New to forum. Need some pointing in the right direction.

First off, I'm new to the forum, like said. And live in Maine.

I just recently bought a '92 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon. I know the motor is a 350 TBI L05. I would love for one of you tech smart guys to point me in the right direction for mods to the motor and some cosmetic stuff.
I'll share with you some history about the car:

One previous owner (an elderly woman that has passed). I picked the car up from her son. It's from South Carolina so It's never seen a winter, so no salt damage, etc. I just replaced the power steering hose this weekend (I'm my own mechanic for the most part). There are 220k miles which I'm assuming are pretty light since the previous owner was elderly. The trans slips a little bit from third to second, other than that, it's shifts great. It was converted to a push-button start (very cleanly done) because the key broke in the ignition and I guess it was cheaper to just do that (not my project). The lugs on one of the steel wheels are quite rusted, maybe because of exposure due to a missing hubcap.

That's all I can think of now. It would be very helpful if anyone could tell me what's practical to do with a car in this condition. I have a slight plan of what I would like to do and some money saved up just for this kind thing.

don't be afraid to e-mail me : SkierNeezo@gmail.com

Thanks

hello. welcome aboard. members are going to ask for pics. then what do you want to do for mods. i did my throttle body first. then the exhaust. then posi and gears. now im getting ready for six speed tranny to be installed. be ready to spend some money. its a good and friendly forum. i like shiny things.lol.

For in-depth info you should also sign up at the Impala SS Forum

Once you do some reading over there on which projects you want to try then we have people in here who will be more than happy to help you completely change your car
I'd also reccommend bringing it to one of the "mod days" to meet some of the guys and get some ideas for what is possible with these old cars.

thanks guys!
picked it up for 500 bucks. I forgot to mention I had a professional mechanic look at it and he was in shock that I picked up so cheap.

Sounds like a steal!

Gotta love those TBI wagons!!!





Welcome to the madness!!!!!!

that's similar to what I've got in mind, but I really hate doing cosmetic stuff before mechanical work. I think I have a mental block about it. This isn't my first car. I'll try to post up some pics for you guys later tonight. She's a beaut!

Welcome Aboard

welcome
good to see another tbi car, not many of us here.

laidlow91 wrote:

welcome
good to see another tbi car, not many of us here.

Thanks! I hope to get a lot out of this awesome forum!

Here's the car just after I picked it up. It sat all winter under a pine tree. It was covered in sap and pine needles and we all know how damn annoying all that stuff is. I've yet to take some of the car after I cleaned it up.
Some Exterior Shots:




I kind of like the black steel wheel



Look at all those sap spots



Undercarriage. Good. There was a power steering leak in the front...that's what all that crud is under there in the front.






Engine Bay (I want to say that part of the air intake thing is missing). I've cleaned this up a lot.



That's all. I would love suggestions/comments!

Nice looking car, and I love the price, not to mention the color! First thing I would do is clean the pine pitch. That will be a little work. They sell a tar and bug remover at auto stores or WalMarts. That's what you need. Then keep it from under the pines, or cover it.

Before you make any changes, get her all cleaned up inside and out and under the hood. First thing I would do after that, is get all your wheels matching. Wow that is nice and clean underneath, don't drive her in the winter.

I've have a pretty good supply of parts in that color, especially interior parts. If you need anything let me know. It probably would be a good idea to keep your eyes open for a good transmission. Yours could last, but you may be on borrowed time.

Good Luck

Tom C.

your ride looks good. i believe i would fix the hood struts. or get a bigger bucket.

i forgot to ask. hows the tires? in good shape treadwise? no cracks or weather rot? are you running this now? im in so. portland. if you need any thing let me know. mark ross also in so. portland. and hes a lot smarter then me on these.

iceman3201 wrote:

i believe i would fix the hood struts. or get a bigger bucket.

LOL!

Aw come on, that's the Maine way. The way life should be.

silverfox103 wrote:

Nice looking car, and I love the price, not to mention the color! First thing I would do is clean the pine pitch. That will be a little work. They sell a tar and bug remover at auto stores or WalMarts. That's what you need. Then keep it from under the pines, or cover it.

