New (to me) RMS

I wasn't really gonna post anything about it, but I'm moderately excited about it.

I REEEAAAALLLLLYYYY wanted a TBI car. BUT! I remembered Matt's brother was selling his '94 RMS. It needs a few things, nothing major, but its a good start.

Its a bare top RMS, which if it wasnt, I wouldn't have given it a second thought. The big thing here was I got the whole story and the truth about what it needs. Unlike the chances one takes on Craigslist.

I went up to look at it last week, after Matt took pics and video, and I struck a deal with his brother. Brought the title back, registered it, and going to pick it up Sunday.

Its a higher mileage car, needs some stuff like was stated, but its minor stuff for a 19 year old car. Apparently its 1 of 1 ordered by a GM employee. It even has a posi rear and sway bars.

I've never owned an RMS before, and some of my google searches for customs brought me to this point. I really want to fix it up nice, a few standard mods, and enjoy it. I'd hate to see such a nice car go to waste with the wrong owner.

I recently bought my first house, I think I said it somewhere on here, and driving the 9C1 over there to park it got me excited for big cars. I've been driving a slobalt for the last couple months. Boring.

So now that I have my own place to do my own work at, I anticipate a full recovery for the RMS by this time next year. Of course, while DDing it. What's gonna happen to the 9C1? Well, I let the inspection expire on it today. The clicking "flex plate", new rear end build, and some other stuff will have it immersed in down time for a while. After seeing B after B get creamed, I'm not big on driving it all the time anyway. Too much heart, soul, and green stuff to let it get totaled by a Prius.

I'm glad you've got things squared away with it so far Brian, looking forward to still seeing the car around too.  

I had posted this before as everyone remembers, but again I was kinda getting sucked in as the middle man and my brother wasn't doing anything as far as actively selling the vehicle at the time.  With winter coming he decided to sell and of course Brian asked me at the right time and I got them in touch.   

The car needed a couple more things than was professed to me initially (see the un-glued mirror on the dash that I unplugged from the dangling harness and placed there) when I went down to swap the wheels out , but not bad and there are a bunch of new parts in it too.  It's not a bad car, it needs someone B-body experienced to own it basically and love it.

I will try to meet up Sunday if I can make it down there, kehd.  You should try to attach that POS leaf trailer rotting into the ground back there to the RMS's receiver hitch that I left on there.  Good lord that place needs to be cleaned up. I don't even like leaving a car down there anymore... LOL

I love how there are three Badass stickers on the car. What was his post-count again? 

Lololol. I don't even know his username.

Put that trailer on CL in the barter section and then for what you want, refer to a link for a separate post in casual encounters! Describe yourself as Randy hahaha.

It'd be cool to meet up. I'd like to take a gander at the SS for a minute or two. But, if you can't make it, no big deal. We've got plans stacked as it is. Picking up a 2 year old gołden lab pup Sunday as well. Things did in fact, escalate quickly

Really like that car.
Now your gonna get all fat dumb & happy.

Wow. I thought that car had been sold. Congrats Brian.

Well Steve, I'm already fat and happy.

Congrats, Brian. I didn't even know you could get a rear sway bar on a roadmaster. Good luck with it.

8bud wrote:

Congrats, Brian. I didn't even know you could get a rear sway bar on a roadmaster. Good luck with it.

Thanks.

Maybe if you worked for GM at the time, you could order whatever you wanted. Who wants to order anything special today? I don't see anyone lining up to get the performance and handling pkg Spark or Volt. Laaaaame.

I'll stay 20 years behind the curve thank you.

I thought I'd saved the option code list from that car on my HD someplace. I'll look. It was an odd setup, it had some options like the sway bar and posi (the cover still has the metal posi tag on there) but I don't remember it being a V92 Roadmaster. I forget. It does have a platform receiver hitch on the back of it though, a lighter duty one.

It's not a dedicated tow pkg car, unless it was ordered without or swapped from a mech fan.

Very nice car, and the best looking color (inside and out) to my eyes, so a big congrats!

