1990 Buick Estate Wagon

Good deal at $1400?

http://allentown.craigslist.org/cto/4763992688.html

 

At that price, if it's running then yes. It has some cosmetic things which could be changed for resale value, or it could be kept as it is.

I'm not so sure what to think about the seat belts on the doors though; As Tedy has said on here before, if the door would come open during a crash with someone using that belt he'd be ejected from the car - wouldn't he? Additionally, if someone would try car-jacking a person driving one of those at a red light by opening the door while the driver had his seat-belt on and the driver would have the door unlocked, hello pavement. Keep the door locked.

 

I would think it would be a simple conversion to swap door panels, B-pillar trim, and retractors/belts...then put the seatbelts back on the pillars where they belong. If you can find all the parts, it should bolt on just fine.

1990 B-body wagons are on my "NO" list for a reason. I'll still buy an A-body wagon with them but I'll still prefer an 89-back model.

Every time I see them I see Rick Moranis getting caught in them. See first five seconds of this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcSahWlDVqY

 

Of course I'm imagining things, because that Caprice has them on the B-pillar. I bet the reason they had that gimmick was during filming, they probably had two Caprices, one a 90, one older. Rick would get used to the seatbelt in the 90 and then he'd be in the other car for whatever reason and get stuck. They probably got rid of the 90 and insisted he get caught in the other belt every time.

Technically those belts on the 1990 models are designed so you leave them buckled all the time. The biggest issue then becomes how do you get in and out without getting tangled in them.

 

Yeah, GM used a lot of those seatbelt designs in the late 80s through mid 1990s on most of their cars and it really wasn't a good design. The tiny Geo Metros had them as well and that car was a death trap in itself. In fact, about 20 years ago to the date (December 1994), one of my best friends in high school was killed in a crash when she flipped her almost new 1993 Geo Metro with this seatbelt. She was ejected from the car and it landed on her. Her belt was fastened, but the door flung open during the flipping of the car, offering her no protection. GM used these on the Chevy Beretta and Corsica up until 1990, then for 1991, they added a driver airbag and went with the manual 3-point lap/shoulder belt and for some stupid reason, in 1994, went back to the door mounted belt (though still offering the airbag) and used it still on the 1995-96 models, then it was discontinued. I never did figure that one out as to why they went back to those horrid belts in 1994. My old 1990 Buick Century had the door mounted belts, as did my 1994 Chevy Lumina (then by '95 it was gone on the Lumina). Now I will say they were comfortable, but again, not safe. I could have purchased a awesome 1992 Buick Regal Limited sedan in near mint condition last summer for $1800, but didn't because it had this seat belt design and no airbag.

You know the last year of any design is usually the best, but in the case of the 1990 big GM wagons (and Caprice sedan for '90), a lot of people steer clear due to the belts. Thankfully for '91, the redesign added a driver airbag and manual 3-point lap/shoulder belts.

I am glad that my 1991 Cadillac Sedan DeVille has a driver airbag and the manual 3-point lap/shoulder belt.