Such a Deal!?!?!? "Garage Find" '92 Roadmaster Sedan

9/8/17 - Friday fun. The plasti-chrome outline trim on the door panels of 92 Roadmaster Sedan was almost totally faded through to the grey plastic. Pulled out my tape and paint pen and took care of it! All those 1/24-scale Monogram car models I built as a kid are paying off here in later life! Ha!

Before pic, chrome outline trim almost gone.









The interior of the car looked nearly factory fresh other than this faded door trim. Fixed!

9/9/17 - Someone put totally the wrong battery in this car. Top-post, and too big to fit into the tray. Battery was wedged in between the fender, radiator and was bending the A/C lines and sitting at an angle.



Fixed that with a new Wally World "Never-Start" battery last night. Wiped off the battery tray and cleaned the terminals. I like the Wally World ones because they will warranty them nationwide and Walmart is everywhere now, and always open. I don't believe these are GREAT batteries or anything, but when I've had an issue, getting a replacement was never a problem.


New battery fits and is bolted down correctly.

I wonder, are the 91-96 B-Body GM cars the last vehicles to have the behind-the-plate gas caps?

9/9/17- Cleaning up Roadmasters for Cars and Coffee Austin on morning. Fun to compare them...the 92 is the first Roady Sedan of the 90s and the 96 Roady Wagon was the last Roady wagon made.

9/9/17 - Spent all afternoon and well into tonight first compunding, then using Color-Back and finally McGuire's Cleaning Wax. The paint is far from perfect but it shines now! My arms are dead and I'm exhausted, but the Roady Sedan looks a lot better!


9/10/1017 - Freshly-waxed and detailed Roadmaster Sedan and Wagon off to Austin Cars and Coffee. Both cars GLOW.



9/10/17 - Cars and Coffee Austin in both Roadmasters. 1992 Sedan is looking GREAT!

Seeing the ashtray in the door made me chuckle. Definitely a thing of the past.

Andebe wrote:

Seeing the ashtray in the door made me chuckle. Definitely a thing of the past.

Yep, no kidding! Happily the ones in this car were never used!

9/12/17 - I'd posted that the '94 Buick Riviera radio that a local friend gave me for this car had lost the right-front band after one week. I had Facebook car friends respond with THREE replacement GM radios! Last night I installed this Delco from Georgia. Could not be happier! This was the top-of-the-line cassette unit in 92, with the graphic equalizer. All the backlights work, all the speakers are working again, and it even still plays cassettes perfectly too! Car folks are the best! Having fun bringing this old car back to life!

Radio #3...went from the most-basic radio/cassette player, to the nicer mid-level cassette unit, to this top-of-the-line equalizer cassette unit. I've never had so many issues with radios in one car, but THIS one looks really good!




Here is a Facebook video of the #3 radio "in action" if you want to hear it working: https://www.facebook.com/mike.massey.543/videos/10214173899732150/

I do like the 91-93-style dashboard a lot. The wood and chrome is classy in classic Buick style, the full-gauges are nice, and even like the idiot lights under the climate control that hard back to the 70's and 80's Buicks. This dash is much better quality than the 94-96 dash, that GM just threw together for dual airbags. That said, I don't love the "box-of-Kleenex" airbag wheel...other than the fact that it is fully leather-wrapped, unlike the half-wrapped 94-96.   About the only thing I like better on the 94-96 dash is the vents sit higher on the dash so the newer car cools down faster on a hot day, and the folks in back get more airflow in the 94-96 models.   Still, really like this early style!


This is such a nice, complete, clean and clear gauge cluster. SO MUCH better than the BORING 94-96 Roadmaster cluster!

That pic at night with the parking lights on is great. Having always liked the wagon front ends more I have to say the skinny wrap around parking lights on the sedan really look good. Wish the wagons had lights like that and not something from the gm parts bin.
Car is looking good.

WELL IT NEVER ENDS...   Power antenna on the Roadmaster sedan broke! Stuck up, motor runs. I just got the radio finally all fixed!! UNBELIEVABLE!!   Pulled in my driveway, got out, looked back and antenna was up.   Motor runs, bad cable.  SHOOT!




