What would Friday be without a Junkyard Outtake? Less fun for you, I suspect – and less work for me! But no matter the weather, and whatever the job, the Junkyard Outtake still keeps plowin’ along.
This week it’s a double whammy – we’re junking a Chevy pickup, hunting down parts for this Buick wagon… and using both as an excuse to gawk at any interesting cars we find along the way. (Don’t worry, it’ll all start making sense after the jump.)
The saga began when my brother limped his Chevy pickup into the garage one evening, complaining of gearbox troubles. Apparently he was having a hard time getting the truck moving, and keeping it in gear. Worse, I immediately noticed that his clutch pedal was dropping to the floor when I pressed it – not a good sign. (He claimed it was “sometimes there, sometimes not” on the trip over, but believed that wasn’t the only issue.)
As you can see, there was already one truck in the garage – it being in the middle of a transmission swap. The last thing I needed was another job to take on. But I wasn’t about to turn my brother away, so the brown truck was placed on hold.
We decided to start with the obvious. After finding the hydraulic clutch reservoir low, I suggested we begin by bleeding the clutch system and looking for leaks. But no amount of pumping was generating any pressure. After a few more checks, it was clear that the master cylinder was bad.
I took a look at my inventory, and determined that there were two used ’88-’98 clutch masters in the attic. Neither were listed as being a direct match, but with all the auto parts stores closed for the night, we decided to go up and check anyways. Turned out that both were indeed wrong.
With no other options left, I gave him a ride home, and promised to return the next morning.
Come day two, we had managed to find a new clutch master. He and Dad got it most of the way installed while I was out tending to customers. After that, we finished it up and I took the truck out for a quick road test.
Two major problems immediately came to light: one, third gear was very “sloppy” (this was the gear which it had been claimed to be “popping out” of more and more often); and two, the clutch was slipping under anything more than gentle acceleration. So it would need a clutch, and the gearbox was also iffy.
How did he manage to have so many problems simultaneously, and still manage to drive it in? Even now I’m not sure. The third gear issue had supposedly been there since he’d owned it; the clutch damage likely happened a few days prior, when he’d gotten the truck stuck and did a whole lot of spinning to get out. And the hydraulic issue popping up at the same time? That must just have been bad luck.
Upon returning to the garage and delivering the verdict, the obvious question came: “what next?”
I explained that, given the truck’s rust issues (lack of cab corners, rear wheel arches, and a frame that had been patched in no less than three places), it was probably time to call it quits. He’d only paid $500 for it, and had gotten four months’ worth of use out of it, so junking the truck would actually put him ahead.
But this left him with a bit of a dilemma. He wasn’t about to drive his beloved Firebird in the snow and salt, and this was his only winter beater. How would he get to work?
Seeing no better options for him, I offered to buy the truck for its parts value, and to help him find a new beater.
After a day and a half of searching craigslist, we finally found a candidate: this 1993 Roadmaster wagon. It had a 350, decent tires, ran and drove – and was priced well below the truck’s scrap value. So we grabbed it.
Trouble was, it had no brakes. No biggie, I figured… let’s get it home and replace the rusted rear brake line. After that, it’ll be smooth sailing. Right?
Wrong. The rear brake line was indeed crumble-in-your-hand rusty, but that wasn’t the only thing leaking. Once we began to build pressure, I noticed another leak coming from the master cylinder itself.
A quick search of the computerized yards turned up nothing, and the local auto parts stores all told me it was a special order part. But we weren’t about to give up that easily.
Remembering a same-year Roadmaster I’d seen at the U-Pull days earlier, we decided to make the 30 mile trek.
But we’d been beaten to the punch. What now?
Though I’ve been dealing with the owner of the “back forty” yard for decades, I’ve never wanted to disturb him during the winter – that’s his personal time. But my brother had just spent some time with him socially, so he had no problem giving him a buzz to see if he’d open the gate for us.
As we arrived at the yard, the owner walked up to greet us. “You’re f***ing crazy,” he exclaimed with a big smile. “Nothing back there is plowed.”
And indeed, nothing was. I got to trudge back through the knee-deep snow, all the way to the nearest correct B-body. I got to shovel around it, using the emergency shovel I carry in the Suburban. I got to remove the snow from the hood. And I got to trip over some object under the snow, and land face-first in all that powder… all while the sun went down. Good times!
But all that work was not in vain. I knew this car would have the part we needed – and after a few minutes, I was back in the truck with master cylinder in hand.
Upon returning to the garage, we immediately installed the new part, and began to bleed the brakes again. Everything went great… until the front right line burst. Another trip to the auto parts store, another hour on the garage floor, and we were finally ready for a test drive.
Fortunately for us, no other issues presented themselves. The car drove like a dream. I was finally free of this “quick” project, and my brother was finally free to drive himself home.
Being someone who was less than excited to own a two-ton station wagon with faux wood paneling, my brother decided to dress his new ride up a bit. Most of the changes were fairly subtle – but some were more noticeable than others.
