Stewzer55's 1992 Olds CC

What degree/career you working towards?

Nursing Home Administrator

Yesterday my wagon was "borrowed" without my permission, the weather was bad and it had no business being driven without my permission, especially by someone unfamiliar with its quirks with the wipers and braking in the dark and rain. I came home and the rear glass had been left open to the rain, seats way too far forward, unlocked, and keys left in the ignition. The angle of the rain was such that it appeared that much water didn't end up in the car, but I was infuriated that it was even touched, none the less left in that state. Is getting my own parking boot unreasonable?

pull the fuse for fuel pump,.put in a switch,.

easier and cheaper than a boot,.

Sounds like family...Sigh.

Yup, family. I don't even care it was brought back with a full tank of fuel.

I vote for fuse removal or switch since you can't trust the family.....

That may be what I will do, but I can't see it going over well. I'm may be moving soon and could be able to garage it, I love it too much to "store" it at home. Reason for moving is for work, I have an in-person interview next week and to stay here is a 70 mile one way commute, my added fuel and vehicle maintenance costs alone would pay for rent, plus I'd be back on my own. I desperately miss being on my own, living at home now is a necessity. I drove it today, no salt on the roads.

Good luck with the interview.

Good luck with the interview Stew and the potential move.

Just forgive the family member and move on. I've learned it's wiser just to leave alone people who don't respect or understand the value of other folks' property.

Praying for a good interview for you!

Diagnosed the tailgate button issue. Going for a parts run for the repair and to drive it. Old lock rod clip had the ears broke off and was causing the lock rod to come out and get bound up.

I really need to do some cleaning, but it just fits there so well. Never mind the shaky pic, looks so much clearer on the smaller screen of the phone.

Break for the Bandit!

Now all you need's a whip antenna!

I'm leaning towards a 3-4' Firestik and using a roof rack crossbar for a mount for a no holes installation that can easily be taken down for low clearance areas an such.

Was driving this week, stopped and my foot went to the floor, brake light lit up, buzzers started going off... WTF, pump the brake pedal a few times still lit, still going to the floor. Blew the rear brake line on Wednesday, puddle of fluid by the left rear tire like a puppy that just piddled itself. I'm going to have the time to look and see what actually happened today, soft line or hard. Personally, last week was rough, I've been working half days in the morning, had to study for my exam I had yesterday (passed, WOO HOO), and had hardly been home all week due to either having to go back into work in the evening, helping a friend work on his house for his refi project.

As I said, I passed my exam and should have my NHA license issued soon, hopefully that means I'll be working more regular hours and for much better pay. That means wagon parts and fixing the little issues it has here and there, right?

Hardline is blown over the air compressor, should replace the hoses too. Debating on a new line from the ABS unit because it looks like the line has been patched before by the number of unions in place. Also noticed that the link rod to the level sensor is broken. Still would like to relocate the compressor up front like 94-96 cars.

Congrats on passing the exam. Let the wagon spending,begin!

Wagon spending is going to take a little bit, still need to fix the brakes. After that will be a good tune up, redoing the headliner and overhauling the AC system, new speakers just stuff to make it a better driver for now. Later on is going to be performance mods.

Wagon spending,is wagon spending,except not every dollar is as fun as others. The end game is a better ride you can enjoy.

I looks like I may have pulled out the last of the original line going back to the axle, Date on the hose was March 92, lines up with the date of assembly of my wagon of April 10, 1992. Some of the line on the axle itself had been replaced, at least going to the right rear, just short of the T fitting at the end of the hose was a section that had a compression fitting on it! I wonder if that had caused any leaks!

The visible hole in the line was in the 90* bend at the crossmember just before the axle. Compressor removal wasn't too difficult, It's NOT going back there! If it's just a different bracket for the 94-96 style, mine still works, but the linkage to the level sender is broken, I have no idea where to get that.

Part of me wants to pull the rear end and start going nuts with it, clean up and protect the frame and axle, run all new line on the axle and make it how it should be. The other part of me wants to just get it back to driver status to just be able to enjoy the car.

It will be cheaper now to just get it back together, I just don't really feel as if its the right way to do it.