There are two '96 Roady sedans at Austin Wrench-A-Part, so will head down there tomorrow and cross my fingers one has a good antenna.  I THINK the Fleetwood uses the same one (anyone know for sure?)...hope so, that would open up more chances to find one in the yards.  

Two steps forward, one step back....    Old Cars...

-Mike

9/16/17 - Found an original Buick owner's manual holder for the 92 Sedan in my stash. It's the little things!




9/17/17 - Round Rock Tx Cars and Coffee - 9/17/17 - Eddie, Tuck, Sabre and took the 92 Roadmaster Sedan and met Dad in the 82 Z28 and Laird and Frank in the Aztek.  The Sedan is looking GREAT!









9/17/17 - Ran down to Austin Wrench A Part to see if this 96 had a good power antenna. Nope, but nabbed the trunk lock. Was HOT out there!




9/18/17 - Next project, transmission filter service and rear diff oil change.



More to come!

-Mike

9/21 - Finished the transmission and rear axle services, but overfilled the transmission...it reads a good inch-and-a-half above the full mark when the engine is at full-hot and in park. I'm PISSED....don't want to drop the trans pan again, and am worried if I just loosen it a bit and let some leak out that the gasket will end up leaking. I put six quarts in, which is the same amount I always use when I service the filter on my 96 Wagon with the 4L60E. Does the 700R4 in the 92 hold less?? I guess it must! Dangit! I'm debating buying some vacuum line and trying to siphon fluid out of the dipstick tube....

Happily the rear-end service went fine. Drained the axle, cleaned a bit inside, new diff cover gasket and fluid. No leaks, no noises.

I'm thinking with a little luck I can get this car DONE this weekend. I'm going to change the engine oil one more time, and put in synthetic oil. The oil in the car when I started was from 2010(!!) and was black. I put in good conventional oil and have driven the car 500 miles now, and the new oil is already dirty, so I'm hoping that's just the last of the sludge now mixed with the newer oil. With a little luck, once I've done this last change the engine is now clean inside.

Also on the weekend 2-do list is a radiator flush, thermostat, new upper and lower hoses, a new serpentine belt and I'm replacing the belt tensioner pulley because the bearings in it growl a bit when cold.

The FINAL project, hopefully...other than some last detailing/cleaning, will be this...fix the power antenna that WORKED when I started this car's refurbishment. I've never done a mast cable...have to drill out the rivets and split the motor case. Wish me luck!



Bringing this car fully back to life has been a bigger project than I was expecting, but I think I'm in the home-stretch now.

-Mike

For the transmission, use my cooler line flush method - look for a line next to the battery that just has a spring or screw clamp on it. Take that apart, put clear plastic hose on the hard line, aim it into a clean empty milk jug, and pump out what you need.

I've done this flush so many times on B-bodies, and it's faster and cleaner than an oil change! No need to jack the car up either if you haven't lowered it too much - typical 1-gallon plastic milk jugs fit perfectly between the radiator and the engine.

The A095 may be the wrong cable for the RMS. That is the cable for the wagon, and Caprice sedan. The top section is shorter than the RMS top section. I could have sold you a good used antenna for about the same price as the cable.

The Caddy antenna is different.

I noticed that your horn buttons are still intact. If you push toward the center of the wheel where the horn emblem is on the button, they will last a lot longer. The alignment pins for the buttons are along the inside edge of the button, and are fragile, so, if you push on the outer edge of the button, they are under a lot of stress and will break. I have repaired a couple of them, but it is difficult, and they are still subject to breaking.

Fred Kiehl wrote:

The A095 may be the wrong cable for the RMS. That is the cable for the wagon, and Caprice sedan. The top section is shorter than the RMS top section. I could have sold you a good used antenna for about the same price as the cable.

The Caddy antenna is different.

I noticed that your horn buttons are still intact. If you push toward the center of the wheel where the horn emblem is on the button, they will last a lot longer. The alignment pins for the buttons are along the inside edge of the button, and are fragile, so, if you push on the outer edge of the button, they are under a lot of stress and will break. I have repaired a couple of them, but it is difficult, and they are still subject to breaking.

