Newbie checking in

Hello all!

New guy in Michigan. I'm doing a lot of reading and learning getting ready to find my perfect land barge. I know there are lots of differences between years with the engine, trans and more, but I'm pretty open for all years 91-06, as long as it's a 1A2.  

I saw the blue 91 on eBay with the vinyl rear seat, digital spedo and green silicone hoses. I'm very tempted to call the guy and ask him for a pic of the SPID.

Anyway, I have some more reading to do!! This site is a great resource!!!!!!

Allen

Good luck trying to find a 1A2 in decent condition. As there were less than 900 to start with and only about 310 with an LT1, they are hard to come across. After buying one as my first wagon (ex NYSP car, 94 with an LT1), I realized it wasn't all that after all. While it does have a number of features of the police pkg, it falls short in several areas. from the B-pillars back they are essentially a stock wagon with no 3rd seat (well some have it some don't) Drum rear, 2.56 open rear. Upfront they have the silicone hoses (easy upgrade) and do have the bigger ball joints (not that big of a deal) and the different tune. In other words, it wouldn't be hard to build a 'regular' wagon up to the 1A2 specs. Sure I"m missing a few things but worth thinking about it.

I bought mine in Erie, drove it to FL and sold it to a guy in Western NY 6 months later after I bought a 94 Roadmaster wagon with less miles in better shape with more luxury for less money.

That said, if a clean one popped up I would consider it for the rare factor, but it does NOT increase the value of the car by a penny as no one cares.

Happy huntning and welcome aboard!

Welcome Allen,the 1A2 will be a very tough find.Concentrate on a rustfree southern car and save yourself a lot of time and money.

Welcome aboard! Good luck in your search for your perfect wagon.

Welcome aboard

Welcome! Good luck on your search...and can't wait to see what you find!

Chris

Thanks for the warm welcome!!

To be honest, I'm not all that partial to the LT1, I'd take a 5.0 engine with a 700R4/4L60 and be happy, just no 4.3 engines. That doesn't mean I'll pass on an LT1, it's just not a priority for me.

Perfect for me is a 100% rust free car with good to excellent paint, and real good interior. AND it has to run and drive. The less interior and body/paint work needed the better. I can do just about anything mechanical, but I don't want to have to swap out an engine/trans within a year of getting it.

This one is 30 min from me:

http://savannah.craigslist.org/cto/4148394615.html

The 4.3 looks and sounds like an LT1,.. i just likes to rev more,..and really great on fuel,.

there's internet myths and lore,.but there weren't any factory installs,..

INMHO a 4.3 would be just fine with 3:73 gears.

I,ve had 4 1a2 wagons,.. noisy with no soundproofing or carpeting,. kinda like an old 9c1,..

Here's one... Not too sure about the price with all that's wrong....

New members are not allowed to post external links or emails for 7 days.

It's in the Ann Arbor, MI craigslist. 95 Caprice Wagon, 1A2

There is a 94 woodgrain Caprice wagon just listed on Ann Arbor CL for cheaper that looks sweet and the color combo is awesome. I would give that a look over the 1a2.

I'm a little leery about adds like that. No mileage listed, only one picture, and its cheep. I have found a few more possibilities that I'm interested in y'alls feedback on, but I'll have to wait 4 more days to post the details.

Thanks again for all the help and feedback! I'm gonna like it here.

f5c140al wrote:

I'm a little leery about adds like that. No mileage listed, only one picture, and its cheep.

Don't be too quick to discount such an ad. A few weeks ago I responded to a Craigslist ad with the same three features; unknown mileage, one picture and cheap. I went to see it and it was in a junkyard. $600 bought me a 1990 Thunderbird LX with a bum fuel pump and a non-functioning digital dash. The price included delivery 53 miles to my driveway. A new sending unit assembly in the tank got it running and a fuse brought the dash back. In all, I spent about another $600 on various bits and pieces and wound up with a solid, smooth running, completely loaded car for my kids to tool around in. Even has cold A/C.

Before:


Two weeks later:

Being from Michigan I would recommend looking south for your wagon a solid body is a huge plus some of us here may be able to look it over for you. Try Search Tempest for multi city Craigslist search. Welcome.... Jeff

Olds Weighty Eight wrote:

f5c140al wrote:

I'm a little leery about adds like that. No mileage listed, only one picture, and its cheep.

Don't be too quick to discount such an ad.

I agree.

This pic:


located 90 miles away in Jacksonville, netted me a 74K mile mint WB4 in MAB.

I ran this car for 100K and 7 years before I sold it.

Been doing a lot of looking. The wife has decided that white is going to be the acceptable color choice. So here are a few that are not.

94 Blue Wagon

The guy selling the blue wagon said "The interior is cloth, in good condition.  The ceiling fabric is starting to loosen a bit.  No cracks in the dash, a bit of a loose section on the front passenger door case. We only open the back door sideways, not down because it seems like down doesn't work quite right.  Rust is not bad, just a little surface."

Now, the one Wagoninabox was talking about
94 Burgundy Wagon

The overpriced 1A2
95 1A2

SS wagon anyone?
95 "SS"

This is so far.... Still searching as I have the time.

