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Well I cant wait any longer for you guys. 23.5 years is a bit long to make a guy hang on. So I just went ahead and got it myself.

Good day, I have been a W body enthusiast since high school 04. In my student parking lot, we had a 93 Gran prix, 94 olds cutlass supreme, 94 cavalier z24, 95 monte, and my lumina z34. These cars were everywhere! My first car was a 94 lumina z34 (still have it). In 2012 I put a 4.9 PFI in it and it is almost complete. I just need to replace the rear suspension and odds and ends. I have a 99 Monte (needs some work), and I just picked up a decent (needs some work) Cutlass supreme. I am buying a new top for the cutlass on Friday. I want to get black canvass instead of the white (the car has black leather interior). They come in black, grey, white, red. What do you all think would be the best color? Just curious. Very few of these ole buggies still around (at least in my area). I thought I would join the forum to see what you all are up to (I feel very late to the party). I already have seen some super nice examples of these cars (nice job everyone!). Ill post more as spring hits and I can get them out, and work on them more. Also, not adverse to loading them up on the trailer for any meets that might happen. Thank you! Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Welcome! I think black top will look great on it. Better late than never! Not as bustling as it was back in the day, but there's a few of us W-body old timers left. I wouldn't mind seeing pics of the 4.9L in a W-body.

anyways, welcome to the site.

Wow, that's awesome!

UPDATE: the car is going to the mechanic on 2/23 for this job. It will be going to a chevy dealer whose mechanic has decades of experience which is exactly what I was looking for. This mechanic is semi-retired and picks & chooses the jobs he wants to do. When he learned I'm the original and 4th owner he took the job. I was asked to supply all the parts which I think I will need. Included with these parts will be a new EGR valve and a new Low Coolant Sensor (due to the coolant being partially drained). I made a copy of Gnat's photo so thanks again for this. I will be seeing how the mechanic feels about just going the RTV route in lieu of pulling the rear head. Not only will the job be alot cheaper, I'd really prefer not opening that Pandora's box of potential additional issues if the head needs to be taken off.

Damn, that's a rare one!

Thanks all for this. As of the moment the car is in storage do it will be a while before I can check it out, but I will say I get more & more confident this will be the cause. It has been happening for a long time. Form the day I bought this car in Oct., 1994, I always wondered where a quart of oil was going every 1000 miles or so. My money is on this as pictured above, it was probably badly sealed to begin with. And these things don't get better, only worse. I went in and checked my 2020 repair bills from when I had the intake manifold gaskets replaced. The mechanic also replaced the gasket for the part 10130955 as you see in the photo but no mention is made on whether the distributor plug seal was addressed so I am going to assume it was not. While it's a shame all that work that was done to the motor back then would have to be re-done just to get at what needs to be repaired, so be it. Even if I decide to get the rear head pulled to replace the O-ring rather than trying my luck with sealant, that's still way better than having the entire motor pulled. I might as well go the whole 9 yards and have both head gaskets replaced for a one and done job. I should be getting the car out of storage within the next few weeks, I'll keep all posted on how things progress, and thanks again, much appreciated!

You're in the right place because we love our W-bodies here. Welcome!

The thought here was that you don't drive your W's in the winter.

Got the fuel line disconnected and fuel can ready to go but no go on the fuel pump. Do I have it wrong here? The car has been sitting for 6 weeks so the battery may be weak but radio turns on. Edit nevermind I'm an idiot i see the number on bottom of relay and i had it wrong Works like a charm thanks all

I wanna see pictures of the Gran Prix, never seen one before! /s Welcome!

Does the pump run? If it does, unhook a fuel line under the hood and jump the fuel pump relay.

UPDATE: I was just advised the mechanic is going to elect to go the RTV route; the head will not be pulled for this job. I think you can all hear the huge yell of relief coming from this desk. I'll be sure to post once completed.

You never know... It could very well be! Funny story about stuff like that....My parents had a mid 70s silver Avion camper when I was a kid that I absolutely loved. It was sold to someone from out of province in very early 2000, supposedly to be used for parts to repair an identical unit that had a partially collapse on it, but was in better shape interior wise. I ended up coming across an identical unit for sale a couple years ago on Facebook marketplace, and while checking out the pictures, out of all things the stereo is what caught my eye. Sure as shit, it was our old camper. Further proven when my parents came across a draft of the bill of sale that had the matching serial number. Part of me just about ran out and bought it....but I passed as the layout really wouldn't work for my family.

