Newbie buying a 90's Roadmaster ?

Lower rides and poser rims

Hi Madbiker,

That first one that's been lowered has seen some miles, so if it's in good condition it is a car that has already been restored, issue of findingout how things were done, or not. Not my cup of tea but takes all tastes.

The second one seems nicer, though without tell-tale interior pictures I have my doubts about the miles. To many used car dealers have a guy come by with a special tool and for a fee dial in whatever miles they want. As long as the dealer didn't do it themselves, but subcontracted it, it isn't even that illegal so buyer beware. Still it might be a good car, all depends how often the fellows who put on those huge wheels changed the oil and hammered it.

Vic

 

I will probably create some controversy, but, personally, I would stay away from the LT1 engines.

 

Cruisin' for a bruisin' ?

Now I know why they call you Dodge Guy.

Nothing against the big blocks, have a couple max wedge heads in the boat. But this is one good engine, at least for the purposes of most people buying these land yachts. What exactly is your beef with the LT1?

Vic

 

My Dodgeguy handle goes back to when I actually had Mopars. All are gone now and GM offerings fill the yard (literally). Included are a '91 Custom Cruiser with a 305 Chevy, '81 Malibu with a 350, '94 Chevy G20 van 350, wife's '98 Blazer with a 4.3 and her prized '89 Fleetwood Brougham with a 307 Olds.

My main beef with the LT1 is the funky distributor/waterpump setup. I like simplicity. A regular small block chevy pump can be changed out in a few minutes in an AutoZone parking lot. My main concern is keeping things simple and easy to work on. I don't even like fuel injection because the pump is inside the tank in most cases. Conventional pumps on the side of the block are much easier to change out if necessary.

 

You can have the intake machined to accept a regular distributor. That is what one guy did on the IMPSS forum.
I myself, would rather have a VORTEC 350, stock, they have more hp(260-290)then the LT1(260) and run a standard distributor. Shoot, the VORTEC 305 has almost as much HP (255) as the LT1 in these wagons.

 

Wonder what kind of cam/timing chain issues you would run into? I wouldn't think the stock LT1 cam would have a distributor gear on the rear.

 

i have a 1996 custom (buick lingo for base model) so my car has the rolled seats. i actually prefer the pillow style.. id love to have a set of heater limited seats.

 

You're right, here's a link to some engine diagrams:
http://www.9c1.net/9196%20BBody%20Parts%20Manual/9196%20BBody%20Parts%20Manual/html/9196%20BBody%20Parts%20Manual.html
hmm it wouldn't let me post a direct link, but it's on page 211.

 

how bout this?
http://www.delteq.com/

 

Fixing it for good and for cheap

Sounds good but given their pricing it would need to be the bare bones pack. Click on what the heck is bare bones link in red on this page:

http://www.delteq.com/opti_pricing.htm

Vic

 

Hi Silverfox,

You have a PM - and I may have hit send several times...

Let me know when you get it, and thx for your great help.

Vic

 

The LT-1 engine does have a different distributor (called an Optispark) than the standard small block, not the best set up, but not the worst either. They got a bad rap from the '92-'94 F & Y body cars because the were not vented, which caused them to degrade quickly. They regularly go to 150,000 miles with just a cap and rotor R&R. The original opti died at 189,000 miles on my RMW. They are not bad to change either, about 1.5 hrs. I've done them in, and some guys say less than an hour. The LT1s do have a cam gear to drive the oil pump just like a gen 2 sbc.

The '96-'02 Vortec 5.7s were rated at 255 hp, and the 5.0s were 220 hp. Just a bit less than the LT1, and they also had distributor issues, the drive gears would slowly grind them selves down to nothing, damaging the cam gear in the process.

Mike

 

Pictures of car for sale

Hi Guys,

I got some extra pictures of the grey Caprice and it doesn't seem as picture perfect as first thought. Here they are, don't hesitate to make any criticism you can find.















































Thanks for taking a glance and giving me your impressions. The seller says it was not used for towing and that the paint is entirely all original. The chrome trim appears to be missing. It's engine makes a noise which he says is the air conditioning unit, and it is uninsured.


Vic

 

umm linky no worky

 

id rock that!!!