Better Beaters - Building Cars and Daily Drivers

 Progress is measured in small steps.

My mascot approves of my efforts.

More little fixes to the Riviera. 

I don't know what those stains are from. I do know that the former owners
 transported their Grand kids in the backseat.

Some fixes are easy and don't require any parts, just gluing down a loose area of head liner. It's best to glue loose spots as soon as possible. Loose headliners in cars of this age are pretty common. Best to try and halt the process as best you can. I used some fabric spray adhesive for this job. Kids, and some adults,  like to pick at loose trim.

These lifts are reasonably priced at RockAuto.

Others are simple parts replacements. The trunk lid struts have lost their strength and needed replacement. The trunk lid would stay up in some situations. Other times it would fall on my head. There was the mandatory long stick in the trunk that served as a prop rod in the trunk when I bought the car. 

A section of broomstick was commonly used 
in the past.

All you have to do is pry off this spring retainer.

It works, but don't expect miracles.

There is matte dark gray textured trim on the bottoms of the bumpers and along the rocker panels of the car. This plastic is not painted and it will start to look dirty and oxidized over time. Mother's Back to Black is more aggressive than car wash soap, but won't damage the adjoining paint.  

These are the after photos. It's hard to tell, but the trim is much darker and richer looking than when I started. As you can see, the quarter panel really curves under behind the rear wheel. This does accentuate the width of the tire, giving the car a more aggressive appearance, but a lot of road dirt and debris gets thrown up onto the body. I plan to add a small flare/mudflap to cut down on the dirt.

Fixing the radio and HVAC control panel meant removing the dash board fascia. I found a very good video on YouTube that details the process. I wonder why GM didn't make a removable center section to access the radio and HVAC control units. It would have saved a lot of time and reduced the possibility of damaging all the plastic attaching hardware. 

Under neath the taupe plastic fascia is a black bunch of components.

Stereo AM/FM radio, cassette tape player, and a single disc CD. 
New cars only come with a radio and a Bluetooth hook up. 

If the dash had a removable section, removal of the radio unit would only take a few minutes. There are a lot questions that Riviera fans have had about the decisions that Buick made when designing the interior. It appears that cost cutting was the primary factor behind these decisions. I had a '94 Cadillac Seville which had a beautiful, high quality interior. Of course the Seville cost quite a bit more, but I wish that GM had spent another hundred bucks on the interior. I liked it less when the car was introduced, I've recently come to accept it as part of the car's personality.

I'm waiting until I have the a/c system checked and repaired before reassembling the dash. I don't want to have to take it apart again. I'm still having some issues with the heater functions. 

The fuel level sender is not accurate or reliable, I ran the car completely out of gas once and the car conked out. Luckily it was on a level surface street and there was a place to pull over out of traffic. It was my good luck to run out directly across from a gas station. I did have to buy a gas can but the episode only cost me twenty minutes or so. I have AAA road assistance but that can take up to an hour.

 Replacing the sending unit will be a bit more complicated repair, however I ordered a special tool at the same time I ordered the combo sending unit/fuel pump from Rock Auto. I can't say that I will enjoy working on a tank that still  contains some fuel in it,  At least the Riviera has an access panel in the trunk so that I won't have to drop the gas tank. 

I've been driving the Riviera as much as I can, even in the rain. I learned that when it's raining fairly heavy and the wipers are in use, it's best not to open the driver's window. A cascade of water pours in! There aren't any drip rails on this Riv, and newer cars don't have them either. I used to wonder what those aftermarket plastic window guards were for. Now I know.