So, Opinions? I'd like to hear what everyone thinks about these.

f5c140al wrote:

Been doing a lot of looking. The wife has decided that white is going to be the acceptable color choice. So here are a few that are not.

94 Blue Wagon

The guy selling the blue wagon said "The interior is cloth, in good condition.  The ceiling fabric is starting to loosen a bit.  No cracks in the dash, a bit of a loose section on the front passenger door case. We only open the back door sideways, not down because it seems like down doesn't work quite right.  Rust is not bad, just a little surface."

Now, the one Wagoninabox was talking about
94 Burgundy Wagon

The overpriced 1A2
95 1A2

SS wagon anyone?
95 "SS"

This is so far.... Still searching as I have the time.

So, Opinions? I'd like to hear what everyone thinks about these.

Just trying to get an idea of what could be considered junk, or a good deal. I'm really favoring the blue woody, but I don't want to have to throw $1,000 at the car right after I get it. Like the tailgate issue. Any opinions are more than welcome!

welcome and good luck on your wagon quest Tom W

Well, I'm still looking. I sent an email to the guy with the overpriced 1A2 Wagon. He replied with.....

Steel line rusted on axle, under two feet of snow at the moment, doors and rockers clean, interior clean with one burn hole in rear seat , spare tire area has rust, please call and I'll tell you as much as I can.





I didn't call or reply since I still think $3900 is way too high. Now, almost 2 weeks later, he sends me this....

"$2,800 if you come help me dig it out of the snow?? Gosh its got to be worth that, Thanx"

I'm thinking I may be the only reply he's gotten on this so far, so maybe there's a little more wiggle room?

Here's what I know for sure so far...
Tailgate, $125
Stainless Steel pre-bent brake hard line set (whole car), $185
Tires and Battery $500

Maybe I'll see if he'll take $2,000.

Looks like a pretty good wagon, rare and with low miles.  Tires, battery and brake line......nothing unusual there.  Spare tire area with rust is common, usually because the drain hole is plugged.  

I definitely would not jump on it at $2800 as you said.  Point out the things that are wrong and the cost to fix them.  I'm feeling about $1750.  Like you know, you probably are his only option at this point.

Good Luck

Tom

His definition of clean interior is pretty loose.  

Dude needs to spend some time with Texas Mike.   

Find a nice car from a southern state, it will pay off in the end. That '95 1A2 looks to be worth closer to $1500, if the brake lines are rusted, there is more rusted under the car, especially if it's sitting on the lawn. The frames on these cars have issues with rot right by the rear lower control arm frame mount. Tail gate are a pain to find and replace. Can you/will you travel?

Looked at this car last year, pretty nice.
http://syracuse.craigslist.org/cto/4247050546.html

200OZ wrote:

Find a nice car from a southern state, it will pay off in the end. That '95 1A2 looks to be worth closer to $1500, if the brake lines are rusted, there is more rusted under the car, especially if it's sitting on the lawn. The frames on these cars have issues with rot right by the rear lower control arm frame mount. Tail gate are a pain to find and replace. Can you/will you travel?

Good advice!

Tom

Wind down windows,.? deal breaker for me,..
I'll ask again,. why are you set on a 1a2,?. they aren't much different than a civvie wagon,. they are NOT all heavy duty, in fact they are a poor choice for a comfy cruiser imho,.

That car is a $1200 car,...the only people that think 1a2's are valuable and spout off about saving rare wagon(s) are people that have never owned one,..and when the wagons are all lined up together at a fest,. the 1a2's barely get a cursory glance,. there's nothing to see,.

There are several reasons I have narrowed myself down to a 1A2 wagon.

1. I want to replace my 2009 Caliber with something I can drive daily, has lots of room, still gets semi-decent gas mileage, and is reliable on Michigan roads. Trucks guzzle gas, plain and simple. I've always wanted a Caprice, so.... I decided on a Caprice. And since I need room, a wagon.


2. While I'm getting a Caprice, I really want a 9C1 Caprice to re-outfit as a 90's Detroit Fire Department Chief vehicle. It would be a tribute to my uncle, Chief Les "Spiffy" Allen, who is a 50+ year veteran of the DFD. The last vehicle he had was a 1995 9C1 and he also had a 92 1A2 wagon for a few years.

But, again, daily driver replacing the Caliber..... I want a wagon. So it's a 1A2.

The features of the 1A2 I find desirable that I can't get in a Civilian version is the Spotlight provisions are already there with the wiring, there are provisions for electrical up-fitting with the extra fuse panel under the dash to power the equipment, under hood provisions for the high beam wig-wag flasher, and a wire for the horn circuit to tap the 295HFS siren into for the horn ring hands free feature. I would have to do a lot of cutting and hacking on a civilian wagon to wire all that up, and I just can't see hacking a perfectly good wagon to do it. The silicone hoses and larger lower front ball joints are just a plus.

I would probably do a swap to disk brakes on the rear. I would already be replacing all the hard lines to go with stainless, so the few extra parts needed to complete the conversion doesn't hurt. And I would put in a 3.XX Posi gear set while I'm at it.

Normally, Id get myself a comfy cruiser for daily duty, and then later get a 9C1 or 1A2 to restore and show, but the Chief is not doing too good, and I want to get this done with enough time for him to see it.