Back in Black

Chip Foose has been doing that for years... It works well but always clean off the film
or it will be just as dirty in a week!

Natesriv wrote:

okay, now part II of the engine bay...wanna blow your mind and get some great ideas?

check this link out!! WD-40!

http://www.d-series.org/forums/diy-forum/149991-d-i-y-detail-your-engine-bay-wd-40-91-civic-si.html

seems kind of a waste of wd-40 when a container of Castrol cleaner or Purple Power works, and does not leave all that oil on the ground (emulsifies it).

Engine Brite is also an emulsifier.cleans up real easy.The cleanest engine is a dry film free one.
Big fan of Chip Foose,but the WD-40 tip is an old detailers trick. Not sayin its bad but Gunk imo works better.It dont do so well on polished Alu but you shouldnt use anything but Alu paste on Alu.

robotennis61 wrote:

Engine Brite is also an emulsifier.cleans up real easy.The cleanest engine is a dry film free one.
Big fan of Chip Foose,but the WD-40 tip is an old detailers trick. Not sayin its bad but Gunk imo works better.It dont do so well on polished Alu but you shouldnt use anything but Alu paste on Alu.

Yep. WD-40 leaves a film that people like, looks good, attracts and holds dirt though.

As for aluminum, you could wipe it down with a solution of one part water and one part white vinegar; consider polishing the aluminum with steel wool dipped in this solution.

One aluminum paste is Sharkhide (LINK). They also sell an apparently effective metal protectant.

Flitz.nothing finer in the state of Carolina!

http://tinyurl.com/7akfwtd
expensive but leaves a protective coating on alu that lasts forever. used it on every bit of my Super Hawks alu surface.lasted 4 NY winters.just a quick buff with a rag and the shine was restored.

jeez...you guys missed the point! who cares about WD-40! It got the ground in built up dirt on and made that engine look new.

I'd probably NOT use it either , I'd imagine it's stink the interior up nicely as well...

Point was, look how shiny!!!!

It was very clean and shiny!

Lol I'm away from my thread for two days and I come back to a WD-40 argument? Only on Riv Performance .

I appreciate the tips and info, everybody. I actually use a spray called Trim Shine, by Stoner. Usually only on black plastics though. I prefer to keep everything else as dry as possible.

In other news, the Riviera was dropped off at my friend Bob's place to get the brake lines and parking brake fixed, as well as replace the rear shocks and fuel filter while it was there. I'm hoping to have it back Tuesday.

Point is, this is the first time I drove it and besides the crummy handling from the rear, the car drives AMAZING. The transmission shifts so nice, the engine is peppy as anything (though I think it needs a 3.6" pulley... ) and besides the brakes at the moment, driveability is just like I remember with my '95. But better. Though, for the record (and i don't think many people are going to disagree with me) the over-assisted steering blows. Oh well.

I can't wait to get this car back!!!! LOVE these things.

Z-type wrote:

Lol I'm away from my thread for two days and I come back to a WD-40 argument? Only on Riv Performance .

I appreciate the tips and info, everybody. I actually use a spray called Trim Shine, by Stoner. Usually only on black plastics though. I prefer to keep everything else as dry as possible.

In other news, the Riviera was dropped off at my friend Bob's place to get the brake lines and parking brake fixed, as well as replace the rear shocks and fuel filter while it was there. I'm hoping to have it back Tuesday.

Point is, this is the first time I drove it and besides the crummy handling from the rear, the car drives AMAZING. The transmission shifts so nice, the engine is peppy as anything (though I think it needs a 3.6" pulley... ) and besides the brakes at the moment, driveability is just like I remember with my '95. But better. Though, for the record (and i don't think many people are going to disagree with me) the over-assisted steering blows. Oh well.

I can't wait to get this car back!!!! LOVE these things.

Sounds great, and yeah sorry about the WD-40 whine-fest. Can't wait to see your remarks after getting the car back from Bob.

In the past couple wees I replaced my front sway bar links (Raybestos pro grade) and rear shocks (KYB). I now have kYBs front and rear. Something's different but can't put my finger on it.

