Texas82GP's Roadmaster

[Texas82GP]

Yesterday I swapped out the donut for a full size spare. There was nothing to it. The full size spare uses the same hardware. The only difference is the full size tire cover. I bought one on eBay awhile back. Some pics...

Pleased with the easy progress, I went to the carwash to clean what the tree out front dropped on the car this week and then vacuum the trunk.

Well, the day went downhill a bit at that point. I forgot to turn the radio off and the antenna got destroyed. I was pretty mad. I took the car and put it in the storage. I pulled the damaged antenna and grabbed the non-functional antenna that was on the car when I bought it, and brought them both home.

The antenna that was on the car when I bought it had a broken cable and was stuck in the up position. The replacement antenna had a busted mast but everything else was ok. This morning, Sean and I were able to tear down both antennas and make a good one from the two. Early this afternoon, we ran over to the storage and installed the refurbished antenna.

After doing this project, I feel foolish for throwing away the power antenna I removed from the Grand Prix. They are relatively easy to repair. I didn't take any pictures. This video is all you need to see....

Happy 4th friends!

 

[Turbo Zach]

What are you doing with that rusty rim in that beautiful car? That is going to bother you!

 

[81cutlass]

Nice progress! This is going to be the most sorted b body in the state of Texas before your done 🙂

Are the power anteanas the same on G and B bodies? Will a b body one fit where a g body one was? My 2+2 has a broken cable on the rigid mast and I was thinking of grabbing a power one.

 

[Texas82GP]

What are you doing with that rusty rim in that beautiful car? That is going to bother you!

It's in there for next weekend's run to coastal Alabama. Yes, it's already bothering me. Later, I will have the tire broken down off the rim and will have the rim blasted and powder coated. I'm just out of time for this trip. When I had the tire mounted/balanced on that rim, I just wanted to use it to try and isolate the vibration I had at highway speed. The children at the local Discount Tire had checked the balance on the tires so I thought I had slipped belt (bad tire) or something. I did have a slight upside down U on my face when I removed the spotless space saver spare and put that rim in the trunk. Still the tire is brand new and I'd much rather have a full size spare back there with an 1100 mile round trip ahead of me.

Nice progress! This is going to be the most sorted b body in the state of Texas before your done 🙂

Are the power anteanas the same on G and B bodies? Will a b body one fit where a g body one was? My 2+2 has a broken cable on the rigid mast and I was thinking of grabbing a power one.

Thanks! No, they are a little different, how they mount at the bottom. I'm pretty sure one could be adapted though, especially with your fabrication skills. They are fairly similar. Watch for the big Cadillacs in the yards. They have power antennas. The early 90's Fleetwood uses the same antenna as the B-Body.

Your other options are to buy a new, one size fits most, look for a good used G body unit, or Kirbans may still sell refurbished ones. There is a lot of good information in my How-to power antenna thread. 69hurstolds posted several part numbers and I took a lot of pics when replacing mine on my Grand Prix.....

Power Antenna replacement - How to

Those of you following my build thread are aware that I recently replaced the power antenna in my car. I wanted to do a write up on my experience and hopefully it will help somebody. My car is a Grand Prix, so this will be specific to the 81-87 GP but it should be a pretty similar procedure on...

gbodyforum.com

 

[Blake442]

Glad you got everything sorted!
When do you want me to drop off mine?
It needs 'the works'! lol

 

[Texas82GP]

I was at the storage by 7 this morning to replace the steering dampener on the Roadmaster. It's leaking and I've had a little herky-jerkey feeling in the steering wheel. I wanted to get the work done while it wasn't so hot (our low in the summer is 80°-82°). It turns out the dampener attaches to the centerlink with a tapered fastener, similar to a balljoint or a tie rod end. There is no room for a puller so you have to drop the steering linkage to do the job. Once I got it all down, I discovered some play in the idler arm. I also got a little ugly with the centerlink getting it off the pitman arm so I'm just going back with all new stuff (shock). At this point I'm waiting for parts. O'Reilly is supposed to have everything for me at 2. It will be hot afternoon but it will be done and ready for another 100k miles.

The low oil level sensor is still leaking. Now from the inside (past the connector). I guess I overtightened it trying to get it to stop leaking. I have a new one in my O'Reilly order. I've drained the oil, primed the new filter and installed it, removed the defective oil level sensor and cleaned everything up. I also ran the drain plug through a thread chaser. It had a bur on a thread but it's cleaned up now.

Wish me luck on a good afternoon/early evening.

 

[slow 442]

The herky jerkey feeling might be the variable assist that some roadmaster have. To narrow down the problem disconnect the wiring near the steering column and test drive it on a long sweeping turn.seems the sensor in the column gets wonky and messes with your p/s assist. Bad news is from what I remember the part is discontinued. Mine is disconnected for quite a while and don't even notice it's not working.

 

[Texas82GP]

It's been a long day. I didn't make it to the storage with the parts until about 3. I just got home. Around 3:30 or 4:00 my brother surprised me and showed up to help. We put the whole steering linkage setup together on the bench and then put it under the car. It went well. We got it all back together. I also installed the new low oil level sensor. This time I used the o-ring and put a small amount of RTV on it. I screwed the sensor in hand tight and then gave it a tiny amount more with a wrench. I plugged in the wiring connector, dropped the car down off the stands and then torqued the wheels. I didn't put the oil in it. I'm letting the RTV set. Tomorrow night I'll fill the oil and test drive it. If that goes well I'll likely take it to the little shop by my office that works on our survey trucks for an alignment. Sure, Sean and I can do it but I'm out of time. It's going to be a knife fight getting everthing at the office taken care of this week so I can go on vacation. Here's a look at the new steering linkage and dampener....

 

[Texas82GP]

The old girl made the 545 mile trip to Orange Beach, Alabama basically flawlessly....

The worst thing I can say is that the car needs the load leveling suspension reinstated. The previous owner replaced the rear shocks with Monroe severe service shocks but they don't have the provision for the air lines. I carried most of the family's suitcases in my trunk which made it squat down. Also, when I put people in the back seat it squats. Correcting this issue is the next priority. Hopefully nothing else is wrong with the system but if there is, I'll fix it.

 

[fleming442]

Full on air ride, so you can park in on the ground! 😎