New to B Bodies... Looking for Advice

I've recently been looking for a new project car, and I've honed in on the B body wagon platform. I've got previous experience with GM products (F bodys, trucks, S10, etc), but none with B Bodies. Can you share some pointers on things to look for in my wagon search?

For instance, I found a wagon near me, but the owner says there's some rust in the rear quarter panel that has been repaired previously (see picture). Should I be very concerned about this?

transam7801 wrote:

For instance, I found a wagon near me, but the owner says there's some rust in the rear quarter panel that has been repaired previously (see picture). Should I be very concerned about this?

Yes you should! If it has rust, keep on looking.

Tom

silverfox103 wrote:

transam7801 wrote:

For instance, I found a wagon near me, but the owner says there's some rust in the rear quarter panel that has been repaired previously (see picture). Should I be very concerned about this?

Yes you should!  If it has rust, keep on looking.

Tom

Depending where you live, rust free might not be available locally.

Thanks for the quick feedback! Sounds like it's better to pay more for a car that doesn't show these signs of rust than to attempt to fix this example.

Anything else I should be leery of?

I would say, look for one with a decent interior, unless you like or plan on fabbing your own. Some interior parts are extremely rare to get in good shape.

Hard to tell for sure from the pic, but the white in the pic is probably a salt bleed through at the edge of the poor repair, if you are in a salt area very likely. Those commonly come through from the backside.

The money spent for rust free is often the best money you will spend on an older vehicle.

Agree on the interior parts availability and cost. They weren't particularly durable.

Yep, that's not repaired, that's covered up. If it's in the budget, buy the most rust-free car you can find.

Most mechanical issues can be repaired reasonably as far as cost goes especially if you are handy ,body work on the other hand can be quite expensive especially rust repair . The rust issue on this car is common and there is a lot more going on especially after you start repairing it . 94 to 96 have the LT 1 engine which has some quirks but for the most part these cars are reliable if they have been properly maintained . I'm in Ohio and looked 2 1/2 years to find the right car , rust free and in my budget , be patient and look in the surrounding areas I've driven 5 hours one way to look at cars . Good Luck !

Search the south for a car. Preferably in an inland or dry climate. Rust anywhere is unacceptable. Look at the B pillar, and top of the rear wheelhouses, as well as the quarters. The passenger's side front wheehouse and battery tray is another rust collector.

Interior panels for the 94-96 RM are the worst. The 91-93, and 94-96 Caprice panels are far more durable, and can usually be fixed with much less effort. You can even reconstruct a 91-93 generic panel to fit a 94-96 Caprice with the front top corner from the 94-96. The 91-96 (except RM) wagon rear door panels are virtually the same except color.

Price and location? Any other rust/rot, how are the floors? Can’t count it out because of one easily repaired spot that is usually caused by a plugged drain hole. Especially if it’s cheap enough and could be used for a parts car if a better one is located later.

Almost every one of the old wagons has a rust spot somewhere. Cars here in Florida rust from the roof down and there are lots of hiding places for rot.

Mine has perfect quarters, yet there is a hole in the floor because the A/C Evap drain was plugged up for years and the access panel was missing two screws.

That said, if the rest of the car is a rotted mess then run far away unless it’s a couple hundred dollar parts car with a great interior.

""Sounds like it's better to pay more for a car that doesn't show these signs of rust than to attempt to fix this example.""

Absolutely!

Rust repair can turn into a very deep rabbit hole.

in the wagons I've seen around by me (Wisconsin) the most common spot for rust is the spare tire well, on my 94 it looked good from the outside but after I started digging through the car and actually pulled the spare out I found that there was a lot of silicone filling holes and holding rust together that had been painted over very good.

Thanks!

I really appreciate the advice from seasoned veterans!

I live in Kentucky, and I've decided to steer my search to Kentucky and below to help rule out the possibility of the wagon being exposed to more road salt than necessary.

I feel pretty confident doing mechanical work, but much less so with body repairs.

I'm willing to drive a little bit for the right deal, I just don't want to drive 4 or 5 hrs and find a deal breaker if I can help it!