just bought my riviera

hey everyone im Aaron and i just bought a 96 l67 riviera about two weeks ago and finally decided to join the forums. im glad there are people out there that appreciate these rare vehicles for what their worth.

Welcome Aaron, enjoy your great American automobile

Welcome bro!

Welcome & Congrats on your find  

welcome

h20man wrote:

... there are people out there that appreciate these rare vehicles for what their worth.

Congratulations Aaron.  I think the ' 96 is a great year for this generation Riv for no other reason than the seat belt buckles are the cool retro-like metal ones from the bygone '60's and '70's.  If I get another Riv I'm keeping my seat belt buckles.

Why don't you tell us a little about your '96 and why you bought it and what you plan to do with it ?

sorry for the late response, i bought my riv because of how different and obscure they are, at least in connecticut they are. I really wanted a luxury /sleeper car to work on and this car definetly fit the bill. My 96 riv currently has 117k on the odometer right now, it is a pewter color with a red leather interior. The interior is in excellent shape with the exception of the missing cassette holder and sloppy turn signal stalk. The exterior is what needs some work, the paint is your common GM "steel wool look" now with many scuffs, scratches, and dents. But the car runs great and will be getting a paint job in the spring. As for performance ive already constructed a pvc fenderwell intake, installed a boost gauge, 180 t-stat, and have a fully ported m90 with a modular 3.6 pulley waiting to be installed. When i first drove the car after i bought it i was surprised how quick it was, fastest car i have driven personally. My dream car is a Grand National, this car is as close to one as i will get for now.

That is a great color combination. Silver on red is a classic, and would be a combination I would love to find.

I am a huge fan of non-taupe/tan/silver interior colors. The more "interesting" the better

If you need a new turn signal stalk, start searching wrecking yards and the occasional eBay NOS find now. From my experience GM only made this stalk for the Riviera in 95, and I'm pretty sure 96 too. NOS they go for $400-500, and I saw one NOS on eBay not long ago for $200-ish. I finally found a nice (not Sun faded, etc) from a wrecking yard for $99. But if you start looking now you can find one. It took my buying three wrecker sourced units to find a good one.


Al

Yeah I've been looking and the cheapest I've seen one for is 230$, the idiot before me rigged it with hose clamps because every time I use the signal the wipers come on is this a common gm stalk cross referenced with other cars?

al_roethlisberger wrote:

That is a great color combination.  Silver on red is a classic, and would be a combination I would love to find.
Al

Agreed. Another good thing about the '95's and '96's is the interesting/classic color combinations available.

Welcome!

h20man wrote:

Yeah I've been looking and the cheapest I've seen one for is 230$, the idiot before me rigged it with hose clamps because every time I use the signal the wipers come on is this a common gm stalk cross referenced with other cars?

No it is not common to other makes/models.

I am nearly 100% sure it was unique to the 95. and I think the 96 Riviera too.

Odd that GM didn't use it on other vehicles, but my research indicated it was not shared with any others     ...and that is why it is so expensive.

It is POSSIBLE it may have been used on another GM model, but that wasn't my experience.

If you can find a NOS unit for $200ish, I'd jump on it.   Wrecking yard pulls are hit/miss and it is a pain to replace.  And ordering one from a wrecking yard sight-unseen is a bit risky.  It worked out for me as I got a very clean and working unit for $99, but most from yards are very Sun faded, with worn printing, and who knows how carefully they were removed from the main harness block or even how well they were working before.

Replacing them is a chore.  Along with having to pull the instrument dash cover and knee bolster, the wiring is integral to the ignition security and the stalk is integrated into the main harness block connector under the dash which I believe one shouldn't be connecting/reconnecting very often as the liklihood of bending/pushing a pin is significant.

I'd recommend doing what I did, which is go to a pick-pull wrecking yard and find a 95/96 and practice removing even a broken stalk like yours first to see how it is all connected.

It isn't "hard" to replace, but you don't want to do it wrong, break something else in the process or do it more than once.

And be sure to disconnect the battery before you start working on any of this so you don't trigger the airbag as you'll be right in the middle of all the steering control wiring.

I just replaced mine about two weeks ago, and now I have wiper control, reliable cruise control and high beams.... finally


Al


P.S.

I may still have a couple of my old donor units in the garage I can give you for free. I'll try to check and see what I've got left and let you know. They are chopped up and broken, but may still be useful for you to see what the whole unit and wiring looks like.

I can also take a few photos of the new(used) unit installed so you can again see what/where is involved. I still have my column covers off and knee bolster off while I "burned in" the replacement. I probably should have taken photos while doing the install for a "write up" but I didn't think this was something folks probably did very often, plus I was so into just getting it done...  

