaust housing that lets me fab up the exhaust like there was one there. I have a stock turbo with upgraded exhaust housing on the shelf for when I'm done getting the kinks of the EFI and drivetrain install worked out.

Next up after I finish the brackets is pulling the stock master cylinder and booster then putting in the Impala SS master and Astro hydrobooster in. Since I'm going from single to dual circut brakes I'll add a Wilwood adjustable proportioning valve at the same time. I should be able to swap the front brakes themselves later after I put the engine in.

It'll be close but I'm confident I'll have it ready for the convoy in Denver.

[CTX-SLPR]

Progress

Knock the AC compressor off the list of items to get done! Check the pictures for the finalized mounting. It bolts to the main accessory bracket and then to the alterator through the strap bracket just like the stocker did. However I've only got 2 bolts and they had 3 to the bracket then another 2 to the alternator bracket. If it tries to come loose during testing I'll add another bracket to the rear ear that's hovering in space off of the "tree branch" bracket that supports the alternator.

The beginnings of the brake caliper mount is taking place!! Check out the second round of pictures for the partial bracket to hold the caliper to the spindle. There will be another "ear" that holds the main bracket still that attaches to the bolt hole in the spindle up by the top caliper bolt. Right now the bracket hits part of the spindle so I need to cut or mill a relieve to get it to sit flat. I also had to widen a hole by maybe 1/32in. I'm debating on if I want to use the bracket or use it as a prototype template for real brackets. I'm out of town for the rest of the week so I'll be making a summit and my favorite Goodridge dealer order for Hydroboost part and maybe get that done next weekend. Need mill coolant before I start work on the bracket again.

[CTX-SLPR]

She runs and drives!!!

Spent Labour Day installing the engine and getting the plumbing hooked up to find a massive leak from the oil cooler! The next day I plumbed the cooler out of the system and got it started to find a valve cover leak (not new but thought I fixed it), a coolant leak, and an oil leak from the oil filter adapter. Since it smoked so bad off of the valve cover leak I just left it alone for a week till my best friend arrived and we got to trouble shooting.

Fixed the valve cover leak by RTVing the gasket into the valve cover and copper spray sealant on the head side. The coolant leak seemed to solve itself but we put a small amount of stop leak in it as insurance. The oil filter adapter though we tried to just epoxy the fitting in place to keep it from leaking but it still does so I'll be machining a billet piece sometime soon. Oil pressure is great, like 70psi at idle cold and drops to around 27psi warm in gear. Goes up just like it's supposed to with rpm!

We killed a fuel pump on Friday night so we knew Drag Week convoy was out but we still got it running with the new pump at around 10pm and she idled great for like 20 min while we looked for leaks, watched the scanner and otherwise messed around. Spend the next day dialing in the hydroboost so it would work:

Took a lot of fiddling to get it to work without binding. Still have air in the power steering system that's working it's way out and the brakes are definately not in the greatest shape as they have a very short range of travel but won't lock hard. Once I get the disc swap finished I'll be switching masters which should solve that problem.

The tuning took some time to get used to the HPTuners but I got the fan to kick on, the wideband to log, and the idle fuel trims cleaned up but much more to do. I need to fix the electric kickdown and switch pitch since it now works off of the TPS. The timing is way low for the older, more inefficient heads, and I have a high idle problem that I'm trying to work out. I can drive it easily but a good hill will require a downshift into 2nd. Not unsurprising for a 7.9:1 compression 256cid engine with a relatively large cam. The fuel pump isn't coming on with the computer (likely a bad wiring job on my part) and the trans seems to be taking more and more fluid to get it full though no leaks.

Enjoy some videos of me taking it out for the first time, my reaction, and then taking my very understanding wife out as the first passenger! The only previous ride she got was with a very sick 425 requiring the heater running in Aug to keep it from overheating! She was excited and a bit scared since I asked her to make sure the fire extinguisher was in the car.

First trip out of the driveway (64 Riviera T-type) - YouTube

My reaction to the drive (64 Riviera T-type) - YouTube

Taking my honey out for a drive (64 Riviera T-type) - YouTube

[antmnte]

Hey thats great !! Good to drive it I bet .

[SuperBuickGuy]

it's alive!!! coolness.

okay, I'm completely LMAO at testing the car in a school yard.... that's at least 3 levels of win

[Bob Holmes]

Fantastic. Nothing better than when it starts and then rolls. Nice job.

[TheSilverBuick]

Awesome news!

[Russell]

Love it, can't wait for the burn out video!

[Darren N.]

Freaking awesome! Congrats on the first drive.

Nice to see that it's a family affair, too.

[CTX-SLPR]

Well I let it sit for over a month and when I tried to start it again the battery was flat. I charged it up slowly since it's an AGM cell. It was also sitting over a huge pool of transmission fluid. I checked the pan bolts and they were all too loose so I broke out the torque wrench and tightened them down.
Got to drive it yesterday after rewiring the fuel pump to switched 12V. I think I fixed the high idle by adjusting the TB blades but don't know if that messed up the cold start IAC control, will have to see next time I try to crank it. It's still a dog power wise and I think I got the TPS sensor out of alignment with the blade adjustment as well since it wasn't as bad last time and the air is denser now that it's colder. However there are bigger fish to fry, it leaks oil and trans fluid. The oil is leaking out of a part I know leaks and is waiting till I buy another fitting and have the time to machine a billet piece to replace the epoxied up stocker I currently have on the oil filter adapter. The transmission is really annoying and since I tightened the pan bolts it's got to be coming from the speedo housing, tailhousing, or somewhere else. I'll try tightening the cooler lines and see if the speedo housing is wet but otherwise this trans is getting shelved/sold and I'll get the 4L80E in there.

The big question is how much can I get to work on this this winter since I'm almost in single parent mode with my wife's difficult pregnancy. No question of what get's the time priority but come next summer the work on the car time is going to be down to a drivel after starting my PhD.