Hello from British Columbia

Hi all, we own a '88 Electra Estate Wagon and have had it seven years. Owned a couple of G-Body wagons before we got this but found that they weren't large enough, especially when camping as we had 3 kids at home at the time. We made the decision to buy a fullsize wagon as there is no replacement for displacement and found this one.

After we bought the car the first thing I did was replace the smoking 307 and leaking 200R4 with '75 Buick 350 and a TH350 that I had. As the engine was a runner I was going to drop it in after I changed a few gaskets and the timing chain and gears but after I found one worn cam lobe and a few other things I didn't like I decided to do a stock rebuild on it and had it bored .020 over.
It's a good engine and has lots of torque due in part I am sure to the 3.23 rear but it roars a bit at highway speeds so I am going to change out the present gears for some 2.93s.

The car is dark blue with a dark blue interior, has wire covers and is still "in the crate" with its woodgrain intact. It hasn't been on the road for over a year but hope to be driving it again next spring.
It does have a few dents and could use a paint job and am hoping I can bribe a friend of mine to paint it for me. So the future plans are to change out the gears, put a larger exhaust on it, maybe install a healthier cam, get the a/c working again, fix the hanging headliner and do a body and paint.
Next time I give it a wash I will take some pics and post them.

It's great to see a site dedicated to the late model GM fullsize wagons.

Greg

welcome to the forum,
where on the island?

Welcome. Good to see a Buick with proper Buick motivation just as God intended.

You might consider getting the 2004R rebuilt instead of swapping gears. That makes your 3.23 into a 2.16 final drive and the 2.78 first gear provides a bit more start torque to boot.

Or pick up a 700r somewhere. Overdrive FTW on long cruises.
My 91 Olds w 305/700R. Turns about 2000 rpm at 70mph with 3.23s in the back. Gets 23+ mpg straight hwy too (used to get 26 on non ethanol)

Welcome to the forum

Welcome the forum. There is at least one wagon kook in Vancouver (not on the Island). He does not post on this forum, but if you look up 95wagon on impalassforum.com you will find Gerry. He has one of the, if not the, nicest wagons I know of. LS7/T56 set up just finished. Great guy as well.

Sprocket wrote:

Or pick up a 700r somewhere. Overdrive FTW on long cruises.

Remember, he installed a Buick engine. A 700R4 will require not only a driveshaft change but an adapter plate as well to mate the trans to the engine. May even need to swap the crossember mount to. The 2004R will bolt right on and the driveshaft is already correct.

Thanks for the welcome guys. To answer phantom's question we live in the Cowichan Valley.

I no longer have the TH200R4, I sold it and had quite a line up of people that wanted it as they are quite rare around here. I have thought of adapting in a 700R4 but I would need to get one from a Chevy B-Body along with the drive shaft and trans crossmember and they aren't too common either, but I haven't been looking that hard.
I was hoping that I would find a wagon rear with 2.93 gears and swap in the complete diff., maybe I am stuck in the past but I like the TH350 and have an extra one should this one die.

Greg

BigBlackBeaSSt wrote:

There is at least one wagon kook in Vancouver (not on the Island)

There's also at least one on the island.

Hello, and welcome to the forum. It sounds like your wagon is going to be a much better performer when it's all said and done. There is a "boxy" wagon section here that may be of interest, though it's kind of just starting out.

I'm just curious...and haven't gotten down into the forum far enough just yet...have you got any pictures of the wagon whole or as a project?

Welcome to the gang Greg!What size rear tires are you running because you may be able to cut
down on the "roaring" with a taller tire which will drop your rpms at all speeds.Will be the easiest
and cheapest route to take.