Another new guy

I bought my '95 Riviera 10 years ago. What's left of it survived my ex and has been sitting for almost 3 years. Time to do something with it and it needs work!

Still looks pretty good, cleans up well.. runs horrible. Not going to let it die just yet.
Will be cruising the threads, impressed with what I've already seen!

Welcome!

HI Tomcat-1 WELCOME

Welcome Aboard dude

Hi friend!
rivs are like dull rusty knives,let em sit around long enough and they just get sharper

welcome and good luck!

Welcome!
I'm working on a 96 that I bought the same year you bought yours, and I'm getting it back together after it sat for a year. What sorts of problems are you looking at? I imagine we'll be doing the same sort of work, should be interesting to hear how you're coming along.

Welcome to the site, Tom
I'm sure that you can find all the info you need here
to help you with your quest, as most of us have...

Thank You for the warm welcome
The ex ran this car off the road a few times
High centered it 3 times, on stumps and a fence post.
And, I found the back tires dangling in the same drainage ditch twice, the car was resting on the back bumper, she was backing out of a driveway both times and landed 15 ft from the driveway.
I swear she didn't know there were mirrors on the car.
The result of all of this off-road action and no telling what all else I never knew of, was a badly damaged exhaust, the wiring harness to the transmission is ripped apart and melted together from the heat escaping the damaged exhaust, The brakes are shot, there were rocks wedged between the dust shield and the rotors. I replaced the tires a few times lol...
And, as a bonus, she never bought a tank of premium gas for it.

All that said, I am still amazed that the body is in such good shape.

Other problems include, Idler pulleys that were going bad left and right, needs plugs and wires again, needs one coil pack, the seat has a problem in the front elevation adjustment, the supercharger has started growling at idle (yay) and the A/C works only when it wants to

I thought about scrapping or parting it out, but I'm kind of attached to it.. I'm considering a few mods but only if the engine is in good shape when I get it drivable again. Looks like it's going to take a while to get things going again.

Welcome, Tom. Sorry to hear about the Riv's treatment, but everyone here can understand that things out of our control can & do happen with any car that's 15 years old. Now it's just a matter of tackling each issue one at a time.

Please read through our forums, FAQ threads, and write-ups for information related to the problems you're having. Feel free to post questions in those threads, or start a new thread in the appropriate forum if you need to.

Best of luck with fixing the car. I'm sure the guys here will be more than helpful when you need it!

wow...

I've also done the idler pulleys, the supercharger coupler install, and all the gaskets up front.

I did brakes this weekend but blew a rusty steel line while pumping to bleed, so next weekend is accounted for also.

Greetings!
And welcome aboard.

Bert

welcome Tomcat-1
got my 95 about 7 months ago (Towed in) and fixed 1 thing at a time and as $$ allowed, been on the road for about 2 months now and well worth the time and money invested. without this site and the great people here it still would be sitting. So good luck with the riv and were here to help.

Thanks again guys
I remember how nice the car was when I bought it. I used to drive 300 to 1000 miles every weekend. Went places and saw things I haven't seen since. I'd love to have it back up close to where it was. I had my eye on a 94 Corvette when I bought this car. For the long trips I was planning, the Riviera was so much more comfortable, it was no contest. I could ramble on lol.. . but it would get really boring :p

Tomcat-1 wrote:

Thank You for the warm welcome
The ex ran this car off the road a few times
High centered it 3 times, on stumps and a fence post.
And, I found the back tires dangling in the same drainage ditch twice, the car was resting on the back bumper, she was backing out of a driveway both times and landed 15 ft from the driveway.
I swear she didn't know there were mirrors on the car.
The result of all of this off-road action and no telling what all else I never knew of, was a badly damaged exhaust, the wiring harness to the transmission is ripped apart and melted together from the heat escaping the damaged exhaust, The brakes are shot, there were rocks wedged between the dust shield and the rotors. I replaced the tires a few times lol...
And, as a bonus, she never bought a tank of premium gas for it.

All that said, I am still amazed that the body is in such good shape.

Other problems include, Idler pulleys that were going bad left and right, needs plugs and wires again, needs one coil pack, the seat has a problem in the front elevation adjustment, the supercharger has started growling at idle (yay) and the A/C works only when it wants to

I thought about scrapping or parting it out, but I'm kind of attached to it.. I'm considering a few mods but only if the engine is in good shape when I get it drivable again. Looks like it's going to take a while to get things going again.

IT's all pretty fixable actually.

First I'd reverse the physical damage. If you want a "hot rod' exhaust I just might sell you mine (tired of it) but seriously, just buy the needed components from monsterpartsonline.com or rockauto.com. Sounds like the down pipe might be cracked if the heat from exhaust fried teh trany wires - they are available too. Quickest inexpensive fix would be to get all the parts form rockauto.com, that will give you a Walker aluminized exhaust. Only other place I know to get all the parts OTC is your local NAPA or Advantage Auto. If you want stainless you have to get it custom made I think- I never got a straight answer from the dealer as to whether the factory repair parts were stainless or alumnized. But they do sell them. They should be same as new just sectioned for shipping. If you have all the parts, this is a day at most.

Second I would ask Ed Morad [http://moradpartscompany.com/] about getting a replacement wiring harness for the tranny - since you are waiting anyway you could ask - also check with monsterpartsonline.com - email in the request - if their price quote is not unreasonable then just tell them to order it. You will be able by and large to unplug the old and plug in the new although geting the wires into the looms will be somewhat tedious. Another day.

Third I would check the rear links, the front subframe, and the oil pan for damage, and repair them. If subframe is OK this is a halfday. IF not I am not sure.

Fourth I'd get plugs, wires, coil pack and idler pullies - get the factory wires and a Delphi coil. Rockauto.com probably has best price. Have to remove the engine mount to get at the big idler but other than that it's a couple hours. Some of the idler bolts are reverse threaded by the way. If the idler spins the direction that one would unscrew a normal bolt, then that idler's mounting bolt will be reverse threaded. These are a half day all together, at most.

Fifth are the brakes. On the one hand it will take the entire day to overhaul brakes, asuming the brake lines are not rusted. Allow an additional day if you have to replace the hard lines. Allow yet another day if you have to replace the ABS motor and valve pack (whcih I would get from Morad). You probably want to repace the soft lines and wheel calipers, as well as rotors and pads; you also may want a Dremel with a cutoff wheel to hack off the heads of the screws holding the brackets for the soft lines, a drill to ream them out of and a tap to tap new threads in their mounts on the strut towers. This overhaul when I did it took me a whole (sunup to sundown) summer day, I think about 9-10 hours - and was def worth every minute.

Sixth - the seat and the A/C. Seat you might need a meter, takes a while to troubleshoot. As for the AC, either you need to find a leak OR it's an actuator problem. By fixing the other things first this will be that much easier to deal with. I'd allow all day but with a couple lucky breaks this sill take an hour to diagnose then when you get the parts an hour or two to fix. While you are at it pull the rear seat and check the battery.

Then consider draining the gas tank and repace fuel filter, put in fresh gas and a large ("to treat 20 gallons") bottle of Techron cleaner. If there is a PITB job in this list, that might be it. You might need new straps to hold up the tank. Lucky you, the Riv's tank is plastic. This is another couple hours and I do not know what you do with the stale gas, so you may want to pay an independent mechanic to do it - but bottom line is I recommend you get it done..

So I am thinking several days of work and you are roling again.

Albertj