If it were me I'd pull it... but I also wouldn't worry too much about seeing it neatly tied up and disconnected at both ends if I were a buyer. It was the style at the time to run aftermarket stereos in nearly everything, so I consider it to be remanent of a former, period correct modification.

Not on my W's...but I use them on my dailies. I prefer to use the rotors with the black coated hat/edge vs the silver coated ones, as I find they hold up better. They seem to hold up relatively well, even throughout the winter. In all honesty though, if your current rotors are still good you could always hit them with a bit of black spray paint. I quickly hit the rear drums of my truck over 5 years ago without any real prep work, and those have held up better than some of the coated rotors i've run.

Check Amazon. Just search Buick logo door light. Some are stick on with double sided tape and a magnet style sensor to activate them one the door opens.

I was able to replace the o-ring and add an extra gasket with the information from the old double gasket thread all without removing the rear head. I also put RTV on it and it never leaked in the 10+ years I owned the car after the repair.

UPDATE - I believe I may have found a shop with a mechanic having the experience to have worked on these motors that will do the job. My first hunch was to go to a Chevy dealership as the Lumina had these motors as well, those Z-34's you almost never see (?). As soon as they found out I was in no rush to get the car back, they were more open to the idea of working on it. I guess they thought I wanted it done yesterday. Not the case, anytime between now and July 22 will do........ Stay tuned

One should have the service manual within reach for electrical diagnosis.

You are correct on that point, I will be checking my local independent shops to see if they want the job. Not everyone wants to work on these. The first thing I will hear is the job would cost more than the car is worth. I bought this car new in 1994. I gave it to my dad in 2012 who in turn sold it to my brother in 2018. My brother did a swell job of running it into the ground, but when my dad passed away 1/2020 my brother didn't want the car anymore and showed up at my house a month or so later and handed me the keys. That makes me the 1st and 4th owner. There is no mechanic on this earth that's going to be successful in convincing me that any job needed to be done on this car will exceed its value. I watched a 24 minute video earlier today on how to do this job. II won't be doing it as a result of watching it. These videos are valuable in that respect as well.

I've ground the top ridge of the pump drive down slightly to allow for more room to work, then use a distributer gasket for a Lumina van with a 3.1, just give it a cut and slather it in RTV, seems to work well. and I'll be damned if I'm pulling a head just for that.

I think the mounts will fit the doors, but I don't know that they'll fit under the door panels. 95-96 used 5.25" in these angled enclosure pod things that stick out quite a bit while 88-92 used 4x6's on a flat plate.

So my hunt begins for an intrigue with the 3.5, I'm looking specifically for a GL or GLS with the 3.29 gear ratio. Anyone know the RPO code for that to help me in my searches? Google and rpocode.com aren't helping me

there should be a loose red wire near the relay jump that to the positive post and it should turn the fuel pump on

Hi guys, I'm still alive and well and still have dome light switches! The site used to send me an email when someone posted on this thread, not sure if that doesn't work anymore? My direct email is mezz@benris.com if anyone else is still looking or switches.

Spammer......

spammer?

not even a difference ABS/non abs on the gen1 front knuckles. the sensor is separate of the wheel hub - why gm couldn't have continued this into the later cars is beyond me. buy whichever brand you determine to be the highest quality or fits within your budget

Hey everyone, My name’s Ryan, I’m from Long Island, NY, and I’m new to the Monte Carlo platform. I recently picked up a 2003 Monte Carlo SS and I’m excited to finally start a build thread and be part of the community. By trade I’m a licensed marine engineer, so I’m very hands-on mechanically and enjoy learning the technical side of things. On the automotive side, I’ve worked on and tuned a variety of platforms, everything from basic bolt-ons and wiring to full tuning using HP Tuners, Hondata, and standalone setups. I enjoy both the mechanical and tuning sides of builds and documenting the process. For the Monte, the plan is to start simple, catch up on maintenance, fix worn components, and do some basic bolt-ons while I sort out the body and cosmetics. Once the chassis and body are in better shape, the goal is to turn things up. I’m currently torn between a Gen V M90 top swap or going turbo, but either way the end goal is a "reliable", fun street car that still rips when you get into it. I’ll be sharing progress, asking questions, and learning as I go. Looking forward to seeing everyone’s builds and being part of the community.

