Hi all,
I just picked up my first Roadmaster wagon, and I'm thrilled with it. It's a '95 and it's got 196km. She's mostly stock.
So far in the 3 days since I picked her up, I've just been trying to get a feel for her, so I can start to formulate a plan to make her my own. She's a woody with Light Driftwood paint, so obviously I'm feeling the need to start tackling the exterior, but I'm trying to remain level-headed and make sure the bones are strong first. There's mild rust in the spare tire well, but other than that it seems solid. I'm not super mechanical, so I hope this car helps me to become more hands on.
The A/C seemed ok on the test drive the week before buying it, but it's not blowing cold right now, so that's a priority.
The tailgate doesn't drop, it only swings. I read a couple posts on this topic, so I decided to make that the first thing I tackle. I took off the interior trim panel and can see where the pulley is disconnected. I can now manually open the tail gate but need to affix the pulley so I can screw it all back together. However, there's some damage to the rear bumper where it's pushed in slightly (pic below), and this causes the tailgate trim to rub the bumper when I manually drop the tailgate. So getting the warped bumper tended to just bumped itself up the list as well. I also have a click in the gate hinge to resolve. Projects!
There's a lot of hanging rubber from the door seals that I need to re-attach. It flaps in the wind when driving sometimes...extra noticeable with 4 windows down due to the lack of a/c. And my Buick emblem is missing up front, but I have a lead on a cheap replacement close by. The typical upper trim peeling will need to be addressed too, as is to be expected.
Aside from all that, she really seems like a solid find. I'm just struggling to stop myself from going nuts and taking on too many projects at once, or focusing too much on getting the appearance right. Tints, rims, and an upgraded sound system are the biggest wants, but I have no idea where the funds to do it all will come from. I wouldn't say buying this wagon was an impulse, because I've been looking at them weekly online for years. However I didn't expect a clean example to pop up so close by. I really wanted one that was fairly stock, so I could really take my time with the customization decisions.
Anywho, I look forward to posting when I need advice, but for now I'm going to try and post a couple pictures here.
Side View
Back View (with dent)
With my Allure (the year round wheels)
Home 
Wed Jun 04, 2014 12:05 am
Congrats, and welcome. 