Hello All, What an great forum! I just found it. I am trying to get a 1969 Riviera on the road. When I bought it, I knew it did not run. The guy told me that he could not get a spark. Rest of the car, except the front seat was in very good shape. All the original chrome, lights, Riviera emblems were there. Missing the emblem out of one of the wheel spinner caps was all. I still got a deal. (Paid $1000 , btw) When I tried to hook a battery charger up to it, circuit breaker kicked out. Great! I've been ripped off. Have since gotten wiring diagrams.I disconnected the entire wiring harness at firewall and short was gone. So I felt it was safe to put in new battery. Checked spark plugs. They were text book perfect. WOW, maybe I got a deal! Checked the fuel. It was RED. It smelled like varnish. Gonna have to clean that tank. No big deal. Well, I siphoned gas out....along with small chunks of rust. Uh oh. Not good. Maybe I've only been slightly ripped off. Disconnected fuel line at carburetor. Dust...but no rust. I hot wired it and it turned over. Fantastic! And, just as he had said no spark. Well, there were new points and one of the screws holding them was missing. No, this couldn't be it, could it? I bought it from a truck mechanics shop. I replaced screw, regapped points and Voila..That was the problem...there was a SPARK!!Maybe I got a good deal! I'll replace the fuel pump. Wait, what? An electric fuel pump? This is 1969 American Iron. Whats an electric fuel pump doing on it? Fast forward. Removed gas tank. Filled it with detergent and water. Then the leaks started. 5 of them. After tank dried, I poured out two cups of rust. Well, tank is off to be RENU'd. Whoever owned car before bypassed the oil pressure switch to the fuel pump. At first I was worried there was an oil pressure problem but now I am sure it was an attempt to get the fuel pump to run. No wonder it did not run. Fuel pump and sending unit was a blob of rust. Was able to get new fuel pump, but cannot fing the sending unit. I have found someone who rebuilds them, but this unit is a mess. I can't see how it could be rebuilt. Does anyone know where to get these sending units? Can they really be rebuilt? It looks like there could be an electric spark if not done correctly. I really look forward to this project and hope to be a regular here on this forum, watching other peoples projects and keeping everyone appraised of my own. Best regards, Walter
What kind of stuff do you have left of the 70??? Im restoring mine and could prolly use some stuff. How much of the car is there? Riviera Beast- If you want a new one, I dont know what to tell you for a stock replacement. However, you could get a universal one, I believe our sending units are 0-90 ohms of resistance, then attach it to the fuel pickup, and bend the float to work properly... Thats what I did, it was about 20 bucks. I also ditched the intake pump in favor of a higher performance external electric pump system w/ braided stainless steel lines and AN fittings. There might be a pic or two on my site of it. My 70 Riv Restoration
A univrsal one sounds interesting. However, the entire assembly was a glob of rust. The insulation on the flat wires is brittle and breaking off. Can I get those flat wires? Are they soldered to the cap where they pass out of the tank? I think a nice used one might be better.
Buick Sleeper, That is quite a restoration project you've got going. I checked out your site. Suddenly my project got smaller.
I learned that one the hard way. Years ago when my friend owned my car, we raplaced the fuel pump. After we dropped the tank and were looking at the underside of the car there was that access cover staring back at us. Walter, looks to me you got a nice car for $1,000.00! Once you get the gremlins out of it I know you will enjoy it!
Yeah Ive been there, I think I had the tank out twice before I found the access panel. It wasnt a big deal though. As for the entire sending unit assembly, if you can get a new one, go that way. However, if you like fabricating things, go about it the way i did. The top of the sending unit was fine on mine, the actual round metal that holds it to the top of the tank with the ring collar, but the rest didnt look so hot. I took some 3/8" steel brake line, and bent up a nice pickup, and attached the screen at the bottom. The top came out of there with a 90 degree fitting, attached to an AN fitting for my fuel lines. If your not gonna use the internal pump, wiring isnt that much of a deal, because the gas gauge only measures the resistance of the sender... no electric runs through it - unless you wire something wrong. I then attached the sending unit/float to the tube with some stainless safety wire. U then just run a wire from that up to the top of the sending unit, and out. I managed to reuse the stock wire connection, which basicallly allows the 2 wires to run through the top without grounding out, and seals it with orings. Good luck. Thanks for checking out my project, its been some time in the making, but im doing everything myself in my spare time.
Alternative suggestion Have your old unit rebuilt. We do that on aircraft parts including sending units all the time. 888-309 0453 (OH) Two day turn around. 931 924 8888 (Tn) 877-450 0110 (Va) www.autoinstruments.com
Jim-I'll get a picture of my sending unot and send it to you to see if you think you cab rebuild it. It is nasty. I see some tiny wire-like parts loose inside of the actual sending unit itself. On that sending unot part number, my Buick dealer's parts computer doesn't go back that far and he can't find the number or the part. I am checking on-line. Thanks for the info, BTW. Sleeper-I have already purchased an internal fuel pump for $60. I don't think they would take it back as it is an electrical part, but I might try. One thing different between the one I got and the original is the length of the intake and output tubes. They are much shorter. I am a little concerned about the intake especially as there is barely any length to grip the strainer, only about 3/8". Dale-There won't be another one like it around here, I am sure. I live in a small town. I've never seen one. I'm gonna be styling! Thanks all for the input. Walter
I have nothing to do with those rebuild companies. When I say "we do it with aircraft all the time" I mean us aircraft owners have parts rebuilt all the time.---exhaust, mufflers , sending units etc. There are fewer used aircraft parts and oftentimes no new ones so we have to do it. The practice is less common with autos at least with sending units.
Kevin, Thanks for the info. OK, now you can delete your post so no one else knows about it :Brow: . Jim, No problem. I checked out autoinstruments.com. I am in contact via email with them. Thanks for the link. Walter