Here is info for the the swap based on my own experience of swapping my 88 cutlass w-body. 3800 swap w-body From 98/99 Monte Carlo z34/lumina LTZ with 3.8NA Needed - power steering lines (buy new) - Heater hoses (buy new) - Exhaust downpipe (or have one made) - AC system - all lines/parts from the engine bay (compressors can be from the gtp too) Best to have from the Monte Carlo/lumina but not mandatory - engine bay wiring harness - Cv shafts (buy new if you don’t have them) From gtp donor - motor - Trans - Trans cooler lines - rad hoses - Motor mounts - Cv shafts - PCM - Engine bay wiring harness Notes: cv shafts if using an HD trans you need to use the gtp passenger inner with the 1st Gen shaft and outer joint. If you get them from the Monte you can use the stock Monte drivers side. Wiring: if you can’t find the Monte Carlo harness you can use the gtp harnesss, and merge it into the 1st Gen c100 connector. With the Monte harness it comes with the c100 you just need to remove a few pins around and overall much easier but can be hard to find. You’ll need the GM service manuals for your donor harness and your original car to match the c100 connector. If using a Monte harness you will probably want to add the BBV wiring. This will also convert the car to obd2 PCM: you will need to get the vats/security removed(it’s possible it won’t be an issue but be aware it probably will be) and probably want to remove a few other codes. Rad: you could use your original, but the donor gtp rad will be bigger and fits into the chassis. I’d say it’s recommended but not 100% necessary.

The *actuator* was discontinued approx 20 years ago.......finding an NOS piece would be a challenge. The item IS serviceable..........

"Automatic shoulder belts"

Gotta love that quality 80s GM fit and finish! And that Regal is very oddly equipped. Bench seat, manual locks and windows, no rear reading lights.....but it has alloy wheels. Then there is this: That cluster must be from a pre-production vehicle, as the tach was never red like that on any of the production ones. My old 88 Regal was a November 87 build, and the tach was green like the rest of the cluster.

I think youd have to do it by generation, as there are some significant changes by generation as well as intent (when you get to the later years there was more of a focus on handling handling vs the earlier focus on comfort handling). In addition, its important to consider that skidpad Gs do not equal handling. Ive driven race cars that would do an epic skidpad number but are so ill handling in transition/under braking/whatever, that they are virtually undriveable. I have the most experience with 1st gen w-bodies, and my vote there would be for the FE3 level Grand Prix coupe with the 245 wide tires. Though I suspect/wonder if the 1990 olds international with FE3 and the quad 4 would be the ultimate iteration for handling. Ive never driven one (almost nobody has) so I cant say definitively, hence my mention above of the 245 tire equipped GP. For gen 1.5, Im not sure. For the last generation, its most likely the 2008 GP GXP. The fact they fitted reverse stagger tires (and engineered the suspension to utilize this setup) tells me someone understood how to make an FWD car handle.

That is interesting how the sun visors disintegrated but yet the headliner was ok. My armrests are still soft and pliable, I just had to really clean them due to the years of elbows and forearms constantly touching them. They were pretty dark and black. I used a gentle mixture of Dawn soap and warm water and just gently rubbed them with a lint free cloth until the red started to appear. My headliner and sun visors are perfect in this car thankfully. The STE...not so much. The California desert pretty much baked it's interior. I'm SO THANKFUL that the International has such a nice interior. It's part of the reason why it's a 1 of 1 car. I'm actually restoring the front seats in it right now. The side bolster on the driver's seat is worn out. I'll post pics soon. I have all the hard pieces figured out and collected on the STE. It will be pricey though but I'll do a little at a time. The rear seat headrests and upper top portion of the seat will need to be reupholstered. The front seats are in great condition and just need to be deep cleaned. Same goes for the carpet. Got a new dash pad and found some really nice door panels with perfect door panels. I posted in my thread about all these parts being found. The biggest win was finding a perfect set of door speaker grills and the lenses for the door lamps. Took me years to find those! The original door armrests and the ones I pulled from a junkyard STE...again, not sticky or gooey at all. Pliable and very nice with no cracking or discoloration. I really lucked out there.

I like the puddle lights and overall classy/nostalgic look of those Regals. What year is it? I thought all the GS models had a "supercharged" emblem on them somewhere.

If you use your resources correctly, you can get a 3800 for the same price as the 3400. The smart thing would be to look for an S3 and then get an S2 UIM to make it all work. Anyways, the flywheel between the engines are the same. Both used the same 4T65-E trans. The motor mounts should be the same as well. My understanding is that the blocks are the same but the internals are what differentiate them from a 3.1 liter and a 3.4 liter.

