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Now that you mention that....the steel wheels I had might have been from an A body instead. I seem to recall my father having originally bought wheels from 1 platform, but then exchanged them as they didn't fit. I thought the originals were from an A body, and then they were swapped for ones from an H body, but looking at the offset that each platform uses, it must have been the other way around.

Well, yeah, that's correct, W body 1st gen wheels are unique to the platform, one tries to install a 15" H platform wheel & it will not clear the caliper. I've just laid up the car & I'm getting into a 12" front rotor/brake upgrade, it requires modifying the bracket welded to the strut to relocate the caliper further away & inward to accommodate a Crown Vic 12" rotor. I came across a couple of individuals in Wisconsin who do derby cars, these guys were advertising an adapter that is welded to the strut to replace the original adapter/caliper to allow 14" wheels to be mounted to a strut that is set up for 15" wheels. I was never aware that a 14" wheel could be fitted to the car because of the brake design. I was trying to get some clarification on this adapter that they are producing & see if they can go in the other direction.......manufacture an adapter that allows a *larger* rotor to be fitted to the car for road going purposes. I didn't get too far, I feel the individual at the other end wasn't *the sharpest knife in the drawer*. They call themselves NLR Derby parts they're in Clayton Wisconsin

My 88 Regal had 14inch alloys from the factory, and the steel wheels I used to run my winter tires on were 14 inch as well...which I believe were originally from an 88 ish Lesabre. Still have those winter tires and wheels kicking around, and had them on the GS last winter for storage while the alloys were out being refinished. They fit without issue. I just automatically assumed they would fit any 88-93 1st gen with factory brakes. Brake Rotors on RockAuto start showing some different fitments for 94+ cars...with some showing they fit 88-96 models, and others showing that they only fit 94-96. Not sure if that's incorrect....or if so some of models/trims started getting the larger 1.5 gen setup up front at some point. So 14 inch wheels on 1st gens is something I was definitely aware of!

I think it all has to do with the offset. I'm sure I've seen them before but never paid them any mind. Back in the day I used to run a set of 15" steel wheels with snow tires in the winter on my z34. I seem to remember the wheels being somewhat specific so they didn't smash the brake caliper on install.

I very recently came across some info I was never aware of..... How many of you who have owned a Lumina (base model?) were aware that a 1st gen Lumina could be had with 14" wheels? I was always under the impression 15" wheels were the base wheel diameter....... and will a 14" wheel clear the front calipers?

very happy to see it back up and running. I just went on there the other day for some part numbers. Thank You Luke.

I talked to the original owner Kevin a year after buying the car and he showed me old photos of it in Florida before it came up to ohio, guy definitely loved this car. Shame it's poptart crust now.

Sway bars just fell off the frame not too long ago and one of the front wheels is pushed up farther than the other one right where he said the subframe cracked.... Rear driver side has a decent hole through the frame too. Was told it was completely unsafe to drive at this point so I only drive it here and there. Will probably drive it until it gives out completely or part out within next couple years.

So when the alternator fails to receive voltage control from the ECM, it'll default to 13.8 as a fail-safe strategy. This lower system voltage is what you are seeing as a symptom of the problem. In regards to the DTC you're getting, there are two different symptom bytes which are key for diagnosis: "66" which is you have the sensor installed backwards or "08" for signal invalid. The latter can be either from a bad sensor (just because its new doesn't mean its good) or a wiring issue. The battery sensor is a 3 wire hall effect that has a voltage reference (12V+), as well as a signal and low reference (ground) to the BCM. If you're confident the sensor is good and oriented correctly, then I would check the wiring.

It's possible, but not simple bolt-on. Miko K has done it on his highly modified Cutlass.

Looks like a good mod to do. They use the same oddball bi-pin bulbs in the Cutlass Supreme spoiler rack as well. I would recommend using red LEDs, even behind a red lens. You'll get a better color, especially since LEDs are a cooler color than the original halogens and tend to look even more faded behind a red lens than halogens. The 194 socket will also fit larger T15 sized bulbs since they have the same wedge base. You can use 921 LED replacements for more brightness which is always a good thing with brake lights. I've tested some 921 LED replacements that are insanely bright.

Frame rot, damn. He said it was rust-free when he got it. I guess 8 years of Ohio winters was too many.

It's at around 151k right now, unfortunately with the frame rot probably won't make it much longer. I bought it at 135k so I had fun with it while I could.

They installed plugs correct for mid to late 90s 3100 engines, not the early 90s 3.1L. The symptoms fit the extra large gap. I also installed new AC Delco wires and a new O2 sensor, but I’m thinking the plugs were the problem.

LED third brake light modification. To preface, my 1994 Z34 Lumina was driving down the road, and the third brake light trim cover fell onto the back seat. Upon a little inspection, the 3rd brake light housing was in sorry shape, and had been glued together in the past. Ordered a used light off eBay. So the factory bulbs are halogen 891 bulbs. There are a handful of sellers on Amazon that say they sell led versions of them. I was skeptical that they would fit in the housing. I had 194 led bulbs and sockets on hand, and decided to go with those. So the first thing, is to pop off the red lens, easy enough. Then use a uni-bit on a drill to open up the sockets to 5/8th inch From here, need to cut some lugs into the light housing for the 194 bulb sockets to thread into. I used a small 3 sided file. Took all of 15 mins to do. Then a little bit of wiring to do… splice wires and old connector together. Clean it up, snap the lens on it, and enjoy. This took all of 30 mins to do, with stuff I had on hand. I’m not a fan of the oddball bulbs that were in it, and glad I changed them.

I believe it has that dip or channel in it so that it locks to the metal base and follows it's curves.

If you can recall, did that rubber NOS piece have that molded dip in it or is the rubber pliable enough to make those curves? I`m looking to replace this on 3 cars and it looks like the same between 1st gen W sedans and coupes/verts.

Did it make it to 200k?

It definitely takes dedication to own a Northstar Caddy AND keep it running reliably for that many years, especially in a salt belt state ! All joking aside, they are nice engines, and can be made fairly reliable if you know their weak spots. I know that it's not exactly the same, but the Shortstar we had in our Intrigue years back was arguably more reliable than any 60 degree V6 or even 3800 i've ever owned. It reliably needed the oil level topped off every 1500 miles or so, but outside of a bad CKP sensor and an alternator....that powertrain was rock solid up until the day we scrapped it due to rust.

...and it was terrible when GM did it too. FWIW my Northstar has zero stop leak in its cooling system as the problem was fixed correctly, no thanks to the General.

Says the guy with a Northstar that literally left the factory with stop leak in the cooling system But I completely agree. They can work in certain situations, but I would opt to fix the issue properly if it were my vehicle. I always attribute those products to be used mainly in a "we either scrap the vehicle now, or we try it and maybe only scrap it later" situation.

Looks like the quick connect fitting is ok. And the leak has otherwise dried up. Only time will tell though.

I've only seen terrible results from those products

This may be dumb questioning, but I have an 08 grand prix gxp, ran fine and let it sit for a month with some on and off driving in between. At some point, charging system stopped working, and charging doesnt go above 13.4-13.5v, and won't give more when going lower from accessories or cold starts. I do have a b1516 code and current sensor has correct sensor replaced, only other things found are the ground wire to bcm from battery shows about 3-4v when reading, and not sure what the current sensor pins should read. It does charge higher and adjust if i clear the b1516 code until it comes back as well, and drops back to 13.4v. I'm still very much novice, so some insight and help would be great.

I've never used that product, but I'm generally not a fan of stop leak products. I've used them in the distant past. In my experience, they tend to cause more problems down the road.