1993 RMW Gran Sport Collector's Edition

Good day mates,

Glad to join the team.

I have a 1993 RMW that has a hood ornament market "Collector's Edition" with Gran Sport Emblems.

Does anyone know about this version RMW? I can't seem to find anything on the internet.

Just finished rebuilding the rear window hinges, which were all rusted out. All the metal is now stainless steel. (didn't want to replace the hinge with another that would just rust out. If anyone has had this problem, let me know. I'd be happy to share the solution (or maybe someone has a better method).

Looking forward to learning and contributing.

Robert in Southwest Florida

Welcome to the land of Make-Believe!  








-Texas Mike

There was never a Gran Sport Roadmaster made from the factory...though many, me included as you can see above...have made our own.

As for the Collector's Edition, those were the 1996 models, which were the last year for these cars before the factory moved to building 4dr Tahoes. All the '96 models got the Collector's Edition hood ornaments, and SOME got the ones on the front fenders too.

Many non-96 models did have the Collector's Edition ornaments added in later years....as seen on this 92 Sedan.


Oh and FYI the Sedan and Wagon ornaments are not the same, due to the angle of the hoods being different.

One more worthless fact, the hood ornament was first used in 1985 on the last re-rear-drive Buick LeSabres, and GM brought it back for the 96 Roady models, with the only difference being the background of the emblem on the 85 LeSabre was white, while the ones on the Roady have a grey background, as seen above.

I am a fountain of useless information. Welcome to the forum and post pics of your car when you can!

-Texas Mike

Thanks Texas Mike,
You sure have a beauty. She looks brand new. Obviously you've given her a lot of TLC.

I bought my '93 twelve years ago. She's always been a Florida car.



BTW, I put on the three ports on the front fenders -- they should have come standard as the hallmark of a Roadmaster ;-)
When I bought her, she had GS badging and was sold to me by a wholesaler as a GS. He didn't hype the sale because it had GS emblems -- to him it was just another car.

When I bought her she had throaty pipes, the rear end was jacked up a couple of inches, and she had 17 inch low profile five spoke alloy wheels with Buick badging (which I sold to a friend who wanted them and I wanted a bit more comfortable ride with 15 inch wheels.

I suppose someone could have retrofitted her as a GS before I bought her, or she could also have been a special upgrade outfitted by the dealer in Miami.

The Collector's Edition hood ornament has developed cloudiness between the surface acrylic and the graphics. Anyone know how to fix it or get a replacement?

Also, the steering wheel horn buttons have begun to break off. Can they be fixed or replaced? Would a steering wheel assembly from a '94-96 be a better alternative than trying to fix a poorly conceived horn button?

I love the '93 -- the last year with analog instruments -- some of us like the old fashioned look.

Thanks, Robert

That's a stunning vehicle you got there.

If you're going to do the porthole thing, you should at least have 4 per side. It's a V8, after all.

Definitely just someone who added the badges. They got different one (notice one of your Gran Sport badges is chrome trimmed and one is black - probably from different models).

Nothing you can do about the hood ornament but find a better one. I personally would try and find the right one, since I'm not a fan of the Collector's Edition one (and it isn't technically correct for your car, but I don't think that's a factor, really). You'll be more likely to find one of them as well.

I like your wood grain replacement. Did you do that or was it like that when you bought it?

Welcome to the forum.

Hey you've had yours a year longer than mine. Pretty cool! Mine has some parking-lot dings and is just starting to get a little sun-fade on the rear tailgate wood (rear faces the sun in my garage), but other than that is in really nice shape. I've kept it garaged, it was built in Dallas (Arlington), sold new in San Antonio to a military officer, and then I bought it in 2007 and drove it north to Austin, so it's never seen salt and it's always been garaged.

As for the mods on your car...I kinda agree that those were added, and it does look like it was re-wooded at some point in it's life. As for the hood ornament, I'll be happy to keep an eye out for one on my yarding adventures!

