Hi everyone, I am new to the site and just wanted to introduce myself. Residing here in the Pacific NW, I have recently purchased my brothers 1969 Riv that we drove during highschool in the early 90's. Had a nicely built 455 that our dad built back in the late 80's, .040 forged pistons, head and main studs, ported Stage one heads, TA performance single plane intake, Erson cam, etc. then in 1996 it broke a timing chain link most likely due to a High volume/high pressure pump that caused an overload on the timing set, and wore out the distributor drive gear on the cam. Anyhow, the car has sat since 1996 in the wet Washington state weather and has turned into a habitat for mushrooms and some mold.... . My brother had neglected his baby for too long and ran into a finacial hardship recently and had to part with it. Unfortunately he had sold the engine last year to someone restoring a Skylark. So, I found the guy that bought the engine and he has had it sitting on an engine stand awaiting funds to restore his car and he agreed to sell it back for what he paid for it last year! I just got the car over to my house this weekend to start the major cleanup, tore out the carpeting, sound deadener and front seat. The seat needs to be recovered but the headliner is in excellent condition as well as the rear seat, fortunately. I scrubbed the heck out of it but found some soft spots in the front floor pans that will need to be addressed before a new carpet goes back it. Sorry for being long winded, but here are a few questions. Where is a good place to source new door panels if they exist? and door weather stripping? I am sure I will have more, thanks for reading! Rob
Hi there, always good to meet another 68-69 riv owner. There isn't anyone that makes replacement door panels that I know of, and weatherstripping can be found all over ebay. A lot of questions you may have can be answered on here as well as 1badriv.com its a members site and he has done a lot of the work in figuring stuff out so you don't have to. Post some pictures when you get a chance, love to see it. Welcome :beer
Welcome Rob! Not long winded at all! I love hearing stories like this! Please do post pics when you can.
Nice to meet you. I have visited his site in the past and has some good information for sure. The door panels are going to be a nightmare I am sure. They were mint but because of the moisture in the car for so long they are pretty well warped. I'll have to keep an eye out for someone parting one. Did all Rivs of that era have power windows?
You can see pictures on my brothers photobucket account for Rottyguy, I cannot post links yet being a newbie. The car is not in the best of shape but it is a start and I am certain it will bring back some fun memories of my brother and I back in the day. The car has power windows, a bench seat, not an A/C car, and has some peculiar tail light bezels that I cannot seem to locate (driver side is broken).
Welcome! If the only problem is warping they can be fixed easily. Take them off, lay on a flat surface and put weight on them and leave it until they dry, they will again be flat and fit fine. If that is not what you want to do, a good upholestry shop can probably tear them apart and cut new board and repair them. Remember to put water shields behind them, plastic works better than the paper the factory used. Mike
I may have to try that, but the arm rests are kind of bulging out from the moisture and the black vinyl is starting to separate. Can you replace just the arm rests? I have not tried to pull them apart yet.
I think opgi sells the arm rests but that whole website is really pricey. There are 3 or 4 small screws with big heads attached to the back of the armrest holding it on. Mine had holes in em. Brought it to an upholstery shop and had them covered and stitched, turned out nice and actually looked almost factory.
Welcome ! Nice story Rob, those '69s are a close cousin of the '68s, and share some of the same parts, but differ just enough to make each year unique. Good luck with your resto project, and post some pics when you can. We'll do our best to answer all of your questions !! :beer :TU:
Thanks again! Look forward to the help with the knowledge you all have. Found a local guy that can recover the seat and do the door panels, so I am excited about that. Anyone have any preference on sound deadening the floor? I was kind of thinking about having line-x sprayed in once I clean the floor and fix the small rust spots as well as maybe the trunk. Good idea, bad idea? I see it as an opportunity to seal the floor, cut the heat down from the exhaust and sound deadening. Obviously it will be covered in carpet but anything will help. The car is heavy but I am not sure this will effect the weight much. I have built many Jeeps and other GM cars over the years, but this car is closer to my heart and want to do it right.