It wasn't until I spent some time in my 95 RMW that I realized how many subtle differences there are between the Chevy and Buick B-body.

The Buick climate controls are better, seats are more comfortable, it is a noticeably more luxurious experience.

But why would you have preferred a TBI car over an LT1?

Enjoy it in good health.

Why TBI over SFI?

Having been stranded in the dead of winter because of an opti spark is why.

Cheaper to maintain and much easier to maintain.

People don't like TBI because of the lack of power. Big deal. I've got the 9C1 for that.

For a daily, a TBI would have been ideal for me.

Also, I've never owned a TBI B. I went from carbs to LT1 cars. Kinda skipped the TBI thing.

That's a nice looking RMS, always liked that dark silver/grey color. I too have yet town an RMS, have had everything else (except and SS, but a Caprice is close enought  )

MASShole9C1 wrote:

Why TBI over SFI?

Having been stranded in the dead of winter because of an opti spark is why.

Cheaper to maintain and much easier to maintain.

People don't like TBI because of the lack of power. Big deal. I've got the 9C1 for that.

For a daily, a TBI would have been ideal for me.

Also, I've never owned a TBI B. I went from carbs to LT1 cars. Kinda skipped the TBI thing.

.... I love my TBI cars, sure they lack power. But it looks good and still cruises like a true B. I sprung an intake leak on my way home from the round up, but the car still runs tip top.

s for cost to maintain, these are great. You can do a full tune up in a few hours ( in the driveway) and be rolling the same night. After driving a TBI for a daily, you will enjoy your 9C1 time that much more when you take her out.

 

That's what I'm saying about TBI. Best of both worlds minus HP.

Sorry to hear about the intake leak. Seems common tho.

I just drove the car home from Malden to Attleboro today. VERY loud. But the comfy effortless ride was certainly a plus.

Lots of work to do, but she will be right as rain soon!

Brian, I wanted to come  down to see you off with the car but couldn't make it in time, I felt like crap this morning, lol.  I'm glad to hear the trip/ride went well. I'll have to head down your way when I get a chance with the SS before it's all snowing n'crap.

It's all good, Matt. It was raining and wicked cold kehd. Lmk if/when you want to plan something.

MASShole9C1 wrote:

It's all good, Matt. It was raining and wicked cold kehd. Lmk if/when you want to plan something.

We should do a 'south coast' mini-meet with a few people lol.

Mini meet sounds good

Nice score Brian. It even has the early '94 Glo-worm seats!

"Glow-Worm Seats"  ©2010 Matt Trakker LLC.  All Rights Reserved.  Used under license from Hasbro Inc.


I'm pretty sure one of my comments to Brian during this whole thing was "dude, it has the early Glow-Worm seats" and he thought I meant the newer Unlimited seats. lol
I'd like to find a set of those and put them in the SS!

Matt Trakker wrote:

"Glow-Worm Seats"  2010 Matt Trakker LLC.  All Rights Reserved.  Used under license from Hasbro Inc.

    

Ok. Lets seeeeeeeee...

Here comes the ugly. Most of which I knew buying into the game.

New intermediate pipes and mufflers ordered.
Rear view mirror re attached
Found about 5 exterior lights that are burnt out (pass side turn signal does not blink)
Need to look at why interior lights, mirrors, locks, and chime don't work.
Hood cable needs adjusting.
Rear seat bottom reattached.
Need drivers seat bottom skin.
Reattach drivers front door panel.
Install some tunes(no radio at the moment)
Rotted quarter(s)
Rotted rear lower control arms(I have the old Cali set from the 9C1)
Give the whoooooole shebang a nice cleaning in and out.

I drove it again today. I love it! Very comfy and smooth.

I registered it Thursday. I wanted another set of veteran plates. I figured since my 9C1 has had veteran plates since 2009. Shouldn't be a problem right? Wrong. Read on...

The lady informs me, that since the state finds that there have been too many veterans plates falsely issued to guard and reserve members, you now have to present a DD214 (discharge paired) EVERY time you want veteran plates. Even if you ALREADY have them registered on another car with a DD214.

