How much?(now for sale)

I havent much luck with my riv since i have had it. maitenence for the car is a bitch even though i maitenence the car religously parts are still breaking . The car is getting older and harder to maintain and for a kid my age i wouldnt reccomend it but rather for someone who is older than me and has a good job and can really work on the car. i love this car alot even more than my girlfriend and i want someone to be able to take care of it which i cant really do right now with limited money in my account. I love rivieras and love the way these cars look. So anyway how much do you think i can get out of the car and i will only sell it to a person who i think will really take care of it and not trash it. I will also not part out the car because i think it is way in too good of shape to destroy a car like this. The car is in such good shape that it has no leather cracks the inside is nearly flawless. the outside had a couple of scratches and dents but has no rust. if you look below you can see what i have done to the car. i have all the stock parts from the sc cover to the stock rims. i will proably sell it with the rims and the perf tires which cost me about 2,000 more than what the car is proably worth. Anyway this is just what i have been contemplating for awhile now. if i cant get her fixed up and running soon then this is proably what im going to do all you need is some SI coolant elbows which has turned out really hard to find. Anyways i was just wondering if you guys could give me some advice. if i do sell it im thinking about getting a camaro z28 or gtp or a 97 and up riv if i can find one. Am i crazy?
thanks

What is the mechanical problem that makes you not want to fix it? Does it really have only 88k? Is your car pearl white what color interior?

it has a leaking coolant pipe that goes into the LIM that i cant seem to find anywhere since GM does not make the part anymore. but its not pearl white just plain white with the burgundy red color. the 88k is a little outdated now it has 94k on it and just sitting in my garage.

I believe this is the coolant pipe he needs:


I've been looking for one for him around here but haven't had much luck. I also was going to try my hand at making him one, but haven't had the time as of yet...



... and at 94k, thats what my 95 was when i bought it.. if everythings in good shape might get 5 grand for it....

I wonder if a place with SwageLok equipment (for power steering hoses for instance) could make up a hose that would function as a replacement out of a rubber hose with stainless steel braided jacket?

such as:

http://www.swagelok.com/hose/all_metal_hose/FJ_series_low_pressure_hose.htm

Albertj

I'm guessing this is a "no," but the pipe can't be temporarily replaced with rubber hose (change out every 5000 miles or so)? It can't be pulled and patched up with JB Weld? Or patched up with regular welding?

the "s" curve is to get the coolant out of the way of the belt path... dunno about a rubber solution, need a grommit/fitting of some sort for the LIM as its just an "o"-ring fit held in place by the braket screw... JB weld, I didn't think of suggesting.. that might work out.....

is that the only problem with it?

I wonder if that is a 95 only part. Based on the picture can you tell me where it leaks on the tube or does it leak at one end or the other? You know you could pull the part and take it to a radiator shop like Hedrick's on Morse Rd. they could fix it if it can be fixed or make one probably.

Evan, what about calling up Morad Parts, send him a pic in an e-mail and call them up. Talk to Bill or Eric, 216-671-3736. Shit they are not even far from you, I think they are in Columbus, but they might be in Cleveland, I cant remember, but they will hook you up and have you up and running ASAP. Give that a try

hey guys thanks for the advice. but me and my dad have talked and he said that if you dont want the car hes going to take it and im on my own on finding one. So i guess right now that im just going to wait and see if it will show up. but to answer some of your guys questions my mechanic said the pipe is to far rusted to be fixed. i also taked to Morad parts and they do not have any last time i talked to them they had a series I motor with the part i need but they were planning on selling it whole so i was out of luck there. However i am also trying to find a place that they could proably make one but i just dont know who does but i will try that radiator shop on morse. but that Jb weld also sounds like a really good idea bc its leaking right where the pipe enters the LIM i actually might call up my mechanic and see what can be done about that.

Bob Daniels Buick is also on Morse Rd if your up that way see Ray Fisher at the parts counter tell him Don Seeger sent you he will surely have some ideas.

hey man thanks i definitley will.

