My story or 'How I got addicted'

Well I was contacted to put up my story for Feb 15. I'm getting an early start and will flesh the rest out over the next couple of days to bring us to the current day....

This wagon of the month edition will be just a tad different than the previous two as it will chronicle the past present and possibly a glimpse into the future of my wagon addiction. By the way there is a nice looking ’94 RMW currently in Hollywood, FL on Craig’s List for 1800 obo but I digress, lol.

As a little kid my uncles had wagons for their children but my Dad was a Cadillac man.
Ours looked like this but was a bronze color….

I came home from the hospital in a 1960 Sedan DeVille and grew up with large tailfins until it got replaced with a ’68 and then ’73 Sedans. I always dug the wagons' Clamshell and two way tailgates although as I became a teen I used to laugh at a guy with ‘hot rod’ Torino wagon that used to cruise the Ft. Laud strip. Who’d beef up a 4 door wagon I’d say. Well I know better know.


Onward to the ‘90s. When I first moved to Delray I used to see a two toned Caprice wagon, Silver with Pewter under the beltline. It had full moon hubcaps and dark tint and looked like a spaceship. I loved it and would see it almost everyday cruising around town. At the time I had an Econoline conversion van with the hi-top, color TV, captains chairs and bed which served me well for 8 years until stupid Bosch Platinum plugs burned a hole through a piston.

While looking for a new car I turned to ebay and found a few I liked.
A 1958 Chevy Yoeman wagon in Philadelphia looked good. Had a friend on my Dad’s look at it, great 50 footer he said. Then there was the ‘Black Plate” Cali 1950 Chevy Wagon. I bid on it and won the auction for $8K. Same friend of my Dad went to check it out. Turns out the Black Plates meant is had been resurrected from the dead. In the words of a concurs judge who went with Dad’s buddy to check it out, “If that car is from California they dragged it through the Panama Canal behind the boat”. Needless to say I never completed the transaction, reported the guy to ebay for misrepresentation, etc.

Further research in 2001 I found out about the ‘cop wagon’ we know as the 1A2. I thought it was a 9C1 pkg on a wagon and decided as a big Blues Brothers fan that I ‘needed’ cop tires, cop suspension, etc. Found a nice one in Albany, NY for $6K on ebay. At the time I was active on an Austin Healey forum and found a chap to go take a look.
He took lot’s of pics and the auction closed prior to his visit. I offered the guy the opening bid as nobody bid on the car. It was an exact copy of the one I bought in 2007.
The seller was not receptive to my offer and I made a counter offer he also refused. Two days later I bough a ’95 Jeep Cherokee at auction with fresh paint, 38K for $3500.

A week later I got laid off on 9/14/2001. The Jeep was a great vehicle. Ran it up to 175K on the original tranny and sold it for $1700 to a friend. I had bought a ’98 Ford Explorer from another friend and while it was nice, and I liked the 5-speed, it was too top heavy for my style of cornering.

Sooooo, back to ebay and on the first day back there was Rusty….

The carbon copy of the ‘cop wagon’ that got away 6 years earlier, and now it was MUCH more affordable with a bid around $600!!!!! Not to mention it’s 2 miles from my Aunt and Uncles house in Erie, PA!!! I make a phone call to dear old Uncle and have him go take a peek.
I get the report and find out the term “Rust isn’t so bad’ is relative to where you live.
I bid on it and was determined to win! I set a ceiling at $1800 and got the car for $1740something. So I fly up to Erie with my son and my Mom (it’s her sister) and all goes well. A few minor mishaps on the way home (external oil cooler and rear diff start to leak), but she’s a trooper (literally as she was ex-NYSP) and averages 22.5 MPG over 1400 miles.


I got her home and start to really go over her. Wow, the rust is worse than I thought. I need a parts car! So I start to look. I’m traveling around Florida a bit for work and I find a guy parting a 9C1 in Jax, FL. I grab from him the front inner wells, a passenger mirror, speedo and the little braces up by the firewall.

Before that though I spy Dusty on Craig’s list for sale in Kissimmee, FL. I call at 8AM to find out the seller is in Hawaii and it’s 2AM there. Ooops. I tell her I want it. 135K for $1000. That afternoon I throw my understanding wife into the Ford and off we go 200 miles up the road. I arrive at dusk and get the car started and drive it around the block and buy it. Cracked windshield, rear vent window busted out, tailgate glass won’t open, but she’s basically rust free. I come back in the AM and give it a once over in daylight and them off to pay Mom and get the title. On the way home, I discover it runs like crap and the radiator has a leak (I get within 20 miles from home before it over heats and I have to stop). I’m still excited and dive into the refresh as this is the car I want on the road first! $1000 later she’s road ready with new windshield, water pump, opti cap, wires, plugs, o2s, vacuum lines, etc. (see the Explorer in the background)



Hmm, Rusty still needs donor parts…so I keep looking. In Oct, 2007 I spy Ruby on Craig’s (see a trend?) for $800. Not an LT1 car but hey $800 I gotta call right? I go look and go for a test drive. Nice girl owns it but she’s not sure she is ready to sell. I’m not ready to buy right now but tell her to keep my number…..She calls back at Christmas time. I go look again and we strike a deal for $700. 104K and no visible rust. It’s a L03 but the price is right and she’s fairly straight with a few minor bumps and bruises (low speed front end mishap somewhere along the way).

