The search begins! Need help finding an LT1 wagon.

Well, you guys told me to let you know when I was ready to start my search, and that time has come
my budget is about $3000, so I'm looking at cars that could potentially be talked into that price range (I guess up to $4000 listed...)
I have a preference for the Caprice Wagons, but really would take any LT1 wagon.
not too picky about colors either.

Hopefully I'll have my car gone by September 28th, so I'll need to find something soon after.

have you seen this car in person?

http://killeen.craigslist.org/ctd/2586337027.html - 95 Caprice Wagon in Houston

http://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/cto/2575461602.html - 95 Roady Wgn near Dallas

http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/2598440055.html - 94 Caprice Wagon near Dallas

Will look more later tonight.

Good luck on the search!

-Mike

chapel wrote:

have you seen this car in person?

No

81X11 wrote:

http://killeen.craigslist.org/ctd/2586337027.html - 95 Caprice Wagon in Houston

http://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/cto/2575461602.html - 95 Roady Wgn near Dallas

http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/2598440055.html - 94 Caprice Wagon near Dallas

Will look more later tonight.

Good luck on the search!

-Mike

how much would it be to ship one of these out here? (New England)
I wonder if I could get my cousin to drive it out here for me... he lives in Texas.

chapel wrote:

81X11 wrote:

http://killeen.craigslist.org/ctd/2586337027.html - 95 Caprice Wagon in Houston

http://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/cto/2575461602.html - 95 Roady Wgn near Dallas

http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/2598440055.html - 94 Caprice Wagon near Dallas

Will look more later tonight.

Good luck on the search!

-Mike

how much would it be to ship one of these out here? (New England)
I wonder if I could get my cousin to drive it out here for me... he lives in Texas.

Get a $100 airfare from New York or Boston to Dallas or Houston and drive it home.

I've done that trip MANY times for my buddy Ben in New Jersey. He has me find him local rust-free toys, drive them up and fly home. Such fun!

-Mike

81X11 wrote:

Get a $100 airfare from New York or Boston to Dallas or Houston and drive it home.

I've done that trip MANY times for my buddy Ben in New Jersey. He has me find him local rust-free toys, drive them up and fly home. Such fun!

-Mike

damn, flying to Dallas is dirt cheap, huh? $102/person

I'd love to do it, but I think my wife would not appreciate me being gone for 2 days to buy a car... and I think doing the trip might be difficult with my wife and 2 year old.

I'd also need to be sure I'm buying a car that can make the 1800 mile trip and budget for gas and lodging on the way home. which would turn this into a 'vacation' of sorts... and that's not really in the budget either.

car gets what, 20-25mpg on the highway? how big is the tank?

Mike would check it out for you. Bring the wife and kid and make a few days out of it. just tell them the baby is under 2 and she goes free.
My first wagon I bought only with my non automotive uncle looking at it. the mechanic I bought it from had just done the distributor in it, and I was pretty confident I could make it home with the extensive network of enthusiasts on here (I was brand new at the time as well). Drove that biatch 1400 miles and only had a couple little problems.

1. marginal tires, one threw a weight and I had to stop at wal-mart for a balance
2. developed a minor oil leak on the external oil cooler (9C1 cooler on my 1A2), that I replaced when I got home (pays to check your fluids).

other than that it was a dream to drive it and we took a few days to stop and see the sights.
Drive a bit at night or early while the baby is still snoozin. that helps alot.

chapel wrote:

81X11 wrote:

Get a $100 airfare from New York or Boston to Dallas or Houston and drive it home.

I've done that trip MANY times for my buddy Ben in New Jersey. He has me find him local rust-free toys, drive them up and fly home. Such fun!

-Mike

damn, flying to Dallas is dirt cheap, huh? $102/person

I'd love to do it, but I think my wife would not appreciate me being gone for 2 days to buy a car... and I think doing the trip might be difficult with my wife and 2 year old.

I'd also need to be sure I'm buying a car that can make the 1800 mile trip and budget for gas and lodging on the way home. which would turn this into a 'vacation' of sorts... and that's not really in the budget either.

car gets what, 20-25mpg on the highway? how big is the tank?