Before you make any changes, get her all cleaned up inside and out and under the hood. First thing I would do after that, is get all your wheels matching. Wow that is nice and clean underneath, don't drive her in the winter.

I've have a pretty good supply of parts in that color, especially interior parts. If you need anything let me know. It probably would be a good idea to keep your eyes open for a good transmission. Yours could last, but you may be on borrowed time.

Good Luck

Tom C.

Thanks.
I did clean all the pine pitch off. Took all day (around 9:30ish to 5ish) with some breaks in between. I cleaned the engine bay a bit. I'm currently driving it daily to make sure that the power steering hose wasn't the only problem. I do not plan on driving her in the winter unless I have to. I don't know how well it would handle though since it's RWD
You wouldn't happen to have the trim that goes around the "wood paneling" would you? Mine's not missing it's just slightly weathered. I was thinking about just painting it if I could get it off cleanly.

iceman3201 wrote:

i forgot to ask. hows the tires? in good shape treadwise? no cracks or weather rot? are you running this now? im in so. portland. if you need any thing let me know. mark ross also in so. portland. and hes a lot smarter then me on these

the bucket was to hold the hood up just a little bit so it wasn't directly on the battery charger. haha. The hood struts are just fine, I'll probably replace them soon because they seem to be a little weak though. The tires are in good shape, with a little under half the tread left I would say. I'll need new tires before winter if I decide to drive it then. Any recommendations on what I should buy for tires and where? As I said above, I have been driving the car every day just to make sure that the power steering hose wasn't the only problem.

i was fooling with you about the bucket. i used to take remarks here to seriously. they all like to joke around.but if you need any thing. theyll be there to help you. im just to old.

iceman3201 wrote:

i was fooling with you about the bucket. i used to take remarks here to seriously. they all like to joke around.but if you need any thing. theyll be there to help you. im just to old.

haha I knew you were fooling around when you said that. I thought it was quite funny really! good to know you old guys have a sense of humor eh?

Interesting intake mod. I've heard of the "sewer pipe" mod, but never the "homer bucket" mod...

And dude... You FAIL at parking for the winter. BOO!!!! They make tarps, ya know.
(runs and hides behind the barn)

She's a beaut though! Nice and rust free!!! You can grab an intake from a FWD 4.9l Caddy and put a length of PVC and a cone filter on it. Makes more sense than trying to source the factory stuff.

As far as the trim goes, you could always peel the wood/vinyl off it and polish it.

toomanytoyz wrote:

Interesting intake mod. I've heard of the "sewer pipe" mod, but never the "homer bucket" mod...

And dude... You FAIL at parking for the winter. BOO!!!! They make tarps, ya know.
(runs and hides behind the barn)

She's a beaut though! Nice and rust free!!! You can grab an intake from a FWD 4.9l Caddy and put a length of PVC and a cone filter on it. Makes more sense than trying to source the factory stuff.

As far as the trim goes, you could always peel the wood/vinyl off it and polish it.

haha I know the guy could have parked it in a better spot!
I'm debating weather to peel the wood/vinyl off...can it be done cleanly?

Hi

Just to make sure you understand what Bill is saying, the trim would be relatively easy to remove and polish or paint. I painted mine and they look great. But the sheet vinyl woodgrain comes off fairly easy, but it opens up a big can of worms and at 16 you may not want to open. You will need a paint job and body work if you remove. It is not all blue underneath.

I do have extra pieces of trim if you need, probably it is peeling also.

Tom

silverfox103 wrote:

Hi

Just to make sure you understand what Bill is saying, the trim would be relatively easy to remove and polish or paint. I painted mine and they look great. But the sheet vinyl woodgrain comes off fairly easy, but it opens up a big can of worms and at 16 you may not want to open. You will need a paint job and body work if you remove. It is not all blue underneath.

I do have extra pieces of trim if you need, probably it is peeling also.

Tom

I think I'll just stick to painting the trim since it doesn't sound too hard.

thats a nice wagon.its amazing how much time passes when your cleaning on of these boats up...