Got these beauty Crager Soft 8s and tires from GreyChevyBoy. This shot was before I blacked out the B and C pillars.


So I make a comment on the ‘forum’ that I maybe have too many wagons

and Twinzilla contacts me about his life long ambition to own one of about 310 LT1 1A2s and we strike a deal. It’s a couple months before he can come get it, but it’s not taking up too much space….yet.

Coming up next: Parts car Bonanza!!

Wow this story is like reading a book you can't put down. I know Sprocket has had at least 6 wagons and we're only up to three. After buying Rusty, you now know why us northern guys like Florida cars. So far I would have to say "Ruby" is my favorite, that is a great color. Dusty did clean up nice also. I want to hear about the parts cars, stay tuned.

Tom C.

Cool post, can't wait for more.

Great intro,keep it coming.

Oh, and I am sure your former 1A2,was the tire tread Fred and I used for the shirt sent to Uber last summer at wf.

Yes it was Rusty who also signed my shirt, thanks again Lorne.
I am eagerly waiting for chapter two of this story.

Wow that is exactly like the 1960 five window flat top sedan de ville my dad owned when I was born and was taken home from the hospital in! same colour too!

Part Deaux:

Okay so now it’s January 2008 and I own three wagons…..Sort of as I had made arrangements to marry off my oldest to Twinzilla. So what was I to do besides continue to cruise Craig’s list? Pretty much a daily search all over the state as at the time I was still zipping around the Florida Peninsula for a contract job I had as well as for other reasons.

In my search for a parts car for Rusty and before I found Dusty (credit goes to Sprocket Jr for their names) I found a a ’92 RMW in Ft Lauderdale. The guy wanted I think 1500 to start but I was interested anyway in it and went to look. It was pretty beat and he had it at strip plaza with signs in the windows. The front clip was lacking wood so I knew it’d been in an accident. After looking at it I blew it off as I was not very interested in it. I did see it pop up on CL about every 6 weeks and watched as the price sloooooowly dropped. I drove by the strip plaza a few months later and noted that it was still there to my boy. (more on this car later)

Meanwhile back on CL, there is a RMW for $300 in Tampa! Wow!!! Just what I need. I send email, no reply. 48 hours and I send another. Nothing. Crap it’s gone I figure and was right. A week later I see an ad for a posi rear from a ’92 RMW in the same area. I send that guy and email and sure enough he bought the car for the motor and tranny for his Chebby pick ‘em up. Oh and btw the rear sold. I inquire about the rest of the car and tell him I’ll give him 150 bucks for it and you can keep the carcass when I’m done. He says come on down, I got a shop with lifts etc, I only want the front seats.



WooHoo! Load up the car we are going to Tampa! I make a post on the ‘forum’ about anyone need any parts and GreyChevyBoy says he’s needs a door, and I hook ‘em up.
During the part out he rolls up with another INC brother and they make short work of the door (15 minutes and they are done and gone as they were doing a tranny swap somewhere else). I get a comment from the lady in the shop office, “I can tell this ain’t your first rodeo”. I inform her that yes, this is the first car I’m parting but I have a list and know what I want. My son is a trooper as we spend about 15 hours start to finish and I gave him a 20 minute lunch break (I’m a bastard!!!) but I wanted to be done in one day. The spread of parts was impressive and the lady said she was sorry she had to leave to go home as she was sure I would not get it all into Dusty. Well We proved her wrong!




The car we parted was a 201K LAB ’92 RMW. Little did I know that I’d own two more of these within a month! I lamented the fact that the blue interior pieces would not fit in Rusty as the blue was a darker shade…. I learned a few things about our cars during this speedy part out:

1. Don’t rush trying to get out the Vista glass. It will shatter (sniff sniff, I got it 80% loose before I borke it).
2. When removing the tailgate, there is a VERY strong spring. I was lucky and it shot down the side of the building and dented the metal wall about 35 feet away and not my crotch.
3. A panel removal tool is your best friend. Can’t recall who on the forum suggested I get it but I owe them a few cold ones. Best 7 bucks I ever spent.
4. A 10, 13 and 14 MM wrench or socket will remove most parts on these cars
5. Removing the third seat back is a PITA


Many of these parts I put to use and many others have found their way to other forum members. I can happily say that I recovered the 150 plus on this part out and consider my gas and time more than a fair trade for intimate knowledge gained.
Dusty got a new LCA for the rear as his was bent on the pass side, a set of RMW alloys next time he needs new shoes, and a hood ornament.
I can think of at least 6 other forum members I sent parts too off of this car. To close out the story the guy with shop sold it to scrap when he was finished and got 220 bucks for it so HE made out like a bandit. Said with no motor,trans,rear,driver door, tail gate and glass it still weighed 2300 pounds!

