My sedan nosed 93 woody RMW

well for the first time in recent history I find myself with only four cars, my pair of malibu classic coupes, my 1996 chrysler cirrus and my 1993 sedan nosed wagon.

I avoided talking about the sedan nosed woody, a lot has transpired in my life since this wagon entered my life.

It only had 77000miles on it when I brought her home. It now has 88000 miles.

I found it on a dealer's lot and paid close to 3 grand for it back in 2006, it's arrival sparked the birth of the Ratmaster, my then daily driver was a 91 rmw had 197000miles and terminal rust issues so I cut off the roof as a gag and to have fun to cruise the wood ward dream cruise in august 2006 it took on a life of it's own, that's history...

the first mod that I did to this wagon was the dual roadmaster passenger seat and console and floor shifter, used the console and shifter out of a mid 90's olds 88 LSS. \i also stripped and polished the wood trim

In late march 2007 my older brother suffered a massif heart attack. My 93 was the car I drove my mom and dad to my brother's funeral.

I also drove my 93 to my first wagonfest in 2007 and convoyed with Paul who willing drove the now refined ratmaster. I parked the 93 next to the ratmaster where few if any noticed the interior mods done in the 93 since the ratmaster got all the attention.

After the woodward dream cruise in 2007 Paul and I while looking for youtube videos of the ratmaster on woodward discovered a guy named David Rock, of dave's farm on youtube. for the next few months we had fun destroying cars on the farm, racing up sky hill. we knew a few people that had klunkers they wanted removed and dave's farm was a good place to dispose klunkers. One of the klunkers that I brought out was a rotten 92 roadmaster sedan, it had no floors or body mounts to speak of, and it was the chance I needed to put aside the sedan front clip for something that was brewing in the back of my head. what was left of that 92 sedan became known as the shortmaster and in the videos of it that Dave and I made we were careful not to show any of the rust as a ploy to entice hate mail from b body lovers.....

by spring of 2008 the quick clean up paint and body work done by the shady dealer who sold me the 93 was breaking out a bit every where and one of my customers told me about a 91 roadmaster wagon a friend of his was trying to sell. I made contact with the guy and bought the 91 wagon that saved my life 8 weeks ago. it has twice the millage of my 93 and it was an LO3 so it became the daily and it was time to start to clean up the 93 and hence began the 14 month sedan nosed woody project.

I drove the 91 to wagon fest 08 were Fred was actually quite impressed with the 91 and made me actually feel better about this gutless LO3 roady it had many qualities that I over looked apart from being rust free it was an early 91, one of the first 2000 91 b bodies made. Fred took the time to go over my 91 and left me feeling pleased with it.

Back to the 93. I worked away on this wagon that turned out to be very rusty and had I known how bad it was I would have parted it out but it was a project. I worked away and and did a few cool mods to the body. I worked away doing so allowed me to also work through life issues...

By the time wagonfest 09 came around the wagon project was almost done in time. even unfinished and driving with a temp trip permit I drove it to wagonfest where it won best modified wagon. It made me feel good that it was complimented in that way. It got compliments everywhere I took it. From woodward to local cruises

My dad passed away October 3rd 2009. The 93 was the car of choice for the funeral. Three weeks earlier I had taken my parents for a road trip to Ottawa and visited my home town of Cornwall Ontario. Thanks to the 93 being comfortable and a good all around road trip car my dad really enjoyed his last road trip. He kept talking about both how pleasant my 93 was to ride in and how much he enjoyed seeing some old friends and family.


In the spring of 2010 I did a few minor mods to the engine and it was running great. 2 week prior to wagonfest 2010 I drove the 93 to Belle River Ontario and participated in the sunsplash car show, where they block off the main street and custom and collectible cars angle park on both sides of main street. One of the reasons for going was to have my fist date with Sue, who I am now engaged with. Unknown to me at the time her ex was still stalking her, and followed us around. Later that night after we said goodbye for the night and I was driving home I could smell ozone and burning plastic. by the time I got home the smell was gone. I parked the wagon. the next day I noticed that the rear hatch wouldn't pop open and that my power windows and horn weren't working, I opened the fuse panel and discovered that it had melted and found the source to be a peice of tin foil wrapped on the power window/horn fuse. Can I blame her ex? he is a car guy.... I never put the tin foil there...

The fire took out about a foot of wire behind the fuse panel, so now I have all the parts and wires to replace the full wire harness

today I put a battery in the 93 and cranked her over and she fired right up after sitting there since may last year. I moved her into the tent and will begin to repair this electrical issue.

I think the work will be worth it, I have enough invested in it that it's well worth it to me

Great story Pat. Whatever happened to the old ratmaster?

Great story Pat. The 93 will also help you recover physically as this project will be both physical and mental therapy. Exercise the mind and body at the same time!

