Hi, All! Just stumbled across the forum. I've been a GM and Britcar guy for a whole lot of years (save for a bit of insanity with an Alfa GTV and a Fiat in High School - but I had a '74 Malibu at the same time, so it was just the Britcar side of me that took a hiatus). My current daily driver is a '96 RoadMaster Estate, which does a great job of hauling kids plants and lumber around, while not being an SUV or Minivan, and still is able to pull its own at Moroso (and elsewhere when my better senses leave me). I love it. It's got every creature comfort ever put into a luxury cruiser, seats 8, rides like my living room and goes like all get out, while getting 24 (when I can keep my foot off of it) on regular gas. It's got 93K and looks pretty showroom inside and out. It'd be the complete sleeper save for the Jardine/Thorley catbacks exiting behind the rear wheels (& the noise they make).
the 96 is the one with the Vette engine, right? yeah, i'll bet it goes. I've been a GM and Britcar guy for a whole lot of years well then, you need to join B.A.D.A.S.S. :laugh:
Hi Scott - Welcome to V8 Buick. I recognize you (DaddyWagon actually) from ImpalaSSforum where I go by the name SportWagon. We've got other "cross" members here as well but sadly, there really isn't much B-Bod action on here except someone asking the general Q's and asking if its a good car to buy. I usually steer them over to ImpalaSSforum not THE one, but one of the ones ... all 94-96 RoadMonster (sedans and estate wagons) received the LT1. Its not exactly a 'vette motor as the heads are iron, the cam is different ....etc. '96 was the only year of the 3 to use the new ODB-II, 94/95 use ODB-I and quite a few 96'ers convert back ...I've been driving a LT1 RoadMonster wagon (first a 94, now a 95) for close to 6 years now ... the main reason I've stayed with it is - its relatively fast, dependable, excellent ride/cumfort,cheap to repair, full frame, great gas mileage for its size/weight/performance...and its different. Although I've pined for a new ride every so often (was -><- this close to buying a TrailBlazerSS) my wallet is very glad I didn't. You could go out today and find a NICE 94-96 roadie with around 100K miles on it for well under 5K, drive the SNOT out of it for at least a few years and never put a dime into it ...and sell it for not much less, but, you wont after driving it.
Welcome Scott, What part of South Florida? I'm in Pembroke Pines. My TH400 was just rebuilt by Gary McGrath ... Is he a relative?? That would be funny. You ever do Towershoppes on Fridays? :TU:
Hey Bob, Alan/Sportwagon answered the 'Vette' question pretty well. The LT1 in the Buick has more torque, less, HP and the iron heads are more workable according to some. The important thing to me is that the Buick's tuned for regular. I'm in the process of trying to see how much HP I can get out of it without dropping below 23 MPG or needing to make the switch to high-test. I've got an appointment with a Dyno after my longpipes get here I love the fact that the *feel*, sound and power are late 60's/early 70's American Muscle, but the amenities and technology are 21st century... and these (late 90's B-bodies) may be the last of the full-sized GM V8 full-sized ever made. ...and I can do the Daddy thing without having to lose my ability to stretch the boundaries of traffic laws. I figured pretty quickly that there wasn't nearly the B-body ownership here that ImpalaSS has, but I thought that it's great that there is such a large number of people working on the big beasts and thought it would be fun to lurk. I've had an Electra/225 (which I plasma'd the roof off of in college) and a couple of Sklarks pass through my hands and appreciate the heck out of the Buick and Oldsmobiles of 'the power years'. I'm up in Boca, and yeah, I've gotten down to Tower Shoppes. It's been a nightmare; so much to see and there's no way for me to get there without the kids due to my wife's work schedule. I've got the same problem with Moroso, though I've been thinking that I might be able to use the Countyline Challenge as a breakout night. We'll see. Nice, Keith. Mine was maroon, but yours sure does bring back memories. Those were crazy years, and I thought I was a long lost Duke boy. That car spent more time with the backend doing anything but following the front... I could make better time in it on PCH than I could in my GTV or MG, but such a different driving style. ("Keep the back wheels pointed where you don't want to be and stay on the gas!") Nice to see that they're still around too. -Scott
