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Wifeys 1990 Buick Regal GS Resurrection Thread


kingkarmann
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I have already introduced myself thru the "New Members" section. By the responses have received so far with a couple of ?'s I have asked I'm really stoked about getting the wife's Buick back into shape!

A little backround;

She bought her Gran Sport new in 1990 from the now defunct Saeger Buick in Columbus Ohio. She drove it for 15 years and 168k well maintained miles. It was her 1st new car and was (is) very proud of it. Even though it's a 3100 and not the 3800 it was fairly sporty. We have owned large dogs and have a house with maintenance issues. When it was time to look at a new ride she wanted a bigger vehicle to accommodate dogs and builing materials. She bought a GMC Envoy in 2005. I expected that she would trade/sell the Buick. WRONG!! She had a senti-MENTAL attachment and wanted to hang on to it, So........

In 2005 was parked out by the garage under the "protection" of a car-cover. Perhaps she thought it would be an occasional use car?? Well, it was never used again.

Roll forward to present day. I am into vintage VW's and have restored a couple. We have an annual car show that features a different make/model each year. The 2015 feature is the 50th anniversary of Buick Gran Sport. She would like me to clean it up an show it as an original owner survivor. I'm not as familiar with the intricacies of "modern" cars and the associated electronics but now her Regal is 25 years old and qualifies for "Historic" vehicle status here in Ohio.

If you have made it this far thank you. I will post up my progress and pictures here. Thanks for all the help!

 

As she sat

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On Stands ready to dig in

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Interior is pretty clean

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More to come.....

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Drain and replace ALL fluids.

 

Replace ALL filters.

 

Almost certainly gonna need a battery.

 

Fresh spark plugs--or at least inspect what's in there.

 

Check fuel pump operation.

 

Crank it over, see if it runs 'n' moves around your property.

 

If it'll run and has transmission gears, verify ALL safety-related items--brakes, steering, suspension, tires, etc.

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Figured I would have to replace all the fluids and filters. I know of at least 1 filter that has to be replaced....

post-11364-143689175554_thumb.jpg

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I'm figuring mice got in the airbox and used the filter to make a nice little nest. Along came Mr. Snake and made a nice meal from them. Mr. Snake left me a little souvenir!

The little rodents also thought the hoodliner material makes great nesting material......

post-11364-143689175591_thumb.jpg

I'm really going to need to check the wiring closely!!

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Car looks like it faired pretty well for sitting outside for so long. Check the rear trailing arm mounts as well, they like to rust off the body in 1st Gen's. Good luck, I'm excited to see this make it to the GS honored show

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I'll get some pics of the underside. A lot of what looks to be surface rust. I have started to inventory the condition of the suspension parts. Looks like trailing arms are available and I will probably replace them. Thanks for the heads up on the mounts. I'll take a real close look at them.

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I thought I might get a few hours this week to clean up a few items like that nasty airbox but the polar vortex lodged itself in my unheated garage sooo....

Maybe next week.

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  • 2 months later...

We had some decent weather over the weekend. After the artic blast passed I decided to get back at it. I have most of the top end of the engine dis-assembled and started a list of things to be repaired, refurbished or replaced. Pulled the cowl of and removed the wiper assembly. Found another huge mouse (rat) nest under it. Cleaned that all up. I'll post u some more pics soon.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey all,

It's been a busy month at work. I did find some time to but together a parts order. I'm going to work on "systems". I sent out the injectors to Witchhunter.com I checked the resistance on them before shipping them. They all checked out at 13 ohms. Witchhunter seems to have a good reputation. I like the idea of using the original injectors. I am focusing on engine and all fluids so I order hoses. belt, plugs, filters, wires. It had a leaking power steering system when I parked it. I just hot a new pump from Rock Auto today. Luckily I have until September to get the core back to them:biggrin:

On the subject of power steering, Can anyone give be advise on how to flush/ fill the system? Thanks!!

More to come.....

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  • 2 weeks later...

So that's what my wheels looked like before the PO or Carmax spray painted them silver. :D Still don't know why they ended up on my 94 GS in the first place, though. More pics!

 

Saw a black 95 GS sedan on craigslist up here the other day...but it's gone now.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've been working on her on and off. Just pulled the lower mount. It was toast. Before replacing I checked the fit of the new "Made in India" mount. I had to grind some excess metal off the flanges that extended past the lowe mounting studs so the studs would drop into the holes. Now I'm just cleaning up the nasty crud and goop down there.

As I have progressed I have taken a lot of pics as documentation. I will post them up soon.

I found some NOS parts. A power antenna and auxiliary rear rubber springs for the rear suspension. I bought KBY shocks new rotors, calipers, trailing arms, lateral arm bushing and the pads for the transverse spring. Basically, I'm rebuilding the rear end.

The fuel system is being replaced. I have a new tank, pump, sending unit and filter. I just got back the rebuilt injectors from Witch-Hunter. They turned out really nice.

 

A lot of parts have come from CarId and rock auto. Now all I have to do is get this stuff installed. Fun, fun, fun!!

 

I will post up pics with progress soon.

 

Can anyone give me a lead on front windshield molding. What size? Type? Thanks!!!

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I had a hard time locating what I found out are called "stand pipes" This is the fuel delivery, fuel return and fuel vapor hose assembly that travels over the top of the tank. It tied together the lines from the fuel pump to the fuel and vapor lines running under the car. I checked everywhere, even called a few GM dealers to see if someone had them. No luck. I thought about making up my own but I did not feel I has th skill set to properly swage/join the flex lines to the metal tubing.

I found Classic Tube on-line and they make to order the lines. I received them a couple of days ago. They are PERFECT!!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Sorry I haven't responded sooner.

The rubber molding along the top og the windshield is loose and missing a 2" section at the corner. It looks like it's 1/4" to 3/8" wide. Is the molding fairly standard?

Thanks!

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