Hi Fred. I HOPE the antenna is correct. I ordered it per the model from that antenna company. I did put it next to the mast on the car now and the upper metal part looked the same, but have not tackled that project yet. This coming weekend.

As for the horn buttons, I know these are fragile and it's rare to have good one....will not honk unless I HAVE too! Ha!

-Mike

9/23/17 - Saturday Projects! Flush radiator, install new upper and lower radiator hoses and new thermostat and radiator cap, replace noisy belt tensioner pulley and install new belt, and change "break-in" oil and filter with full synthetic 10W30 oil.



My FIRST project of the day was siphoning out some fresh transmission fluid...doh. Overfilled when doing to filter service...my 96 Roady Wagon with the 4L60E takes 6 quarts with a filter change...this car, it seems with the 700R4, takes only 5. Oh and transmission fluid still tastes as horrible as I remembered. Yuck!



Tools out, ready to take things apart! At least it looks clean under here now. Big change from when I first got the car home.


Air cleaner box removed to access the thermostat housing. I wish GM had just used a traditional round metal air cleaner on these....the plastic box..is goofy..and frankly it's easier (and cheaper) to replace a round filter.


81K mile original thermostat...yucky.


Belt tensioner pulley growling...bearings failing.


You think the belt needed to be done? 81K mile, 25-year-old original serpentine belt!



New belt tensioner pulley and new serpentine belt installed. MUCH quieter!


Cleaned and painted the thermostat housing semi-gloss black.


Now to flush/drain the radiator coolant and engine oil.


Nasty old coolant draining.


The radiator hoses were both original to the car...the lower one was especially nasty.



While laying under the car I did notice that it has a newer starter. Nice to see that's been done.


When I brought the car home, the oil in it was at least 5-years-old. I changed it right away...it was nasty, and THIS oil draining is only 500-miles old here. I'm hoping this "break-in" oil worked to clean out this motor. Replaced with 10W30 full-synthetic...was told to go from 5W30 to 10W30 when switching to full-synthetic on these LO5 Chevy 350 motors.


After doing the thermostat, hoses, flushing everything, cleaning the overflow bottle and adding fresh coolent, I put the new cap on it it was leaking almost right away! I thought it was a bad cap, but NOPE, the actual neck on the radiator cracked right there the cap clamps on! Car needs a new radiator! Frustrating!!


SO  I did make SOME headway but got frustrated over the radiator issue and didn't make it to the antenna project....instead parked it until next weekend.   About to order a new radiator from Rock Auto...and will plan to be working on this car again next Saturday.

-Mike

In your salvage yard adventures, find an air cleaner lid from a '93 Fleetwood:



I agree, the plastic box looks like crap.

Interesting to me that the Fleetwood had the electric fans on the TBI cars too. I think they were the only ones until the LT1 came out.

Yup, they were.


I have a set of those, actually. And the shroud.

This thread is very therapeutic for me. Keep up the work and pics!! Bummer about the radiator...but if that is cracked..I'm sure there are more weak spots ready to go as well.

brokecello wrote:

This thread is very therapeutic for me.  Keep up the work and pics!!  Bummer about the radiator...but if that is cracked..I'm sure there are more weak spots ready to go as well.  

Chris you have me beat by 1000-percent on your wagon refurbishment! That said your threads are always motivation for me.

-Mike

9/25/17 - Evening project, replace the Power Antenna Cable.

Replacement Antenna cable from TheAntennaSource.com


Was able to get broken antenna down this far to remove it.  Used a flat-blade screwdriver and rubber mallet to tap the chrome retaining nut loose.




Now removed the black plastic angled trim bezel and washer.


Next unplug the grey power plug and antenna cable, and finally remove the #10 bolt on the lower mount and carefully slide the antenna out...don't scratch the paint or bend the mast.

Remove #10 bolt here.


Antenna removed and ready for surgery.


Carefully pry off the gold clips...these suckers will fly away into space if you are not careful!