And for some reason *both* my front strut boots have torn. I'm not happy about this. They are not the OE boots (I still have them) they were sold as KYB boots with the struts. Boo Hisss.

ain't no damn whine fest! It's all good natured jabbing!

When I did my front links and sway bar bushing, and rear links I used that new colored "rubber" stuff which lasts forever.

However, it did make the car a little jouncy...every so slightly as the give and sway of the OEM black rubber cushioned that, as the new stuff doesn't as much...

Big Z whats happening man, looks like everything is shaping up nicely. That resonator was installed by a buddy of mine at a local muffler shop after i tore a huge hole in the stock one pulling to valvoline to get a quick oil change. I couldnt tell you the brand but it does sound really good. Hope everything keeps moving forward smoothly and you enjoying getting that bad boy into ship shape.

Thanks Mike! Good to hear from you again, too. Small bit of bad news though:

As I suspected in the back of my mind, ALL the brake lines need replaced lol. As does one of the fuel lines. So the car will be at Bob's for a few more days, but at least I know it's getting done right. Wasn't particularly financially prepared for it, but I can swing it! Whatever gets the job done.

More later, once the car comes back home.

Got the car back today! Bob got everything fixed up on it except the parking brake. He ran all new nickel brake lines, and needed to get new front calipers, but the brakes are like new now. The rear shocks made a huge difference in the ride of the car, and the car is generally a joy to drive. Lots of power, amazing ride, good handling already.

It's going in for inspection Monday, then I can FINALLY drive it legally. At some point in this next week I'll get the strut brace installed, and by the time I'm doing that Aaron's high-performance sway bar links will have arrived so my suspension will be nice and happy. Otherwise, lots of cleaning and polishing to do on the outside of the car! Because of the cost of the brakes, I don't know when the roof and bumper are getting painted, but at least that's not a mechanical problem. It just hurts my mild obsession to make everything nice .

Some pics from Bob's cell phone:

Where the initial leak started. As you can see, the lines are just...too far gone.


Pure rust...not brakes.


Even the fuel filter was victimized.


Everything all fixed up and replaced.






On the lift, replacing the calipers and bleeding the brakes.



That's all for now. I'll update on the car's handling once all the braces and links and stuff are on it!

except parking brake? couldn't fix??

Yep Bob couldn't fix it because of a broken equlizer bracket in the rear section of the cable. the equalizer bracket provides equal pull to both rear cables. As far as we could determine, you can only get this part from the dealer. So this morning, I went to my local Buick dealer and ordered the bracket and a set of wheel well molding clips .

Ed Morad is a used Buick parts dealer. I've got lots of stuff from him..

Sales@moradpartscompany.com

Fun to fix her up isn't it?!

I am taking mine in today for exhaust work (new mufflers & tips), fix the a/c (hopefully) and a wobbling front left wheel (mystery!)

Once you get all the mechanicals done, it's fun time...rims, interior stuff, etc..

Keep posting, we're all having a great time hearing all the cool stuff you're doing!

Andrew,
I know you're involved with the Riv at the moment, but here's a craigslist ad I came across and thought of you:
http://norfolk.craigslist.org/pts/3081154216.html
T-Type emblems.

Thanks Nate! I've gotten several things from Ed in the past, including a few parts for this new Riv. I considered asking him for one of the brackets, but I decided for new since they're only a couple $$.

And thanks Sean! Sounds like a decent deal to have original emblems like that, but if they're the ones I'm thinking of, I have two sets of them NOS . Thanks for thinking of me.


Dropped the Riv off at my friend's place to get inspected. I'll be working a lot the next two days so I'll pick it up Wednesday!

As stated in my previous post, I picked up the car this morning, and set to work on the car again!

I had to admire it a little bit first :






So as I took that last picture I couldn't help but notice there was a large puddle forming underneath the car. Hmm, I thought as I got the jack out to investigate.


