1984 Riviera 403 swap

[G-Body_Vet]

I seem to be drawn to the unconventional cars and have wanted to mess with one of these or a Toronado for awhile. I came across this one with a knocking 307 in it. 72k, Florida car with one repaint. Has the factory aluminum wheels that I plan leaving on (desperately need center caps!). A few nice things are no vinyl top, hood ornament has been deleted and light tint already installed.

Im picking up a 403 today to replace the 307. This will be a quick swap, retaining the CCC carb, the working AC, and lockup for the trans.

 

[-83MONTESS-]

Damn that thing is clean! Im okay with this as long as the GP gets done lol!

 

[clean8485]

I agree with 83MonteSS. That car is pretty clean. I know that the older GM FWD transmissions were pretty robust, I hope the transmission in this car will handle the 403 OK. Let us know how it works out.

 

[DRIVEN]

Project: Approved. Please continue.

 

[pontiacgp]

That is a nice car. That looks like the one I rebuilt an engine for when I lived in Florida so that could be the reason it's knocking....oh and warranty has expired..

 

[theoldsone]

Awsome looking car. I never knew how good these look in white. I always thought of doing a toronado that was bagged with nice coker tire white walls. A 403 is a nice replacement. Just drive it have fun with it!

 

[G-Body_Vet]

Oh yeah.....the GP is still in the works. I just haven't had time to do anything because work has been overwhelming. I actually had it running, just not very long since no coolant. It does run pretty well though! I'm about to put in the heater box, finish my B&M Quicksilver shifter and put the column back in. After that it's all the little tedious stuff.

As for this Riv, it's actually a light gray color. I'd like to say I won't beat on it much since I want the trans to live, but we'll see. I read somewhere that the HT4100 Eldorados had a better final drive than the Riv or Toro and I may look into that since I know where I can get one. It would make sense considering the lack of power they had.

I'm really going to try to keep this simple but we know how that goes.

 

[1evilregal]

nice lookin car! Normally I'd say negative comments about it being a wrong wheel drive car, but for some reason, those and their Cadillac brothers have always caught my eye, and wouldn't mind having one in the stable... that 403 should wake that thing up pretty nicely!

 

[G-Body_Vet]

I'm not a huge fan of fwd either but these are a different kind of fwd. I like the Eldos too but most of them had the 4.1 and that's more trouble than I'd like for a swap.

I'm not expecting this one to be fast but it will make torque and run on 87 octane just fine.

 

[G-Body_Vet]

I cleaned and painted 403 that's going in it. The inside looked clean but the chain and damper we're worn so they were replaced. It's been rebuilt at some point or at least got a .010 crank/bearings. The P/O was passionate about silicone!

Now I have to yank the 307 because I need some parts from it. Apparently the fwd setup 307's have different flexplates, oil pan & pickup and oil filter adapter. Not to mention the exhaust manifolds as well.