feeling like i got screwed again.... this could be a rant, but then again i dunno what its going to be.... ok, rebuilt the carb on the riviera, then it needed a new choke pull-off, i got that... put it on, floats seemed a little high, tryed adjusting them, nothing, the carb is a true piece of **** and needs replaced. Before I got the car, my father found it while out hunting. He went back a couple times and checked it out and told me all it needed was a carb kit and it would run. The owner said it ran good. I was under the impression, all it needed was a carb kit and some minor things like belts hoses and crap and it would be drivable... So, we rebuilt the carb, and i took it for a drive, motor acted up and tryed to haul ass, i then found out it had no brakes, great another problem to pay for... i get it back home and find out i gotta replace the pull-off for the choke, i did that, and now my father said the carb needs replaced. needs a new carb... im like great, im never gonna get this piece of **** on the street. i had planned on doing the whole brake system within a week , but now im set back even further cause i have to come up with a carb, then to top it all off with a cherry, half the **** in it dont work, the taillights are all ****ed up, the headlights dont wanna fold down. i played with and cleaned the connections for the lights and got them all to light up, but still no brake lights... the more i work on it, the more i find out is wrong with it and the more i wish i never would have bought it and the more i get pissed cause i was put under the impression that a little bit of work and its ready to go... so earlier today i was messin with it and the key got stuck in the ignition, i try to work it out and the whole igniton piece comes out the dash, im like **** it, got out and shut the door, let it sit like that.... my apt lease is up at the end of march. i didnt plan on re-newing it because me and my gf/fiance are getting a place together somewheres else a ways away.. i have a car that sits there and cant be driven, so its not like i can take it to wherever we move. im sure that would look real good, just moved in and got a piece of **** sitting in the parking lot that doesnt run.... im getting to the point where i dont even want this car anymore... i wish i would have just said no, i dont want it and never even bought it... i should have went with my original idea and saved the money i spent on the buick and searched around and found a nice low miles mid to late 80's mustang 5.0 or something else with a V8.... but nooo, i let my father talk me into this buick because he said all it needed was a carb kit. i think he wanted this car more than me, or wanted me to have it more than i wanted it so we could work on an old car together at my expence... i didnt plan on doing a full restoration to car anytime soon because i dont have anywhere to do one, or the time to do so.... it just pisses me off that all kinds of **** needs to be done to it and i was told that it just needed minor **** like a carb rebuild and some belts and hoses and ****..... i dunno, i could do the work myself, but i mean ****,,, what if the samurai breaks the drivetrain again because of the motor that i put in it, then i got 2 cars that dont run and no way to work.... im thinking about selling it and getting a mustang or something, seriously, i dunno how my father would react to that, seeing as how he likes this car and is a GM person, but **** it... im getting married, im moving, i need a dependable car, not some restoration project that i was tricked into buying because i thought it needed minor work................. ill shut up now cause if i keep going on, its gonna seem like im repeating myself in different words,..,.. maybe im just pist that i need to buy a carb and feel like time is running thin while probs keep stacking up with the car, while im trying to pay for a ring and when i calm down about it, ill like this car again,,, i dunno, i just needed to get that out......
Have you had many old cars? Stuff falls off 'em all the time. I'm running around in the coldest weather in like 5 years and I have no heater. It just blows ice cold. I have a car with a heater that gets hot, but the fan doesn't work and damned if I can work out why. but the core bungs went on that and I'm still waiting for them back in stock (seems liek theres a national shortage!). I have a car where the blower fan works and the heater gives hot air, but the brakes failed on that a couple months back and i just have't had the chance to get onto that yet what with exhaust falling off my daily driver (the one with no core bungs!) and another project in the garage that I need to get running (transmission dumps fluid, rear brakes leak...) My wife thinks I'm mad. My co-workers think I'm mad. Only people who understand are the guys I know with old cars. "When will you finish working on that?" my wife asks. "When I'm six feet under" I reply. Some are better than others but I swear they all get together at night and decide amongst themselves what they're going to do to me next! I used to run a modern car for a daily drive, but it just took up space that I could use to have another old junker (sorry, classic car) so I sold it. Its either in your blood, or its not. Maybe you should get your dad to buy the Riviera off you.
Relability is a lot to expect out of a 38 year old car. These things were built when the average american car lasted six years! It really comes down to two things. Deal with it or sell out. I've done both.
