Repair-It

billgiacheri wrote:You seem to be looking for an immaculate B-Body for 2K. I think that is going to be less and less likely since they are 20 years old. That is not a knock against the car, it is just a long time to go by and have a perfect platform.

Yes.

Adam wrote:

billgiacheri wrote:You seem to be looking for an immaculate B-Body for 2K. I think that is going to be less and less likely since they are 20 years old. That is not a knock against the car, it is just a long time to go by and have a perfect platform.

Yes.

In other news, one of my uncles bought a mint 19K mile '93 Fleetwood from a guy he works with's mother for $5K a few months ago. The next family gathering should be interesting.

Adam wrote:

Adam wrote:

billgiacheri wrote:You seem to be looking for an immaculate B-Body for 2K. I think that is going to be less and less likely since they are 20 years old. That is not a knock against the car, it is just a long time to go by and have a perfect platform.

Yes.

In other news, one of my uncles bought a mint 19K mile '93 Fleetwood from a guy he works with's mother for $5K a few months ago. The next family gathering should be interesting.

My expectations are built on reality. I can buy a like-new RMS for like $3500 if I am willing to travel to SC. For $2k, I am putting up with having to do a few things (side view mirror, gimped/sketchy test drive, both of which were the case on my $1300 Fleetwood acquisition and that worked out very well), but not all "things" are created equal. I cannot rely on the junkyard for things like interior parts.

Speaking expectations, and while it may not be a fair comparison, do realize that I did buy a then-13 year old Fleetwood with 71k for $1300. The catch was it had the following characteristics:
- Dirty (it cleaned up remarkably well)
- Had been sitting unregistered
- Sketchy parking-lot-only test drive (used car buying cardinal sin #1)
- Totally shot serpentine belt and tensioner which he thought was worse than it actually was (belts are affordable and the tensioner was $26 at Autozone)
- Smashed driver's side mirror (sigh)
- Missing wreath and crest from the trunk lock cylinder (looked worse than it was - some compound and a replacement wreath and crest and it looked like new)
- A few small dents/dings in the front/rear chrome bumpers (never fixed this but did polish up the bumpers and that helped)
- A smashed driver's side rear door polished stainless panel (replaced this and totally removed all signs of body damage even though the skin was still damaged underneath)
- Fairly mint interior but
- Some driver's seat wear (an actual hole in the bottom and side bolster from a gentleman of girth), never fixed
- Non-working seat heaters, never fixed
- a missing knee bolster panel which I later replaced (with a part that was slightly darker...)
- Torn fabric on the driver's side B-pillar cover (replaced with a NOS B-pillar cover)
- Non-working power lock on one of the doors (maybe the rear), fixed
- I think I had to do window rollers on one or two windows, cheap, if tedious
- Non-working audio, which required replacement of the rear speakers and trunk CDM (amp/tuner, this was affordable)
- Non-working power antenna (I fixed this with a mast section replacement, cheap)
- Non-functional ride leveling (fixed with new shocks and replacement air pump)

Other stuff during ownership:
- Right away the car was running hot - bad thermostat, fixed cheap
- I did front shocks
- I did rear springs (more for fun - FE2 upgrade)
- I did plugs
- Had to do a coil wire and then did the 96 coil upgrade
- DIY air intake
- I think I did front pads...probably no rotors, and I don't recall about the rear drums
- DIY aux in for audio
- Lots of tuning experiments (open loop lean burn notably)
- Trans fluid/filter
- AIR pump removal
- Had to replace a cooling fan motor due to icing up and then burning out (didn't realize until too late)
- Had to charge A/C once or twice
- Replaced oil cooler lines and the adapter gaskets (typical)
- Replaced the radiator (broke end tank when removing oil cooler line)
- May have done a battery? Can't remember
- Leaky water pump, lead to WP replacement, WP driveshaft seal replacement, which lead to having to pull the opti, so I preventatively replaced the opti
- R&R'd gauge cluster to clean contacts to fix disappearing/corrupting mileage display
- Replaced clips for vinyl roof rear trim piece, which was sort of adrift (along rear window)
- Rear brake lines (both ones along the frame rail - did a miserable piecemeal replacement job, too)
- Roof dent repair/mitigation? Hardly counts but probably contributed to Bergey Chevrolet (Zieglerville, PA) honoring their $2k trade phone offer

Anyway, this is my frame of reference. I clearly spent money on the car (could have spent less but I chose to make it as nice as possible). I took a risk in some ways and it paid off. The allure of driving a Fleetwood at the time was greater than the allure of driving a RMS today, which is coloring my willingness to compromise.