After a few weeks, my brother has gone from being embarrassed of his new wheels, to embracing the car’s uniqueness. And why not? This wagon brings the party wherever it goes.
And now for something completely different! Remember that G-body Grand Prix next to our parts donor? Here it is, during less snowy weather.
While we’re at it, let’s take a look at some other vehicles in that area of the yard.
This red Firebird is typical of most F-bodies in this yard: picked over, spent, and rusty.
The single Cragar SS on back is kept in my mental inventory, in case I ever happen upon another single to pair it up with.
This ’71 or ’72 El Camino is a sad sight. I’ve always wished it had been straighter – but if it were, chances are I wouldn’t have been the first in line to buy it.
Nothing but small parts left on this one.
Ooh, a Nova Custom! I’ll take mine without the front-end “customization”.
You don’t see this early G-body Regal nose too often. The single headlights were only found on 1978s and ’79s.
One more, you say? Alright… how about this late ’70s Caprice coupe?
The unique beveled glass tells us it must be a 1977, ’78, or ’79.
And the red velour interior tells us that those windows have been down for way too long.
What’s coming up in next week’s Junkyard Outtake? More junkyard cars, of course. But there’ll be an even bigger surprise on Wednesday, as the first official CC Project Car makes its debut! Stay tuned…
Wow, the floorpan was in good condition in that Roadmaster? My brother used to have a 92 RM sedan as a DD. When he bought it, the price seemed right, but it turned out to need a bunch of work. I helped him weld a new floor in it.
I bet Junqueboi’s just going to cry when he sees these poor souls in the yard.
Good enough, anyways. It wasn’t rust-free, but it wasn’t holey either. Most of the rust was in the left rear quarter, where it had been dented and not repaired.
The ’81 Firebird looked like it had oyster interior *sob*. That place sure has a lot of 2nd-generation F-body cars — I’m needing two rubber radiator support pieces for my Yellowbird now….and I bet there are fifty of them smushed into the mud out there. *sigh*
I’d take that one ’67 Pontiac over a dozen ’77-9 Chevrolets….
You’ll probably appreciate that the ’67s hubcaps are in my attic. Saving that car for a future installment…
Also keeping lots of F-bodies to be run as one feature sometime down the road. So many Firebirds and Camaros, so few usable body panels – but “small parts” are available by the score.
Really enjoy this series, Keith. A couple things:
1) Your brother’s truck has my favorite paint scheme of the era, down to the colors. Terminal rust must claim thousands of GMT400s a day, which is a real shame. Right up there with the best looking pickups ever made, in my opinion. They blew the lid off of pickup styling in 1988.
2) Two-tone glasshouse Caprice? Oh man! I know they’re only appreciated by a certain subset of the automotive hobby, but man, these big old GM B-Body coupes just deserve so much better. And by better, I mean fat tires, big block + four speed swaps, and bitchin’ gloss black paint jobs. The last of the handsome 2-door full-size domestic cars!
*tell your junkyard pals to roll up the windows on their cars!
“tell your junkyard pals to roll up the windows on their cars!”
I do… but you’ll have to give me a pass on this one, its windows have been down longer than I’ve been alive!
Nice wagon Keith,were these the last RWD V8 woodys?
The 96 Caprice and Roadmasters were the last RWD V8 woodies
Although I have seen a few Dodge Magnums with aftermarket wood panelling
This doesn’t look as bad as I thought it would.
http://www.woodywagoon.com/woody_products_dodgemagnum001.htm
I will confess a thing for those Roadmaster wagons. Very nice.
Its a shame that your brother decided to junk the pickup AFTER the new clutch cylinder.
Surprisingly, the auto parts store let him return it! Otherwise it would have joined the others in the attic.
Of course, I did strip the truck before crushing it. The interior was nice, the motor was strong, and the doors and tailgate somehow survived without rusting. It also had decent tires and newer aluminum wheels. Lots of good parts for the stockpile!
I love those roadmaster woodies (just as much as any other 90s b-body) and I hope your brother plans to keep his for a while. Id love to have one myself. Btw, every rm came with a 350, only the ’94+ models got the lt1 tho.
The first year, ’91 Roadmaster Estate Wagon had the 305.
“tell your junkyard pals to roll up the windows on their cars!”
Too many times, windows are smashed at ‘U Pulls’ or removed. Best to get there when they have ‘fresh beaters’.
I’m a European car guy through at through, but I have reeeeeeeally been wanting Roadmaster of this vintage lately. I prefer the sedans, but something about a big comfy barge is quite appealing.
Agree. American in the good sense: comfy, luxurious, definitely more stylish than an SUV, but also extremely practical. Though I don’t know how practical it would really be in downtown Eurocity. A big diesel might actually be quite suitable for this kind of ride.
Did I mention it had leather? Thrashed in the front, decent second row, immaculate third row (even still had plastic covering!).
