You should see what's in the boot! Only kidding I call it a trunk. As far as I'm concerned, anything you can fit a couple of bodies in is a trunk, not a boot
I'd love to know what kind of looks and reactions you get from other people when you drive your Riv around over there since it is such an unusual shape ... and size. I have been on some roads in Europe where I don't think that Riv would even fit. Replacing the motor mount yourself is not that difficult ... if you have the tools (floor jack) as Erik and the others have explained. I would add that it is a little cleaner process if you can take your car to a self-serve car wash and use the high pressure sprayer to clean the engine block and mount area as well as the frame cross member (do not soak the distributor) and old engine mount to see the bolts clearly ... else you may be wearing some serious grease marks on your hands and forearms and have to spend more time down there than you otherwise would have to. There are some photos and other threads or web sites that can help you familiarize yourself with the process. I have attached some below that may help. These pics are from a GS/Skylark body, but you can get the principle of the process, etc. It may help to see pictures of the engine mount as positioned on the frame ... but without the body or engine in place. Of course, you won't have this much room (with the engine or body removed), but you can see the part that needs replaced and visualize what you are going to have to do to replace it. A floor jack is an absolute MUST ... if you like keeping all your fingers. Ken
Hmm.. Maybe I will give it a go after all Thanks for all the info. Do I have to be careful with the power wash under thte hood? Is there a chance I can bugger up any electrics under there or anything? I know it's the last thing you'd do in a modern car because it'd have a hissy fit once you started hosing down all the electronics in there but is there anything I should avoid spraying in the Riv (apart from the distributor that is)?
Well, the issue is that the high pressure sprayer is REALLY good for removing old grease and road grime build-up. Basically, if you can hit the grase with the spray, the grease will go away. I like to do this any way a couple times a year on my daily driven vehicles just to keep them clean. The area you will have to access to replace the motor mount WILL have dirt and grease if your car is regularly driven and has not been cleaned before. It just makes a cleaner repair process. Also, the long pressure sprayer will allow you easily reach the lower sides of the engine via the space between the inner fender and the engine. As far as electronics, your vehicle was built to be "all-weather", so as long as you don't spray directly on any electrical connections, you will not have any problems. They can get wet, it's just a 1000 PSI pushing the water is different. Stateside, we have a common aerosol engine degreaser or "shampoo" that will help remove a lot of other dirt and help clean-up the whole compartment. However, the distributor (on the front of the engine) has the little metal access window (for setting the dwell) that can allow some moisture in, so don't direct the high pressure spray at this little window. I say this because on my '70 GS, Buick engineers drilled drain holes in the bottom of the ram air scoops on the driver side of the air cleaner and the water would drain right onto the top of the distributor ... not the brightest of design ideas. You should not have this issue with your Riviera. When you lift the engine up via the oil pan with a floor jack, use a piece of wood like Erik said so the force is distributed over a wider area on the oil pan. You only have to lift the engine about 6 to 10 cm's. The engine will lift up and pivot along the axis created by the passenger engine mount and the rear transmission mount. A good portable "trouble" light or flash light is also needed. It also never hurts to let someone else know where you are and what you are doing when getting underneath a car ... I would think that your Riv gets some serious reactions from other people as it looks like a custom vehicle even though it is a factory design. Nothing else looks like a Boattail. Fact is, if a woman had as many curves as that Riviera body, you'd be in trouble ... Ken
Ta The mounts arrived today so I'll get the engine hosed down and take a look under there when I get chance (with a new baby that may be some time)! The Buick does indeed get some funny looks over here! I live in the country so some of the roads can be quite hairy, especialy when there's a bus coming the other way Most people ask me what it is, and then they ask how many mpg it does. It's a hard one to respond to as they have this smug "my Ford Fiesta does 60mpg, beat that" look on their faces. It doesn't last long though when I tell them it's just 154 a year to insure (incrediable for a 7.7L V8), road tax exempt (400 a year for an engine this size normally) and it never depreciates unlike the huge chunks of cash falling off new cars as you drive them about the place. I haven't tried gunning it properly yet as the roads have been pretty wet since I bought it. I don't fancy trying to hammer out tree dents so I'll wait 'til the weather gets better (probably a good thing considering the broken mount). I can borrow a spray gun from a friend as well so I'll probably get most of the crap off at the garage and leave them with a huge pile of grease and then finish off at home with some decent chemicals. I've just replaced the trunk seal this weekend as well as the door pillar seals (next I need to do the door and roof seals but I ran out of time.. The trunk seal was a bugger to get all the old perished rubber out of). In doing so I've discovered the rear electric windows aren't working. The motor and mechanism work but the windows don't seem to be atatched to the rig in the door (I had the rear seats out and panels off so I could see what was wrong.. I love having a car I can dismantle with a single screwdriver)! I couldn't get at the mechanism due to the metal panel on the interior but I did find a piece of paper attached to the underside of the seat, presumably from the factory (pic below) and an airport baggage ticket from 1974 which was pretty cool.
Here are the pics of the paper under the seat. I'll do a small thread on doing the trunk seal for others who need to do it too.. It's not the hardest thing to do but it took longer than I thought and a while to find a good tool for the job in my garage..
Paul, Not all photos are showing. The one in the third photo is the brake switch for your cruise control. I think that's your kick down switch, but the photo isn't showing... Open an account at Photobucket, much easier:TU: (And for big photo you can copy a link to a clickable small image)
On a more worrying note I have found two "wires to nowhere" under the driver's side of the dash. One atatched to the accelerator pedal. Any idea what it's for? In fact it's quite a bird's nest under there... Next on my list of things to fix after the engine mount is the driver's door which has dropped a little (see pic below). I have bought a new set of pins and bushings. Reckon that'll fix it? Anyone done it before, if so is it something you can do at home with help or should I let a mechanic take a look? I've got a rusty patch I need to sort out below the window to the left of the passenger side trunk hinge too.. Don't want this getting any worse!
Think I got it that time.. I'll edit the old post to clear it. Every time I edited the old post it turned an image link into a web link for some reason.
That's one of the funny things that comes with this board... Best thing to do is to remove the entire post and make a new one. Funny question: Does your car have brake lights ? And does the cruise control work ? Because the brake light/cruise control wires are still attached to the switch in the red circle. It should go on top of the brake pedal bracket.
Paul, Order a 1972 Chassis Service Manual on CD ROM from Gearhead Cafe. Only US$ 49,95 Just print the pages you need for the job, so no more dirty fingers on your books. And shipping is much cheaper compared to one big and heavy book :TU: < Click banner :Comp:
Weird.. Well my brake lights do work and the cruise control works well but the indicators do weird things. they go on an only turn off every 5, 10 or 20 seconds depending on what mood they are in. The hazard flashers (the stalk on the steering column that makes them both flash) works fine and they flash every second on that. It has been suggested it's a current issue to do with incorrect bulbs so I've ordered some correct ones and will try that first.
The photo is showing now :TU: Looks like the previous owner did that, maybe to power a fog light or something ? Not a factory wire, so just remove it from the bracket.
Here's my other wire to nowhere.. Sorry about the bad focusing.. It's to the right of the fuse board above the brake pedal.