I cannot rely on the junkyard for things like interior parts.

Do you have the internet?
http://car-part.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi

1995
Seat, Rear
Buick Roadmaster RED,LEA,BEN,LIMITED,A A 4I6063 $100 West Side Auto Parts-ELITE USA-DE(Laurel) Request_Quote 1-800-323-3254 Request_Insurance_Quote

1995
Seat, Rear
Buick Roadmaster 215.GM4S95, GRAY,LEA,NICE A 030045 $100 Swamp Fox Used Car and Parts Inc. USA-SC(Marion) Request_Quote 1-800-922-5125 Request_Insurance_Quote

1995
Seat, Rear
Buick Roadmaster 4D,TAN,BC,LEA 156770 $100 C & L Used Auto Parts USA-GA(Atlanta) E-mail 1-404-755-3595

$100 for a back seat, tan, red, or gray leather. What is the interior leather color in this car on Long Island?

I guess gray.

Also I updated that last post with a bunch of stuff.

Shipping a seat is going to be a big pricey but obviously can be done.

The problem is I don't know what the ideal RMS is, and therefore cannot recognize it when I come across it (ideal referring to configuration, year, condition, miles, location).

It definitely seems like you don't really know what you want. Which is fine. I would say if you are thinking of upping you price to $3,500, you might be in Impala SS territory, and I suspect that is what you really want.

Just for comparison, here is the story on my Fleetwood in one place:

Bought for $1400 with ~155K. Rare-ish R1P fleet option.
- Sitting for a while on the side of the road in CT
- Needed to be jumped to start (even though I brought a spare battery)
- Had no brake fluid in the reservoir for the rear brakes
- CEL/ABS/TCS/Brake lights on
- Really dirty inside and out
- Right rear window didn't go down (still doesn't)
- Sunroof didn't open (still doesn't, but no leaks)
- Missing wreaths on the C-pillars (still missing)
- Several of the exterior trim panels were dented (still are)
- Included remnants of a terrible stereo install
- Non original power antenna that doesn't work (still doesn't)
- B-pillar fabric was ruined (re-covered these with bulk fabric with decent results)
- Has non-factory air shocks in the rear + load-leveling doesn't work

To put it on the road:
- All brakes - pads/rotors/calipers for the front (front rotors were installed w/o inner grease seals), rear drums, shoes wheel cylinders, hardware
- Catalytic converters (the ones on the car were hacked-in aftermarket units and leaking)
- O2 sensors
- Headlight (glass was broken on one side)
- Water pump
- Timing cover seals for opti and water pump
- Thermostat
- Opti (was newer, but was oil soaked)
- Opti vent hardness
- Full tuneup (plugs, wires, filters)
- Battery
- Key FOB battery
- Sourced an OEM radio and front door speakers and repaired the harness wire to it and the speakers, also added aux-in
- Coolant flush
- Oil filter adaptor seals
- Oil cooler lines
- A/C charge
- LOTS of cleaning
- Front shocks
- All steering linkage including steering damper
- Trunk pulldown switch

Since then:
- Ball joints (should have done these initially)
- LOTS more cleaning
- Copper nickel brake lines
- Front brakes (maintenance)
- Windshield (rock)
- Alternator
- Serpentine belt & tensioner
- Wiper motor and linkage (from Caprice)
- Secondary cooling fan (form Caprice)
- Front seat armreset
- Upper fender body molding (stuck in parts funnel)
- Driver's door panel (original was ruined)
- Heater line restrictor and tee
- Grill (original was cracked)

kevm14 wrote:The problem is I don't know what the ideal RMS is, and therefore cannot recognize it when I come across it (ideal referring to configuration, year, condition, miles, location).

V4P?

Adam wrote:

kevm14 wrote:The problem is I don't know what the ideal RMS is, and therefore cannot recognize it when I come across it (ideal referring to configuration, year, condition, miles, location).

V4P?

J/K, that's a Fleetwood thing.

Oh, I forgot a couple on mine. I will update in bold.