You may not remember this, but I also have a 93 RMW.

yeah but I got all of it's wires

Glad to hear you still have it, Pat. You put a LOT of work into that car and it shows. I was afraid you had sold it.

Glad to hear she's breathing again!!! Look forward to seeing the progress and great talking with you the other night....you didn't even mention the cherry coke, lol.

Good story Pat, and I'm also glad you're getting her alive again....before your next project distracts you!

-Mike

For some of the new members who have not seen my wagon and for those who may have forgotten here's a reminder of what the sedan nosed woody looked like. Thanks Chris for having made this video

oh almost forgot this wagon is also the one with the power rear vent windows

Pat, it's good to get an update from you. I know you've had a rough time lately with cars and family, but I'm glad you have not been discouraged. I was fortunate enough to see your sedan nosed woody at WF, and man, I can't wait to see it again. It was clear you put a lot of work into that project, and all the little touches and things you did really made it more than just a "sedan nosed wagon"; It's a wonderful piece of work showcasing your skill, creativity, ingenuity, and of course, love for Buicks!

yup, shes a beut pat!

Those power vent windows are AWESOME.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the power vent windows! If crappy Chrysler minivans have that option there is no reason our fancy Buicks should not have them!!

Pat you need to create and sell an idiot-proof kit for us to do that mod. I'd buy one from you!

-Mike

81X11 wrote:

I'd buy one from you, then install it in 2019!

-Mike

They'd fly off the shelf!

81X11 wrote:

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the power vent windows! If crappy Chrysler minivans have that option there is no reason our fancy Buicks should not have them!!

Pat you need to create and sell an idiot-proof kit for us to do that mod. I'd buy one from you!

-Mike

Whoa there, watch what you say about Chrysler minivans... But seriously, the vent window openers Pat used (I got to see it at WF) are BETTER than any modern ones you see on Chrysler and Ford minivans. Why? Because the motor is not stuck up in front of the window glass; it's cable driven so the motor can be hidden away. It makes it so the latch is no more intrusive than a manual one would be. Pat, please give us the details on that. I know a lot of people would love to do that mod...

Pat, did you make the rear skirts? I might need those...

Pete you'll want these

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1991-1992-1993-CHEV-CAPRICE-IMPALA-OR-STATIONWAGON-FENDER-SKIRTS-/160730224729?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item256c449859#ht_500wt_1287

How about these though?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1991-1992-1993-CHEV-CAPRICE-IMPALA-OR-STATIONWAGON-FENDER-SKIRTS-/160730224729?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item256c449859#ht_500wt_1287

Bewber wrote:

How about these though?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1991-1992-1993-CHEV-CAPRICE-IMPALA-OR-STATIONWAGON-FENDER-SKIRTS-/160730224729?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item256c449859#ht_500wt_1287

beat you to it

No, Mike beat YOU to the same ones. My link was a joke.

The only car they've ever worked on is yours - and that's only because of everything else that you've done so that they feel like they belong there. Otherwise, I hate them.

Mike's link is to roadmaster ones, I know pete has a caprice

Oh man......Just gotta lower it. Only tire showin'.

Not with my driveway Pete, it scrapes as it is

I am in love with the wheels on that thing. Whut dey be?

If it doesn't scrape, it ain't low wenough.....Didja ever see my Caddy?

^^^ Well... Let's!!!

Now let's talk about being too low......

Cool top!

Pete, you ARE the man.
.
but I was distracted in your first pic.

HAHA! That's my siter-in-law!!

where is the caddy now?

He traded it for that 50 ford that became a treehouse.

A guy in Milford, MI has it and drives the snot out of it. It was a fun car for sure.

that caddy could never have made it up my driveway

I still have permanent grooves dug into mine from that Caddy and a couple of my trucks....oh well. Everything looks cool low.

Nice caddy,.. and your sister in law is all I see in the first pix too. Pat glad to hear your going to breathe life back into that wagon.

My wagon has been neglected "BAD" shame on me. She's been crying oil and tranny fluids and she decided not to put a window up yesterday. She is rotting away in the quarters and is crying for attention. So this weekend I am going to bring her in and start showing her some TLC.

Bad Jarrod,very very bad Jarrod.You had better be ashamed of yourself! Thought you had
forgotten all of us as you kinda dropped out of sight for a while.Hope all is OK with you and the
family.
Jim

jimbeau wrote:

I am in love with the wheels on that thing. Whut dey be?

uhhhh... Pat?

vintage Buick chrome rally wheels

Jim, I Know. But the work was piled up for 8 weeks. And i am not complaining. Just that my wagon got neglected.

Figured you were swamped and just too busy to bother with us.When I was still able to work,I
would get busy and time would just fly by so fast.Glad you're back Jarrod!
Jim