Turns out, after about 10 minutes of poking around and getting particulates in my eyes, I realized that the liquid is not coming from the engine or transmission at all, and smells neither like oil or trans fluid. I found that underneath a bracket on the subframe, the low pressure power steering line had rusted and finally, burst, it would appear. So I got some supplies, got under the car and cut out that part of the line and replaced it with high pressure rubber tubing. Since it's the low pressure 'cooling' line I feel that this should be an ok replacement, as long as I keep an eye on it.


I added fluid back in and all is well again...the steering is whisper quiet . So now I'm back to doing what I was going to do before I discovered the leak. Polishing cornering lenses! I didn't take any before pictures, but here's an old 'before' picture:


And after! I'm pretty satisfied. Considering the condition they were in, they're top notch in comparison. Not perfect, but pretty close.




I installed the front set of Aaron's sway bar links - very easy job. Unfortunately, I could not install the rears because I can't get the damn old ones off!! So I'm going to soak them in PB blaster for a week or so and give it another go.


I took a break from the links and decided to adjust the trunk lid. When I got it it was sticking up about 1/2" from where it was supposed to be. I simply adjusted the 'adjuster' at each hinge and all fixed!


I then installed the strut tower brace. Huge pain in the butt. But it's on!


Going to have to do something nicer here. I don't like it.


I actually had to go as far as notching the bar to get it to clear the brake reservoir. I've heard of this happening before, but i was hoping I wouldn't be another one to have to do it. Fortunately, I didn't take much material out, so I do not believe structure was compromised.


To top off the day, I got my coin holder to fit correctly and got some change in it .


Just an end of the day shot:




Tomorrow I'm going to get a few supplies and see what I can do with the good paint on the car. I'm going to try and make it look 'good' at the very least. Lots of details to go into, but I'll see what I come up with tomorrow!

Man, you are a dynamo! Looks great, and in what must be record time for a rehab.
Please tell me where you picked up the change thingy? I need.

A wet sanding and compounding may do wonders! It obviously won't fix the paint, but it can make it a lot prettier.I may have already said this, if so let me know and i'll delete my post ha!

Wow, awesome work. Looks great!

Just use a Sawzall or die grinder and cut the rear links off a piece at a time!

Sawzall, of course! I totally have one of those too . Needs new blades though...

Sean - I got my change holder off of ebay. Make sure it's for a Riviera or a '97-04 Regal/Grand Prix or it won't fit right.

Thanks for the compliments everyone! I started paint work today and once again, I'm soooooooore lol. I haven't done this kind of work in a while. Anyway, pictures as always:

Had some rust under the tail lights and it was an eyesore, so I pulled the tail light and taped everything off. Got everything sanded down, applied a little rust converter, and bam.


While the rust converter was doing its thing, I painted the windshield wiper arms, since they looked like they faded in the Florida sun.


Everything in the back painted and cleared!


The hood had what is called 'hood herpes'. (you know, 'corrosion' around the Riv's mouth...) Sanded down both corners for new paint.




I didn't really get any inbetween pictures of painting and finishing, but once the rear of the car was done, I decided to try a little polishing. The trunk turned out awesome! This is without wax:


Here's a side-by-side comparison of the old vs. the new:


The back of the trunk needed some wet sanding to remove light scuffs, but it turned out nearly perfect!




That's all the pictures for today. I finished the hood as well. Looks just as good as the trunk! My goal is to try and do at least one panel per night until the car is done. The driver's side needs wet sanded, the passenger side looks no worse than the trunk did, so it should be a decently easy job. I may try and see if my cousin can paint my replacement front bumper for me next week, but that's not for sure yet.

Thanks for looking guys!

awesome..nothing like DIY!
I painted my wipers too...but I took them off..not too hard.

however, they are different shape for driver & passenger...realized that AFTER I did it wrong!

I do highly recommend the sequential tail lights...they just are cool
Installing a new stereo is easy'ish. But a double DIN means some dash cutting, but that's not too bad. I didn't buy a PAX unit, so I took off my airbag and removed the stereo HVAC buttons (they only work when the OEM stereo's in)

and rims!

your car is on the way to being an awesome cruiser!