As for the steering wheel....frankly...the 94-96 wheel is ugly and cheap...half leather, half plastic. You may get lucky and find someone here with good horn buttons for your wheel, but if I were you I'l find an older Buick 3-spoke wheel at a salvage yard or on Ebay and just install that and pull the air bag light. You''ll be amazed how much better your a/c will feel when not having to reach you around that huge air bag!

Guys,
Thanks for your advice and observations. Good stuff. I'll work on the assumption that the mods were either dealer or owner additions. There is a long tradition of dealers doing upgrades -- which is a possibility.

She did get new wood veneer ten years ago -- it was browner then -- faded in the tropical sun. Probably due for another veneering in five years. Problem is getting the moulding clips -- they seem scarce and most of them break when pulled out. Any good source for clips other than eBay?

How could I have not put 4 ports on her? -- thanks for the observation -- I'll do that.

BTW, many people remark about the ports -- it's a Buick for sure. Just as an aside (which all of you probably know), when the portholes emerged in 1949, Buick chief designer Ned Nickles took inspiration from the wonderful new jet aircraft (the basic Buick shape had evolved from the propeller-driven Lockheed P-38), along with the rounded "fuselage" of car body sides, the big scoop grilles, and the aileron-like tailfins. Nickles whimsically mounted little amber lights inside the portholes of his own '48 Roadmaster, wired through the distributor to flash in firing order, mimicking the fire-spitting exhaust of a fighter plane.. Buick took the bait (less the lights) and made them standard in '49), Flint managers stared at it wide-eyed in open admiration; the wonder is that they didn't make it standard.

I like the idea of a '92 wheel -- she's a pretty design.

That would be really neat to see someone do that with the lights.

I doubt any dealer installed badges, thats a form of fraud to represent any car as a different more upscale model,. back in the day adding "brougham" badges to a car was a popular thing too,. so was adding "SS" badging,."limited edition" badges are another popular addition to any marque

I have a hood ornament from a sedan, and the base looks like the one on the wagon. Even if the base is different, you can remove the top portion, and swap bases.

I swapped a c5 corvette wheel into mine. You need to adapt the wires maybe for the airbag, but at least I think mine still works (SRS light blinks then goes out like it's supposed to) + they still sell the buttons for the corvette wheel so everything works properly.

It looks just like a 94 caprice wheel, but with the corvette crossed flags instead of the Chevy badge. Nice leather wrapped wheel, for not much, and you keep an airbag if you like those sorts of things.

^ Got pics? I'm intrigued.

rauldelp -- Thanks for the idea. It triggered a lot of decisions.
1. Anyone with a '93 RMW knows the horn button is a poor design. Here in Florida the heat turns the plastic brittle. My horn buttons are all jury rigged (not good in an emergency). And there seems to be no good way to repair them.
2. I love the idea of putting in a '92 wheel, but my girlfriend convinced me that safety is important and if the RMW has air bags they should be used.
3. Checked out a Corvette wheel, but for the entire package (wheel, horn & air bag) the price was getting out hand.
4. Checked out a 1993-96 Cadillac Fleetwood wheel package and found a complete one on eBay for only $35 plus shipping. It looks like a perfect fit and has leather on 360 degrees of the wheel. With some leather restoration, this will be a good replacement. I can glue a Buick emblem over the  Cadillac crest, and have a good horn.
Here are some pics:

Check your RM airbag, it may fit the FW wheel.

Seaspriter

I have the hood ornament you are looking for. You may need another post before you can PM.

My email is silverfox103@gmail.com


Tom

Thanks Tom and others who offered to help with the Hood Ornament.
Restoration is progressing well.
Steering wheel from the '93 Fleetwood arrived today. Looks like it will probably be a perfect fit. Will post pics and updates after I finish the leather restoration.
Tom, via email I've sent you a Paypal payment for the Hood Ornament.
Best Wishes,
Robert