Jersey Brothers

Hi all -

My brother and I have had similar interests in vehicles ever since we got our licenses. We're 6 years apart age-wise, but somehow wind up with very similar cars. I got a Grand National, he got a Turbo Regal. He got a late-model F-body, I got a late-model F-body. I got a sport ute, he got a sport ute.

Now we're goofing around with LT1-powered B/D body cars.

My "longroof" car isn't a long roof in the traditional sense. It's a 5-foot stretched limo:



I cut my teeth on a 42-inch stretched '96 and moved to this 60-inch stretched '94 last summer.

My brother was so impressed with the LT1, RWD B/D body that he had to have one. But he needed something with a little more utility. So he got a '96 Roadmaster wagon. We pick it up tomorrow morning. It's a white woody with some minor mechanical issues, but a really solid body and nice interior. I'll be wrenching on it tomorrow I'm sure. I'll introduce him to the forum and get some pics up ASAP.

EDIT: I just noticed my uncle's '96 Caprice Wagon behind my limo. Small world :-)

Pretty cool! Always dug the limos.

Welcome aboard!

Welcome to the group!Those 60inch and under stretch limo's make for great long distance
traveling cars.A close friend just got back from the west cost today and swares that the
limo is great when you have big dogs.Anything with more than a 60 inch stretch start to
get a little too flexible for him and the handling starts to suffer no matter what you do.He has
2 german shepards who sleep in the back and they seem to really enjoy all the room back there

Welcome!! Sweet Limo! Love that pic too...was that the iPhone Panoramic feature? How did you do that shot??

Chris

Flasheroo wrote:

Welcome to the group!Those 60inch and under stretch limo's make for great long distance
traveling cars.A close friend just got back from the west cost today and swares that the
limo is great when you have big dogs.Anything with more than a 60 inch stretch start to
get a little too flexible for him and the handling starts to suffer no matter what you do.He has
2 german shepards who sleep in the back and they seem to really enjoy all the room back there

Exactly! 60" seems to be the limit for reasonable usability. I can still sort of park it in a normal spot and it's decently maneuverable. After moving up from the 42", I can tell the 60" is as big as i want to go. The 60" still pulls and handles decent and offers more leg room for the 6 passengers in the rear versus the 42". It doesn't have outside door handles on the middle doors so it looks like a "real" limo. It also has a partition that the 42" version doesn't have. Last, the 60" moves the rear HVAC module to the middle of the car, freeing up valuable trunk space over the 42" 6-door version. The longer wheelbase makes it really smooth and quiet, but the limo package deletes the ABS and TCS.

brokecello wrote:

Welcome!! Sweet Limo! Love that pic too...was that the iPhone Panoramic feature? How did you do that shot??

Thanks! Yes, it was shot with an iPhone 5 using the Panoramic feature. It was my brother's phone (I'm a Droid victim) and either he or my son shot it on a recent trip to Hershey, PA.

Welcome and that definitely fits the long roof bill. I had a chance at a 42" about a year ago I regret not picking up (something about 5 wagons at the time and no spendable cash....)
More pics when you can....

That's really nice...and definitely a departure from "just wagons". (Not that there is anything wrong with wagons of course.)

If that's really a '96 Caprice wagon back there, your uncle is a very unique (and lucky!) person. Only a few hundred were made that year. Would definitely like to see more of that one too.

(I've long thought that a hearse or car-based ambulance would be a very interesting car to have. I never thought about a limo.)

welcome aboard n that limo looks good,

uxwbill wrote:

That's really nice...and definitely a departure from "just wagons". (Not that there is anything wrong with wagons of course.)

If that's really a '96 Caprice wagon back there, your uncle is a very unique (and lucky!) person. Only a few hundred were made that year. Would definitely like to see more of that one too.

(I've long thought that a hearse or car-based ambulance would be a very interesting car to have. I never thought about a limo.)

Now that you've introduced some doubt about the year of that Caprice, I'm wondering now too. He was having some trouble with it a few years ago and I was trying to help him out. At that time, I thought we determined it was an OBD-II car which would make it a '96. He lives 4 hours away so I don't see him much, but I'm going to get to the bottom of it! He's retiring it soon in favor of a truck so I'll have to keep an eye on it. It looks great, but if memory serves it has some ungodly high miles on it.

Anyway, thanks for the kind words. I wasn't really looking for a limo when I got my first one. I was down to one car and I always have a backup because I'm always tinkering with something. I wanted a 2nd car I could drive daily if I wanted to and to put the kids and their junk in, but I didn't want to be another SUV/Minivan in the crowd. The LT1 Fleetwoods got great fuel economy (relatively speaking), were powerful and were big and roomy. I don't have anything against the Chevys and Caprices, but the extra 4" on the Fleetwood makes a big difference. Trouble was, they held their value too well. Decent ones were well outside my budget. But, limos were popping up in my price range. The rest is history - I got a '96, then the '94. The kids (11 and LOVE them and I can comfortably drive them whenever I want (I just have to consider the parking situation at my destination). The downside is that limo-specific replacement parts are impossible to find. Nearly everything behind the front doors is custom made and unique to each coach builder: seating, door panels, glass, interior & exterior trim, wiring, etc.

