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Found in a Junkyard


Bill Stoneberg

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I was coming home from dropping a car off in North Dakota and we had an empty trailer.

We were looking at junkyards for parts and muscle cars. I had no intentions of buying anything.

Anyway, I found this 88 wagon parked in a junkyard in South Dakota.Grass had grown up around it.

The paint was faded but the interior looked new. It has all the options on it. It had 100 K on the odometer. The owner said it smoked a lot, which is why it was junked.

We loaded it on to the trailer and brought it home to Houston. I had to put tires and a battery in it and valve seals. Since then I have driven it 25,000 miles and I love it. Its big and the seats are comfortable. It will never be a show car, but it makes a good addition to my Buick

collection.

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Guest Shaffer

I agree on all accounts. A great story and a very nice wagon you have there. I have always been partial to the 1977-1990 GM stationwagons. My parents almost purchased a 1984 Electra Estate Wagon back in the late 80s, but opted for the 1981 Oldsmobile Omega Brougham instead. frown.gif

The 307 engines in the late 80s models are reliable engines, but WAY underpowered. I actually have a "twin" to the Buick Estate Wagon. Mine is a 1989 Pontiac Safari wagon with the 307. Smooth engine, but it is S L O W. I have actually stopped driving it because it is so slow. I also had a 1985 Chevrolet Caprice Estate wagon, but it had the 305 V8, but it had a bit more power.

My 85' Caprice Estate had a bad valve or rings- it was burning oil- I placed it on E-Bay and sold it for $400 if I recall to someone in Ohio, that was going to restore. He had a good engine for it. I had bought it from the original owner- whom I work with. The interior was very dirty though.

Attached is a photo of it.

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It will never be a show car, but it makes a good addition to my Buick

collection.

Don't sell your car short!

I went to a car show at a San Antonio Buick dealer and there was identical twin to your car on display! It was hands down the best 1988 SW there. grin.gif

Henry

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Henry, If it was last year, that was mine. It always is the best 88 SW at almost any show. laugh.gif And it is sloooowwwwww.... But once it gets going, it will cruise all day.

We took it to the St Louis Regional in August and over 2500 miles we got almost 20 mpg at 65 - 70 mph. We did 2 700 mile days going home (we took a side trip to Chicago) and were comfortable the whole way......

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Guest Shaffer

Bill- I hope it is not as S L O W as my 1989 Pontiac Safari wagon with the 307. I think the engine is about worn out, as it is almost dangerous to drive, due to the low power. In fact, I have quit driving it again. The car was almost like brand new when I first got it 4 years ago (see attachment), but now it has weathered badly and not in near the shape it was. I hope to start driving it again soon- at least once a week to keep it in good running order. Last time it set for a year- I started driving it again with no problems. The body is the best thing about it- as it is a 100% rust free southern car. The photo of it was taken in North Carolina, about 4 years ago, just before my uncle delivered it to me.

Your 88' Buick is extremely nice. Do you have any other photographs of it?

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Guest Shaffer

The above attached photo was 4 years ago- when it was excellent. Here is a photo taken last month (January of 2005). Notice it is not nearly as nice as it was.... frown.gif

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Just a thought: S l o w on a 307 Olds could mean a few things, a clogged exhaust, low compression(rare),low torque multiplication from the transmission or maybe frozen weights in the distributor. Easy enough to check out. You may want to try Marvels Mystery Oil with your next oil change and a couple of cans of Berrymans B-12 in the gas tank shocked.gif. Good luck, Mitch.

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One other thought: My dad's '89 Cadillac Brougham with Olds 307 sometimes seemed slower than it could have been because the transmission shifted into overdrive lockup at about 35 mph! It was great on gas mileage, but it was much more practical to leave the OD off for around town trips and freeway merging.

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