Part 5 really resonates...
An excerpt:
“In many ways, these cars are the last of the classic Detroit iron, “said John Chapman. I first encountered John some years ago while doing the car show scene in west Michigan; back then he had a thing for ex-cop cars and he still has a thing for them, more specifically the 1994-1996 Caprice. He currently owns three, two of which run while the other he keeps handy as a parts car. His pride and joy is a black 96 that he proudly proclaims was an ex-detective car so it “didn’t get beat on quite as bad.”
“This is how American cars used to be,” he says with a tinge of pride. “Big, roomy, powerful. Body on top, frame underneath. It’s easy to work on; stuff isn’t crammed up under the hood. And it’s tight; unibody cars can flex but this big frame doesn’t really move around. My 96 isn’t a little sports car, but it can still turn a corner good enough for me, and when I floor it, it’s all vintage muscle.”
Bill DeBlasio has been into the B-Body Impala SS since the General unveiled them for the 1994 model year. In fact, he still has the 1995 SS he bought brand new, though it now runs a 396 LT1 and turns 11-second quarter-mile times—all while carrying Bill, his family, and a set of racing slicks in the trunk on road trips across the country.
“I originally got interested because my wife and I needed a family car for our first child,” said DeBlasio. “The only non-dorky four-door cars were BMW 5 or 7 series (out of the budget) or a used Tahoe/Suburban. So when I saw the SS in 1994 I was smitten. Today, I think a lot has to do with the fact that you had to have some bucks to own one back in the day, so you started with a more mature crowd. It's a very supportive group who would do anything for one another.”
Cory Magner is a bit closer to my enthusiast heartstrings because his B-Body fetish is Roadmasters, and to be more specific, red Roadmasters, of which he currently has three. He grew up with cars, notably big cars, and when he went hunting for a replacement engine to power an old Cadillac, he stumbled upon the LT1-equipped B-Bodies and eventually fell in love with the Roadmaster.
“Right after I totaled the Fleetwood, I had bought a set of drag rims off an internet forum member named Buffman,” recalls Magner. “He brought them in his 95 Buick Roadmaster; when I saw that car, I was in love, and it’s what sparked my initial interest in buying my first Roadmaster. Everything about it—the lines of the car in dark cherry color, the race-inspired exhaust note on a car that looked like a grandma should own it. He had talked about selling it, or parting it out, and I told him I would be the first guy at his door. He did a ton of engine/transmission/ rear-end mods, quite a few interior mods, exterior mods, custom $1,000 headlights; he just took really good care of it, and did lots of little things to set it apart. After a year of flip flopping, he finally got serious about selling. I knew better than to let it slip past me.”
Three different flavors of B-Body love, but it all comes back to the same ingredients: Big American car, bigger old-school American V-8 power, and most important of all, big pride of ownership for what many feel are the last great American sedans. I’d like to personally thank these enthusiasts for taking the time to chat with me; check the photo gallery to see some of their cars.
My passion for driving the Roadmaster has admittedly dipped these past few weeks, but I get it now. I get why people fall in love with these cars, I get why they keep going back, and I especially get the pride bit. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to find another B-Body in my garage at some point in the future; one with a bit more aftermarket tinkering perhaps
I remember most of these guys from the forum.
