83 Buick Regal Estate Wagon 5.3 LS, bagged

Longroof79

Rocket Powered Basset Hound
G-Body of the Month
Oct 14, 2008
12,156
9,762
113
Gainesville, Fl
The car looks great, man.
I figured it would blow some minds of people walking by and looking at the engine compartment.
Thanks for sharing the pics...and keep up the good work. I envy you that you started out with a nice clean survivor.
 
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zdeckich

Master Mechanic
Jun 23, 2013
460
346
43
Fort Worth, TX
Any more progress?
 

vandall

Greasemonkey
Aug 3, 2015
109
187
43
Seattle, WA
Well, not forward progress.. I've had some issue with the trans dipstick not being completely seated which led to my overfilling it and it puking fluid at one point. I need to pull the tube, re-bend it a little to clear the firewall and reinstall it securely. My major problem is when I was driving the wagon to the tuner it felt weird when I gave it throttle in 3rd gear it just revved with no movement at all.. it would be OK in the lower gears, or at least driveable. Well, I decided to turn back and thankfully so - when I checked the fluid I found the dreaded milkshake. A bunch of water had found it's way in there. Checked the Champion radiator with a pressure tester and it appears to be holding pressure fine. I am at a loss how so much water got in the transmission fluid. Hopefully I can get to it this weekend - I need to flush the system out thoroughly and re-fit the dipstick.

I hope to update soon with some good news! Thanks for checking in
 
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87 elcojoe

Not-quite-so-new-guy
Jul 4, 2017
14
17
3
You are an inspiration to us all.. awesome wagon . The fit and finish under the hood is clean.,, nice job!
 
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vandall

Greasemonkey
Aug 3, 2015
109
187
43
Seattle, WA
Hi, thanks for all the replies and kind words! It makes this car seem more worth while knowing people appreciate it. Quick update, it had sat during the past winter in the shop just waiting to be worked on. I discovered (I am 99% sure) the transmission 3/4 clutches are toast.. which makes sense but I didn't realize the clutch material would make the fluid look milkshake colored. Really quick recap, I installed the new dipstick grommet (no idea why that would have been missing in the first place), then tested the trans cooler circuit in the radiator by putting pressure on it and letting it sit.. then flushed with gallons of trans fluid to get what I thought was watery fluid out.. and now it still has the color and the high gears are like being in neutral, but 1 and 2 are very snappy. The other issues I have to fix are the air lines still have a slow leak somewhere, and the body harness circuits need to be traced and fixed where necessary. Otherwise it's a fun car. Can't wait for it to be sorted..

Here's a pic of it and.. ooh, a peek at the next project coming up quick!
 

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Longroof79

Rocket Powered Basset Hound
G-Body of the Month
Oct 14, 2008
12,156
9,762
113
Gainesville, Fl
The car still looks good, man.
Hope you get the trans sorted out. Don't be a stranger.:D
 
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CaliWagon83

Royal Smart Person
Nov 12, 2017
1,933
2,139
113
Orange County, CA
vandall, sweet ride! You sure haven’t wasted any time tearing into it! Here’s mine. Still at mom’s (since she has the garage space) but just bought a new house with a little more space, so hoping to bring it down soon. I also am eventually planning an LS swap (probably an LS3 E-Rod, since I live in Commiefornia). In terms of gauges, have you checked out the Dakota Digital VHX cluster? It does require an ‘84-‘87 housing, but other than that, looks pretty slick, IMHO.





 
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vandall

Greasemonkey
Aug 3, 2015
109
187
43
Seattle, WA
Thanks guys! CaliWagon83, LOL yes the instrument cluster is my next purchase I think. I've had that Dakota Digital store webpage open in my browser for months, just haven't pulled the trigger yet. I also need a rear end, but for now the stock one is holding up. Man, I love the color / wood trim on your car so much! :love:
 
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mclellan83

Comic Book Super Hero
Jun 27, 2017
4,205
9,311
113
Pgh, PA
VHX is sharp, but I'm a little biased
20180702_112535.jpg
 
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