2022 - What did you do to your wagon this week?

So glad I bought mine to drive and not as an investment. Will never, ever in my life care what these cars are worth.

Well like anything I do I take things to the extreme according to the misses . I have been cleaning up and detailing the engine compartment so now I'm removing all the bolts , brackets , supports etc. glass beading them and repainting with Eastwood Satin paint . I picked up a set of mint inner fender liners and now that the weather is a bit cooler I can spend more time working on my wagon . It's not a show car but when you go to a cruise in everyone looks at the engine compartment and this car is so nice that needs to complement the rest of it . And as for 94Woody's post I'm in 100 percent in agreement I just enjoy working on the wagon it's priceless to me .

Returned from a 2,400 mile trouble free road trip then took 8 people out in the wagon.

Bucky53 wrote:: I sold it. The market is tanking for these cars and I couldn't justify keeping it. They have gone from the mid 20s to low teens in the last months. The Buick boys are really taking a beating.

I personally don't care what the resale value is, since I don't plan on getting rid of my wagon.

The cost of owning a B body wagon is cheaper than making payments to buy a new vehicle.

Fred Kiehl wrote:: The cost of owning a B body wagon is cheaper than making payments to buy a new vehicle.

So true. I have an old wagon while the wife has a new SUV. Payments on that 30k vehicle are higher than what my $1700 wagon uses per month.

Even if it were worth big bucks, trust me it isn’t with 230k on the odo and scorched paint, it won’t ever be sold. Father in Law helped me bring the old girl home not long before Cancer took him away from us.

94Woody wrote:

Fred Kiehl wrote:: The cost of owning a B body wagon is cheaper than making payments to buy a new vehicle.

So true. I have an old wagon while the wife has a new SUV. Payments on that 30k vehicle are higher than what my $1700 wagon uses per month.

Even if it were worth big bucks, trust me it isn’t with 230k on the odo and scorched paint, it won’t ever be sold. Father in Law helped me bring the old girl home not long before Cancer took him away from us.

30k dollar SUVs are hard to come by now also.... unless they are the little crossover ones...

Bucky53 wrote:: I sold it. The market is tanking for these cars and I couldn't justify keeping it. They have gone from the mid 20s to low teens in the last months. The Buick boys are really taking a beating.

funny... market on any cars isnt tanking. And its not like you are dealing with 50k+ vehicles... so even if they did tank , no one is losing much money... they are cheap, fun cars to have.

Not much, it sat in the garage all week. Today I did get my wires routed, mounted the amp and ran all my speaker wires to where they needed to go.

2022 - What did you do to your wagon this week? - Page 2 PSezvU4

2022 - What did you do to your wagon this week? - Page 2 PSezvU4

The engine compartment detail continues still removing bolts and brackets that need refinishing . I removed the hood insulation pad , it's still in fairly good shape and I can't find an NOS one .So I cleaned it off with some Simple Green and a soft brush cleaned up nicely . It has a couple of wear spots and my thought is to find some hood insulation material and bond it to my existing liner . Called my upholstery guy and will be running the car down to him to have the headliner material replaced .

hauled 20 bags of mulch. Easily would have taken another 20 lol.

Today I finished my double din install and got my dash all put back together. It was freaking nightmare. Every time I touched the dash another piece would crack. Finally got it all secured and slammed the ashtray closed so it would stick in place. Maybe one day I will get lucky and find a replacement.

2022 - What did you do to your wagon this week? - Page 2 ILqvLJy

2022 - What did you do to your wagon this week? - Page 2 ILqvLJy

Once I got my stereo all set up I quickly realized that a 140 Amp alt was not enough. Last night I took it apart and turned it into a 200 Amp. Pretty easy job that only requires solder in two small places. Having a new Delco alt made it even easier.

