Tom Asked me to be the Long Roof For June this year.
So here is the story of the Yacht.
Ever since I was a little kid I was always into cars. I had a matchbox collection of several hundred little cars and I always was building new designs out of Lego's.
In 1985 my parents rusty 1980 Citation v6 manual transmission was disintegrating from underneath us. The CV joints were in the middle of failing again. The rust monster was taking full hold. (Mike they didn't last up here) My dad who was at sea stated. "I don't care just get something. I trust you." So lo and behold my mother purchased our family's first Longroof. A 1985 Subaru 2wd 5 speed Gl wagon. It was the first year of the boxy Subaru wagons. This model later became the Loyale. This car lasted till about 1991 when it failed inspection. Right before that my mother purchased what was one of her favorite cars of all time. A 1989 Toyota Camry Wagon. 5 speed 4cyl with full power options. It was a really nice car.
It looked just like this one. Same color even. Took this photo heading to SC this year.
At that time I was just learning to drive. So I spent the fall months driving the old Subaru. When we were with the family we took the Camry. The Camry was the first car I drove on the road. It's also the first car I ever drove alone.
The years passed on. With the Death of the Subaru (rusted completely out) my father purchased a 88 Honda Accord hatchback for me to commute to school in. I was in private school as the local High School had lost accreditation. This is the car that I learned to drive in. It survived me and my brother's torture to finally die in California with 330K on the clock. The only reason we junked it then was that it was not possible to repair it due to all the rust. She still ran quite good but the alternator and water pump had both failed.
So My mother was still driving her Camry and my tastes still hung in the Honda crowd I purchased my first car.
A 1988 Sterling 825SL. Essentially an Acura Legend with British interior. (Stupid car but I still liked it.) I really liked this car's highway manors. It flew! 2.5L V6 with a 5 speed manual. Leather interior with real walnut accents.
Looked like this. I don't have any pictures available of the actual car.
This car lasted me through my first real job. I was now working in IT and started to earn real folding money. I found a 1992 Honda accord and purchased it to replace the now temperamental and very rusty Sterling. We donated the Sterling and I thought I had a car that would last me 10 years or so....
WRONG. This car was not all it was cracked up to be. (More on this later)
At this time about 1999. my parents Camry had passed on after 315k and they replaced it with a new 1999 Camry sedan. This car did not compute. Nothing fit. The seats were like sitting on cardboard. The quality of the car had really suffered compared to their 1989.
So my father started to search for a replacement. It came down to either a BMW 5 series wagon or a Merc. He wanted something with a warranty. In the spring of 2003 we found a 2000 Black 528 ITA. It was the first car we as a family had ever purchased on EBAY. My brother and I flew to St.Louis to pick it up for them. It was an epic road trip home. We made it back in about 15 hours straight. The 5 series really burns up the miles. My parents still have this car to this day. It's well over 230K and still goes like a train. They just came back from a road trip to my brothers house in Montana.
This car renewed my love of the longroof. Everything fits! Of course I immediately wanted one for myself. But fate being who she is I didn't have $20,000 dollars to spend on my next ride. I had been laid off and was starting a new job. I muddled through with the Honda for a couple more years paying my mortgage and looking for something larger. The Honda really started to show her age. The roof leaked. The dashboard started to act up and the final straw the AC died.
At this point I was really getting into Model Aircraft. It was quite funny to see how much I could cram into that little Honda. The wing of my trainer was over 6 foot and I would usually have it draped from the back package shelf to the front dash. It was time for me to find a larger vehicle. Minivans were suggested but I wanted nothing to do with that. Finally after a discussion with a good family friend and co-worker of my father we started looking at Buick Roadmasters.
I found the first Yacht in the spring of 2005.
It was a 1995 LDM with wood. I believe there were about 89K miles on her. We got a really good price on EBAY. Well the history of this car was not as good as I had thought when I purchased it. It was from the Cape and there was sand everywhere. The dealer I purchased it from stated that he guaranteed that it would pass inspection without hassle so I took my bargain home. Sure enough the rear shock and spring mounts were rotten as heck. I informed the dealer and he promised to make it "right". Well surprise me he did. He found a welding shop and had the car repaired to a high standard. My regular mechanic was actually impressed with the work so I put the LNDYAHT (yacht was not available until 2006) plate onto her. My first YACHT!
So I was hooked. The only problem was the Rust Monster was really taking a toll on this car. By the time 2007 rolled around it was starting to look like it may not pass inspection for the next year. October rolled around and an opportunity to purchase a 1995 Lincoln Town car from Florida came about. It was such a good deal that I could not pass it up. I still have a tough time believing how much you can put into the trunk of this car. It became my year round car. Daily beater what have you. (currently the HOT rod Lincoln due to an exhaust leak)
So the 1995 LDM is on it's way out. Slowly leaving pieces of itself in the driveway etc. I kept looking on Ebay building a war chest to purchase a clean southern Wagon. I started watching MostlyUnusualCars on ebay. December of 2008 rolls around and sure enough Fred has a Floridian 1996 WB4 wagon for sale. Rust Free! clean car. So I wait and wait for the numbers to climb over my war chests level. It does not. So I place my bid. Lo and behold I win the auction! I am now the proud owner of a LAB WB4 wagon! I trade Fred the LDM wagon for the Auction Fees. I drive the old LDM car out to Waterloo and she runs perfectly all the way out there.
We clear the snow off the "new" car. Start her up and drive home before the white stuff starts to fall. I get her home unscathed and place her into winter Storage. About two weeks after getting her home the Fuel pump fails. This is the first and only time this car has let me down. I replaced the fuel pump in April of 2009 in the garage and it's been smooth sailing ever since.
So some minor changes over the years. Monsoon stereo. Clear headlights and finally Impala SS wheels. It's a work in progress.
Wall Drug April 2010
Wagon Fest Friday Afternoon 2010
OCC May 2011
That's the story of the Yacht to this point.
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Wed Jun 01, 2011 12:57 am