I'd love to have a mid-late 70s Fleetwood ambulance one day, but they're getting really hard to find. I've been forbidden by my kids to consider a hearse.

1993 Roady-man wrote:

welcome aboard n that limo looks good,

Thanks!

Okay - "Betty" (as the previous owner called her, after his mom who owned it) is at her new home.



It has a fairly long list of little things that need addressed, but we knew that. The A/C compressor is job #1 - the bearings are shot and it's making a lot of noise.

Thanks Jim. I was told her name is "The Betty". I'm glad t have her and can't wait to get the plates on it.

Oops. "The Betty" - my bad.

Love the limo. Not sure where you are in Jersey, but I get out that way on occasion. I live just west of Hershey and east of Carlisle. I would assume you were out for the Hershey show. LMK if you come to town again we can get a cup of joe.

BigBlackBeaSSt wrote:

Love the limo. Not sure where you are in Jersey, but I get out that way on occasion. I live just west of Hershey and east of Carlisle. I would assume you were out for the Hershey show. LMK if you come to town again we can get a cup of joe.

Definitely. We get out to the Hershey AACA every year. We also spend a few days at Hershey Park with the kids every summer. We do Corvettes at Carlisle annually too.

Next time we're in the area I'll let you know.

I'm in the northwest corner of NJ, about 30-40 miles east of the Delaware Water Gap off of Rt. 80. Right now, we're getting beat up by Sandy but for some reason the power is still on!

Details are sketchy right now, but my brother (My Betty) just reported that in the midst of Sandy, a giant maple fell on The Betty. It looks grim. I'll know more in the morning when I can get to my parents' house....

We I think we are done with her. Very little wind and just a drizzle this morning. Never lost power other than a long flicker.

Sorry to hear about The Betty. Better her than some of those other cars in the driveway!

turbojimmy wrote:

Details are sketchy right now, but my brother (My Betty) just reported that in the midst of Sandy, a giant maple fell on The Betty. It looks grim. I'll know more in the morning when I can get to my parents' house....

Sorry to hear about Betty. Cars can be replaced...people can't. Hope the family is all ok. You folks take care up there!!

-Mike

It's a bummer that a tree landed on The Betty...but hopefully everything and everyone else is safe!

My parents' house took a huge beating - that's where the car was at the time. Here's some pics. It's not repairable, I don't think:

That sucks big time! That wagon looks real clean inside too. Curse the storm!

turbojimmy wrote:

My parents' house took a huge beating - that's where the car was at the time.

From the pics, it doesn't look too bad. What happened? Broken Vista Roof glass?

If it pushed down or dented the roof, you might be able to drop the headliner and pound it back up again by hand.

Someone around here did something similar with an Astro van that a tree fell on. They just pushed the roof back up and it's still around today. The only obvious sign is a ding to one of the pillars.

Damn shame about the betty but homeowners insurance may cover the damage.Different from state to state.The damage from this monster storm will be felt for years and years to come.The
lives lost can never be replaced and the monetary cost will be felt with insurance rates and tax
hikes forever.My area was very fortunate compared to a huge part of this country and Canada
too!

Finally got power back yesterday, and Internet access back today. Was out for almost 7 days. Still did better than many people here in NJ who lost everything, some even lost their lives. Not having power was a huge inconvenience, but not life altering. Gas is still tough to get in some places, but I was lucky to fill my truck and some gas cans with no wait today.

Anyway, The Betty is toast. The tree hit the roof at the very edge of the windshield and demolished it. It would be really tough to repair. Yes, the vista roof is trashed too. The dent on the hood also bent up the radiator support. The left fender and front door are damaged as well. Right now we're using it to hoard fuel for the generator at my dad's house.

The adjuster will let us know in a few days what they're willing to give us for it. I'm pretty sure I've convinced Mike to get another one. We'll see....

Glad to hear you are ok.

Let me know if it is non-fixable and you plan on selling a few part off it...

Wicked bummer. But like you said, you guys are all ok and that's all that really matters. You can always find another car.

Time for a Franken mod.... you can always go Ratmaster on it, just build a new windshield and make a weirdo custom of some sort. Or rip out the interior and drive line and find a clean body to drop it into.....

Glad all are Okay, as mentioned, cars a replaceable.

Here's a cheep one for your bro, Longisland is not that far-> http://newyork.craigslist.org/lgi/cto/3313012719.html

Thanks all. It won't be too hard to find another wagon. If we can work it out with the insurance company, we'll part The Betty out. The interior is in great shape and there's lots of wagon-specific odds-n-ends on it. When the time comes, we'll post it in the appropriate section here.

Well, the insurance company said to go scratch. For now anyway. My dad is going to appeal (the car was on his property when it was damaged). There was no comprehensive coverage on the car.

So now I think we're going to try to fix it. The major things right now are the vistaroof, roof and the windshield. Getting those three things taken care of will seal it up. We'll need a hood, fender, grille and rad support too. Maybe a door, too - definitely a LH mirror.

We know a guy that does body work on the cheap. Going to have him check out the roof to see if he can get it banged back into shape to accept a "new" windshield.