Picked up another wagon...Caprice Wagon Build

Saw Fred today and picked up that '95 Caprice Wagon he had for sale. As cool as Waterloo was...I'm glad he is in Charleston, SC now.  Little nicer spot to pick up a car from in Dec!



Home safe and sound!

From the pictures it looks to be in very nice condition,what can you tell us about it? ed

Chris looks very nice do you have plans for it?

Congrats! Nice to see Fred, too.

Thats a great picture of you two,wagon looks nice.Lots of awesome possibilities with that color too!

Thanks guys!

 This is first time I've bought a wagon and became the "second" owner.  

1st owner was FairFax VA.  Wagon even came with a little dog tag.

It's an honest driver (94k miles) and pretty clean. 2.56, but I have some 3.08s and extra carrier I can swap in later. Needs some tinkering and new shocks, but that is pretty much it.  Plans are to clean it up and use it as a "company vehicle" for my music biz.  Oh, and hoping to slap some OZ wheels on later this winter :-)

Chris

Sweet! Nice score, dude... Good to see Fred, too!

Congrats! You left your lights on.  

Want to visit the car's former home? LOL

Merry Christmas!

Looken Good-nice ride - later Tom W

Way cool. Now sell me that Caddy!!

Great pics and looks to be a really nice car too. Looking forward to seeing what you do with it!

Good to see Fred's still in the game, we need more pics!

Need more pics! Looking forward to see what you do with this one.

Nice score!!!! Love that color. One of the first wagons I looked at back in 2001 was that color.

I will get you guys more pics for sure!  I'm in my busy season with Christmas Programs / Concerts and stuff almost every night until Christmas.   So the wagon is parked on the pad for now. It's dark when I go to work, and dark when I get home.  So pics would not look that great right now...

I had a little issue with the power steering pressure line (where it goes into the steering box) so it will sit until I can fix that and do the other minor things that it needs.  The list so far...

*power steering pressure line
*new shocks / delete leaking rear air shocks
*add the external Trans cooler option
*replace coolant hoses and "T" / flush system.

Then it needs a good buffing / polishing / wax!!!  

 I already installed a dash cover    hehe   

I was a little bummed the power steering line decided to barf on my new concrete parking pad. Lol.

Texas Mike,dont look at that steering box/sway bar or your evening will be ruined!  

Lol...it's seen winter before.  It's really not bad at all though...and I am pretty picky.

 Quick shot before I change and head out to play.  I could fit 4 on my pad if I had too...  

I really need to clean up that trail of fluid.  (ignore the tire marks though)

Sprocket, you might recognize that cable on the ground!! I am actually typing this post from my laptop, at home ON WIFI!!!! YES!! GOD BLESS U-VERSE!!! 2 years and we finally have real internet at home!!

Steering gear looks great compared to the underside of that Blazer I got for my kiddo. I like that Blazer, it drives well...I just can't get under it without cursing....

brokecello wrote:

Holy bulging hose!

When you do the lines order both, the other will start to leak right after you fix this one, they love doing that   , Also, go with the 9c1 line, it has the built in cooler.

Yeah, I already ordered both powersteering lines (from AC Delco on E-bay) ....but I didn't get the 9C1 ones!!  I didn't even think about that.  

Cr@p!  

Crovo knows what's wrong with that pic....where are the flags?  lol

Glad you got hooked up buddy!

PS lines came in...

Uverse is great, I sold it this last summer. Rust doesn't look too bad, but at the same time it looks like it has seen a few winters.

Well, I ended up sick and in bed Christmas through Fri...which sucked since the weather was so nice...

BUT, I FINALLY am able to drive this wagon now.
I knocked out the following today:
-New Power Steering Lines
-Added external Trans Cooler/new lines
-New Cooling system hoses/Flush
-New 160 Tstat
-TB Bypass Mod
-AIR Pump/pipes deleted/manifolds capped
-Changed Oil
-Cleaned TB
-PCM Reflash

BOOM!

Now the AC wont work. lol. I suspect the Evap Core (and did believe it was going bad on the way home from Fred's)

Anyhow, more pics coming later..but here is a shot before I started ripping crap off...and another shot of the test drive.  Drove it up to Asheville and back.

Chris,when you get busy you really get BUSY.Wagon looking great already.Glad you,re feeling better too.

Glad you were finally able to get it on the road!

Looks good Chris is the 160 thermostat something you always run?