I had no space in my garage (Pat can testify to this) so I used Rusty as a storage shed for most of the parts. SO what do I do? Keep looking on CL that’s what! I see a ’92 RMW about 70 miles north for 400 but no pics. I send an email for pics, but no response so I figure it’s long gone. Keep looking. Oh, here’s and interesting ad “350 drivel line out of a ’92 RMW $600. Sounds familiar so I inquire. Yep it’s that same wagon with the no wood front clip. Wife is on his ass to get rid of it and he’s gonna keep the motor. I tell him I don’t wan the motor just the body. Make me an offer. I offer him 175 not to crush it. He’s says okay but I’m going on vacation for a week and will pull motor when I get back, but car is at buddy’s shop. I drive by and notice why the front clip has no wood.


It’s got an RMS clip on it. Back when I looked at it I was new to the cars and didn’t notice.

On Valentine’s Day 2008 I get an email with these pic from the $400 car lady



I call immediately! I tell her I have cash in hand when can I come? We make plans for that evening. Normally, I won’t buy a car in the dark, but for 400? If it runs and shifts it’s sold. I call my very understanding wife and inform her, Happy V-day I got you a present…..All joking aside, she’s a sport about it and we drive up to get it. Lady bought it for 1500 ran it for 3 years and just got a new car and no where to park this one. Drivers window stuck down (bad motor) and the AC doesn’t blow cold (but it’s 50 that night so I can’t tell). We drive home stopping for gas on the way, and this guy at the pump on the other side doe a double take when my wife and I pull up in near matching woodies lol.

The care runs out great and I turn 161K on the way home. Little did I know I would never drive it anywhere aside from around the block again.

I dare say the driveway is getting crowded….

Two days later the Sedan Nose parts car arrives. I meet the dude at his buddy's shop and it’s already loaded on a trailer. He follows me back to my place and we swap out the alloy truck rims (stock 5 spokes) for the steelies that came on Ruby. I give him a push and down the ramp and up my driveway she goes.

Chock the wheels and pay the man. He is very happy that the car will be used by an enthusiast as opposed to being turned into a baked bean can. (I sent him Pat’s pics of the trip up north and he was happy to know it’s going to a good cause).


Now the driveway is REALLY full and my wife is parking on the grass ha ha ha.
On the left is the $400 car behind the fence. Next is the Sedan Nose with Ruby behind her. Rusty up front and Dusty in the back. My neighbor starts to call my house the ‘Yacht Club” which I like. This is short lived however, as about two weeks later Twinzilla takes delivery of Rusty.


Not much goes on for the next few months other than maintenance and me going to the bone yard collecting even more stuff.

Fast forward to October and even though I’m working in corporate America again, I’m still cruising Craig’s on my down time. I spy a 90K ’94 Chevy wagon for sale for $1200 in Miami. I’m quick to contact the guy as I know it won’t last. It’s going to be dark when I get there and the owner says he doesn’t want to show it in the dark as I might miss something and he doesn’t want to misrepresent the car. I like him already. I get to his house and there she is. He explains he is the second owner having bought her from his company at 40K. It was stored indoors until he got it. Overall she looks great in the dark. Says there is an oil leak but I quickly find out that it is tranny fluid as it doesn’t shift. He’s embarrassed about this and I make an offer. We settle on $1000 if when I come back on Saturday with some Dextron it shifts okay. I offer him a deposit but he says my word is good. He also is interested in the difference between Ruby and the ’94. I go back on Sat with the cash and all goes well. He tells me he had offers OVER his asking price but we had a handshake deal and he stuck by it. He also showed me his 1950s beetle with small rear window. It was mint in his garage.



He had small kids and the back seat is dirtier than the front!


Now I"m back up to 5 wagons and my wifes Eclipse that took a crap on us over the summer.
I mumble something on the forum and Pat inquires about my LAB. I have two and get them confused. Realizing I really can't keep them all, I think he is asking about the 161K LAB and I give him a price. He writes back and says he'll take it but he wasn't asking about that car he wants the parts car. Oh, Iso I give him a rivce on that and he says see you in December

His friend Paul (Aka Tailpipe) is the new owner of the driver LAB and Pat drags the parts car home behind his Peanut Butter Sandwhich (pics can be found in other threads).

