Highly considering buying a 1965 Riviera from a fellow forum member. I'm like 90% sure I want to buy it lol
I know nothing of these engines or cars. And anything to improve on the 60's brakes and suspension!
Learn me!
Highly considering buying a 1965 Riviera from a fellow forum member. I'm like 90% sure I want to buy it lol
I know nothing of these engines or cars. And anything to improve on the 60's brakes and suspension!
Learn me!
In reply to yupididit :
The Buick 401 is the end of the line of the "nailhead", a motor from the mid-50's that has next to no aftermarket support, compared to say the Buick 400/455 that replaced it. That said, they are solid motors that are easy to work on and reliable. The car itself is a GM "A" Body and you can buy anything for it stock or modified. That said, it will never be a handeler. The stock Buick setup is the best of the stock stuff.
I would buy it, throw on modern tires/cool wheels, a sweet exhaust, convert the A/C, and install a stealth audio system and cruise everywhere as the coolest guy on the block.
The Buick Nailhead is the sexiest engine ever put in a car. Fight me.
Nailhead is a great engine. Parts are still around but some you have to dig. As far as suspension and brake upgrades, pretty much anything 64 and after is GM parts bin if you know what to look for. It will never carve like a Miata, but if you're just looking to update things, toss some bushings in the arms, new shocks, and snag some springs from a late-model B-body or similar. My 66 Bonneville has the cast off stock springs from my 96 Impala SS. Big improvement. Still soft-ish, but not marshmallow. Had to use a spacer for ride height reasons, and eventually swapped to 9C1 springs which were better.
GM used very common spindle/bearing sizes, so you should be able to find a few million discs that will fit the front. It likely has the 8.2" rear which will be probably aftermarket only, but not expensive. Many companies have come up with plates to hold a caliper from an F-body and discs to go with it.
I say do it. I passed on a 73 Riv when I was in college. 455, ran and drove, but I didn't have the $1200 to buy it. That same car is probably $10k now.
Javelin (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to yupididit :
The Buick 401 is the end of the line of the "nailhead", a motor from the mid-50's that has next to no aftermarket support, compared to say the Buick 400/455 that replaced it. That said, they are solid motors that are easy to work on and reliable. The car itself is a GM "A" Body and you can buy anything for it stock or modified. That said, it will never be a handeler. The stock Buick setup is the best of the stock stuff.
I would buy it, throw on modern tires/cool wheels, a sweet exhaust, convert the A/C, and install a stealth audio system and cruise everywhere as the coolest guy on the block.
It's actually an E-body, but similar to the A. And if you know where to look, all kinds of parts are still out there for the Nailhead. The early nailheads (425 and 364) were enough different that the parts have disappeared. The easy way to ID is to count the torque converter bolts. If it has 3 or 6 like a more traditional GM, it's the later one and parts are out there. If it has 664.7 torque converter bolts, it's the early one and parts will be tough.
'63-65 Rivys are a unique platform not shared with anything else GM so there isn't as much interchangeability as stuff like Skylarks. Can probably adapt some front discs fairly easily though. Rear end is the big Buick Olds Pontiac rear with drop out center section, should be plenty tough but likely to be more expensive for gears and LSD if you're looking to do that. 401s are good torquey motors - had one in a '62 Buick Invicta wagon and it moved that along pretty well.
One of the best looking '60s cars, why haven't you bought it yet lol. I'd probably lower it a couple of inches, big front sway bar and decent shocks, maybe disc brakes and just drive it. Won't be a corner carver but a great highway car or cool for cruising round town.
pics?!
Wikipedia has a decent description: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_Riviera#First_generation_(1963–1965) By 1965 they were using a TH400 transmission instead of the earlier Dynaflow so that's good, and it had the hidden headlights which made it the sexiest year of that first generation. It was truly the highlight of 1960s GM design. I'd look for a dual four barrel manifold that was used on the Grand Sport option.
They can be the basis for a very cool mild custom - they don't need much besides some minor trim removal, a little lowering and a cool paint job.
Yes, it's an E-body, but it is not like an A-body. These Rivieras have an X frame - no side rails. Used on Rivieras only through '70. Rear suspension uses a panhard rod and single upper control arm, unlike, and probably better than, the double upper and lower control arms on an A-body. Front suspension uses upper and lower control arms with strut rods, like GM full size cars of the era. If you actually want to improve handling, just do the usual fresh bushings, steering linkage, suspension wear parts, stiffer springs, quality shocks, bigger bars, and wheels / tires to taste. It'll end up way better than the Internet thinks it will.
Nothing wrong with the 401, but the goofy valvetrain angles limit valve size, and therefore breathing. It makes a torquey cruiser, though.
Trans, if original, is a Turbo 400, with a switch-pitch converter. The angle of the vanes in the torque converter is controlled by a solenoid, and activated by a switch on the carb linkage. Higher stall speed at full throttle, and idle (to minimize creep).
Brakes are Buick's famous large finned aluminum drums. No need whatsoever for disks. Don't fall for that. However, it probably has a single reservoir master cylinder. An MC for a '67 is dual reservoir and should swap right on; all you'll need is one new hard line.
All parts are available, but you will need to learn about parts sources. The AACA forums host the Buick Club of America forums, and there is an active Riviera sub-forum where you can get started with questions.
In reply to yupididit :
There's no questioning, you should just do it.
In reply to yupididit :
The torquey Nailhead is designed for the way Americans drive. All sorts of low RPM power. You don't need to do anything other than get it running properly. That is simplicity in itself. Keep the value and leave it stock.
It's not a race car so don't plan on treating it like one. Those big finned drum brakes are wonderful. Stock they will out stop disk brakes. Yes you need to learn how to adjust brakes and keep them adjusted. But those are twin leading shoe brakes. Basically the design wedges itself into the drum and when you add the stock power brake it makes it easy for little old ladies to stop quickly.
