Back into the wagon game

GasTT wrote:

I think I have one lined up. I will let you know!

Sounds good man.

These were just sitting in the garage at home so I figured id put them to better use.

I dig the caddy wheels on the wagon, I thought about swapping the aluminum fwb ones I have back on my caddy.
White walls on a wagon are where it's at!

I think white walls on everything is where its at!

Finally got the radiator support bolted in. Air dams and plastic inner fenders bolted in. Fixed the headlight wiring and got the headlights in it. Went to put the chevy grill on and I seem to have lost the screws. I can't wait to drive this POS. Hopefully going tomorrow to get the transmission for it. Just need to do the rear brakes and it's going on the road.



The radiator is still too high on the drivers side and I don't understand why but I don't really care. It works.



Heres a pic of my quick fix. The hose is much longer than the gap in the pipe. The gap is probably 1/4". The clamps are super tight. It will work until I can find a replacement pipe.



Next to the Fleetwood

Good progress Tim, gonna be ready just in time for winter!

Where is the radiator too high? I can't make it out Is it seated in the rubber grommets?

It is seated in the rubber gromets. I think this support is warped some how. It's only higher on the drivers side.

Lookin good! Level or not.

What's the deal with all the STS's in the background?

The blue one is a customers car. The white one has been there before I've been coming around. The grass is pretty tall around it. I'm thinking of jacking the dual tips for the Fleet.

GasTT wrote:

The blue one is a customers car. The white one has been there before I've been coming around. The grass is pretty tall around it. I'm thinking of jacking the dual tips for the Fleet.

lol. Good deal Tim! You've come a long way baby!

Thanks Tom!

It's starting to look "whole". It really needs a Buick grill but, I'm using what I have til I find a cheap RMW grill.



I might pull off that outer fender and try to straighten it a little. But honestly, I couldn't care much less.

GasTT wrote:

Thanks Tom!

It's starting to look "whole". It really needs a Buick grill but, I'm using what I have til I find a cheap RMW grill.

Winter beater wagon, don't get too crazy!

And whats up with the box? Another customer?

The guy with the box is the garage owners friend. Cosmetically, it's beat. But it runs good. He loves it. Gun metal grey with dark red interior.

GasTT wrote:

The guy with the box is the garage owners friend. Cosmetically, it's beat. But it runs good. He loves it. Gun metal grey with dark red interior.

LOL I could tell by the dent and sweet walmart hubcaps!

and so it began (a week ago)



Someone had already cut the drivers side cat pipe. I'll have to weld it back.



1994 4l60e trans connector. On the right side of the connector you can see there is only 1 pin.



1995 4l60e trans connector. On the right side of the connector you can see there are 2 pins. The second pin is pin "U". This pin recieves the signal from a 1995 PCM (pin D6, blue connector) for the Pulse Width Modulation solenoid.



Engine harness connector for 4l60e. You can see there are open spots to add pins.



I have a '95 computer already. It is from a Roadmaster sedan with the correct rear gears and correct transmission tune to provide a proper signal for the PWM function on the 95 trans. (rear gear program has nothing to do with PWM but it will keep my speedo accurate)

Swap is done. I just need to get the dipstick in position, fill trans, add the pins and extra wire, swap the PCM and button up the exhaust.

That's funny the cat is cut on that side. Some brainiac cut the cat in my wagon same side same place. I welded that f@#$r for 2 days, STILL leaks (pinholes) I got the left manifold/cat assembly from the dggm caddy I'm gonna try and swap it in.

Advice: weld the pipe from the inside first, stick a bright light inside the pipe and then hit the outside. I didn't have a lift, I had about 18" to work under the car, so I got frustrated quick!

I did have the cats from my old wagon but I scrapped them before I moved.

So I got it finished up today, minus the trans wiring, I'll save that for another day. Slapped on the repair plate and took it for a ride. Trans shifts good and reverse works. I've got to sort out the brakes. Need at least 1 cylinder in the RR and bleed the whole system. The car turned quite a few heads on the 10 minute drive. A transmission leak sprung at the crimped cooler line, what a suprise. I must have been man handling them a bit too much. The snow will be here soon so I need to get it registered fast.

GasTT wrote:

So I got it finished up today, minus the trans wiring, I'll save that for another day. Slapped on the repair plate and took it for a ride. Trans shifts good and reverse works. I've got to sort out the brakes. Need at least 1 cylinder in the RR and bleed the whole system. The car turned quite a few heads on the 10 minute drive. A transmission leak sprung at the crimped cooler line, what a suprise. I must have been man handling them a bit too much. The snow will be here soon so I need to get it registered fast.

LOL the heads turned because of this:



I bet it was loud

Haha, noo I welded the exhaust back on the drivers side and got new bolts for the passenger side. The exhaust was all sorts of crooked. Who ever did the hitch totally hacked the passenger side resonator hangers. But, it's all sitting pretty straight now.

GasTT wrote:

Haha, noo I welded the exhaust back on the drivers side and got new bolts for the passenger side. The exhaust was all sorts of crooked. Who ever did the hitch totally hacked the passenger side resonator hangers. But, it's all sitting pretty straight now.

That's good to hear, and less obnoxious.

Here's how the mufflers were sitting before I started. You can see how cocked they were. The tail pipe on the passenger side was touching the coil spring. Also, I wish they didn't cut off the OEM bracket from the cat pipe on the drivers side.

I think some headers and some cherry bombs will fix all those problems at once!

