Howdy from Southern Maryland!!

Just moved to Southern MD from Fairfax Station, VA one year ago Aug 27!
Shopped and got me a nice 195k mile burgundy wagon with 350 in Cloverly MD off CL....
Rear passenger side door and rear quarter panel was pushed in from previous owner....young kid...go figure...
Found the usual blunt wrappers after detailing interior....used scotchguard upholstery oxy spray with my bissell clean machine....wow the spray is pricey but worth it....the previous owner was an obvious eat-in-the-car type/spill-in-the-car

removed stock air box out and bought a cylindrical $25 reusable filter from Advance and redid the rubber and removed the rectangular air filter....sounds mean and hungry....

replaced oil irregardless of the sticky tab in window....changed from r12 to r134a via a $25 part from NAPA which is 2 mins away....
putting new trans filter/gasket kit in too....thermostat was $5 at NAPA

hired some 'mobile bodywork gypos' from CL and they popped out the dent using everyday household tools....pulled out the left headlight dent on hood....give them a 7 out of 10....not great but hey.....

replaced the painted grill with a chrome one....

sanded off spots were a vent visor was on hood with 80 grit then used self-etching primer spray paint

put 20x9 s on it wrapped in 275-45-20 tires (off CL).....best part was lowering the scissor jack and having the rear wheel tuck inside!!
kept the 9C1 wheels and 275/75-16 tires for winter after removing the chrome center and painting them a flat black...bought snow chains from Goodwill that fit the 16's....

today I am detailing it w my power washer to really clean out dirt from rubber moldings, crevices etc....

funny how you sand some rust spots and find bond-o everywhere!!!!

Awesome car, my two kiddos love it esp the rear facing seat(always wanted a car that had that....sorry 96 Camry)....

Future mods....
finessing the average bodywork with bondo
flat rustoleum heat resistant bbq grill spray paint on roof rack
plasti-dip ing the whole car to matte black like those snazzy test vehicles in the those desert spy camera shots....

keeping the body molding chrome along w the 20's will give it a surreal/spaceship like presence....

Parts are scarce were I live UNLESSSSSSSSSS you want wheel tire packages exceeding 18 19 20 21 all the way up to 24's(no joke)
I literally buy CENTERLINE drag 06 15x10 aluminum wheels at yard sales in my 'hood.....

Car has awesome HID lights(the real ones with the ballasts) that I would definitely recommend....
car is also wired for amp but I'm just going to install my Infinity 10" sub w built in amp outta my old navigator....
Viper alarm has blue flashing light on rear view mirror along w auto start.....

My philosophy to restoring a car is to take small bites to make it look great....even when I spray paint I do one section(hood for example) and then plan on the rest...there are bondo-o haters everywhere but I feel like it's art to remove pock mocks using the stuff....

oh and the drivers side behind rear wheel is rusted out hole which I am going to fiberglass repair....

What a great car and forum!

Over and out!

Hello, and welcome to the longroof forums.

Sounds like you're well on the way to having it fixed up, which is good. Got any pictures to share?

Welcome to the forum. What year is your wagon? interested in the air filter exchange if it's a tbi wagon?

Thanks for the welcomes!!! @uxwbill: I was born in Champaign!!! Small world....

@scoffman: I have a tbi so when I put reusable cylinder filter on, I threw away the air filter housing and air box...sorry


Just got done removing front license plate holder....torx t-25 btw...and hand washed front bumper with dawn to remove nasty stuff.....then I taped up hid lights/wheel well chrome and sprayed one can of plastidip and it looks eerily creepy yet good....got a bit scared when the color was glossy but luckily it faded to a matte black...

I also removed previous owner's car club sticker residue using bug and tar soaked in strips of newspaper...let it soak for 5 minutes then use a paint razor....

also removed the caprice/chevrolet badges from rear door(abs was already gone) and driver's door badge...

plan on sanding all rust pops and badge areas with 80 grit then spraying primer.....

**believe it or not, the wax spray they hawk at service stations work awesome on wheel/brake dust residue too! It cuts down on cleaning for a good 30 days...pricey at $15 a can but how much is back pain and sunburn worth to clean your wheels...???

Welcome to the gang,man it sounds like you know what you are doing with your new wagon.
Lots of helpful howto's for our wagons is always welcome so keep them coming guy!
Welcome Again!

Welcome to the forum. I get the Southern MD on a pretty consistent basis. Send me a PM with your contact info and I will buy you a cup of Joe when I am down your way.

Be sure and post you location on the forum google map.

Welcome aboard. Sounds like the mod bug is alive and well at your house.

Welcome to the forum - glad to have you join up.

Welcome!
I too drive a 92, but mine's an OCC.........sooo much we can do with these wagons to make-em our own man! Sounds like you are well on your way!