So today i went to my mechanic about putting some jb weld on and he said he couldnt do it because they cant be responsible for anything that went wrong if it did. however i asked him if he thinks it would work and he told me he has no idea. So do you guys think this could work temporarily and would i be able to get it off once i found another coolant pipe?

there is no harm in putting a little jb on it to see if it stops the leak. you can do it yourself. mix the 2 parts, apply it to the leking area, wait overnight, check for leak.
make sure you get the higher temp jbweld, and make sure the area is clean and DRY when you apply it.

Thanks matthew i might try that as a last ditch effort i guess but my dad was talking to a mechanic he know well and told him about the situation and basically said thats its not going to be wasy to find one or people to make them since it is a older engine and car with the parts drying up this guy has worked on series I and rivs. So basically the car is up for sale officially if i cant fix it like in a couple weeks after christmasis . but basically the car is for sale now

I notice you are in Columbus Ohio. Any chance you could take the part to a welding shop and ask them to fillet the cracks with an aluminum-compatible welding rod? A "radiator shop" ought to be able to fix it. Thinking about it looks to me like you need to take it to a truck stop that does repairs - or a radiator shop - unless you can do the aluminum welding yourself.

Albertj

Well when i talked to my mechanic he said the part was to far gone as in being rusted and that i needed a whole other new part. im not sure exactly wht im going to do this part has screwed me over pretty big and i have just basically given up its sad but i cant really do much about it. Aaron feel free to put this in the For Sale section if you want.

Evan, I'm going to keep this in the Series I Tech forum. If you want to sell this car, please make a new post in the Sales forum, then make a link to it in this thread.

Regarding your problem, I have to think that there is a '95 supercharged Riv in a salvage yard somewhere with a junk engine for picking. There were a lot of Rivs made in 1995, more than any other year. Have you tried looking on Car-Part.com? Maybe check Series I for Bonneville SSei, too.

i just find it crazy to sell or scrap a good car over a little coolant tube. I had a similar situation with my '70 Olds Ninety Eight Coupe. Needed front brake discs, which were only made for that particular year. Less than 15k of these cars were made, so it wasn't easy, but I eventually found the parts. If you want to keep the car, keep trying.

i can see you regretting this decision down the road when you go to get another car and realize you want the riv back.

unless there is more to it than the coolant tube, i would keep trying to find that part.
there are so many part sources

link
is the part you need in that pic?

Since I think you'll get more for the car if you fix this problem first, I'll make hopefully hepful comments.

First - I did not say mechanic, rather I said radiator shop. You're looking for a fabricator who can make a replacement.

I looked on the web, however, and now I have more empathy for your situation - my surfing yielded no idea who to suggest you talk to among the radiator shops. THey all look like places that bolt in radiators, not places that actually fabricate replacements.

I would consider taking the photo of the pipe and faxing it to the Kirk WIlliams company in Grove CIty and ask what $$ it would take to copy it. (see their site, http://www.kirkwilliamsco.com/contact.aspx).

You are in high school, Evan? take the pipe to the high school shop teacher and ask him/her for suggestions - who can fabricate a replacement?

On the other hand, if you feel you are in over your head, maybe it is time to punt. There is nothing we can write that will fix the problem. It's just that the further problem is, the car is not worth much $$ to anyone else, either and you are definitely gonna get hosed on the sale if it's not running not just maybe get hosed because the economy is down.

In any event, best of luck and I hope this works out well for you in any event.

Albertj

Any reasonably ingenuitive mechanic should be able to fab something up that would work. I haven't gotten my hands on one of these in person, but a hydraulic hose making shop should be able to help, a good machine shop should also be able to help. Look up an automotive machine shop near you, that's my best suggestion. Those guys have to make odd things from time to time and must be able to fab...

even an exhaust shop might have a die to bend pipe of that diameter.

Sounds like your mechanic is trying to hose you. I HIGHLY doubt that its that difficult of a part to find , and i'm pretty sure Mr. Riviera found it for you. Get that part and fix it yourself. The Series I , although old , is a very popular engine , and popular engines usually have parts abundantly available regardless of age.