I've never been able to get more than 17 gallons in my Roady without it spitting back. If I baby it, I can get close to 400 miles on the highway before the low fuel light comes on.

Tell the wife it'll be much cheaper than rust repairs. I normally do the NJ drive in two days. It's a haul, but if I leave early I can make it from Austin to Wytheville Virginia in one day, nab a cheap hotel, and then on up the the NJ the next day.

If I get up way early and on the road at 5, I hit Dallas at 8, Little Rock at lunchtime, Nashville at 5-6-ish, Knoxville at 9-ish, and get into Virginia around 10pm, and then drive until my eyes burn....usually around 11:30pm nab a room, sack out until 6am, and go through Roanoke, Hagerstown, Harrisburg, Allentown, and on into Jersey.

I've done that drive so many times I think I could do it blindfolded now...ha!

-Mike

Sprocket wrote:

Mike would check it out for you. Bring the wife and kid and make a few days out of it. just tell them the baby is under 2 and she goes free.

Yeah, he's like 3 feet tall and talks in complete sentences

Quote :

My first wagon I bought only with my non automotive uncle looking at it. the mechanic I bought it from had just done the distributor in it, and I was pretty confident I could make it home with the extensive network of enthusiasts on here (I was brand new at the time as well). Drove that biatch 1400 miles and only had a couple little problems.

1. marginal tires, one threw a weight and I had to stop at wal-mart for a balance
2. developed a minor oil leak on the external oil cooler (9C1 cooler on my 1A2), that I replaced when I got home (pays to check your fluids).

other than that it was a dream to drive it and we took a few days to stop and see the sights.
Drive a bit at night or early while the baby is still snoozin. that helps alot.

I have NO idea how I could sell this to the wife, despite this being something I've always wanted to do.
it's a 30 hour drive apparently.

quick question... do these things use standard or metric tools? I'd need to bring my tools with me if I considered this and I only really have Metric.

http://miami.craigslist.org/pbc/cto/2597686274.html
has small mirrors so might be a 94

http://jacksonville.craigslist.org/cto/2515133360.html
300 miles north but members in area

If you buy one with 2.56 gears you will get better mileage. I avged 22.5 over 1400 miles when I ran mine home with 3 adults and minimal luggage.

My 94 with 2.93 posi is only good for about 20 mpg.

bring a small tool set and make sure you have 10,13,14 MM sockets and wrenchs, screwdrivers, pliers and of course a hammer
those 3 wrenches you can take about 75% car apart with. there are a few 15mms here and there too.


Not trying to put words in anyone's mouth, but if on a really tight budget, I'd bet you could find some people here willing to offer up a couch or two along the way as well as it IS all about the CARS, lol.

If you do find 'the one' (exact options, color, etc), it'd be worth the trip to get a rust free example. In fact I'd be willing to say you may find one cheaper in a southern state in better shape.

The drive across Tennessee and Virginia and up through PA is gorgeous. Really pretty sites, not terrible traffic, hills but nothing terrible so it's pretty much all cruise-control friendly.

I went north at Nashville once to see the Corvette factory in Bowling Green Kentucky and the Vette museum. Great tour and was lots of fun, but had to cut over across West Virginia from there and the roads in WV drove me nuts...twist,turn,climb, drop, and BUMPS. Would have been fun normally, except for the bumps, but I wanted to GET THERE, so I don't reccomend that route. I was exhausted by the time I got into PA.

I also went due north one time, through Tulsa Ok, then over to St Louis, and across Ohio.....BOR-RING drive. Smooth...flat...the cornfields...the cornfields.....I never thought I was going to make it to Pennsy on that trip.

The Tennessee drive is the fastest and prettier way to go.

Such fun! Gotta love road trips!

-Mike

Sprocket wrote:

bring a small tool set and make sure you have 10,13,14 MM sockets and wrenchs, screwdrivers, pliers and of course a hammer
those 3 wrenches you can take about 75% car apart with. there are a few 15mms here and there too.

Good, I have a full travel set of metrics. Any specialty tools?

Quote :

Not trying to put words in anyone's mouth, but if on a really tight budget, I'd bet you could find some people here willing to offer up a couch or two along the way as well as it IS all about the CARS, lol.