I loaded mine up with a 2800 pound Jaguar race car trailer all my spares, tools and my new wife's" stuff " then hauled it through the mountains. Came down Donners pass ( super steep) never a bit of fade( oh , no brakes on the trailer either). Just regular brake linings.
In other words leave it original. Don't try to make it into a Miata. It's a great freeway cruiser just as it is.
Javelin (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to yupididit :
The Buick 401 is the end of the line of the "nailhead", a motor from the mid-50's that has next to no aftermarket support, compared to say the Buick 400/455 that replaced it. That said, they are solid motors that are easy to work on and reliable. The car itself is a GM "A" Body and you can buy anything for it stock or modified. That said, it will never be a handeler. The stock Buick setup is the best of the stock stuff.
I would buy it, throw on modern tires/cool wheels, a sweet exhaust, convert the A/C, and install a stealth audio system and cruise everywhere as the coolest guy on the block.
Sorry to correct you but the 425 was the last of the nailheads.
For suspension I just want to reduce the wallow old big cars have and lower it some. Just plan on having a cruiser.
The engine and trans was rebuilt years ago and never ran. The car is red with white interior.
Why haven't I bought it yet? Well I'm currently between homes and between states lol. I move next month and need to find somewhere to keep my cars in Virginia before I transport them from Texas lol. Also, said forum member also have a w116 I've been eyeing for a couple years. Once I'm settled in, I'll get it.
In reply to frenchyd :
I'm not looking treat it like a race car. I have a rwd car with good handling and a revvy inline6.
I know drum brakes can stop well but I've always hated fiddling with them. Plus, they're just ugly lol.
In reply to yupididit :
I hate to agree with frenchyd but these drums are the ones to have. Plus the finned aluminum looks cool as hell.
In reply to Stampie :
No, that is ugly lol
Stampie said:In reply to yupididit :
I hate to agree with frenchyd but these drums are the ones to have. Plus the finned aluminum looks cool as hell.
I lust after those. Do I have anything you'd trade for?
That's one of the few cars that you can say "I own the coolest car in the world" and when you show people, they'll have a hard time disputing it.
Oddly enough, there are 3 GMs on that list and 2 are Buicks (the other, obviously, being a Grand National)
yupididit said:In reply to Stampie :
No, that is ugly lol
You have issues.
Stampie said:yupididit said:In reply to Stampie :
No, that is ugly lol
You have issues.
Oh that's certainly true lol
As noted the brakes on the Riviera are actually pretty damn good stock. If they are in good shape and you avoid driving through very deep water before or doing multiple stops from 100 mph, you should be fine. (BTW dragging the brakes through deep water will help).
The Riviera is a kind of BMW 7 series for the 60's. It meant to be a bit sporty so stock handling should not be that bad. Maybe you just need to embrace the style. It might be a shame to destroy the luxury in the car. I suspect you will try lower profile tires. I would suggest trying those (which will stiffen it up a bit) before messing with the rest.
Most old cars can use a good re-bushing of the suspension and new shocks anyway, which should help a lot.
I had a 65 Riviera with a 401 nailhead and I still kick myself for getting rid of it. Loved that car. Rode smooth. Was fast enough to be fun and surprise a few Z28 owners back in the day. Yep, I'd buy another one in a heartbeat.
In reply to aircooled :
I don't want to drastically change the way it drives. But to get it back to how it felt from factory + a little better. More so oem+, if that makes sense.
Gold 24" rims would be a dream though!
Okay nevermind!
I'd look for the biggest front sway bar you can find. Put in 600lb front springs. Dial in about 1.5-2* of front Camber. get a spherical (hopefully, poly worst case) tension rod at the front lower control arm and dial in a lot more caster. 8-9* would make a huge difference
the other most important bushing in the front end would be the lower control arm inner bushing. A hard poly here will help the car not lose all Of its negative camber when you make it turn. I wouldn't do poly in the UCA. I think some dynamic camber gain can be had there with regular rubber
Get some Nice shocks, bilstein or koni adjustables (probably from a camaro or something) hopefully something just a little shorter than stock is available to suit the shorter spring. Maybe even a coilover setup from a camaro is available.
Then I'd up the rear springs to about a 350lb, well actually if it were me I might end up doing a 450-500 but while it would handle nice it would ride very bad!
Then I'd look at 2011-14 mustangs for a While and see similarly designed rear suspension...
Then see about getting a medium to large rear sway bar in there.
Poly or heims in the pan hard rod.
poly body mounts.
rag joint stiffener.
after that I'd look for some slightly wider 15" wheels and put on 235/60-15 Firestone Indy 500's.
but that's just me! It wouldn't look less classic but it would sure drive and handle well
IMO, 24's would ruin that car. Don't think you could ever get them under the fenders. The wires that are on it or these are what belong on that car. Just my opinion.
frenchyd said:Javelin (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to yupididit :
The Buick 401 is the end of the line of the "nailhead", a motor from the mid-50's that has next to no aftermarket support, compared to say the Buick 400/455 that replaced it. That said, they are solid motors that are easy to work on and reliable. The car itself is a GM "A" Body and you can buy anything for it stock or modified. That said, it will never be a handeler. The stock Buick setup is the best of the stock stuff.
I would buy it, throw on modern tires/cool wheels, a sweet exhaust, convert the A/C, and install a stealth audio system and cruise everywhere as the coolest guy on the block.
Sorry to correct you but the 425 was the last of the nailheads.
And the the 430 replaced the 425 not the 455 the 455 didn't arrive until 1970. My dad has a 67 Electra 225 convertible that my grandfather bought new in 67. That was the first year of the 430.
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