Hello my name is....

hello, my name is anthony.

i live in gainesville florida and last year bought my first wagon, a 1994 buick roadmaster.
i don't have any photos of it to offer, but you have seen it many times...dark adriatic blue with tan leather interior and white wall tires. no modifications at all.
it is totally stock and original and in very good condition all the way around, inside and out.
it has 90,000 miles on it, and as you can imagine, i love it and love driving it. even though it is super powerful, i drive it like your grandmother would. the worst thing about it is how much i am obsessed with it, to the point where i sometimes don't even drive it when i want to because i am hoarding the low mileage, fearing it's demise. i use it mostly for road trips and sunday drives for fun. sometimes, i just take a nap in the spacious 8' bed in the rear.

knowing that these cars are disappearing and parts will be harder to get as time goes on, is a source of anxiety for me. like a lot of people, i grew up (born 1958) with station wagons, starting with my dad's pink 58 plymouth belvedere wagon with push button transmission.
i spent many summers on long trips, hanging out the rear window, watching the world
recede behind us. i have a fondness for wagons and huge cars in general.
the 90's gm wagons offer the driving feel of a massive 1950's-60's car but with modern technology. they're perfect in this regard.

i have a question. do the 91-93 gm wagons with the smaller engines get better gas mileage
than the 94-96? and are they in any way inferior in engineering? do they have more problems?

i don't have room or money to buy a parts car, but have salvaged a few fragile pieces from a junk yard, such as tail gate glass, tail light assemblies and am thinking about getting the rest of the glass in case i should need it in the future. am i neurotic in hoarding parts i don't need or does everyone do it? i don't even have a garage. just a small shed.

anyway, i just wanted to join, say hello and ask these first questions. thank you to whomever put all this together. it's great!


anthony

Welcome Anthony!


Welcome and feel free to ask any questions you want, we are always quick and willing to answer.

The TBI inferior in design? If it was superior, would they have made the LT1?

Same gas mileage (from what I understand) easier to work on due to the simplicity of the design and the availability of cheaper (cost wise) parts.

If you MUST horde parts, get the wagon specific parts like the stainless trim, tail lights, cargo lights, rear glass (only one), seatbelts, tailgate solenoid......

I own two LT1 wagons and two TBI wagons. Each has their own merits.

LT1 power and sleeper muscle. TBIs are easier to work on and do get a little better mileage on long haul freeway (at least the 305) 26MPG vs 23-24 on the LT1 cars.

Depends alot on how you use your foot and the final drive ratio in your particular car.

Um it's not hoarding, um I don't have a problem (my son said I bought a 5th wagon just so I'd have room to store more wagon parts) I denied that accusation and within two days was storing parts in it........no problem here. I even sold one and got back to four....

You should look for a nice cheap TBI for your 'beater' car (daily use and Home Depot runs, etc).

Agree with Sprocket completely and the LT-1 is hardly superior except in flat out acceleration.
The TBI wagons are wonderful drivers in stop and go traffic but begin to fall behind on the
interstates when merging or towing.Hardly an authority with the LT-1s because I have only had mine for 8 months but I have had my 91 OCC for 7 years.And while the build quality is
slightly improved with the LT-1 wagons ,there is something about the earlier wagons that
causes you to become very attached to them and all their little idiosyncracies.
IMHO
Jim Gordon

thanks for the input.

i had read that the transmission had been improved somehow for the 94-96 years.
i am just wanting to know which years i should consider for easiest long term ownership.

was the platform for 91-93 the same for the wagon, sedans, cadillacs and corvettes the way it was in 94-96? it would seem to me that parts might be a little easier to get for whichever years
had the most models made on the same platform. also owing to the popularity of the LT1 as a hot rod motor, i would think that that would also make engine parts more likely to be continued to be manufactured for it into the future.

also if the LT-1 engine is overpowered for the vehicle it would seem that compared to the TBI it would get less strain and wear on it if it were driven conservatively, as i do. i have heard it described as an "under-stressed" motor when not being driven aggressively.

thanks, anthony

the bodies of the cars are the same for all 6 years. Biggest variations on interiors is between the TBI and LT-1 Roadmasters as aside from a different dash, all the door panels are different (early years are interchangeable with Caprice/Cruiser door panels).

Dash is different in the Caprice with the addition of pass side airbag in 94-96 cars.

There are lot's of drivetrain differences but we'll leave that alone for now.
Parts are plentiful for both sets from the B-pillar forward as the wagons are the same as the sedans.

TBI parts are gen 1 small block so they aren't going away and the tranny is a 700r vs. the electronic control of the 46xxle. I'll be much happier paying for a 700r anyday, lol.

The TBI cars can be found to be a bit less pricey as everyone want's an LT1 car.

http://cgi.ebay.com/REBUILT-TRANSMISSIONS-4L60E-4L60-4L65E-700R4-DFW-TX-/280680860523?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4159e20b6b

4l60E's and 700R4,. are brothers from the same parents,.

Welcome...........