If you do find 'the one' (exact options, color, etc), it'd be worth the trip to get a rust free example. In fact I'd be willing to say you may find one cheaper in a southern state in better shape.

I was thinking that... possibly pay someone to drive it up if I can't get my wife on board. My biggest concern is getting the RIGHT ONE sight unseen.

So the wife wouldn't like you gone for 3 days?

drive the car back by yourself,. run steady 80mph on the interstate,. nap in the back when your tired,.36hrs should do it,.
thats if you want a car from texas,.
Just be like everyone else,. buy one around the corner,. and pour a pile of money into it,.

Nick

I'm kinda thinking one with some rust could get me through 2 years and then when I'm ready, I could go down to Texas for this great road trip.

I did the math for gas
5 tanks of gas
21 gallons per tank
$3.50/gallon

$73.50/tank
$367.50 trip

so, now with gas and airfare, I'm up to $670.

then there's lodging (figure 2-3 nights at about $80/night)

now I'm up to $910
+ food and supplies
+ stops for entertainment. That's gonna be into the low $1000 range.



Unless I could get a car for like $1500-2000... it wouldn't be financially responsible

My most recent drive up was two years ago Thanksgiving, and I took my then 7-year-old son Eddie with me. This was another trip for my buddy Ben. A co-worker offered me his super-clean '02 4WD Explorer Limited for what the dealer was going to give him on trade...cheap, and Ben in NJ wanted it to replace his then-current winter SUV, a rusty '01 Pathfinder 4x4. He wanted me to take the Pathfinder home, clean it up and sell it for him.

The deal was sweeted because I he offered me his old '88 Iroc convertible project in exchange for refurbing the Pathy and selling it for him. I now had a way to get the Camaro home.

Drove to NJ with my tow-dolley on the back of the Exploder, took my kiddo to see NYC for a day, then drove back to Texas in the Pathfinder with my "new" rusty 88 Iroc-Z on the dolley behind us. Great trip and good bonding time with my son. We ate "Thanksgiving Dinner" at a Waffle House in Hagerstown Maryland...the onlt place open...ha!

I cleaned up that Pathfinder when I got it back to Texas. Replaced the scratched front bumper and rusty tail gate with salvage yard parts, painted the rusty frame and trailer hitch black, detailed it to the hilt, and was about to put it on Craigslist locally with the plan to send Ben the money for it, when my brother wrecked his Jetta and bought the Pathfinder from me. Ha! My brother is NOT a car guy and could car less about the rust under the truck. He's still driving that Pathy here now....two years later. Sometimes things work out!

Spotless '02 Exploder Limited, always in Texas...bought CHEAP. I sent Ben the title and he sent me the tags for the trip north. This was the day before the trip. I'd just detailed it.


At Ben's house in New Jersey loading my new rust bucket Iroc on his old rust-bucket Pathfinder for the drive back to Texas.




The Pathfinder actually did great towing the Iroc back to Austin, and once I cleaned it up, replaced the tail gate and front bumper, and detailed it to the hilt, it looked really good. My brother is still driving it today! Ha!


Sadly the Iroc never got restored. It was just too rusty. When my buddy AJ offered me the 67 GTO project, the Iroc got put on Craigslist and a guy in Dallas bought it for a parts car for one he was rebuilding.

Ben is still driving that Exploder in the winter, but he says it has rust under it now. Only took two years. Gotta love salt! I'm sure I'll be asked to find him another new toy down here soon.

Another fun adventure!

-Mike

chapel wrote:

I'm kinda thinking one with some rust could get me through 2 years and then when I'm ready, I could go down to Texas for this great road trip.

I did the math for gas
5 tanks of gas
21 gallons per tank
$3.50/gallon

$73.50/tank
$367.50 trip

leave wife+kid at home for 2 days = $200.
Sleep in back or meet up with wagon folk $0 or a few beers.

Food you are going to eat anyway so you can't count that.

total under $600. My math is better.

Or......bring the wife and kid, go camping or all of you sleep in the back, just bring an air mattress. State and national parks are about 25 bucks a night for a nice campground spot with toilets and showers.