So I go back today, another lady says I need to get an RMV3 form from the insurance company. WTF?! I just said F it for the day and sucked it up with regular passenger plates for another day.

Thanks a lot, friggin D bag weekend warriors. Making shit harder dot those who have proved worth and have sacrificed.

My bosses son has veteran plates. Army reserve with ZERO deployments. No DD214. He's the reason why I'm getting dicked around. I scared him and told him that they are gonna yank plates soon.

On top of that. Before I left the RMV, they tell me they are all out of branch decals and only have the flag. Fan-f'n-tastic. I guess I can be less angry when I get flag plates because I knew already...

We are making progress!!!

I posted pics in another thread of the control arms.
Those have been swapped.

New exhaust was installed today. Pretty excited about that.

I also got the E brake cable to release the damn pedal. A little lube goes a long way.

Had to do the rear view mount again. Waiting for it to dry and put the mirror on tm.

Then swap over the lace rims with snuw tires (since its gonna snow soon) and its off to the inspection! Better late than never. Wish me luck and keep your fingers crossed.

Nothing good to update. I really do like this Roadmaster. I haven't driven it very much. Maybe a few hundred miles since I bought it in October.

So, I've replaced the exhaust, the rear lower control arms, a spaceships worth of light bulbs, and the rear view mirror fell off again months ago. My fault, but not gonna mess with it until its at least 60* outside.

The rot issue is a little more intense than I had hoped. In addition to the drivers quarter and wheelhouse/trunk seems rotted, under the rear seat is rotted through as well. I'm afraid to take the the seats and carpet out. I'm actually a bit surprised since rest of the car is in great shape despite it being 20 years old and driven in NE winters. The floor pan was treated and still in great shape, front inner fenders are good as well as the battery tray. Has tank straps and rear frame rails are in awesome shape too. Just around the rear axel and quarters is bad.

The heat still doesn't work. Too cold to mess with any sort of car repairs. The coolant was low yesterday (light on). No puddles, pump not leaking, so maybe the core is leaking under the carpet. It took almost a whole 50/50 dexcool bottle.

Water pump is squeaking when sitting, driving.

Still haven't swapped the chime box or fixed the power locks, mirrors, or interior lights.

Still in need of a seat. I'd like to put a passenger seat on the drivers side and do the console shift again maybe.

It's tough to plan mods when I can't get under it yet to determine wether it's worth it or not.

I do want to swap on a wagon front clip.
Headlight harness
Hood
Fenders
Bumper cover
Bumper support (unless wagon/sedan are the same)
Grill
Grill support (have)
Headlights
Corner lights (have)

The 1800gotjunk people took all my roadmaster wagon bumpers and supports when I moved. I sold my old 9C1 hood and headlights to Lonnie (94classic)

I want to install SS springs up front. I have rears to go in. Finding fronts is always a challenge.

So, that's just few things with the car and what's on my mind.

I also took it through a car wash yesterday. Apparently I asked for the American gladiators wash as it broke my hood ornament, unhooked a windshield wiper, and slightly bent my power antenna (my fault, not used to it being behind me). I fixed it and it works fine now.

Here's some driveway shots from a month or so ago after a touch less wash. Caprice lace rims look awesome on these. I have 3 extra caps from Justin I will redo with buick emblems. Need 1 more. Still not sure about wheels tho. I might want another set of lace rims so I can keep the snows mounted.
Not sure what happened to the front shot...

Looks good. (for an old guys car)   


J/K couldn't help myself.

I like the Cappy wheels on her! Looks good!

Thanks guys. It does look nice and is a great driver. Just needs that old TLC.

Where is the rust you speak of?

Regardless, I'm sure this video will make you feel better about the car.





It is looking sharp, I wouldn't let it deter you considering, lol.

Yea, that's pretty bad. I'm gonna have nightmares now. My dads '73 Monte Carlo was like that.