While here though they diagnose Ruby's woes to bad motor mounts and they swap them out for me while I'm at work. How cool is that? My garage door is open anytime for them! We had many other projects we wanted to do but they had to move out and make Uberfest the next day.

Currently my mods are on hold but here is an incomplete list of of the car timelines

Bought Sold Repairs/Mods
1994 1A2 Rusty Aug 2007 April 2008 External oil cooler lines replaced, new inner fender wells (one side done when sold)
Rear Pinion seal replace (became death of rear as not tightened properly)
1994 RMW Dusty Sept 2007 in service just about everything maint under the hood, except hoses (160K on OE coolant hoses
and they look good!), windshield, window tint, rear vent window, new grille, hood
ornament, cargo springs and LCA
1992 Caprice Ruby Dec 2007 in service Crager soft 8s and Indy 500 tires, new water pump,radiator, brakes all around, L05
Silicone hoses, fuel tank and pump
1992 RMW parted Jan 2008 Jan 2008 never owned just stripped. Parts into 3 of my cars and probably 10 others.
1992 RMW Valentine's special Feb 2008 12/2008 Fixed broken window motor, filled with gas and changed oil.
1992 RMW parts Feb 2008 Dec 2008 Springs went to Dusty, fuel tank and pump to Ruby, lots in my garage, body to Pat.
1994 DGGM Jade Oct 2008 waiting Impala RIms thanks to Pat, oil change.

Future Mods


Dusty - Repaint (custom) , headliner, carpet, alloy rims, many ineterio pieces I've collected. re tint.

Ruby - New headliner, fix windows, re tint, paint, headers anddual exhaust, power seats, Leather RMS interior (in garage).

Jade - Tint, Impy grille (have in box), clear corners, headers and exhaust (have thorley mufflers ready to go), new stereo, repaint or touch up work (overall paint is good but bumper and some scratches).

Lorne, you are right, Rusty was at Wagonfest and gave the tire mark as Uber said.

Currently at three wagons and holding. Unless I get a great deal, I'm holding out for a
'92 OCC or a '96 DCM SS.
That said, I'm always on the prowl, lol.

Excellent story & pics, had me glued 'til the end!

Sprocket I have been around a ton of car enthusiasts in my life and I can honestly say you have a have a passion for these wagons that may never be duplicated. You must make it to a WF in your lifetime as you would be in paradise. Nice story, Lorne.

lornejay1 wrote:

Sprocket I have been around a ton of car enthusiasts in my life and I can honestly say you have a have a passion for these wagons that may never be duplicated. You must make it to a WF in your lifetime as you would be in paradise. Nice story, Lorne.

yeah I know it. passion or addiction (taps vein in arm....)


I just re-read it and I apologize for all the mis-spelled words. I'm too lazy to fix 'em as I just came in from working on my Healey and have to whip up dinner (day off from work today).

Promised myself the Healey would be on the road by my birthday (2 weeks). as it has taken a back seat since this whole wagon thing flared up 18 months ago.

Nice story. You are lucky cause I cannot find wagons (cheap) around here for nothing.

That is an interesting story. I'll bet there are more chapters to come.

Tom C.

94Woody wrote:

Nice story. You are lucky cause I cannot find wagons (cheap) around here for nothing.

I keep looking but no more bargins are surfacing. I believe the economy has a lot to do with that. Many people holding on to what they got or trying to get out as much as they can. Haven't seen a wagon for under 1800 in at least 3 months.....well maybe 1200 with 200K+ but still. I do feel lucky I found two around the 100k mark for a grand or so...

timing is everything. About 4 months ago there was a 116K wagon in Miami for 1000 and I just couldn't get to see it in time. I called and by the time I got off of work it was gone....

a customer of mine just called me from ZepherHills to tell me that there is a woody 96 DCM RMW with matching burgundy leather guts, less than 80,000 miles for sale in his complex non advertised for $1650.00.....

Is it in your driveway yet, Pat? That is cheap, just a little over $1300 US.

Tom C.

no that was US funds

Your wifey is a KEEPER to put up with your "addiction"!

Great story, I hope I never get quite as sick as you!

Stretch

Stretch wrote:

Your wifey is a KEEPER to put up with your "addiction"!

Great story, I hope I never get quite as sick as you!

Stretch

oh most definitely she's a keeper. She's driving the '94 RMW as her daily now

It goes on!!!

Got my Hat Trick, trifecta or menage a trois
https://gmlongroof.4umer.com/91-6-b-body-wagon-general-discussion-f1/lucky-7-or-how-i-scored-the-trifecta-t268.htm

Sprocket has just started writing Chapter 3.

Tom C.