Gold clips removed



Now you need to carefully drill out the case rivets.





Stubborn rivets!



Now use vice-grips to hold the old upper mast and unscrew the button from the end.



Now carefully pry the case apart



Case removed...where was this old cable broken??? Looked to be all there...but look closer...


The old cable broke off at the very end, right where it fit into the metal "fish-hook".



Mast tube removed and gear removed


I added lithium grease to the case and gears/gear teeth. Not a lot...but a nice thin coat.

9/25/17 - Next I removed the new cable from the bag.


Threading the new cable through the mast tube


New metal end of cable through old mast, ready to re-install chrome button tip.



Chrome button tip screwed on new cable end.


Next I extended the mast fully so only the end with the fish-hook was out, clipped the hook end into the white plastic gear spool, and carefully fitted back into the motor case. Then I added a thin bead of clear silicon to keep moisture out. There was silicon here when the case was opened, but it tore apart when the case was separated.



Case back together and clips installed. At this point I went back to the car and plugged the antenna in, and had Eddie turn the radio on to pull the antenna back into the case, and then to test that it would re-extend. Once you know it works, go back to the workbench with it.


Found four screws, washers, and nuts to bolt the case back together where the rivets were drilled out earlier.





Case all screwed back together and antenna is ready to be re-installed on the car.


9/25/17, 11pm, repaired antenna re-installed.


Radio on, antenna going up...

...and up....

...and up...

Radio on, antenna fully-extended and working like new again!


Facebook video if you want to see it "in action":
https://www.facebook.com/mike.massey.543/posts/10214278086696759

Such Fun!

Next up is the new radiator. Wheee!

-Mike

I wonder if you could use the Fleetwood lid on a dual snorkel base? That would be a major visual improvement.

How or when are the Opera lights functional?

Andebe wrote:

How or when are the Opera lights functional?

It was on there, they are just not terribly bright in the floodlights from my house, but they come on with the headlights.  See here:

Andebe wrote:

I wonder if you could use the Fleetwood lid on a dual snorkel base? That would be a major visual improvement.  

That would be very cool!

Mike, speaking from my own experience with my old '94 RMW (that hadn't had an oil change in many miles with a thermostat opening at 207F), synthetic will wash out far more sludge and garbage from an engine than regular oil. I changed out the first oil filter at 1200 miles that was FULL of sludge. I bought an oil filter cutter tool and was opening and inspecting every filter for several years just to keep tabs on it!

So if you want to NOT do what I did, just run regular motor oil and leave whatever's in the motor in place. Otherwise, if you use synthetic be ready to swap and cut oil filters regularly. RockAuto is selling Gen1 Chevy V8 oil filters for less than $1.50 apiece right now.

I remember seeing ol'timers add some diesel or kerosene to the oil and then running the engine for a while. They claimed it help bust up the sludge.

sherlock9c1 wrote:

Mike, speaking from my own experience with my old '94 RMW (that hadn't had an oil change in many miles with a thermostat opening at 207F), synthetic will wash out far more sludge and garbage from an engine than regular oil.  I changed out the first oil filter at 1200 miles that was FULL of sludge.  I bought an oil filter cutter tool and was opening and inspecting every filter for several years just to keep tabs on it!  

So if you want to NOT do what I did, just run regular motor oil and leave whatever's in the motor in place.  Otherwise, if you use synthetic be ready to swap and cut oil filters regularly.   RockAuto is selling Gen1 Chevy V8 oil filters for less than $1.50 apiece right now.

Well I changed to the Synthetic oil on Saturday when I did all the other work. Right now, it's beautiful when I check it on the stick, but we'll see. That first oil change I did got dirty pretty quick, but I'd planned to change it in the first 500-miles..done.

-Mike

You could always pull a valvecover and see what it looks like in there. Valvecover area will be representative of the rest of the engine.

sherlock9c1 wrote:

You could always pull a valvecover and see what it looks like in there.  Valvecover area will be representative of the rest of the engine.