2022 - What did you do to your wagon this week? - Page 2 8o7DI1O

2022 - What did you do to your wagon this week? - Page 2 8o7DI1O

Nice job Sprocket! 2022 - What did you do to your wagon this week? - Page 2 1f60e

Got any more info on the alternator upgrade?

rcktpwrd wrote:: Got any more info on the alternator upgrade?

$100 kit from eBay. Seller is in Vero Beach so it got here pretty quick.

It’s basically a rebuild kit as it comes with new bearings for the rotor. New stator and all the internals. Pretty simple job and there is a nice video on You Tube that walks you through the entire process.

Went to the AACA Fall Meet in Hershey this past week and the wife showed the wagon.

Driving into the show:
2022 - What did you do to your wagon this week? - Page 2 BihVMtkh

2022 - What did you do to your wagon this week? - Page 2 BihVMtkh

On the field:
2022 - What did you do to your wagon this week? - Page 2 TdQWEUvh

She shows the car in the Historical Preservation of Original Features class. The vehicles in this class are original and unrestored with only maintenance items replaced.
The show overall had 1015 vehicles registered.

Last edited by 94Woody on Sat Oct 15, 2022 9:18 pm; edited 2 times in total

Bought an engine to rebuild and eventually install. Aluminum head LT1 from 94 Z28. Washed it and took it apart for inspection, recently rebuilt but either the builder was dirty or the owner never changed the oil because one cylinder has a small scratch and the crank will need turned. Really hoping it can just be honed.

2022 - What did you do to your wagon this week? - Page 2 V9q953r

2022 - What did you do to your wagon this week? - Page 2 V9q953r

Also scored a very hard to find and very expensive when you do, defrost free rear glass. Didn't cost me a Kidney either. Mine doesn't work anyways and these make tint look so much nicer.

2022 - What did you do to your wagon this week? - Page 2 LupsvEd

2022 - What did you do to your wagon this week? - Page 2 LupsvEd

94Woody wrote:: Bought an engine to rebuild and eventually install. Aluminum head LT1 from 94 Z28. Washed it and took it apart for inspection, recently rebuilt but either the builder was dirty or the owner never changed the oil because one cylinder has a small scratch and the crank will need turned. Really hoping it can just be honed.

Also scored a very hard to find and very expensive when you do, defrost free rear glass. Didn't cost me a Kidney either. Mine doesn't work anyways and these make tint look so much nicer.

Sorry for the massive pictures. Need to find a different host because Imgur changed their image editor from very simple to I cannot figure it out.

You can just host the pictures on the site. I think they even size them for you.

Not really surprised by what you found. Sad to say there are lots of "rebuilt" engines out there that were only partially done, done poorly, or assembled poorly, etc.

I always tell anyone who buys a car with a rebuilt engine claim or a rebuilt engine from most anyplace including the remanufacturers it is best to open it up and check it out before using it. Essentially every one I ever helped them check had numerous things that were wrong, some serious, some not.

Too large bearing clearances and piston to wall clearances seem to be the most common errors in the shortblocks I have seen and valve stem clearances in the heads too loose is in almost all of them. Nobody wants to spend the cash for guide replacement around here.

Woody, it would be nice if we could see the whole picture at one time. The size makes them a little pixilated as well.

booster wrote:

94Woody wrote:: Bought an engine to rebuild and eventually install. Aluminum head LT1 from 94 Z28. Washed it and took it apart for inspection, recently rebuilt but either the builder was dirty or the owner never changed the oil because one cylinder has a small scratch and the crank will need turned. Really hoping it can just be honed.

Also scored a very hard to find and very expensive when you do, defrost free rear glass. Didn't cost me a Kidney either. Mine doesn't work anyways and these make tint look so much nicer.

Sorry for the massive pictures. Need to find a different host because Imgur changed their image editor from very simple to I cannot figure it out.

You can just host the pictures on the site. I think they even size them for you.

Not really surprised by what you found. Sad to say there are lots of "rebuilt" engines out there that were only partially done, done poorly, or assembled poorly, etc.