My observations are, if you live in a southern climate, your fun car can be your year round daily driver,
even if its not, it can sit , and when u come back to it, the car still looks the same.
Here in the northeast u need a heated garage, or u come back to your project, and it has deteriorated since the last time u saw it, the aluminum is now all furry etc, so you ignore it and after a while from sitting it comes to the point where you need a bucketful of motivation to fix it up, not to mention the economics involved just to get the car back to driveable status, , brakes ,tires etc, emmissions tests
blah blah blah, i have 3 wagons that all need love,
i now have a fleetwood to drive, so the wagons get ignored and time and the elements carry on doing their work

The biggest thing holding me back right now is money, when I bought the car I did not expect things to get this tight. I hoped by this point I'd be working with a comfortable salary and money to not be the issue it is right now. That can change in a few weeks, I'm getting very aggressive with my job search and had a really good interview on Friday for a "get my foot in the door" position. I have an interview Tuesday, that if I take the job, I'd have to move, but its the type of job that should have comfortable salary. There's a job in Richmond, IN I've had my eye on, but my License will only be Ohio (I fully expect my letter to come this week) and I can become licensed in Indiana for that position. In my field, an Ohio license is one of the hardest to get and I can practically go anywhere.


The condition of the underside is just okay, nothing that requires immediate attention (other than the brake lines). It's just not perfect, maybe its all the hot rodding shows, the auctions and shows I've gone to forcing these ideas. The metal is solid, some surface rust caused by a crappy undercoating job. It's not a rustbelt car, thank God, I'm just a little too anal about how I think my car should look.

well just remember ,.

people are just dying to get out of nursing homes,.

Most of the business comes from short term therapy, discharge much more people to home than to a funeral director.

Richmond,you say? Good luck!

Yup, I got my letter this morning with my score results and a bill for $250 for my first year license.

A picture I took last month:

Somethings blocking the view of your lovely,OCC...

Its update time again!

While I continue looking for work in my chosen profession, I've taken up work as a lot tech for a GM dealership and I've been slowly making progress on the wagon again. While I have the brake lines to get the job done, I have a few hangups.

1. Fittings are frozen in the wheel cylinders, figures, they're cheap so why not, I'll just pull the rest of the line through and call it good.

2. I need to get some more hardware, namely a union and a few clips to keep the lines in place.

3. The lines I got for the axle are way too long, I'll just shorten them, I'll have to get a flaring too made.

Service at work made the main piece of line going to the brake hose, the one that had a hole, its NiCopp with a bubble flare for the hose and a standard double flare to connect to the line that has already been repaired. They did it for the cost of the fittings put on the line.

I really want to take this on a Road Rally this weekend, So I have to get it done by Saturday. Also, being a GM Dealership (Buick-GMC-Cadillac) it would really be fun to take it into work.

We need to roll somewhere together some time...after you get her,"trusty."

Slow and Steady... Back end of the wagon is on jackstands, wheels off. I pulled the drums and aside from dirt everything looks well. Still haven't bought the new wheel cylinders, need brake clean and time. Next few days I won't be home very much, but hoping I'll be able to get to it.

Wheel Cylinders installed, lines installed, brakes bled, no leaks and rear drums adjusted one Labor Day. It stops just fine, drove it to work today, now instead of being covered with dust its full of water spots because I ran out of time to dry it.


IT FEELS SO (effing) GOOD TO DRIVE IT AGAIN!

The orange wagon puked a brake line last week,. i really need to fix it,. but its the main line from front to back, hole is just by trans crossmember,

Kids are impressed by the abillity to do serious burnouts now tho,.

That was the line that puked out on mine, just further out back.


I've been driving it, I'm able to clean it at work too, beats the hell out of doing it at my house.



Normally I'm anti-tire shine, but it makes those look good, 235/75's really fill out the wheel well. I've had the wheel covers on it for a while, they clear the 9C1 center caps.

As hubcaps go,those look pretty sweet.

The stock wheel covers do look good. I drove it for my Thanksgiving traveling, Odometer is now reading just over 117k, just over 300 miles this week.  Last fill up registered 19.38 MPG, gas has been cheap but it probably won't get driven again until March. There's still a ton of work that needs done, but as the air turns colder, the less I want to spend outside working on any car. A "barn" would be great, with good lighting and a heat source but I'm just dreaming.

I'm considering building the engine into a 383 that doesn't run out of breath at 4500RPM and cranks out at least 450 ft/lbs over a broad range, but that maybe a lofty goal for a streetable small block Chevy.  I'm also weighing other options available, Iron 6.0LS, going with a real Oldsmobile V8 or a Rat.  All of this is farther down the road, the L05 is adequate.