I looked through the oil filler hole in the valve cover, and the motor actually looks really clean inside from what I can see.   I'm guessing it was parked for all those years and oil settled in the pan.     It runs great, no smoke, not even on startup, and has not used a drop of oil yet.

We'll see!

-Mike

If you want to do that, I bought a cheap $15 inspection camera that plugs into my phone and it's the greatest invention ever. Stick it right on in the valve cover or into a spark plug hole and bam. You'll know what's what.

10/1/17 - Roadmaster Sedan Radiator Fun - Swapped the radiator in the sedan today. Had help and moral support from Jay Beausoleil too, Thanks! Easy job, but the one gotcha is the coolant level sensor is plastic, fragile, and not reproduced anymore. Thankfully with a few days soaking in PB Blaster, it came out. The old radiator was SHOT, very green, and totally clogged. Car now runs cool and happy! I cleaned off the engine fan and belt pulleys while everything was apart, and checked for leaks.

Open up and say AAAHHH! Radiator replacement day for the Sedan as the Wagon supervises my work. Driveway full of Roadmasters!


New Canadian-made radiator..hopefully better quality than Chinese.....eh?  It's too bad all the new radiators have plastic tanks now. The original radiator wss all metal. Oh well, this at least looks like a quality part.



About to remove original rotten radiator. I did clean the fan and pulleys while everything was apart too.


View of the old radiator face, where it sat against the ac condenser. MAN it was clogged with crap!


25 years...yep. Rotten!


This is the one "gotcha" in an otherwise easy job. This is the plastic coolant level sensor for the dashboard light. They are fragile, and are no longer reproduced. HAPPILY I soaked this and the transmission cooler lines with PB Blaster, and everything came apart.



Original plastic coolant level sensor installed in new radiator.


New Radiator installed and No Leaks. Runs cool!




Leak checking. Freshly-painted thermostat housing looks good and no leaks!


My refurbishment on this car is almost done!

-Mike

81X11 wrote:

My refurbishment on this car is almost done!

-Mike

Famous last words, those.


Looks like a really nice car. If that's a Spectra Premium radiator (Canadian, as you said), I put one in my car not long after I bought it and it fit pretty good. Used 'em on a few other things over the years, no issue. Those Canadians make good stuff, eh?

RedandBlack wrote:

81X11 wrote:

My refurbishment on this car is almost done!

-Mike

Famous last words, those.


Looks like a really nice car. If that's a Spectra Premium radiator (Canadian, as you said), I put one in my car not long after I bought it and it fit pretty good. Used 'em on a few other things over the years, no issue. Those Canadians make good stuff, eh?

Yep it's a Spectra Premium, and it did fit well!

-Mike

81X11 wrote:

10/1/17 - Roadmaster Sedan Radiator Fun - Swapped the radiator in the sedan today. Had help and moral support from Jay Beausoleil too, Thanks! Easy job, but the one gotcha is the coolant level sensor is plastic, fragile, and not reproduced anymore. Thankfully with a few days soaking in PB Blaster, it came out. The old radiator was SHOT, very green, and totally clogged. Car now runs cool and happy! I cleaned off the engine fan and belt pulleys while everything was apart, and checked for leaks.

Open up and say AAAHHH! Radiator replacement day for the Sedan as the Wagon supervises my work. Driveway full of Roadmasters!

I bought a new sensor from a GM dealer. I do not remember where, but he had 3 more in stock. You can check with a GM dealer, and they may be able to tell you where they are. They are not cheap. Maybe Hamilton Chevrolet could find one for you. It is nice to have a spare.

Fred Kiehl wrote:

81X11 wrote:

10/1/17 - Roadmaster Sedan Radiator Fun - Swapped the radiator in the sedan today. Had help and moral support from Jay Beausoleil too, Thanks! Easy job, but the one gotcha is the coolant level sensor is plastic, fragile, and not reproduced anymore. Thankfully with a few days soaking in PB Blaster, it came out. The old radiator was SHOT, very green, and totally clogged. Car now runs cool and happy! I cleaned off the engine fan and belt pulleys while everything was apart, and checked for leaks.

