Repair-It

I am actually excited about this car. Maybe I will begin to dismantle my Caprice ahead of schedule...not sure yet.

I don't see this happening...

kevm14 wrote:Something was up with the trunk lid. It looked like it had some small dents in it which weren't that noticeable. But it seemed to be bent a little on the right rear.

Nope:

- The trunk binds up on the latch and won't spring open like it is supposed to. I adjusted the latch and fixed that when I got home. However, the lid alignment itself is off. It requires a slight tweak in the clockwise orientation. Then I'll have to fix the latch alignment again...

Trunk isn't bent. Just slightly rotated. Maybe they removed it to paint the car and reinstalled it poorly.

Tires have tons of tread left. I think they have like 20k on them but I guess they last a while, these LE2s.

I wanted to fiddle with the seatbelt issue and it is like 85 degrees already and super humid. I started it and I'd say pretty effortlessly the A/C brought the interior to a comfortable temp. The secondary fan works, too.

No luck on the seatbelt. I will try to find a tan one, but I know I can use Adam's blue one if it comes to it.

I drove around the block since I had to move it anyway to get the truck out. The steering box definitely isn't right. It actually feels like it may be binding up. Perhaps his mechanic tried to tighten the box and it is over tight and binding (and still has play, thanks AC Delco reman).

Wow, still has a Sungate windshield. This might actually be OEM. Either that or someone spent extra to get the OEM-brand windshield if it was replaced. Which begs an important question: does the E-Zpass work with this?

VIN for future reference:

Made a WTB post on the forum. Already got a reply from a guy who may be able to help. Here is his signature:

96 BBB 9c1. Rebuilt out of lets just say north of 30 cars.
94 MGR L99. Met a bridge.
92 White L03. Ran to death.
94 OSP 9C1. Lawn ornament.
91 Silver L03. Whales on ice is sad.
94 Black 9c1 clone. Sacrificed.
92 DCM to flat black L03 RMW. Blowed up... twice.
96 Black Woody RMW. Cannibalized.
92 Grey RMS L05. New daily driver.
"i built it one piece at a time, and it didn't cost me a dime!" Johnny Cash

His forum username is: Shilaeli Hugger

Clearly this guy has a sense of humor.

RPO decoded.

AG1: ADJUSTER FRT ST POWER, MULTI-DIRECTIONAL, DRIVER
AG2: ADJUSTER PASS ST POWER, MULTI-DIRECTIONAL
AK5: RESTRAINT SYSTEM SEAT, INFLATABLE, DRIVER & PASS
AM6: SEAT FRT SPLIT BENCH
ARL: PLANT CODE ARLINGTON, TX, USA
AU0: LOCK CONTROL, ENTRY REMOTE ENTRY
AU4: LOCK CONTROL SIDE DR, ELEC, AUTOMATIC
A23: WINDSHIELD HEAT REFLECTIVE
C68: HVAC SYSTEM AIR CONDITIONER FRT, AUTO, ELECTRONIC CONTROL
DE5: MIRROR O/S LH & RH, REMOTE CONTROL, ELECTRIC, HEATED, FOLDING, COLOR
DF6: MIRROR I/S R/V TILT, AUTO, DUAL READING LAMPS
DL5: DECAL ROADSIDE SERVICE INFORMATION
D64: MIRROR I/S FRT VAN RH, SUNSHADE, ILLUM
D74: MIRROR I/S FRT VAN LH, SUNSHADE, ILLUM
D90: STRIPE FRT END, BODY SIDE
FE2: SUSPENSION SYSTEM RIDE, HANDLING
GW9: AXLE REAR 2.93 RATIO (DUP WITH GU3)
G67: LEVEL CONTROL AUTO, AIR
G80: AXLE POSITRACTION LIMITED SLIP
IQ2: TRIM INTERIOR DESIGN (Q2)
JA2: BRAKE HEAVY WEIGHT, DISC/DRUM
JM4: BRAKE SYSTEM PWR, FRT DISC, RR DRUM, CAST IRON, ANTILOCK, FRT &RR WH
KC4: COOLING SYSTEM ENG OIL
KD1: COOLING SYSTEM TRANS, OIL
KG9: GENERATOR 140 AMP
LT1: ENGINE GAS, 8 CYL, 5.7L, MFI, HO
MX0: MERCHANDISED TRANS AUTO PROVISIONS, O/D
M30: TRANSMISSION AUTO 4 SPD, HMD, 4L60-E, ELECTRONIC
NB6: EMISSION SYSTEM CALIFORNIA, TIER 1
NG1: CERTIFICATION EMISSION, GEOGRAPHICALLY RESTRICTED REGISTRATION FOR VEHICLES UP TO 6,000 LBS GV
NK4: STEERING WHEEL SPORT LEATHER
N10: EXHAUST SYSTEM DUAL
N40: STEERING POWER, NON-VARIABLE RATIO
N81: TIRE SPARE FULL SIZE
PA3: WHEEL 15 X 7, ALUMINUM, STYLED
PA5: HUBCAPS WHEEL
QMV: TIRE ALL P235/70R15-102S WS1 R/PE ST TL AL2
UH7: CLUSTER INST, COOL TEMP
UP0: RADIO AM/FM STEREO, SEEK/SCAN, AUTO REV MUSIC SEARCH CASS, CD, AUTO TONE, CLOCK, ET
UQ1: RADIO PROVISIONS, AM/FM STEREO
UQ3: SPEAKER SYSTEM PERFORMANCE ENHANCED AUDIO
U75: ANTENNA POWER, RADIO
VH9: ENVELOPE OWNER INFO MAN
VK3: LICENSE PLATE FRONT FRT MOUNTING PKG
VM3: LABEL INFORMATION CONSUMER, CONTAINS BPR IMP STANDARD FOR FRT 5 MPH & RR 5 MP
V08: COOLING SYSTEM HEAVY DUTY
V73: VEHICLE STATEMENT USA/CANADA
V92: TRAILER PROVISIONS
1SE: PACKAGE OPTION 05
1SZ: DISCOUNT OPTION PACKAGE
14I: INTERIOR TRIM GRAY
142: TRIM COMBINATION LEATHER, GRAY (2) (97).
41U: PRIMARY COLOR EXTERIOR, BLACK (02)
6TN: COMPONENT FRT LH COMPUTER SEL SUSP (6TN)
7TP: COMPONENT FRT RH COMPUTER SEL SUSP (7TP)
8HF: COMPONENT RR LH COMPUTER SEL SUSP (8HF)
80A: STRIPE COLOR ACCENT, TWO TONE, RED/DK SAPPHIRE (91)
9HF: COMPONENT RR RH COMPUTER SEL SUSP (9HF)