Welcome to the site - are you thinking of an entire engine swap or just the top end swap? I won't have any answers for you on that but in reading your post I wasn't completely clear. As for the rear suspension, I've been looking into this matter myself recently. Everything on my car related to rear suspension and brakes is rusted beyond recognition (but somehow the body is totally solid!). These two writeups have been Very helpful to me as I've been feeling my way through what my next steps should be... converting to rear coilovers: http://www.w-body.com/showthread.php/37622-Coilovers-Adj-Mounts-Solid-Cradle-Bushings-UPDATE-3-25-Design-Done%21%21%21%21?p=651227&viewfull=1#post651227 and swapping in aluminum knuckles and bigger brakes: http://www.w-body.com/showthread.php/46209-Bob-and-Rob-s-Gen-2-Aluminum-Rear-Knuckle-and-Brake-Upgrade-How-To-with-Pics

get it tuned and at a minimum, adjust the TV cable so it shifts later, the LA1 makes more power past 4700, think more along the lines of a 6000 RPM shift. better yet would be to replace the th125C with a 4T60-e

the last 2 3400 swaps I did used 3.1 injectors on stock obd1 ecm's and they both run fine. the bigger injectors will make more power with a tune, but the first thing I would do is start with a better fuel pump. when I first put the 3100 in my old 84 cavalier I went to the track then swapped to a Camaro LT1 fuel pump and went back the next weekend with no other changes an dropped almost 4 tenths off my ET. if I was doing a basic (stock) 3400 swap on a obd1 car I would use 96-99 3400 or 3100 injectors with matching fuel rail (2000+ injectors will not work on stock ecm) or 2.8/3.1 injectors with a 2000+ 3400 fuel rail that has the higer pressure regulator. But if I was mooding a 3400 and dropping it in I would use injectors sized for the fuel requirements of the engine and a full tune.

you will need: -throttle cable and bracket -upper rad hose -coil bracket and module -front pass. side engine mount bracket -ac compressor (not sure if the orginal one will work) -power steering pump and H/P line -brake booster hose all from a 3100/3400 w-body You can get away with running it on the stock ECM as long as you use the stock fuel injectors and injector harness from the 3.1. You will need to change (or have one made up) front pipe/ down pipe to hook up to the rear 3400 exhaust manifold. A 3 wire coolant temp sensor and connector from a 92+ 2.2L Cavalier is the easy way of hooking up your temp guage wire from the rear head on the 3.1\ you will also need a lower rad hose for a 92-93 3.1L w-body The wiring from the coils gets re-routed to the rear of the engine from the front... then its little things like coolant hoses, and vac lines. That is all that I can think needs done right now, but I am sure I am missing a few things.

you need the front passenger side block mount. your ecm will work fine. you will most likely need rad hoses from the 3100 w-body as well. The engine just get any 96 and up 3400, the 2000 and up tend to be better. Its best to get one from a grand am or other car cause that will give you the proper throttle cable bracket on the throttle body.

keep it simple and just bolt in the 3400 its less power than the TDC but less weight too! I would just use the stock tranny to keep cost down. you will need the front pass. side block mount from a 3100 equipped w-body because the bolt holes are in different spots, at least just on that spot of the block. use a coolant temp sensor from the 3400 (3-wire ) and wire up the temp guage to it insead of the back head cause the 3400 has no hole for the sensor. you will also need a throttle cable and exhaust manifolds for a 3100 w-body. Most people use the 3.1 injectors and harness when they do the swap untill they go to tune it. stay away from the '04+ 3400's in the equinox (I beleave it is) they have a plenum that faces the opposite way and a different crank sensor pick up on the crank that will not work with your 3.1 ecm. that is all that is comming to mind right now.

The '93 3100 used the exact same ECM as the 94-95 models.

I was the one doing that swap, and if you're going to run a 3400 it's definitely worth it. You don't want puddle fuel injection on a 3400. The hardest part in your case would be repinning the C100 connector to your car's pinouts. Also, if you plan to use the same tranny you have now, that will require doing wiring changes on the harness, or you can just use the tranny for the 3400, and you're set. There really wouldn't be much more beyond that. Mine was a PITA because I had to convince my ECM that it's controlling a tranny when it is in reality a 5 speed.

It sounds like classic symptoms of a bad ECM. I hope that fixed it for you.

well I know tom wants a 5spd...and i have basically the same exterior package.

OMG tom lets buy that car....since I could use it for a parts car