Open up and say AAAHHH! Radiator replacement day for the Sedan as the Wagon supervises my work. Driveway full of Roadmasters!

I bought a new sensor from a GM dealer. I do not remember where, but he had 3 more in stock. You can check with a GM dealer, and they may be able to tell you where they are. They are not cheap. Maybe Hamilton Chevrolet could find one for you. It is nice to have a spare.

I'm actually going to watch for these when I go salvage yarding and will pocket some...if I can get them out! As of right now, the original one is working fine in it's new home!

-Mike

If you get some "freeze off", that may make removing them easier, and without soaking it overnight.

10/2/17 - Working on final Roadmaster Sedan details while blasting Full Moon Fever last night...RIP Tom Petty! GONE WAY TOO SOON!!!


Installed the better-but-not-perfect trunk lock cover/emblem I found on my last salvage yard run.


Totally cleaned all the door jams and trunk jam, and lubricated all the hinges and latches with white lithium grease.








The sedan is spotless, and only needing some final paint touch-ups to be completed now. Both the Roadmonsters are clean and safe from the fall Texas rains coming today.

10/6/2017 - Pulled the original Uniroyal Gold Seal spare tire out to replace it with a newer spare. Saving this one for car shows.
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10/6/17 - So everyone may not agree with the final Refurbishment mods, but this was a surprise for Richard. Full "Gran Sport Collector's Edition" package added.

So what we have here now is a 1992 Buick Roadmaster Limited Gran Sport Collector's Edition.....sedan.

Farewell Video to the refurbished 92 Roadmaster Sedan. Taken when car was finally completed last night. https://www.facebook.com/mike.massey.543/posts/10214374168898754

10/7/17 - Refurbishment Completed! Car came out BEAUTIFULLY! The rear had two spare tires, tools, and a lot of spare parts in it during these pics, so it's sitting lower than normal, but you get the idea!  Put 200 miles on it delivering it, and it ran like a watch.










GREAT CAR! Will miss it!!

Pics from us delivering this car are in this thread: https://gmlongroof.4umer.com/t13762-roadmaster-sedan-and-wagon-glamour-shots-and-200-mile-texas-hill-country-roadmastering-road-trip

Made a day-trip out of it and took my wagon on the adventure too.

-Mike

My only gripe is the GS badge on the glovebox is different than the red one on the outside and it's making my eye twitch.

Nice car. He'll enjoy it, I'm sure.

Very nice,Mike. I like the GS whoring of the car. Looks good.

RedandBlack wrote:

My only gripe is the GS badge on the glovebox is different than the red one on the outside and it's making my eye twitch.

Nice car. He'll enjoy it, I'm sure.

That GS glove box emblem was red, but it looked TOTALLY out of place inside because there was no red anywhere else inside.   It looked like a Pontiac emblem, so I re-painted it silver to better match the ROADMASTER lettering above it.    That helped matters. I did try placing the chrome-outlined GS badges on the glove box lid, but they also just looked totally wrong, so I settled on this.



It needed SOMETHING to tie the details outside to the interior.  

On my 96 Roadmaster I have GS badging on my door panels, and I like the look, but this would not work on the 92.

Andebe wrote:

Very nice,Mike. I like the GS whoring of the car. Looks good.

Richard is the guy I sold my 96 wagon to a few years ago, and then pestered for two years until he sold it back to me.   He'd always LOVED the GS lettering on "our" wagon, so when he asked me to refurbish this 92 sedan, he hinted he'd like to "GS it", but I didn't tell him I was actually going to do it.   I waited until the last day to install those emblems (after polishing and hand-painting them with model paint), and when I delivered the car Saturday evening, it was a surprise for him.  

He LOVES the GS trim, it made his day.   We aim to please!  

-Mike

Awesome write up...love the fact that you included step by step directions complete with pictures and parts used. You really cleaned that car up...what a transformation. Seeing that Gold 96 RMS in the pictures above broke my heart...I have been looking for 2 complete front doors to swap onto my Gold 94 for 5 years! I'm just silly enough that if I had of seen this post earlier I would have gone down to get them. Looking forward to your next project.