The rot that I found is around where the rear seat floor pan meets where the wheel well starts. You know, the same plane where the seatbelts mount.

Yup, I know that spot...

1984twodoor wrote:

Yup, I know that spot...

Not on the car your redoing, Matt?

How's it coming?


Tom

silverfox103 wrote:

1984twodoor wrote:

Yup, I know that spot...

Not on the car your redoing, Matt?

How's it coming?


Tom

Oh god no, that's the parts car/my first car

Haven't touched it since November. I'm sure just like Brian with his 9c1   

1984twodoor wrote:

Oh god no, that's the parts car/my first car

Haven't touched it since November.   

We're expecting to see it for the Roundup.

1984twodoor wrote:

Haven't touched it since November. I'm sure just like Brian with his 9c1   

Right on the money. Inspection expired to.

Tho, I think I did start it once this winter. I may have retrieved tools and an iPod cable from it as well.

I'm fearing the confirmation of what's causing the clicking/clacking noise.

MASShole9C1 wrote:

1984twodoor wrote:

Haven't touched it since November. I'm sure just like Brian with his 9c1   

Right on the money. Inspection expired to.

Tho, I think I did start it once this winter. I may have retrieved tools and an iPod cable from it as well.

I'm fearing the confirmation of what's causing the clicking/clacking noise.

MONSTER MOTOR TIME that's what

Na, not me. The only thing I have planned is 3.73 gears, 1.6 rr, better than stock springs, cam, headers, and eventually head and intake work. I plan on some weight reduction too. The 9C1 out of the gate is several hundred pounds lighter. I've already shed about 100 more pounds. Plenty of other areas to take from with out jeopardizing safety and reliability.

Took the Rustmaster out for bit today, with my son. When we got home he wanted to play outside. So, I dove into the roadie head first. Not literally. Not at least until I swap the heater core.

Anyway, here's some before/after shots. Found the hockey puck mod in a RMW at the junk yard. Snagged it. I plan to delete the AIR pump with "proper" decal, once I swap the water pump. TB bypass as well. Once I get my caprice/impala/RMW fenders, hood, bumper, etc I'll take out the inner fenders like the 9C1 and reverse the slow death of corrosion and paint everything.









Had a new corner light to install. While I was at it, I tossed a nice set of HIDs in there. Looks kinda silly like eyes and a mustache....



When I say RUSTmaster, I mean it. Considering its a 20 year old, off and on again, New England car with over 170k, it's in pretty damn good shape considering what I've recently come across at local pick n pulls. These rot holes are the worst part of the car (since I replaced the Swiss cheese control arms). They aren't to bad except the drivers quarter rot hole. All under the back seat bottom was wet, the insulation was soaked so I tossed it, the seat frame left rust stains on the soaked carpet, and the trunk was a wash too. Soaking wet. Salt and silt sprayed and piled up everywhere. Surprisingly, the outer seat belt star bolts came out without a fight and aren't rusted.

Passenger side lower rear outermost seam of the wheelhouse inside trunk


Drivers side inner wheelhouse seam inside trunk


Looking down on drivers side quarter panel from inside trunk. It was a nice and sunny day!
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Passenger side lower inner seam of wheelhouse inside passenger compartment. 2nd worst


Worst overall is this hole IMO. It's at the top of the wheelhouse on the drivers side inside the passenger compartment. Just under where the top portion of the seat belt/retractor is mounted. Yes, that is the tire you see.


Here's a pic of the silt that's been collecting for who knows how long.


So I've gotta find a day to rip out the seats, seat belts are all garbage, the carpeting is all garbage, and figure out how to attack this. I figure I'll order a black carpet and try to locate so gray leather bonneville seats. Keep an eye out for me.