Also, my Brother has bought a wagon, it's not a B-body, or even GM, '97 Volvo GLT. I have to say from having done some work on it, they are pretty easy to work on. A heater core replacement is done with the dash intact and only takes 2 screwdrivers to do. It's better to work on than some GM cars, even with a decent amount of reasonably priced parts.

I love the Volvo wagons,V70's are sweet.

Just checking in. At the end of March last year the OCC went back to daily status since there was something acting up in the Trailblazer giving me no TCC lockup. It was my daily over the summer and one day in July the mast on the power antenna got bent. I replaced it temporarily with a universal unit and scored a NOS GM fixed mount and did learn that my power antenna motor is still good, just needs a cable and mast. In August, I got a promotion and started back in school for my MBA, on the first day of my new job and the first day of class the battery died in the Olds. Late September I finally get the TB back and start letting that rack up miles while I have been letting the wagon rest. I noticed that the right valve cover is leaking oil but haven't got around to it yet. Desire to work on cars is nil with the cold weather, amount of schoolwork and lack of daylight. Hopefully come spring I will get some smaller things done with it and get back to enjoying it.

School and work are more important than tinkering with your car. That is, unless you have no transportation. Wait till the warm weather and get them back in shape. Thanks for dropping in.

Tom

I really do enjoy the car though, other than the battery issue it was dead reliable as a daily driver all summer. I even got my first ever speeding ticket in the Olds back in August. School will be running through May 2019 and I've got a 3.75 GPA after 2 courses and have been doing really well in the current one.

Speeding ticket in a TBI,wow! Lol,I think we all should be given a pass in those rides. Congrats on the promotion,Stew.

My son Eddie, who is TALLER than me, both raises the seat and moves it forward when he drives any car we have. It's a great argument for a Memory feature. Only Misty's Enclave has that. I miss it in my Roady wagon!!

Love the dark blue Olds wagon by the way, and yep, for hubcaps those stockers are not too bad!

Been busy the last few months between life, work and school. My employer burned me out and in February my grandfather passed away at 94 years of age, for me it served as a wake up call as I was very unhappy with my job as it was constantly getting in the way of having adequate time to be a student and other commitments I have and I turned in my two weeks notice a week after he passed. I have been looking for new work, but my current class has been taking a lot of time.

At the end of January, the weather broke briefly and salt was washed off the roads and I did take it for a drive on my birthday. Also, I picked up an extra vehicle to have as well, a 99 S10 4.3 5 speed which is really decent on fuel and is in decent shape for what it is and this area. One of these days I will rehost my pictures since Photobucket did their thing. Also, tow pack B-Bodies are better drivers than 03-11 Panthers, Dad's 05 Grand Marquis feels very, very numb and wallowy, even with my worn out and blown air shocks in the rear the '92 Olds feels more connected to the road and more comfortable

Mike, the dark blue looks much better in pictures than it does in person, it was a quick single stage job and now in spots I can see where the old clear was delaminating, but its a driver, not a museum piece and I will have it repainted some day with a good basecoat/clearcoat. I think it may have not had enough hardener mixed in when the hood was painted, but I'm no expert.

Sorry for your loss,Stew.

Thanks Andebe, it has not been easy at all, he was a very good man and I have learned a lot from him.

It's been about 8 months since I was last here, haven't had much time for forums lately. The big news about my wagon is...

GARAGE!

I took a job in Columbus, OH back in June and decided that 125 miles of daily commuting, even if I was part of a vanpool was a bit much. At the end if August, my brother and I got a house in the greater Columbus area with a rather generous 2 car garage that houses my OCC and his '97 Volvo 850 GLT. Another benefit of moving is I can take advantage of my flexible hours that my employer offers. I have left healthcare but am still in progress of finishing my MBA; I have gone into accounting and really enjoy it.

Back in June, I went to the ISWC convention show in Dayton and took a bunch of pics of the longroofs that were there. Unfortunately the next day I blew a front brake line but thankfully was able to get her off the road safely with no other damage. I had a shop fab new front lines and got new pads, rotors, hoses and bearings done. It wasn't cheap, but I had no time to do it myself and I get to drive it rather than let it sit. Oh yeah, I have Jason's old hitch that was on the Caprice Andebe bought from him, it's not on the car yet. I picked it up right before he moved. Winter is coming soon so it's going to be in the garage rather than outside this winter.

Glad to hear the wagon won't be soaking and freezing out in the weather there this winter. Congrats on the house...and the shorter commute! 125miles? I can't imagine that! My commute is 8-miles and with traffic I'm pulling my hair out some days just with that!

Take Care!

-Mike