I wouldn't get beat down on the Riv. Most old cars have a pile of bugs when you buy them, and once you work through those you are usually set for a few years. When I first got my LeSabre I found a lot of things that didn't work just because of the previous owners not being car literate. None of the interior lights worked. The fuse kept blowing. I used my factory service manual, chased the wire, and found a spot it was rubbing the body (dead short). While problems like that are time consuming, it feels really good to solve a problem. I would break down problems into sections. Either concentrate on brakes, lights, or carb, but not all at once. I know you want this car running ASAP, but say you devote all you resources to the lights, and you might knock them out in a day. If you are having a problem with the headlight doors opening/closing, find out how to rig them open. It lets you drive safely, then you can move on to the next task. I think your worst ememy would be sitting and looking at all of the car's faults at one time. Just divide the problems up and celebrate heartily when you solve each one.
This is true. Resurecting a "dead" car is always more involved than it first seems. But once its there it should stay more-or-less there for a while. My LeSabre has been no real bother in about 2 years. I had a bad year (brakes, coolant, motor failure) but since then its been good as gold albeit i still haven't fixed that darned heater.
my heater blows out of every hole in my car, mostly on the floor though, so defrosting is a pain! manual choke barely works, exhaust leaks. dash hold down bolt is broke off and hold down screws are missing. dash rattles like a mofo. front brakes pull hard to the right, front end is out of alignment. rear end howls sometimes. rear seat squeeks, buddy broke my pass wing window. its closed now but cant open. windshield wiper switch collapsed into dash, now it dangles. tail lights leack and blow bulbs every winter. paint is cheap crap thats falling off. seats are cracked from the sun, headliner is falling apart. small riple in pass rear quarter. small gouge in pass rear fenderwell from idiots that hit it while it was parked. pass door sags, driver door handle button sticks. carpet is garbage, car sometimes smells like 32 yr old storage units. can barely afford insurance let alone the 8mpg i get with $2.30/gallon gas prices. moral of the story is dont give up. if you have a carb for heart and a bb for a brain stick with that project, because one day it will be done and you will be the proudest man alive. there is nothing like fixing up a classic, i live for it.
it doesnt matter what kind of car a person is messin with.... underestimating the time, money, and/or ability required to restore/maintain it can lead to a major loss of interest. if you are in over your head ....get rid of or store away the thing and mess with something that will give you quiker satisfaction ... then maybe someday when you are better ready ....buy another or take the old one out of storage.:TU:
I'm still getting my car to the point to where I can feel comfortable about driving it anywhere. Although I think I have finally reached that point, it has taken over a year to do it. Keep on it, you'll be happy when it's at that point:TU:
In my opinion half the fun of driving an old car is finding something to fix/replace. Of course when alot of stuff needs to be done at the same time, it can feel daunting. Just work on it when you can, and don't feel like you need to get it working as fast as possible. Remember, this is a hobby, not a job. Have fun.
I was just very very frustrated with it and had to vent out some steam. Im going to keep it. I ordered a new carb and it should be here within a week. I am just going to go through all the problems one at a time. This is the oldest car ive ever owned and I guess thats why the pile of bugs frustrated me so much. Ive wanted a 66-67 Riviera since I was old enough to know what they were, so I cant really get rid of it now that I have it. Ill prolly never find another one. The car is so simple yet has so many problems to begin with. Plus, my girl told me I cannot sell it unless I buy her a 67 GTO.
Many people will tell you that the Lights on those Rivs are a pain, and they are. And Everybody wil ltell you that a car only needs....I bought mine as a car that needed "nothing" and here is what I did: Rebuilt Carb , previous owner attached a manual choke to it, drilled a hole in the dash too Repaired leaking tank. Replaced all the hoses and belts. They were all shot. My heater still doesn't really work that well The radio is busted, The ignition fuse WILL blow evreytime I roll down all 4 windows at the same time. Solution? Don't roll down all four windows at the same time. Previous owner had cigarette foil where that fuse was supposed to go. Passanger window winds up from that side, but not down. Welcome to owning an old car.
"doesn't need a thing" This could be a new thread. What have we done to our "doesn't need a thing" cars. In two years I have(in order I think); new starter new starter cable to get it running new used carb (thanks to the Old Guy) rebuilt and recurved distributor rebuilt front end with GW uppers and "b" spindles cleaned and painted under car new 5 core radiator junk yard electric fans with thermostat control dropped gas tank cleaned and painted repaired trunk floor new 12 bolt rear end with new posi new upper and lower control arms cleaned and painted under car fixed rust on rear qtr panel drivers side repainted from stripe down cleaned some more new roller rockers currently building new motor getting ready to pick up new GN 200r4 Please don't tell my wife!