Not to mention you get a vacation out of it..... Where else you going to have all that fun for a few hundred dollahs?
I think you can find a pretty decent wagon for 2500 if you look and are paitient. I've bought all my LT1 wagons for under 2K, granted two of them were not road trip ready (told you about the 1st one already). You just got to be ready to go when they show up cuz they don't last....

As Nick said you can stay home, buy a rust bucket and over the next year spend twice as much as you would have and still have a crappier car and no family memories....

well, I mean, there have to be SOME cars up in this neck of the wood that aren't rotted to hell... right?

or maybe within 500 miles?

If you're in Austin feel free to crash at my place a night. I'll put the older kiddo in the younder kiddo's bunk bed, and then you are welcome to his room.

There's one night down! Ha! Might even get a good Tex-Mex dinner at Chuy's and a tour of Austin by Roady wagon out of it.

-Mike

chapel wrote:

well, I mean, there have to be SOME cars up in this neck of the wood that aren't rotted to hell... right?

or maybe within 500 miles?

http://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/cto/2597462344.html - LT1 Roady in your neck of the woods

http://worcester.craigslist.org/cto/2598392618.html - 95 Roady wagon

http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/cto/2588317257.html - 94 Caprice

http://southcoast.craigslist.org/ctd/2599068089.html - 95 Caprice

http://hartford.craigslist.org/cto/2596062237.html - CHEAP 96 Roady wagon

http://albany.craigslist.org/cto/2569245828.html - Slammed 94 Roady

http://hartford.craigslist.org/cto/2546911782.html - 95 Caprice

http://albany.craigslist.org/cto/2557994651.html - Very pretty 94 Caprice woody

Just make sure you look under these really well. Pull the spare tire cover and look in the well....and all the usual places.

Good luck on the hunt!

-Mike

I think that's what I need to find out.
What's the standard places they rust? the hard to see places?
I've never shopped for these so I only know to 'look for rust' but not specifically where.

spare tire well, bottom of door jambs between the two doors, get your head up under the rear wheel wells where they attach to the inside of the bed (behind the wheel).
D- pillars are another big area near the tailgate.
bottom of tailgate area.

usual visual spots like front inner fender wells (easy to fix).

My 1A2 with 14 snowbelt winters had been undercoated but still scaled on the bottom (last NE car I ever buy) and the driver seat frame rails started coming through the floor.

I think also by the fire wall the body mounts go, but the NY guys will chime in on that part

the metal that holds the body mount you mean?

chapel wrote:

the metal that holds the body mount you mean?

Unless you are a bodywork person or have an "in" with a body shop, I'd save up a little and look for a clean southern or western car. You'll be glad you did, seriously.

Either that or take your time and find a garaged car locally that was not winter driven. They pop up from time to time, mostly older folks or even funeral cars. Seen some NICE wagons come out of New Jersey and New York that were stored in the winter months, but they tend to cost a bit more, and sell fast.

That said, if you are just looking for a year-around "driver" car, then nab a cheap one locally, patch the rust as it happens, and once it gets really bad, part it or sell it and find another one. The drivetrains are for the most part bulletproof. You folks up north have a big advantage in that there were many more wagons sold up there than down here. Due to the SUV craze and the lack of rear a/c the last Longroofs were not all that popular down here, and were a rare site even when new.

Again, good hunting!

-Mike

It will be used as a daily driver. particularly in the winter. I don't drive a lot, but I do want a car that won't let me down and one that won't cost me an arm and a leg to fix either.

It may also come down the fact that I may not find one and I end up getting something else
I'd been looking at Sierra/Silverados and Tahoes too. But I really want a B-body Wagon.

My car is a Jersey car for most of its life and it is pretty solid. Had a little rust inside the drivers quarter, but that was to do GM's improper use of seam sealer. They tend to clog the drain on the rear quarter which shows up years later in rust.

The other soft spot was inside the inner fender on the pass rear quarter. Again GM used a "rust proofing" that dries up over time and begins to hold moisture behind it and rot the metal. I removed the rot and "tiger haired" the hole. I did it twice so far as it began to leak again. The next time I have an issue I will weld in a patch at that spot.

