As some of you may or may not know, I added another box to my collection. This one will replace my 91 Grand Marq (which has now been demoted to parts car status) as the "other" half of the year vehicle. I gave up battling the ever increasing rust on the marq, so decided to go grab another nice rust free box to start with. Lot easier to keep a rust free car rust free then a rusty car from rusting more and fixing the rust, especially when it's going to be driven all winter long. Going to get this thing oiled every year which should significantly delay Buffalo's tendency to eat anything metal.
Story time. Me and my buddy left Sunday mourning at 5am and headed straight down to NC. Made it there around 6pm, and began work on the wagon. It had been sitting for over a year, and the bald, dry-rotted, flat spotted tires certainly weren't going to made it 700 miles, so I had brought down my 91's wheel and tire combo, which are still nearly new. Checked the brakes, drums looked nearly new, and the front, besides for a years worth of rust on the rotor's, looked good too. Gave the front end a shake down, everything was tight as could be. Greased it all up and was good to go.
Next, we changed the oil, and topped off all the fluids. Surprisingly everything was almost perfect, even the diff was full to the plug. Went to start it and of course the battery was dead. Hooked up the jump box and slowly but surely the 225K+ (guesstimate as the odo gears are long gone, it was over 200K in 05 though) lopo fired right up. Both mufflers had rotted out which made it sound somewhat beastly. Made sure the alt was charging (batt light likes to randomly come on), and was mostly satisfied it would make the trip back.
Stayed overnight at nearby hotel, went to the DMV at 9am when it opened, got my Transport tag, and headed back to the wagon. One last check of all critical systems, and we were ready to go.
Pulled onto the main road expecting the worse, but after smoking up a storm for the first 100ft it quickly went away. Brakes work, but the rotors are ridiculously warped. Stopped at a gas station and added some fresh gas, and stopped at a car wash to clean all the dirt and grim and mold off the thing.
After that the trip was relatively uneventful. Got stuck in two big traffic jams, one for over an hour, and the temp gauge never rose above the R in normal. Didn't make nearly as good of time on the way up, but then again we stopped at a lot of rest stops, and hit a lot of traffic. Night time hit and I couldn't figure out why the headlights sucked so much, finally found that the the drivers side had completely lost it's reflective coating, making it useless. Luckily I had brought a spare, and after readjusting them they at least somewhat worked.
Of course once we hit Pennsylvania it started pouring, was super foggy, generally just sucked. Slowly but surely made our way through it bombing up mountains with the pour little lopo whining away in 3rd. Made it through that, and then made it home at around 3am.
For a vehicle that has over 225K on it (at least) and has been sitting for over a year, and brutally forced from hibernation and driven 700 miles I'd say it did damn well. Got 19 and 20mpg on the 2 fill ups it needed, and besides for a nasty miss under load it ran fine as well. Who knows the last time it had a tune up, so I can't complain. Batt light occasionally came on, but the poor 2g was charging away, so I don't know why. Front speakers are both blown out which sucked for the trip but no big deal. Didn't even use half a quart of oil either. Leaks some, and burns some now and then, but no significant consumption.
Paint is shot, and obvious two different colors, but I don't really care, interior is dirty and not in that great of shape, but it's good enough for what it is, and should somewhat clean up. It's certainly not a pretty vehicle, but it's got it where it counts.
Tons of mods planned before winter comes, and of course I'll keep this thread updated, but the other wagon is first in line, so small stuff first. I forgot how horribly slow a stock tired lopo is. 89 felt like a total rocket ship after driving this thing. This will have to change.
Pic time, although I really didn't take that many.
Swapping wheels:
All ready to go:
Car wash:
Bob Evans:
And safely at home:
Story time. Me and my buddy left Sunday mourning at 5am and headed straight down to NC. Made it there around 6pm, and began work on the wagon. It had been sitting for over a year, and the bald, dry-rotted, flat spotted tires certainly weren't going to made it 700 miles, so I had brought down my 91's wheel and tire combo, which are still nearly new. Checked the brakes, drums looked nearly new, and the front, besides for a years worth of rust on the rotor's, looked good too. Gave the front end a shake down, everything was tight as could be. Greased it all up and was good to go.
Next, we changed the oil, and topped off all the fluids. Surprisingly everything was almost perfect, even the diff was full to the plug. Went to start it and of course the battery was dead. Hooked up the jump box and slowly but surely the 225K+ (guesstimate as the odo gears are long gone, it was over 200K in 05 though) lopo fired right up. Both mufflers had rotted out which made it sound somewhat beastly. Made sure the alt was charging (batt light likes to randomly come on), and was mostly satisfied it would make the trip back.
Stayed overnight at nearby hotel, went to the DMV at 9am when it opened, got my Transport tag, and headed back to the wagon. One last check of all critical systems, and we were ready to go.
Pulled onto the main road expecting the worse, but after smoking up a storm for the first 100ft it quickly went away. Brakes work, but the rotors are ridiculously warped. Stopped at a gas station and added some fresh gas, and stopped at a car wash to clean all the dirt and grim and mold off the thing.
After that the trip was relatively uneventful. Got stuck in two big traffic jams, one for over an hour, and the temp gauge never rose above the R in normal. Didn't make nearly as good of time on the way up, but then again we stopped at a lot of rest stops, and hit a lot of traffic. Night time hit and I couldn't figure out why the headlights sucked so much, finally found that the the drivers side had completely lost it's reflective coating, making it useless. Luckily I had brought a spare, and after readjusting them they at least somewhat worked.
Of course once we hit Pennsylvania it started pouring, was super foggy, generally just sucked. Slowly but surely made our way through it bombing up mountains with the pour little lopo whining away in 3rd. Made it through that, and then made it home at around 3am.
For a vehicle that has over 225K on it (at least) and has been sitting for over a year, and brutally forced from hibernation and driven 700 miles I'd say it did damn well. Got 19 and 20mpg on the 2 fill ups it needed, and besides for a nasty miss under load it ran fine as well. Who knows the last time it had a tune up, so I can't complain. Batt light occasionally came on, but the poor 2g was charging away, so I don't know why. Front speakers are both blown out which sucked for the trip but no big deal. Didn't even use half a quart of oil either. Leaks some, and burns some now and then, but no significant consumption.
Paint is shot, and obvious two different colors, but I don't really care, interior is dirty and not in that great of shape, but it's good enough for what it is, and should somewhat clean up. It's certainly not a pretty vehicle, but it's got it where it counts.
Tons of mods planned before winter comes, and of course I'll keep this thread updated, but the other wagon is first in line, so small stuff first. I forgot how horribly slow a stock tired lopo is. 89 felt like a total rocket ship after driving this thing. This will have to change.
Pic time, although I really didn't take that many.
Swapping wheels:
All ready to go:
Car wash:
Bob Evans:
And safely at home:
Sweet wagon.
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