1995 RMW Jade Project Wagon

Yep it kinds hurt trimming that inner dash but the results are totally worth it! Looks GREAT!

The evolution continues...

Wow, beautiful wagon man!

I was really hoping this was on the mod list!

Well...I had to make a choice. Keep my Rammit Intake or install the front frame/swaybar brace from Pro-Touring F-body.com.  I choose the brace BUT I will eventually run the air intake down by the PCM (move the PCM up and have the filter go into the inner fender).  For now...I'm all braced up and sucking hot air

nice work. What do you think of the brace ?

jasonlachapelle wrote:

nice work.  What do you think of the brace ?

Thanks! The Hotchkis engine bay brace really seemed to tighten up the fenders and hood. It actually made the ram air hood fit flush and sit even. The frame/swaybar brace seems noticible (to me at least) when I'm hitting those tight hard corners. The wagon feels more controlled through the corner. Could all be in my head...but I'm pleased!

Drove it hard today through the mountains and loved every minute! Made it back down before sunset.

Sweet wagon ! We are local each other, would like meet up sometime

car looks great have you ever weighed it before and after?

Eds rmw wrote:

Sweet wagon ! We are local each other, would like meet up sometime

Sounds good to me!

mtrhead79 wrote:

car looks great have you ever weighed it before and after?

Not since last fall at SSHS.  This thing is a pig with me in it (4,805 lbs) but was still able to pull off 14.9 in the quarter.  Since this weigh in I have changed the suspension / control arms / brakes (rear disk)/ added the braces and swapped to an aluminum driveshaft.

I did have a mostly full tank, floors and side panels covered with the Peel'n Seal sound insulation...amp and sub in the back wheelwell area.    

Unfortunately I have two gigs during SSHS this year...so no weigh in to compare.  

Notice more creaks from the stiffness?

Andebe wrote:

Notice more creaks from the stiffness?

No..the only thing I hear sometimes is a little vibration at idle in the dash (happened after I put in the Z28 Cluster) and my damn 3rd brakelight bottom plate. It will rattle with the exhaust sometime (when it's cold outside)

I will say that the #1 most annoying thing in the world with my wagon now (as noticed it as I upgraded the suspension and went with better tires) is my tilt steering column. It has play in the tilt (bushing or something?) and it drives me bonkers on corners.

I would pay someone to rebuild the column....because I know I would mess it up if I tried to take it all apart myself.

IIRC

its not so bad,.. get the spring compressor doohickey, to compress the lock plate,. then you finally come across 3 reverse torx looking bolts they need to be tightened,..

you have an FSM right?

Yeah, I have a FSM...if I can see it done / pics or video...it would make me feel a little more confident trying it myself. I am a visual learner (and when I try flat on my own...I usually fk it up the first time around) lol

aw c'mon now,. you can read music right?

Nice upgrade, and fixing the steering column is rather easy.

phantom 309 wrote:

aw c'mon now,.  you can read music right?

True dat....ok...time to suck it up.

1993 Roady-man wrote:

Nice upgrade, and fixing the steering column is rather easy.

10-4. I got this!

So, I had to ditch my Rammit intake setup since adding that front frame / swaybar brace.  I decided to do the hole in the innerfender / suck air behind the bumper thing.  

*Bought some 3.5in aluminum pipe online (I'm running the larger MAF so I kept it all 3.5...BUT...one of the lessons learned would be to reduce it to 3in to go into the inner fender. That would make for a nice hole and clear things perfectly) I was able to use the Rammit 90 bend for the under the bumper piece. That was nice.

*Relocated my PCM up and out of the way

*Cut a hole and realized I was a dumb @ss and should have measured twice AND went with a smaller pipe...cut another hole (luckily I do have spare inner fenders in the attic incase I want to undo this someday) and decided I needed a cover plate to hide my mistake.  Lol

*Bought a prefilter to help keep things clean

*Undercoated the pipes to give it the black look and insulate it from heat.  

*made my cover plate and added some foam to tidy up everything.

* The plastic inner fender piece went on great...except I could not get one bolt on...I need to adjust the thread back a bit (th einsert on the inner fender) and I should be able to get a nut on it fine. It is really tight as is though. AND...if you used a 3in pipe you would not have this issue. Again, I was 3.5 all the way baby.

Boom™






















Chris

looks good.
Had you tuned the car for the MAF being right on the TB ? If so, you'll probably want to get the MAF calibration tables tweaked for the more traditional position. If you hadn't, just disregard.

Great looking install.

jasonlachapelle wrote:

looks good.  
Had you tuned the car for the MAF being right on the TB ?  If so, you'll probably want to get the MAF calibration tables tweaked for the more traditional position.  If you hadn't, just disregard.

Oh...good thought. I did have the car tuned for the bigger MAF when I got it...but I would have never thought to tweak it again with it changing positions! Will do. And PS...yes..photobucket and the ads are BAD right now. Damn.