I always tell anyone who buys a car with a rebuilt engine claim or a rebuilt engine from most anyplace including the remanufacturers it is best to open it up and check it out before using it. Essentially every one I ever helped them check had numerous things that were wrong, some serious, some not.

Too large bearing clearances and piston to wall clearances seem to be the most common errors in the shortblocks I have seen and valve stem clearances in the heads too loose is in almost all of them. Nobody wants to spend the cash for guide replacement around here.

Engine appears to have been built decently at least. Has the 4 dish Mahle pistons in it. Heads look like they were refreshed at the same time. Has a lot of carbon in the cylinders and it looks like the engine was running poorly for some time so that didn't help it.

2022 - What did you do to your wagon this week? - Page 2 MfELSig

2022 - What did you do to your wagon this week? - Page 2 MfELSig

2022 - What did you do to your wagon this week? - Page 2 LPq8GBI

Funny you mention poor rebuilds. Here is one we have at work right now with about 3 miles on it. I didn't build it.

2022 - What did you do to your wagon this week? - Page 2 LsQkA4j

2022 - What did you do to your wagon this week? - Page 2 LsQkA4j

Those bearings (the crank) look really bad. They are the reason it ran so poorly. Looks like it probably spun a number of bearings.

Might be cheaper to get a junk yard crank and polish it.

Fred Kiehl wrote:: Those bearings (the crank) look really bad. They are the reason it ran so poorly. Looks like it probably spun a number of bearings.

Might be cheaper to get a junk yard crank and polish it.

That is a separate picture from an engine at work. DD15 Detroit Diesel that spun two main and two rod bearings. It locked up in seconds. It is currently awaiting a used block and crankshaft.

My newly acquired LT1 has bearing wear but nothing like that.

2022 - What did you do to your wagon this week? - Page 2 Q7PSxYd

2022 - What did you do to your wagon this week? - Page 2 Q7PSxYd

"That is a separate picture from an engine at work. DD15 Detroit Diesel that spun two main and two rod bearings. It locked up in seconds. It is currently awaiting a used block and crankshaft.

My newly acquired LT1 has bearing wear but nothing like that."

How many of the bearings looked like that one?

Why are you confusing us with the Detroit Diesel pics, when we are discussing your LT1?

Fred Kiehl wrote:: Why are you confusing us with the Detroit Diesel pics, when we are discussing your LT1?

Carefully read threads and you won't be confused. I was replying to Booster and the comment he made to me about poorly rebuilt engines by showing a picture of a poorly rebuilt engine. There is a line of text pointing that out and everything, not to mention the pictured engine is very clearly NOT a V8.

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booster wrote:: How many of the bearings looked like that one?

All of them. Journal for main number 5 is very rough but the rest are minor. Did not pull the bearing from caps to see if the crank was turned previously.

May be turning this into a 383 and not needing this crank anyways. Will be next year at the earliest that this gets built anyways so I have plenty of time to think it over.

94Woody wrote:

booster wrote:: How many of the bearings looked like that one?

All of them. Journal for main number 5 is very rough but the rest are minor. Did not pull the bearing from caps to see if the crank was turned previously.

May be turning this into a 383 and not needing this crank anyways. Will be next year at the earliest that this gets built anyways so I have plenty of time to think it over.

Ouch, I hope the lifter bores are OK, those are expensive to fix.

On these engines is that the type of things you would see if one of the internal galley plugs, like one that is deep inside the cross passage, are forgotten?

booster wrote:: Ouch, I hope the lifter bores are OK, those are expensive to fix.

On these engines is that the type of things you would see if one of the internal galley plugs, like one that is deep inside the cross passage, are forgotten?

Lifter bores are great and cylinder walls are good except for the scratch in #2. Block is currently .030 and I believe it will be .040 when I put it back together. Not sure what happened to this thing but it wasn't treated like a new engine should be treated.