I would not hesitate to look at cars in southern Jersey and southern PA. Skip Pittsburgh though, PenDOT likes salt to much out there.

As Mike points out if you are buying a car to preserve buy a southern car. I drive mine everyday and got it for $3000. Granted I have put a lot of time and a few $$ into it since that point.

Yeah, I'm not looking for a concourse level car. in fact, I'm looking for something that I don't really have to worry about the appearance... though having the body rot away is not something I'm looking for either.

That is where I started. Now I have it cleaned up pretty well, I am a little anal about her.

crap... my car just sold... need to find something fast.

Here's one. Great price.

http://hartford.craigslist.org/cto/2596062237.html

chapel wrote:

crap... my car just sold... need to find something fast.

http://southcoast.craigslist.org/ctd/2599068089.html - Go get it Pretty color, just needs Impala wheels and grill, and window tint. Sharp.

Or if you want a Woody with all the Buick bells and whistles inside, here you go: http://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/cto/2597462344.html

Good miles on that one and the red cloth interior is rare. Steering wheel is easy to re-dye and trim around wood is easy to fix. Needs Impala wheels too.,

-Mike

This also sounds nice but price is too high.

http://capecod.craigslist.org/cto/2582626294.html

Let us know what you find!

-Mike

81X11 wrote:

chapel wrote:

crap... my car just sold... need to find something fast.

http://southcoast.craigslist.org/ctd/2599068089.html - Go get it Pretty color, just needs Impala wheels and grill, and window tint. Sharp.

another member said he could literally pull bits of frame off with his hand it was so rotted. and the AC didn't work.

81X11 wrote:

Or if you want a Woody with all the Buick bells and whistles inside, here you go: http://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/cto/2597462344.html

Good miles on that one and the red cloth interior is rare. Steering wheel is easy to re-dye and trim around wood is easy to fix. Needs Impala wheels too.,

-Mike

emailed.

81X11 wrote:

This also sounds nice but price is too high.

http://capecod.craigslist.org/cto/2582626294.html

yeah, that's about what I sold my S6 for.

BigBlackBeaSSt wrote:

That is where I started. Now I have it cleaned up pretty well, I am a little anal about her.

A little anal would be an understatement.This car has been washed in how many states Tim?
Jim

hmm
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/mld/cto/2593668868.html

anyone in DC to check this for me?

That car has been posted many times. Same ad, just updated. Look out...

81X11 wrote:

That car has been posted many times. Same ad, just updated. Look out...

any consensus on it? bad?

I think you can do much better....

my wife is not on board with me going too far to get a car

Flasheroo wrote:

BigBlackBeaSSt wrote:

That is where I started. Now I have it cleaned up pretty well, I am a little anal about her.

A little anal would be an understatement.This car has been washed in how many states Tim?
Jim

Is there 54 states????

here's the Lunenburg one:

http://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/cto/2597462344.html

this is what I got when asked about rust.

If the wife isnt on board then you had better learn to settle Jared!Look man talk her into it and
get a rustfree wagon from texas.You will be saving a bunch of money instead of having to settle
for the rustbucket in the picture.You buy something locally thats rusty and in 2 years you will
have nothing instead of a nice car you can be proud of.
Jim

I mean, there has to be a middle ground... there's got to be less rusty cars that aren't 1800 miles away.

chapel wrote:

here's the Lunenburg one:

http://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/cto/2597462344.html

this is what I got when asked about rust.

Jeez......

Road Trip!

for those prices you should fly south. They pop up around here in the 2K range with little or no rust, but as stated earlier you need to be quick.

A month ago, I saw a Gold Wood RMW with 1300 on the window. I was with co-workers and couldn't stop. 3 hours later went back and someone had bought it already. 140K and in better shape than that ^^^^^kind of rust (wasn't perfect, but not that bad either).

I have at least small blisters on all but one of my wagons....but the bottoms are all very solid. Not all have been FL cars either.

Go look at some rusty ones so you know what/where to look for the tell tale signs. Carpet and steering wheel wear will also indicate if mileage is correct. It's way to easy to swap intrument clusters so you need to be careful too.

thanks
what's the 'most north' you would consider?
I'd need to make this a 'day trip' at most if I'm travelling.