1991 Roadmaster Locomotive for sale

This isn't the first post I wanted to make since attending wagonfest, but it is, and I hope you guys can appreciate this car as much as I did.

I met Bill (convert2diesel) on my way back from wagonfest, brought back some wheels and saw the "locomotive" sitting in the lane. With his help/knowledge and assistance we breathed new life into the car. It truly is an amazing machine and turns heads when driving past construction sites. On blind corners kids think it's their school bus. Your wife will love it!

I'd love to see this car come into the hands of another member. As truck like as it is I really need a truck as a second vehicle while we build our house. Splinters comes out of storage tomorrow ...

Any questions fire away...

Hope it isn't in poor taste to link to the ad pm me for more pics...

http://www.usedottawa.com/classified-ad/1991-Buick-Roadmaster_14507272

Oddly when I click the link to the ad, the map at the bottom shows some place in South America. Might want to correct that. Riohacha Columbia is a long drive from Ottawa.

I doubt they play hockey or drink Labatts down there, ehh!.

One letter missing from the area code and it sends the map to Colombia... wish it woulda been that easy to get somewhere warm this winter.

Your right on the hockey and labatts down there... No place for hosers there...

My pleasure to be of help!

Dave

Don't forget, we still have to hook up the fans. Now that the cold weather finally is about to leave us, this will become an issue in a big hurry.

Still have all the bits in the garage.

Really sorry to see it go. Hope you can find someone who appreciates it.

Bill

Hey bud, your youtube link isn't a link, and you may find it helpful to give some sort of distance to US entry points. Most of us wouldn't have a clue where you are besides "Canada" - so a little logistics info like time/distance to Port Huron, Detroit, Niagra Falls, etc may go a long way.

https://www.youtube.com/dieselwagonlover

Just a cut and paste away from being a link, Ottawa ON, Canada's capital is it's home..

The sounds that car makes are just wrong.....sorry. HA!

MAN!

There is something about that thing starting that makes me warm and fuzzy inside.

That diesel sound is just a more honest representation of the suspension of reality that is the modern combustion engine. I love the sound and the diesel tourque curve for driving in town in whatever weather.

Splinters wrote:

That diesel sound is just a more honest representation of the suspension of reality that is the modern combustion engine. I love the sound and the diesel tourque curve for driving in town in whatever weather.

Hows the injection pump holding up??
body still good?

Nick

She's still solid, worst spot is around the fill door. Injection pump is holding up, hasn't let me down in any of the cold, but every tank I've put in has been with a splash of conditioner. To get the most out of the set-up it could use a rebuilt pump. Right now I'm averaging a whopping 100km of driving a week so getting the most outta every drop hasn't been a priority. Passed a legit safety with ease and style in November...

OK, I just watched the second video..... Do all you Canadians use your cars as 'fridges to store the leblecks in the winter?

As for the oil burner beating under the hood.... if there was a for sale sign on it down here, I would assume that 7 of the 8 rods were knocking all to hell

Very cool!!

Krzdimond wrote:

OK, I just watched the second video..... Do all you Canadians use your cars as 'fridges to store the leblecks in the winter?

As for the oil burner beating under the hood.... if there was a for sale sign on it down here, I would assume that 7 of the 8 rods were knocking all to hell

All part of life up here. The fact that Splinter got it to light up at that temperature without being plugged in is a real testement to these old engines. 15 years before direct injection and computer controlled everything.

You have no idea how many people have given this car a "double take" and on more than one occasion, even had some knumbskull turn off the diesel pump for fear I was going to "ruin my engine". Certainly an entertaining car to drive and it served me well.

Bill

I'm not a diesel geek, but I do have some curiosities about it for you Bill,

Does it have glows or is that a compression engine?

Why'd you pick that engine out of all of them out there?

Why didn't you go with a turbo engine, and Can that one have a turbo added?

thanks

Underhood real estate is the problem for fitting a turbo in there. Only option is a remote mount and lots of plumbing which would be fine in a more temperate climate. The cummins is too tall, although I did see one in a p-71 a while back.

It's got glow plugs and if you look around it strikes the most affordable oil burners out there to drive and maintain.

Bewber wrote:

I'm not a diesel geek, but I do have some curiosities about it for you Bill,

Does it have glows or is that a compression engine?

Why'd you pick that engine out of all of them out there?

Why didn't you go with a turbo engine, and Can that one have a turbo added?

thanks

John:

As Splinter said and at the risk of diving into one of my long dissertations on the benifits of diesels here goes.

All diesels are "compression ignition" engines. Fuel is injected into the cylinder after the air has been compressed and when its needed to go bang. No need for a spark plug. The heat of compression exceeds the auto ignition point of the fuel. The glow plugs are only needed when it is cold and the upper cylinder temps are not high enough yet to light up the fuel. After the temps are up, the glows are no longer needed.

Why the 6.2? Spent a number of years putting the 5.7 Olds diesel into a variety of cars ranging from Chevy wagons to boxy Cadillacs. Really loved the efficiency but in order to get any power out of them, you suffered very real reliability problems. Anything over about 110 HP and these engines failed with great regularity. The 6.2 was a much better engine.

At the turn of the century (still feels wierd saying that) I started looking for a vehicle that I could do a conversion on that would both give me a reliable daily driver (was doing 30 to 40,000 miles a year) and something other than a truck to tow our trailer. That meant a full frame car to accomodate a class 3 hitch and with enough realestate under the hood to shoe horn in a diesel. That gave me two options for a car that was less than 15 years old. The Crown Vic/Lincoln or the B/D body GMs. Found two 91 Roadmasters in New Hampshire that had just arrived from Florida and the rest is history.

The Flower Joke Ford and the Cummins were just too big and heavy for this car plus they had way too many fitment problems associated with them. Other than using some industrial or tractor engines, those were my other only choices here in North America. Getting one brought in from Europe or Asia presented a whole other set of problems. Only needed the 150 HP to accomplish both tasks, as the LO3 did a reasonable job so it was assumed the added torque of the diesel would do it better. The 6.2 was a bolt up conversion, sharing all the same mounts and bolt patterns of the SBC. Some clearance issues but essentially a bolt up conversion. Choice of the 6.2 was a no brainer. The 30% increase in fuel efficiency justified my efforts.

Originally intended on installing a turbo, thus the single 3 inch exhaust, but as Splinter said, once I got the engine installed, it was more than obvious I had no more room left. Could probably have fabbed up a custom setup but as I had no desire to build a high performance car, it would have been overkill for my uses. Turns out that, until Carol and I got the new trailer, the 6.2 was more than powerful enough to pull our 3,000 Lb camper all over the eastern seaboard and the turbo just wasn't needed. At 5,500 lbs., the new trailer was just a bit too much. Enter the LT1 Caddy.

Hope this answered your questions.

Bill

That's pretty cool. Thank you for taking the time, Bill. I really do appreciate it.

Car has found a new home. Back to driving Splinters and man does it feel good.

I hope you referred the new owner to the forums. I think some of us would like to see what ends up happening to the car.

I did, and passed along convert2diesels info for custodial arrangements