Although ours is specific to the Riv, ALL of the GM 'multifunction switch' that I've come across have been problematic, and run around $200 for a quality replacement. Even the quality replacements sometimes are only good for a few years... It's one thing I don't know how GM screwed up, because it seems like a good idea/design, but they just don't last. I wouldn't waste my time on a junkyard part for this.

I found one that was pulled at a yard out of a 96 riv the bid starts at 150. Should I jump on this? He clearly states no guarantee it works so its a bit risky what do you guys think?

I wouldn't. All reputable wrecking yards give you something like a 30 day warantee that it will fit and isn't DOA.

If it were $20 I'd risk it, but not for $150

Keep an eye out on eBay as I've seen a NOS in the box for about $200 a few months back, so they do pop up.

I'd call around the local yards as well.

Al

Yeah 150 is a big risk id be very angry if I start ripping apart my dash to install the stalk only to realize its a dud.

What is the I67??? Just curious about it keep seeing it mentioned mainly on the 96s.

The Well Dressed Car wrote:

What is the I67??? Just curious about it keep seeing it mentioned mainly on the 96s.

The L67 is the Series 2 3800 Supercharged engine that came in the 96-99 Riviera and other cars.

The Series 1 S/C 3800 is also referred to as the L67

Glad 2 c young guys with class ride on!!!

h20man wrote:

im glad there are people out there that appreciate these rare vehicles for what their worth.

Or more, most likely

al_roethlisberger wrote:

h20man wrote:

Yeah I've been looking and the cheapest I've seen one for is 230$, the idiot before me rigged it with hose clamps because every time I use the signal the wipers come on is this a common gm stalk cross referenced with other cars?

No it is not common to other makes/models.

I am nearly 100% sure it was unique to the 95. and I think the 96 Riviera too.

Odd that GM didn't use it on other vehicles, but my research indicated it was not shared with any others     ...and that is why it is so expensive.

It is POSSIBLE it may have been used on another GM model, but that wasn't my experience.

If you can find a NOS unit for $200ish, I'd jump on it.   Wrecking yard pulls are hit/miss and it is a pain to replace.  And ordering one from a wrecking yard sight-unseen is a bit risky.  It worked out for me as I got a very clean and working unit for $99, but most from yards are very Sun faded, with worn printing, and who knows how carefully they were removed from the main harness block or even how well they were working before.

Replacing them is a chore.  Along with having to pull the instrument dash cover and knee bolster, the wiring is integral to the ignition security and the stalk is integrated into the main harness block connector under the dash which I believe one shouldn't be connecting/reconnecting very often as the liklihood of bending/pushing a pin is significant.

I'd recommend doing what I did, which is go to a pick-pull wrecking yard and find a 95/96 and practice removing even a broken stalk like yours first to see how it is all connected.

It isn't "hard" to replace, but you don't want to do it wrong, break something else in the process or do it more than once.

And be sure to disconnect the battery before you start working on any of this so you don't trigger the airbag as you'll be right in the middle of all the steering control wiring.

I just replaced mine about two weeks ago, and now I have wiper control, reliable cruise control and high beams.... finally


Al


P.S.

I may still have a couple of my old donor units in the garage I can give you for free.  I'll try to check and see what I've got left and let you know.  They are chopped up and broken, but may still be useful for you to see what the whole unit and wiring looks like.  

I can also take a few photos of the new(used) unit installed so you can again see what/where is involved.   I still have my column covers off and knee bolster off while I "burned in" the replacement.  I probably should have taken photos while doing the install for a "write up" but I didn't think this was something folks probably did very often, plus I was so into just getting it done...  

THINKING ABOUT IT I suspect the turn signal stalk for other similar (especially G body pan) GM cars of this time frame (aurora, park ave, bonneville) is mechanically/electrically the same and fits but does not have the same exact graphics on the stalk (Pontiac uses a different font) and maybe has the pins in different locations in the connector. I wonder if there is any way we can check that. I bet there are other stalks that will work. Just wish I could check.

albertj wrote:

Just wish I could check.

I wish we could GM to open source the old stuff. Plans, 3D files, whatever . . . At some point Local Motors may force them to do so the same way Tesla is forcing GM to build electric and self-driving cars.

Jack the R wrote:

albertj wrote:

Just wish I could check.

I wish we could GM to open source the old stuff.  Plans, 3D files, whatever . . .  At some point Local Motors may force them to do so the same way Tesla is forcing GM to build electric and self-driving cars.

I remember a curbstoner near Rochester had a 97 Riv for sale in that cinnamon metallic with taupe interior, many years ago (around 2000). He had installed a turn signal stalk that I think came off a Pontiac 6000 or 80's Bonneville in it. I remember even then (I bought my Riv in 2000) the original turn signal stalks were a pain.

Um....we're talking about a thread from 2013