Crank is pretty smooth but you can see the marks in it that match the bearings marks. #5 main is all messed up though and will require a "turn" to make good again. I checked today and the crank is currently .010 under. Not interested in going any farther than that so it will be getting replaced regardless. Still plenty of used ones floating around out there and even new options that aren't really that expensive.

Posts : 379 Join date : 2018-05-16 Location : Jersey Shore

New front pads and rotors. Original rotors got overheated and warped trying to slow down for corners at watkins glenn during wagonfest NY.

Hopped in the suv and took a trip to the LKQ in Gainesville because they got a 94 Caprice on the 1st. Their pictures were crappy so I wasn't expecting to find anything useful and was probably too late anyhow. To my surprise I opened the door and found a fresh mineshaft.

2022 - What did you do to your wagon this week? - Page 2 V8S2Pxl

2022 - What did you do to your wagon this week? - Page 2 V8S2Pxl

Did some mining and came out with some chunks of unobtainium.

2022 - What did you do to your wagon this week? - Page 2 WtjYely

Wrong color but I have the stuff to change that. Has a couple of broken tabs that will need to be epoxied but it is in one solid piece and even has intact holes for the glove box screw inserts.

Still working on the engine compartment got the core support and some brackets cleaned up and painted . I picked up an S10 console last week I lucked out it is tan close match to my interior and came from a column shift truck so I don't have the floor shift hole in it . I was going to add a pillar pod gauge set up but I have a nice area in the front so I'll get a pod and mount my gauges there . Did a search and there is no pics of anyone doing this conversion on the site the links are timed out ? Any idea where I can find this info so I know how to modify the seat ? Thanks !

The seat armrest area can be removed after pulling the cover back, then working the cover over the end and hog-ring it to the frame.

Thanks Fred ! Wasn't sure how much of an effort it was to do this . I will be pulling out the interior this spring ,the weather is starting to turn here in Ohio , to replace the carpet ,steam clean the seats ,and paint and insulate the floors and now do this mod .

Pulled out my plastic welder and fixed the DS door panel, and reattached the filler panel to the dash.

2022 - What did you do to your wagon this week? - Page 2 Img_2810

Wojtek wrote:: Thanks Fred ! Wasn't sure how much of an effort it was to do this . I will be pulling out the interior this spring ,the weather is starting to turn here in Ohio , to replace the carpet ,steam clean the seats ,and paint and insulate the floors and now do this mod .

This is what the seat looks like underneath.

2022 - What did you do to your wagon this week? - Page 2 OCBb12V

That was about 12 years ago so i don't remember the exact details of what I did to it. Believe I cut the end of it off and tucked the excess material underneath. The end result was this.

2022 - What did you do to your wagon this week? - Page 2 AFaO5sj

2022 - What did you do to your wagon this week? - Page 2 AFaO5sj

2022 - What did you do to your wagon this week? - Page 2 LJwRB1P

Never should have sold that damn car.

Nice to see my old tailgate glass again. I put that Wagonfest 2009 sticker on it, and the surf stickers my son put on it when it was his car.... I sold the car so fast with code enforcement up my butt, I forgot to swap it out for a Defroster one. Glad it's in a good home at least...

Sprocket wrote:: Nice to see my old tailgate glass again. I put that Wagonfest 2009 sticker on it, and the surf stickers my son put on it when it was his car.... I sold the car so fast with code enforcement up my butt, I forgot to swap it out for a Defroster one. Glad it's in a good home at least...

As many times as the car changed owners I was amazed to see it on it. Didn't expect the car to have one since it left your house first. Saw it and damn near screamed with joy. All stickers have been removed, they were baked on there pretty good, lol.

Today I got my exhaust back on with the new Borla mufflers. Sounds much better and no longer rattles my skull.

2022 - What did you do to your wagon this week? - Page 2 9STnvkC

2022 - What did you do to your wagon this week? - Page 2 9STnvkC

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