Thanks guys! (and thank you Mike for the trans cooler too)

Yeah, I always run a 160 stat (matched with a PCM tune that slightly lowers the cooling fan activation too). To me, these run better without the AIR pump stuff, EGR and cooler temp.

looking good. i always like red

Glad to hear you're better and getting the wagon back on the road.

Thanks!!

 I am feeling pretty good right now!  Got home and found my box of Bilsteins waiting!  This is my first ever full set (normally I just buy the Severe Service shocks)

Thank you Jasonlachapelle!

brokecello wrote:

Thanks!!

 I am feeling pretty good right now!  Got home and found my box of Bilsteins waiting!  This is my first ever full set (normally I just buy the Severe Service shocks)

Thank you Jasonlachapelle!

Need to get my KYB hds mounted asap!

Well, I didn't get the shocks in today...BUT I did pull out an old SS grille I had and tried it on.   I also used a "GM" emblem to help cover (mostly all) the ornament hole.  

I plan on getting the grille and mirrors painted body color once I "freshen up" the wagon later.




_____

Fred is doing something new with his cars....he told me this when I picked it up.  I'm sharing this so IF  you decide to buy something from Fred, ask that he not clear your engine bay.  

Since I am somewhat OCD about things...having clearcoat sprayed over dirt drives me nuts.   I started wiping down engine parts today with thinner.  Lol  

Here is an example of what the clear looks like after a few hundred miles on rubber parts (and I wiped it off with thinner...so not really that big a deal). I did paint that steering box when I replaced the lines too.   

Spray nine is what i like to use to clean under the hood,.

Chris - that really transformed the front good before and after photos.

I've never heard of spray nine...will have to check it out!  I use Simple Green mostly.  (Purple Power for the really greasy stuff)

   Today I took a little day trip to Augusta, GA and hit up the Pull A Part.   Was nice to have a wagon to throw parts in and not worry about getting stuff dirty   

  Picked up a couple spare items for the Caprice and some things for the Fleetwood too.





When I got home...I was excited to see my new plate came in the mail!   Since this wagon will be doing a lot of music gear / musician hauling (and I also plan on putting some decals for my wedding music biz on this wagon too) I picked this plate.  I provide "Music 4 U"  

Boom!  Lol

Did a little work yesterday on the wagon...just minor stuff.

 I did get a universal cover for the Fleetwood and it barely fit behind Jade on the parking pad. Lol...  Someday I will have a carport (but I have to stop buying cars first)     I keep going back and forth in my mind about keeping or selling the Fleetwood. Cara likes it and so do I. I get a lot of compliments on it when we take it around town. But do I need 3 cars? They are all paid for (and I figure the value of all 3 equals that of a typical American's car nowadays).




I had one of those fender GM emblems covering the ornament hole.  Then I got a tip that there was a larger GM emblem (Off the trucks) and it filled the hole better.  

Small emblem


Truck Emblem


__

It was too cold to really do any outdoor detail work...but the hood was oxidized and it was driving me nuts.  I let the wagon run to keep the hood warm and whipped out the DA Polisher.  

This is the stuff I use for light scratches and such....



Before


Midway (half and half)


After

You can really see the difference in that hood and I like the black grill with the red bowtie and body it's not a bad look until you paint the grill surround. Jeff

Very nice my friend, very nice.

Looking sharp! Needs Impala wheels!

81X11 wrote:

Looking sharp!   Needs Impala wheels!

  

Thanks guys!!

Rims are coming very soon! (not SS wheels though...I tried to buy some...but I think what I have coming will be sweeter!)

Chris

Looking good Chris!

Thanks!!

Well..lil sneak peek of my new wheels? More pics once the sun comes up (and they are clean!)

Before



After

Great looking wheels, ( and car of course ) ! What brand / model are the wheels? I would love them on my roadmaster..

Thanks! These are OZ Nova ST wheels (18in). They are used (about 9 years old I think?) and were drilled to match our 5x5 bolt pattern. You see a set pop up from time to time...but they are not available new anymore.

lowlow37 wrote:

Great looking wheels, ( and car of course ) !  What brand / model are the wheels? I would love them on my roadmaster..

lowlow37, there's a guy on ISSF who is selling a set but they are NOT drilled for the 5x5 bolt circle. You would need to have them redrilled.
The wheels are European, so you might find a set closer to home.

Those look very nice.