Some things I think I would have gotten with Limited:
- Different seats
- Heated seats
- Power recline
- Power lumbar
- Memory seats
- Power trunk pull down
- Twilight sentinel
- Opera lamps

kevm14 wrote:- The trunk binds up on the latch and won't spring open like it is supposed to. I adjusted the latch and fixed that when I got home. However, the lid alignment itself is off. It requires a slight tweak in the clockwise orientation. Then I'll have to fix the latch alignment again...

- Driver's lock solenoid didn't unlock. It only locked. Not willing to give up that easy, I opened the passenger door and rocked the power lock switch back and forth like 10 times rapidly. The driver's door power lock solenoid freed up. I have a feeling this is not the last I'll see of this but I would think my Caprice has the same solenoids so there you go.

Did the following today:
- Lubricated the hood latch, so the hood pops up properly when you pull the release. They all do this if you never lubricate it, and a little white lithium lasts a long time

- Replaced the trunk bulb. However, a wire had also broken from the mercury switch. I soldered that back on. Pretty simple little switch. - Realigned the trunk lid. This was kind of a pain as you might guess but I got the gaps straight. Unfortunately there is a much larger gap on the passenger side than the driver's side and I can't really do much about that. I had to realign the latch as I mentioned. I actually removed it entirely for the lid procedure so I could easily close it to test without having the latch banging every time I adjusted the lid. To be honest, many of the gaps on this car are kind of out of whack. I think my Caprice has better gaps. The lock solenoid has been unlocking consistently at least. Oh, this doesn't have a build date of 8/96 as he mentioned (more than once). The sticker on the door clearly says 9/95. I should have looked while I was there just to see what he'd say.

Here is the dye that the car came with. He said the unopened one is a shade darker. This is what he used on the dash pad. I don't know if the steering wheel is supposed to be the same color but I could use this to fix the worn spot. Cool.

This is back.

http://oldcarbrochures.org/index.php/NA ... r-Brochure

Learned a few things I had a question about before.

- The only aluminum wheels available, at least for 95-96, are the ones on my car, and Ed's RMW. The other options are hubcaps.
- My car is a 1SE which is the Prestige package, which is sort of a default package that you could call a loaded base RMS.
- It would seem that the only option my car does not have is a landau roof. Thankfully. This must be how he wanted it. Or the Limited price was just too much for what came extra.
- Says curb weight of a base sedan is 4,211

billgiacheri wrote:

Otherwise, this with a 2.93 gear and 4,2xx lbs is definitely quicker than the Fleetwoods and wagons.

Adam and Ed have been officially challenged...

My Fleetwood is ~4500lbs, but with no mechanical fan. And as of a couple hours ago, a broken exhaust pipe. Racecar?