Learn me 90s Caprice/Roadmaster wagon

Who's had them?

Ive been seeing a lot of them (mostly woodys) lately and im pretty curious about them. I was always a fan of the Impala SS from a distance but i dont have any personal experience with them other than a ride or two in someone elses at Autox.

I like the style of the Roadmaster Wagon best, seems to me, mostly because they are more likely to have woodgrain and a beige/tan interior, two high points for any car imo

i saw lugnut make this reference which reminded me to make this thread.

I can't speak highly enough of how much fun an LT1 Roadmaster or Caprice wagon is to drive.

Cant really help with any info but there is a Roadmaster like you want by me. I keep ignoring it as my wife would kill me. Doesn't mean I can't still want it though :)

I've had a couple, so I definitely recommend an LT1 car over the TBI. I've had a '93 wagon, '93 Limited sedan, a '93 350 Caprice, and my current '95 LT1 sedan. Wood grain plus tan is easy, cloth or leather. Limited and base both had a cloth or leather option. All wagons should have the third row seat.

The LT1 started in '94, with the mirrors on the doorskins. 95 and 96 moved the mirror into the front corner window area. For wagons, there wasn't much more difference than that. Caprice sedans had quarter window changes that ended up matching the Impala ones.

There are quite a few SS-ized wagons out there, all nicely blacked out with the SS grille, SS wheels (you can definitely find a really nice set under $500 and I am running 285/40/17 Sumitomo HTR ZIII tires on mine, fantastic). I prefer the extra stuff and dash layout of the Roadmaster over the Caprice.

Aside from the gauges and the suspension, Caprice/Roadmaster/Impala... all pretty much the same. The Impala had a floor shift (not too difficult to put in to a column shift car) and slightly nicer seats than the Caprice but my Limited Roadmaster seats are pretty darn nice. A lot of folks put Bonneville SSEi 12-way seats in. I think I heard the 6-ways plug right in.

They're really a lot of fun. And the wagons are super for utility. I moved an entire l-shaped two piece sofa with cushions in one trip in my wagon.

There aren't many cars in the 4-peat club for me (Mustang, Miata, and Roadmaster), and I would happily add another wagon to go along with my sedan.

I wish these cars didn't hold value like they do. They seem to be a $5000 car for a nice one, but anything below that and it's junkyard fodder. Sedans are dirt common, but I NEED a wagon. That's pretty much all I'll accept. 2 vehicles with a hatch, I don't think I can go back to a trunk.

Are there any other options in this genre of vehicles? Common with grandmas is preferable. I love the white Roadmaster Estates with fake wood and a set of Cragar wheels. Maybe a slight drop and a respray in pearl white instead of the flat white that comes from the factory. I think it's the perfect car for someone that's big on wagons and loves plenty of power on tap.

Derick Freese wrote: I wish these cars didn't hold value like they do. They seem to be a $5000 car for a nice one, but anything below that and it's junkyard fodder. Sedans are dirt common, but I NEED a wagon. That's pretty much all I'll accept. 2 vehicles with a hatch, I don't think I can go back to a trunk. Are there any other options in this genre of vehicles? Common with grandmas is preferable. I love the white Roadmaster Estates with fake wood and a set of Cragar wheels. Maybe a slight drop and a respray in pearl white instead of the flat white that comes from the factory. I think it's the perfect car for someone that's big on wagons and loves plenty of power on tap.

Giant station wagons? No, GM's are the only ones unless you go back to the mid-eighties for the Ford Crown Vic's.

Derick Freese wrote: Are there any other options in this genre of vehicles?

Volvos. Turbo 4 instead of a V8 but easy to make power. Not quite as huge but the square shape makes it a bit more usable imho. Also a much cheaper buy-in.

ive had a bunch, great cars.

if lugnut missed something let me know

Friends of mine had the Custom Cruiser and the overhead glass was neat. Their stock suspension air bags had some problems...I think it was actually the compressor but I remember them pumping them up from time to time. My thought is to always stay away from 15+ year old air bag suspensions or swap them out for some stock springs if available.

Not to hijack, but has anyone ever El Caminoed one of those?

Dan

Can someone with experience tell me about real-world fuel economy of one of these?

I could totally go for something that I could daily drive AND tow the racecar with on the weekends.