Andebe wrote:

Great looking install.

Thank you Sir!!!

I updated the pics...so they all should be there now.

Taking the wagon to ISSCA Nats in Indy this month. Eager to see how the suspension and brake upgrades handle the events!

Chris

As usual, top notch work!

That's exactly what I plan to do for my intake. Thanks.

Where'd you get that plastic that you cut?

And the aluminum tube and clamps, for that matter?

That's my next purchase.

The ABS plastic sheet came from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C1GTNZE/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The couplers for the intake tubes came from Amazon (Spectre)

The intake pieces came from Amazon as well:

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Aluminum+Intake+tube&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3AAluminum+Intake+tube

Ok, since it looks like Photobucket finally fixed my pics....I will give an update. Lol

The old hood (seen here in a pic from ISSCA Nats in July) is now gone.  I bought a new 2in steel cowl hood and my old one lives on a SS once again.  

BUT, the painter I used was a little off on the match.  So...I need to get it fixed again (for some reason he was really pushing back on blending with the fender tops). I put my NOS grille on since the painted one didn't match.  I actually like the stock grille look though.    

Before:




After:

I prefer that hood. Looks so much cleaner. I love it

I totally love the new hood! Love it! I'd like to have one for my car!

-Mike

I guess I gotta be the guy...I like the old hood better,but hey,its your wagon,Chris. I dont think the new hood is ugly,just favor the old one. Its still my favorite ride on the forum. May the Christmas wagon roll forever,lol.

the suncoast hood looked much better, I'm not a fan of cowl hoods.

buickestate wrote:

the suncoast hood looked much better, I'm not a fan of cowl hoods.

I don't disagree with you much, but MAN I do here. I liked the Suncoast hood, but to me it looked like an Oldsmobile design...would look great on a Custom Cruiser, but this new cowl hood, to me, looks fantastic!

I am partial to cowl hoods though, having owned that 79 Corvette....of of course my goofy Citation X-11. I love looking over a cowl hood from inside the car...as long as it's not too tall. This one looks GREAT to me.

-Mike

Chevy cowl hood on a buick,...
Not for me personally,. Cowl hoods are done to death

Truly amazing, I love it.

Well, I was tired of the look and was never thrilled with that hood. It was cool for a little while but everyone down here has a Suncoast style hood.

Great thing about modding...is you can always change it later. Once I can get the paint matching, I will like it more myself.

Lol

Did you keep the Cylon eye lights?

I think I like the chrome grille better, Chris. And for me, that's rare.

It really ties the front of the car in with the beltline trim, since you have an Olds bumper on there now.

Just to echo what JasonL said - every time you change your intake piping or move the MAF, you'll need to recalibrate the MAF tables. You can use the stock O2 sensor outputs to do it... assuming the O2 sensors are still in the factory positions on the factory exhaust. BUT... if they're not, you need to recalibrate the O2 sensor gains and delays for the new exhaust first... and you can do that by reinstalling a complete stock intake setup on a stock motor.... wait, I think you're motor's not stock either? Nevermind. Does it start, run and drive?

Well, the hood is fixed now and it matches.  I liked the chrome grille...but I think the painted on ties into the headlights better.  If I can get a set of the clear lights, I might put the chrome grille back on.  

Got the wagon back Friday and took it to Charlotte for the Fall Autofair.  

Video Link:



.

And Pics:

It's gorgeous, but I like the chrome grill better....

81X11 wrote:

It's gorgeous, but I like the chrome grill better....  

Yeah..I'm torn for sure. Like RedandBlack said...the chrome ties into the other bling. But I wish my headlights were lighter. If I can find a set of the clear ones, I might swap them out and go chrome grille. I do like my bling...

No stock set to compare? It'll give you an idea, maybe.

RedandBlack wrote:

No stock set to compare? It'll give you an idea, maybe.

No, I gave those away to a friend who needed a set. I also see you can only get those weird one piece lights now in clear.

I plan to hit up the local yards this fall...so I will try to snag an extra stock set.

Street Trends still lists 'em:

https://www.streettrendsinc.com/lighting/electrical/91-96-caprice/impala-ss-euro-headlamps-amber-corners-4pc/

I like the painted grill better. IMO,your ride has a phantom vibe.

Not a high dollar mod...but a big improvement on the eyes. I've always hated the look of my red top battery and I saw a cover on another car this past weekend at AutoFair. Some paint (it was still drying when I took these pics so it looks splotchy...but it is not now) and BOOM.

There is a guy making silicone hoses in all colors for our cars now too. I'd like to get some black ones, but these blue Goodyear hoses are supposed to last forever. lol

Does look better!

Where does one find the colored hoses?

Nice touch,funny how the small things make us happy.

Thanks and yes! Sometimes the small things mean the most!

Dandy, I just know him from Instagram. Here is his page:

https://www.instagram.com/bonospecialties/


His design eliminates the "T" too.

Oh wow. I know who that is.... lol