I messed around with the interior lights staying on issue. I got a headlight switch from a pick n pull. And it's a good thing I snipped the harness connector. I'll be repinning this here once the new $6 plastic bezel nut comes in from gmpartsdirect.com. I broke the new one, and the one in the car is held in by a threaded insert/brake line type fitting. Not sure what this is all about. All melted and a repair was done with a female connector. We all know the factory under-gauged wires are not very "up to the challenge" and with the lack of a good system of relays, puts a lot of load on the headlight switch and dimmer switch. The dimmer switch also shows signs of excessive heat. Hopefully the HIDs will give a little relief to that harness. Whoever attempted screwball repair also decided to rip the knob off instead of pushing the button on top of the switch housing. Just glued it back...




As for the blazer console install, I have the blazer trans shifter bracket that the cable mounts to, and I have the trans pan bracket that holds the cable body in place. The other stuff is easy to get.

I'm still not sure about wheels/tires yet. I have a few ideas, but need to fix all the above. I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna be lowering it either.

I've also got a code 42 that pops up after driving a while. I might have mention it above. EGR code. That's about it. It's a fun car to drive, it's loud, fast, looks good from 50 feet away, and is pretty reasonable MPG wise. On the flipside, it's handles terrible, the rear bounces, and it still has winter tires that aren't helping anything. I also never reinstalled the rear sway bar.... that's what mod day is for...

Brian, I asked my brother yesterday about that switch, he said he had it replaced once, and then replaced/"fixed" a second time  by a certain shop that no longer exists, because the headlights had cut out on him.  They told him they installed a new taillight harness too. Can you even buy that anymore? LOL

Anyway, after our convo, I'd asked him whether he'd replaced the headlights. He told me he had put Silverstars in there of course.  I don't think it had them anymore when you got it, they were the last thing he replaced I believe before he got that Town Car.  He took it to a local mechanic (not taillight harness guy) and he said the bulbs were blown out, so he replaced them and they worked...maybe the Silverstars overloaded the circuit and then it kinda sorta came back when the normal ones were in there.

As far as the rust goes...wtf?  I do not understand how that would happen that high up, however I remember on Cardomain a long time ago, I read on that Roadmonster guy's page that it was common for RMS's to have a water leak at the top of the sail panels under a trim piece...and he put "flowable" silicone in there.  But I don't know...I don't really get what would cause that odd rust nastiness if it's not rotted all out down the bottom of the wheelhouses like I've seen it before.  Fortunately I think that stuff is easier to fix than something like floors. Nothing against the dude but I'm sure my brother never even knew it was there either, knowing him.  As long as he had his awesome stereo and SS wheels so he looks all cool n'shit.  

I would at least cover that up with some metal tape or that crazy kidnapping-esque duct tape until it's fixed so water isn't cascading through the hole into the seating area...

Lmao at your last   

The rust doesn't bother me. In the meantime, I'll have to pull a Justin and put metal tape over the holes inside under the seats and in the trunk. Aside from the pics you sent in October, I became privy to the seriousness of the rot when I could hear water spray from the tires rapping on the back seat.

Friggin idiot "mechanics" tho. I'm not an expert by any means, but if you can't fix it, SAY SO! There were two different light bulbs when I swapped in the HIDs today. As for the taillight harness, I cannot see any indication that it had been replaced. Especially since there's the trailer wiring in there.

Oh, I uninstalled all of your brothers "music" today, if he wants it back.

Here's my temporary, Red Green style, fix for the rot holes. Regular old metal body tape or "Justin's tape" lol. I used about 3/4 of the big roll you can get at Advance. There's about five or six woven layers over each hole, to add strength, and durability. The holes aren't this big, but I wanted a large anchored perimeter so it doesn't come off easy. I realize it's a band aid on a broken leg, but my immediate  concerns are more water getting in, and exhaust fumes since my son rides in the back.

So, that's how it'll be until I can find someone to cut and weld it back up for me.









And, for some reason, someone decided to cut a hole in the insulation (not pictured because its in the garbage) and the metal structure behind the folding arm rest. Quick access to the trunk if you don't mind getting cut and getting a tetanus shot...



I also picked up a new water pump today. I received the U bolts for the rear shocks from Bill yesterday too. Now to pick out shocks. Without all the crap in my trunk now, the car rides great! No more bouncy bounce. I still think I'll replace rear springs while I do shocks. Front shocks too. Suggestions?