Former 95 RMW owner chiming in. Keith, I do believe your newly aquired Wagon is a 91-93 and not a 94. I’ve said it here many times that most of the time if you give me enough clues I can narrow down the exact year of most of the GM cars that are posted here. The big tip off yours isn’t a 94. Painted luggage rack. Buick used body color matched painted luggage racks with chrome cross bars on the 91-93 RMWs. They went all black on the 94-96 model years. Now 94 was the last year of the tiny mirrors mounted down low having switched over to the elephant ear style for 95-96 which might have lead to your confusion. But I’m surprised you couldn’t tell the difference between the 94+LT1 from the -93 L05 TBI motors. All Buick Roadmaster, both sedan and wagon along with the Fleetwood all had dual exhausts with the LT1. I don’t see any pipes on any of your pics which would indicate it is 93 or older. Now I could be wrong but in all my years of boneyard scrounging I’ve never seen the luggage racks mismatched between the years. I should know. I bent my cross rails and spent the better part of two years looking for some straight mint perfect examples. Sorry if I appear to get too nit-picky on some of my posts. Just a bad habit,I guess.
The dash in the 91-93 models also differs from the LT1 cars. The early models had a full set of gauges.
You’re absolutely right. That was a typo; the car in question is in fact a ’93. Motor is TBI, not an LT1 – and yes, it had single exhaust.
The fact that the wagon was TBI equipped made it more appealing to my brother, who had learned the ins and outs of the TBI system through owning the featured truck and was comfortable dealing with it.
(Likely source of the mistake: In the following week, I ended up replacing the rear brake line, starter, and several other electrical screwups on a ’94 Caprice. So many B-bodies, so little time!)
Correction made. Thanks for pointing it out!
I also prefer the TBI in these cars especially prefer the LO5 (350 ci) TBI to the LO3 (305 ci). I’ve had both LT1s and TBI cars and found the TBI cars more reliable and easier and cheaper to fix. The Opti Spark Distributor and water pump set up on the LT1 cars caused me many headaches and much time stranded.
You said it. The LT1s are strong engines but the Optispark issues bit me on 3 of the 4 LT1-equipped vehicles I owned. i got rid of the fourth car @90K — it was only a short matter of time before that one would have crapped out too.
$140 water pump, $60 for the cheapest LT1 plug wires, $500 for the distributor (I learned the GM units were the only ones to buy the hard way) and the joy of tearing it down & putting it all back together again.
….meanwhile the L03-equipped Camaro got a $20 cap @120K when it started to misfire under load. I swear by the TBI setups on the SBC despite their lower level of performance.
Was it mainly the first year 1994 Opti-spark setups that gave problems? I have owned and driven several 1996 4.3 and 5.7 LT1 Caprices and my best friend has owned no less than 4 1996 Caprices with 4.3 V8’s and not one of them ever gave us any issues with those items, even with 200K miles on the clock.
The early Optis didn’t have the distributor cap vent (which can be retrofitted), which contributed to moisture buildup inside leading to crossfire.
The later units were vented and used a metered intake manifold vacuum source to draw fresh air through the cap (much like the old automatic choke stoves did).
To piggyback onto redmondjp’s statement, 1995 was the first year of the vented (improved) optispark distributor. GM actually changed the engine block itself so one cannot simply retrofit a newer Optispark onto an older engine. There may be some shortcuts/tricks around this but I’m not aware of any long-term-reliable alternatives.
It’s very possible that the more substantial chassis of the Caprice kept your units out of harm’s way (road-splash?); my LT-1 cars were F-bodies and a Corvette.
Thankfully your results varied.
Keith, you are a good brother.
I still desire a 1992 or 1993 Fleetwood with the TBI 350, decent power and less things to go wrong than the LT1. Sold quiet comfy cruising.
Nice car. I know it’s a less-than-pristine version and will be used as a winter beater, but I hope your brother makes it last. I just love these Roadmaster wagons. So classy and cool. Give me a wagon any day over a combover…uh, crossover, or SUV.
Frequently on my way to work in the morning, I see a metallic beige non-woody Roadmaster wagon with the turbine alloys in traffic. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to get any pictures yet.
This reminds me of when my dad drove a 93 Legacy without third gear for about 8 thousand miles. He would drive it revving high in 2nd around 20-25 or almost cause it to lug by having it in 4th at 35-37 even if the speed limit was 30. The rocker panels were almost all gone by the mid 2000s, all the wheel arches could have fit wagon wheels, and one day it took day a few minutes to get it into gear at a stop sign. By the time we got home the transmission was smoking and leaking so dad put me on fire extinguisher duty. I sat out in the driveway with my lunch, the cordless phone, and a fire extinguisher for 1/2 and hour or so. I think I dug a hole in the driveway and threw the contaminated dirt in garbage bags since we were not sure if the cats would find the fluids interesting.
Keith you make traipsing through a junkyard buried in snow looking for a hard to find part on a hard to find car seem like nothing. Then you had to remove the part. Brrr!
I agree with Impalamino on your brother’s Chevy truck. That ’88 was a timeless design that still looks modern today, a true classic. Hope he finds another one.
Love junkyarding. Looks like some decent old iron out there. Nice thing about being here in AZ is the weather’s always nice for scouting the yards.