Saved from the Demo Derby: 1990 Country Squire

[Tiggie]

Drive time report:

Drove about ten miles.
Bad:
- Needs wheel cylinders and brake calipers. Both are dragging more than they should. Hints of brake smell and hot hot drums and one caliper
- Its quiet. too quiet

Good:
- Ran fine, cooled fine (it was 92 out).
- Its quiet. nice and quiet.

[Tiggie]

Decided to do a brake exploration this morning.

First - Scary 1994 tire. Time to pull out the older studded snow spare for safety sake.


Second I a greeted by a snail shell, along with a billion spiders hiding in/on/behind/in between the wheel covers.



Then I realize there is one wheel that has the tabs for dog dishes - maybe this was the original spare rim? It is a ford wheel.


I suspected the rear brakes would be crusty/wet because I could tell the rear wheels didn't like turning. Got a nice surprise - both sides looked like this. Pulled the rubber caps on the wheel cylinders and they weren't wet at all. I backed the adjustment off since they were so tight. Figured a sticky wheel cylinder.



Then I got the bright idea of swapping a decent set of wheels/tires on, and actually driving this at highway speeds for the first time. Then I realized I only had three of those wheels. Hmmm... the studded snow spare would be #4.

So off came the front wheels for the tire swap to continue. Again - newer calipers, hoses, and pads. Date code on the hose looks to be 2006. So maybe the word is not new but unused.



And then it was drive time.

[sly]

I'd wager over 200K if the odo isn't working and the last two marks are guesses on the part of the owners. Kinda like my 93 (odo didn't mark for over a year). We drove 40-50K miles while the odo was out. Puts the car at about 200K + what's on the digital I swapped in.

[Tiggie]

Thanks to a very generous GMN member who just ran a vin check for me.

I need your help with the guess the mileage game.

Evidence:
Inspection Reciepts:
3/12/2003 - 30041
4/29/2004 - 30192
1/20/2006 - 30371

From the VIN report:
12/06/1989 - 5
12/30/1994 - 43,179 (auto auction)
09/30/2002 - 130,000 (title change) (it's a five digit odometer)
09/11/2015 - 163,472 (doushe bag previous owner went to the DMV without the reading is my guess)


Today 30,408 odometer not working.

I knew the tires were old - the date code is 204. Which is 20th Week of 1994 since they went to four digit codes around 2000. They are about 20% left in terms of tread.

It's my guess we are right at 130,415ish and this car really hasn't seen much road time since 2002.

Also - it says four owners. The original until 1994 (five years), second from then to 2015, the third is the guy I got it from who didn't do anything to it, and then me.

[Jason_GMQ91]

Awesome wagon! It's looks clean. Glad saved from derby!

[Tiggie]

Fixed the HVAC controls today. Temp Lever was loose and broken but some JB weld and a file made it work nicely again. Of course I took no pics.

The blend door was stuck - which is probably what broke the lever. Got the door moving using some force on the cable. It was just stuck. Slides nicely now. Guess things like that stick when a car sits for ten years or so.

Also the fan motor won't budge. Guess that's next on the list. Maybe some odometer gears too. And i need to investigate those rear brakes. More to come but not this week.

[sly]

If you didn't live so damn far... I'd be over next month picking this up from you. I want a wagon so bad to replace my beater.

[Tiggie]

Wes - This is sad news! Let me know if something changes.

For anyone else interested, outside of tires it can be your running and driving Country Squire for ~$1200. I'll replace the hoses and fix the rear brakes and shocks at that price. That's no profit for me - free labor!

[Chuck Norris]

Hey Tiggie, I'm posting this public instead of through PM so that everyone here will know that this screw-up in 100% on my end. You and I have talked, and you know I was/am interested in this woodwagon. My plans were to have it by mid July if everything went right. Part of everything going right included that my wife was going to be working full-time, plus overtime, at a job she recently took. It was a line of work she had a few years of experience in, nothing she couldn't do. Well, her boss is a giant douche and let her go without so much as a warning. I think the issue was more than just my wife as an individual though, because the boss essentially fired my wife's whole department.

That being said, I need to release you from your promise to hold the wagon for me. Please make it available to whoever is interested. I can only assure you that my intentions to buy it were real, and I was making plans in good faith. However, also in good faith, I can't keep that info to myself and therefore rob you of the opportunity to find another buyer. If some miracle occurs, I will let you know. Otherwise, somebody is gonna get a real nice wagon from you.

Thank you for being a friend, and being so willing to help me out.

Wes AKA Chuck Norris

[Chuck Norris]

The red car looks very nice too. I remember you saying it has wavy sides but it looks very nice in the picture.

[87gtVIC]

Both wagons look great.

Nice fix for the leaks.

[Tiggie]

Couldn't resist taking a pic of old reliable red 88. Haven't taken a picture of it in probably seven years. Just been driving the wheels off it. And knocking the header panel out if it by being stupid in my driveway. Goodbye 91 clears hello 88 ambers.



Oh yeah this 90 is very different to drive. Quiet - who knows what gear it's in? And smooth. And power windows are nice.

[Tiggie]

Cleaned up this thing again for the POTM Pics. Had to fix something while it was out from its hiding place behind my garage.

Had a rain water leak at the rear window coming in under the metal trim that helps hold the headliner up. A little work with the water hose showed that it was not the roof rack, or side windows, or tailgate window itself, but something with the moulding around the top of the window.

Had to disturb the tailgate window seal. Had to take it out actually - nerve racking since this one is fair and irreplaceable. Got it out safety. Removed the metal trim that the weatherstrip sits in. On the body side of the trim was the problem area - shrunken high density foam. A trip to the home improvement store and bam no more leaks. From that area anyway. The tailgate window seal itself leaks now - my '88 used to do the same thing (it self healed). But that's another story for another day.

And FYI the foam is white but you can't see it when installed anyway (if you do it right). The original foam was 1in by 1/2in from what I can tell. The store only had 1.25x7/16, but it worked with a little cutting.

[Chuck Norris]

Sent you a PM Tiggie.

[Chuck Norris]

If you find some money and decide you need a wagon, let me know. I have too much junk and not enough time to make it nice. And I don't like junky junk!

Well, I do need a wagon (okay, NEED might not be the right word, but WANT definitely qualifies!). I am currently without funds, however. If somebody comes alng with money between now and the end of Summer, I hope they buy a great wagon from you. However, if it is still there by that time, maybe even a hair sooner, I will make arrangements to purchase it. I passed on one locally to buy my wife a car more to her liking, and even though her car is great, I would have liked to have bought the one here. I am NOT asking you hold it, I'm asking you to keep with whatever your plans are, but if it happens to still be sitting around looking for a new home then, I am interested.