Since I mentioned Red Green, here's his best advice...

I do believe that there hole cut behind the back armrest may be for the "music" that was installed in the car previously by the guy my brother bought the car from.  He probably had a kicker in the trunk there or something aiming into the car. 

I used that tape a bunch of times on my old Impala that was rotted. It was referred to as "Smitty tape" at that point by my associates. It does the job for a while if you can get it the way you have it.

MASShole9C1 wrote:

Regular old metal body tape or "Justin's tape" lol.

     

I got two stickers with that stuff    

Tiger hair party at Mod Day? I need to patch my wheel wells too   

Matt Trakker wrote:

I do believe that there hole cut behind the back armrest may be for the "music" that was installed in the car previously by the guy my brother bought the car from.  He probably had a kicker in the trunk there or something aiming into the car. 

I used that tape a bunch of times on my old Impala that was rotted.  It was referred to as "Smitty tape" at that point by my associates.  It does the job for a while if you can get it the way you have it.

Lol. FRIGGIN MUSIC  . At least now the tape isn't associated with your name, here that is. I'm sure Justin doesn't mind. He SHOULD buy stocks in the stuff...

Cadet57 wrote:

MASShole9C1 wrote:

Regular old metal body tape or "Justin's tape" lol.

     

I got two stickers with that stuff    

Tiger hair party at Mod Day? I need to patch my wheel wells too   

By all means, I'll let you patch my rot holes

Alright. I purchased and installed a new headlight switch from advance to rule that out. Installed, new plastic retaining nut from GM and I completely re pinned a new set of harness connectors to replace the charred and broken one. I picked up the 94 B body FSM set with supplements. It appears that all the door jamb switches are operable. So, the flow chart leads me to 2, possibly 3 causes. 1) courtesy lamp relay 2) keyless entry receiver on one of 2 main curcuits 3) short to ground on 3 different circuits. So I'll take a look at that probably Sunday.

In the meantime, I replaced the water pump, thermostat, ECT, a couple vacuum lines that were rotted, did the TB bypass, and removed the AIR pump and bracket. Had to get serious with the one way valve and threaded fitting to the manifold. It actually crushed when I turned it with a wrench. I ended up snapping the pipe off, hammering a 12 point 21mm socket onto it, and dusting off my 4' breaker bar. Came off easy as pie. Waiting on M-22 drain plugs to show up to cap these manifolds then its on to the heater core and a complete system flush and fill. I WAS gonna put the extra 9C1 hoses on, but not sure if its worth it yet.

Still waiting to fix the rot, install blazer console, new drivers seat still needed as well as the wagon grill. Also need to reinstall the sway bar.

I found a recalibration online that treats the surge between 40 and 50 mph and corrects the subsequent code 32 (EGR) I have.

Got the drain plugs for the manifolds. I ordered 2, paid for 2, but received 5???

This is the proper part to cap the manifolds on 94-95 B bodies. You'll want to pick up some copper washers. Borrowed this pic from ISSF. About $3 each.


So, these will go on, heater core is next, then on to the rest...

Drain plugs installed, heater core installed, first wave of system flushing complete.

I'm sure the majority of you have seen it, the brown sludge. It took a few goes of the high pressure nozzle on my gargen hose to push the clay mud-like brown sludge from the old heater core. Same goes for the reservoir. No wonder the heat didn't work. Solid chunk were visible before and during flushing. Im running straight water for now. less expensive and easier (color wise) to flush. I also charged the AC today. Hopefully, it holds the charge.

I got fed up with the screeching reminder that I need to change my brake pads. Out with the old worn and cracked ones, in with new semi metallic pads. C clamps are for losers (not my preferred method here...)



Since the '96 is on vacation, I stole its wheels. I know, I know. Needs more lower. I have Kleenex ready for those nose bleeds!

I don't think it needs more lower, I think it needs more tire!

Why is the 96 on vacation with Forrest Gump's dad?