New Owner

[Marcus]

Hello All,
I went to the Mecum auction in Anaheim this weekend with no intention of buying another car (I already own too many, just ask the wife). That was until I spotted a 1963 Buick Riviera and just couldn't resist. I'm originally from England and I wasn't even familiar with the '63 Riviera but its a fantastic looking car and I'm thrilled with my new purchase. The car is matching numbers (it was advertised that way but haven't checked yet) and it has the 425 CID engine and factory air conditioning, from what I've seen so far both of these options are quite rare. Anyway I live in Fullerton, CA so I hope there is a club out here that I can join, if anyone knows of one please advise. I will post some pictures soon.

 

[bob k. mando]

wow, yeah, that's first year production for both the Riv and the 425. does your car have the 'horseshoe' shifter mounted on the tunnel? only 2601 425 Rivs made.

http://www.teambuick.com/reference/years/63.php


the national Riv club is based in Colorado.

http://rivowners.org/

http://rivowners.org/features/evolution/evpt63.html

[url]http://www.tocmp.com/brochures/Buick/1963/Full-Size/images/Page_15_16_JPG.jpg
[/URL]

 

[Marcus]

Hi Bob,
Thanks for the reply and club info. I just googled the horseshoe shifter and no I don't have that. The shifter is mounted in the tunnel, its shaped like a spinning top with a button in the center. I'm just starting to research the '63 Riviera, like I mentioned before not really familiar. So far it's looking like I got a good one! Regardless of that I love the styling and interior on these cars....timeless. The only issue I've noticed so far is there is quite a lot of play in the steering, I'm having it checked out in the morning, is this a common problem??

 

[Marcus]

hi Bob, thanks for the reply and info. I do not have the horseshoe shifter but it is mounted in the tunnel. As I mentioned before I was not familiar with the '63 Riviera so I'm just starting my research. So far I think I've lucked out for once and got a good one, the numbers match and even the paint and interior colors (although not original) match. I do have one small issue, there is a lot of play in the steering, do you (or anyone else) know if this is a common problem?

 

[telriv]

The most common problem is the center/drag link. Also, play in the steering box.


Tom T.

 

[bob k. mando]

it's 'common' in that a +50 year old car probably has a lot of wear on it, yeah.

it's not a bad idea to go through the whole car and replace all the bushings, brake slave cylinders, bearings and rubber hoses, etc.