I'd remove the mufflers completely but the wife would probably prefer to walk where she needs to go this winter. She already finds it appalling. "You think you hate it now, wait 'til you drive it!" I'll be driving my work truck and she'll be driving this with baby on board. Hopefully, I will be able to afford to buy her something else and I can do what I want with this. But, I don't plan on anything. I need to focus on Caprice. And I have big dreams for Bro-ham as well.

Hey im in that SAME boat. Except my old lady like's the retro-wagon.
(she was NOT happy that it was tied up for a few weeks with body work)

She likes the caddy, but is always complaining when I have it pancaked that she's gonna get breast cancer.

Mine loved the caddy. Til I slammed it close to the ground.

Brakes.

When I first got the wagon one of the rear axle hard lines blew so I replaced them both. Couldn't get fluid out of both cylinders and left it at that.

It's getting close to needing to put this on the road. So today I was prepared to do all new brakes front and rear. But, when I pulled off the front wheels, the pads are like new. So I pulled off the rear drums. Everything is new under there too. Score! So I decided to just bleed the whole system. After all the air was out and pressure was good...... the main brake line from ABS to rear junction blew.

What a nightmare that was. Couldn't find a 1/4" line with the metric 12x1.0 fitting for the rear rubber line. I ended up getting a 1/4" line with a different fitting. I cut off the flare with a pipe cutter and slipped on the old fitting. Then I had to use a hydraulic bubble flare tool. That was fun. I flared the end with the old fitting and made 2 other connections. I didn't want to fool with the engine bay lines so I cut it as it came down the frame, bubble flared it and added a connector. Had to add one mid length too because the biggest they had in stock at the parts store was 60". It was a great success hours later (including dealing with clueless parts counter guys). No leaks and I have good pedal feel now.

It only took about 11 months but I went and registered the thing this morning!

Update...

Transmission works very good, but I still have not added the wire for the PWM. I only use the car around town so I've been driving it in "3" so I don't jeopardize the transmission until I find time to run the wire.

I pulled off the rear drums ready to replace everything since I couldn't get fluid out of the drivers cylinder when I was met with a nice surprise. Everything was already very new. So I continued to bleed the brakes. Pop, the brake line that goes from the front to the rear blew. So that was replaced from where it comes down the frame to the flex hose on the rear end. Finally got all the air out. After driving it around the front pads started squealing and squeeking with and without the pedal applied. The rattle clips were rotted and the pad material was cracked. Today I put on new ceramic pads and grabbed a caliper kit with new clips and rubber bushings. Brakes are silent now. Paid $25 for the pads and probably $10 for the lines.

Rear junction


Passenger side


Driver side


Bubble flare connection in the front.


The drivers outer tie rod was completely shot. So bad that when I hit the brake it dove for the curb... Or oncoming traffic. Replaced that today with a cheapie. $10. Maybe down the line ill do the whole steering with MOOG parts. Needed to be safe and get a sticker for now. Passed RI safety and emissions testing no problem. $40 for a sticker.

The exhaust was original and from sitting the mufflers had rotted through. I ordered a pair of summit brand chambered mufflers for $30 each. They are actually rebranded Jones exhaust Full Boar mufflers. Got these installed for free by a customer. Sounds decent for $70 total including shipping and installation. Definitely turns a few heads for a good reason this time.

New mufflers


The wiper blades, all 3, were dry rotted. Per Crovos recommendation I got the RainX Latitude wipers. They are awesome. But, the rear wiper motor doesn't move the arm. I can hear it but that's it. It probably has a bad connection... All the third brake light contacts were corroded and needed cleaning to work. It was probably $30 for the good blades.

I took off the vogues and caddy wheels because I didn't want to chew up my expensive tires with the bad front end. I put the tires that came with it back on with truck rallies and 50s Buick hub caps. Today I took those rims off and put on the American Racing wheels from the start of this project. Looks pretty bad ass.

Snow covered pic with 50s hubcaps


Rim polishing before and after


Quick shot with new wheels.. No center caps yet because I need to get replacement screws.. For now I had some chrome spray paint I hit the hubs with the blend in.


The car is going great. It looks and sounds mean. I still have a lot of cosmetic stuff to do but it's a nice daily driver for what little money I've spent on it. I'll update this ramble with some pics soon.

Me enjoying my hard work

Nice dude, car has come a long way fo sho!

Those wheels cleaned up wicked nice!

I miss having a blue interior...

Looking good, Timmah!

Pic looks like your about to get T-Boned

Well....except for your rate of speed.

I take back whatever I previously said about the wheels. They look sweet on there!

Car is looking nice. Next Summer you'd best clean up the undercarriage a bit and make that thing last a while longer!

sdstick wrote:

Pic looks like your about to get T-Boned

Well....except for your rate of speed.

Haha, it does doesn't it...

1984twodoor wrote:

I take back whatever I previously said about the wheels. They look sweet on there!

Car is looking nice. Next Summer you'd best clean up the undercarriage a bit and make that thing last a while longer!

I might come to work on a sunday and get it done... shouldnt take more than a day to do the whole thing..Well.. it could take me weeks with my OCD... might open a can of worms and start restoring the under carriage...

Put the fluid film to it, and don't worry about it again. It is great stuff.

I want it to look pretty. It looks brown right now.

Nice progress! I think it looks mean with those meaty tires and aluminum wheels.

GasTT wrote:

I want it to look pretty. It looks brown right now.

You can wish all you want....that one isnt going to be pretty....

You NEED a winter vehicle anyway....keep this for that..

Well.. I cant just leave it alone yet. Soon I'll be digging into my Caprice. For now I need to do something to keep me busy.

If I had a lift, I'd never do anything but ^^that^^

At least you'll be mechanically sound....to me THAT's where its at