Clem

914Driver wrote: Not to hijack, but has anyone ever El Caminoed one of those? Dan

http://blog.cardomain.com/2008/03/18/gm-never-forgot/

GM did it once. I want to do it.

And then there is this thing:

We had 2 of them. This one sold in the spring, still got $6000 for it. Had 9C1 springs, Rear bar, Rebuilt tranny.. Was a great car. Previous car was identical but had deeper gears. Both cars had 2.5" cat back, Dynomax Ultra Flows , 285/40/17 Steam Rollers.. I had it @ the challenge in 08 as my Tow car. Made the trip down without missing a beat

The usual things apply - Optispark and a tranny that can be mushy if not serviced.

I've read on the internet that all of the Buick wagons have LT1s. I have not verified this, but it does kinda make sense. If I was selling nearly identical cars and one was supposed to be a bit more upscale it would have the nice engine.

psychic_mechanic wrote: I've read on the internet that all of the Buick wagons have LT1s. I have not verified this, but it does kinda make sense. If I was selling nearly identical cars and one was supposed to be a bit more upscale it would have the nice engine.

All Caprices and Roadmonsters had the LT-1 for the last three years of their run, from 94-96.

I don't think thats right , you could get the small V8 in the caprice for sure which looked nearly identical. The LT1 was part of a tow PKG.

AutoXR wrote: I don't think thats right , you could get the small V8 in the caprice for sure which looked nearly identical. The LT1 was part of a tow PKG.

Sorry, I was thinking wagons. All wagons from 94-96 got the LT1, all tow-packaged sedan caprices, and I'm pretty sure all Buicks had the LT1 as well.

BTW, Lugnut:

http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/cto/1951448685.html

ClemSparks wrote: Can someone with experience tell me about real-world fuel economy of one of these? I could totally go for something that I could daily drive AND tow the racecar with on the weekends. Clem

I DD'd a 93 caprice wagon for a few years. I miss it. I had the 305 TBI and averaged 23-25 on my mostly highway commute.

Low 20's for ours as a DD.. the 2.9XX gear'd car got worse mileage then the 3.23 car.

Cool. That's better than my 740 turbowagon.

mtn wrote: BTW, Lugnut: http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/cto/1951448685.html

Huh. Yeah that one's not mine... yet :)

I get 17-24mpg on my sedan. The wagon was about the same.

I'm not sure whether the wagon Caprices ever came with the 4.3 but 94-96 Roadmasters all were 5.7 LT1s.

Ok, so like i said i dont know too much about these cars..

Im thinking the body style ran from 91-96.

And from what im hearing here, 91-93 would be tbi on ALL v8s? Or tbi on some and not others?

And im also curious about the common-ness of the different engines.. i know there was a 4.3 lt1 and i know there were 5.0 and 5.7 in either lt1 or tbi (right?)

Ive built a bunch of 4l60s so i dont need any help there.

What about the rear gears? There were two mentioned so far..

Thanks for the help, guys!

I think stockers just came with 2.9XXX puke bags . They are Auburn LSD's in them (I burnt out 2 hooning) Our first car was swapped to a 9C1 rear axle with discs , 2nd car was the stock drum / gear setup.

Gears makes them come alive - the only motor you want is an LT1. The iron LT1 heads flow better then the alum.

Impala SS / vettes and Birds all got electric rad fans - for some reason (cheap) wagons had crank driven units.

Silicone hoses can be had dirt cheap from 9c1 cars in the wreckers.

Rear spare tire well is prone to rust , as is the back Right side seat, the line for the rear windshield washer setup runs right along there, sometimes the foot well (int he back) can accumulate water.

The fit and finish is horrible on all of them interior wise.

They have no problem towing a car trailer with a civic on the back at 115mph on cruise. Stock speed limiter is 108mph.. uncorked the 3.23 car would do a little over 140mph.

OK.... All 91-93 were TBI 5.0 or 5.7L V8's. 94-96 were the LT1 or "baby LT1" L99. Dad's 9C1 Sedan would knock down 24.7mpg highway tank after tank. It wouldknock down 23-24 in daily driving, tank after tank. All GM V8's in non-corvette/camaro's were TBI from the late 80's until 1994.

ClemSparks wrote: Cool. That's better than my 740 turbowagon.

Chip it and your brick will be about the same.