78 Estate Wagon addition

Finally got around to downloading some photos from my camera. For some reason, I can't find the pics I took of the dash, but I've attached some engine shots after I cleaned it up... certainly not as nice as John's, but pretty presentable for 32 years of service! The interior is really nice on this car (other than a sagging headliner) so that plan is to just keep it clean. The last pic is from my camping trip this past weekend... this is exactly why I bought it!

Next big job for me is to get the A/C working. The compressor is definately not working as the clutch has seized now but didn't activate when the switch is moved over, so a new compressor is probably required. The previous owner had removed the belt operating the compressor and I reattached it to see what was going on which is why I know the clutch didn't activate. But it sounded like hell and then seized shortly thereafter so it's disconnected again. Any advice on the a/c system would be appreciated.

Well, that looks quite nice to me. Wish my car was as rust free as yours.

I am interested in the color of the brake booster. Looks like silver? I plan to paint mine while the MC is off. Is that the right color?

Also, is there a chance you can get a good picture of the information decal on the radiator shroud? Mine was missing when I got the car.

What other emissions does you car have on it? I don't see an air pump. Didn't you say it was a California car?

John;

I zoomed in the MC from a different photo, it's hard to tell in the photo what color it is. Unfortunately, the shop doing the inspection replaced the MC as it was one item that had to changed for it to pass, so I don't remember who manufactured it off hand, but I doubt it is a Delco part. I'll try and get a better photo as I will be taking the car out tomorrow.

The car is actually from Washington State so no air pump, just the typical emissions for '78. It's actually having issues passing our emissions test here. I switched out the catalytic converter and that should do the trick... at least I hope :confused:

The sticker on the shroud is hard to make out, but I'll take a photo for you this weekend. It has timing and tune info on it.

Hi Doug:

Your Estate Wagon is really nice...

Although I'm not an A/C expert, I can give you some advice on your system. Since the compressor (the great Frigidaire A6) seized, metal particles have most likely contaminated some or all of the system. If all the contamination is not removed, a new compressor will fail in short order. Each component needs to be disconnected and flushed of any contamination. Special flushing agents are used to perform this task. The large aluminum vertical cylinder near the firewall is the accumulator which contains the desiccant (drying agent). Since the accumulator may also be contaminated, it needs to be replaced or rebuilt. The hose assembly which connects the compressor to the fixed parts is 32 years old, so it could rupture under pressure. Of course, the 'O' rings which connect the different parts are always replaced.

IMHO, I would not convert the system to R134a. Stay with R12, the refrigerant the system was designed to use. You will avoid potential problems such as leaks and poor cooling at idle.

I know all this brings big $$$ to mind. Unfortunately, restoring an A/C system with a seized compressor is not cheap. However, doing it right the first time will greatly increase the likelihood of trouble free service for many years.

I'm almost certain that new A6 compressors are not available. Try to get a quality rebuilt compressor and a new clutch. A reliable repair shop should know the good sources. Make sure the shop knows how to work with R12. It's a bit different than R134a.

Keep us posted,

Paul

PS: The original compressor in my '84 Toronado finally failed after 23 years. Since the complete rebuild 4 years ago, the system has functioned without any problems. Yes, it was expensive, but I knew the cheap route was more expensive in the long run...

Paul, thanks for the advice, I will follow it once I get around to working on it. I'll start trying to find a rebuilt A6 compressor. Beautiful Toronado by the way... I always liked those cars!

John;

Good news! the car finally passed emissions today, looks like the new cat did the trick... I've attached a full resolution picture of the sticker on the fan shroud. Hopefully you can make out most of the text. If you can't make something out, let me know and I can try and figure it out.

On the Master Cylinder, it appears to be simply unfinished cast iron. Which makes sense since most I've seen are rusted. I've attached another pic of the master cylinder so the color can be seen more clearly. I suspect they came from the factory that way with only the cap cad plated. I'm going to put a coat of paint on mine before it starts to rust. Also, finally got a shot of the dash... I notice you have an extra switch between the rear window and defog switches, is that a power antenna? My antenna is embedded in the windshield.

Paul, Great car, and good advice on the A/C system. The main problem in NY is the absense of R12. I see alot of other stuff at the NAPA store claiming to be R12 friendly, but I wonder if you can use this stuff as a stand-alone refrigerant, or if it really is sufficient. By the way, my NAPA store says they can still get new A6 Compressors.

Doug, your dash is perfect. Much nicer than mine. The extra switch I have is the passenger door remote miror, which is controlled by the same 3 cable set up as the drivers door mirror. Those cables are LOONNNNGGGG. As for the antenna, my car does have the power antenna ( although I should say did, because it broke this past winter) and it is controlled by turning the radio on or off. There is no separate switch for that.

I did replace my master cylinder yesterday, and painted my booster silver because I had the paint on hand. After I installed the master cylinder and bled the system I shot it with some brake cleaner and then shot it with some clear coat. I just want to see if the clear coat prevents the rust and for how long.

Next up is replacing the shocks and then repairing or replacing the door on the passengers side.

Doug,

Thanks for posting the photos, your wagon looks brand new! That photo of it while you were camping looks like it could be a '78 Buick ad for the many uses of a wagon except the more modern tents haha. I wondered what those other areas on the dash would be for, I only have one switch and its for the rear window. I figured it would be a mirror switch or something similar to that.

John that sucks about your woodgrain, man you weren't kidding about it getting ripped off. I love the master cylinder paint, I need to do that for mine since its rusted like many others.

This isn't the best photo but my master cylinder is rusted as well. Since it has finally cooled down a bit around here I hope to get to working on the wagon again painting a few small things.

John thanks for showing your woodgrain issue that helps me in realizing that it looks like the trim along the edge of the grain is like the trim on my '77. I need to find a few pieces.

Thanks for the tips on polishing the woodgrain guys, I will have to try them out to see what I can do with it, hopefully bring some life back into it.

How do you guys post photos in your replies? Seems like mine show up different. I am still new and trying to figure this image posting thing out on here :-)

Joe

Ouch, it really tore that woodgrain! I guess I will stay away from any automated car washes. A friend of mine had some left over woodgrain from an mid-80's vista cruiser and it is very similar to the color and grain on the '78. Something to keep in mind if you can't find any for the Buick, but the Olds is available. The ends I have are actually GM parts, so I can get a part number for you if you like for the Olds woodgrain. It's close enough that I'm actually going to use it to patch a few small areas. Do you have a line on replacement woodgrain?

The Master Cylinder came out great... I'm going to do the same with mine as I have some high heat cast iron paint around.

On the A/C, the R12 is going to be a problem as it's not legal around here either. I know there are alternatives to R12 around that may work with the A6 compressor, I'll have to research it a little. Summer's almost over so it will be a winter job for me.

Like I said, the door was repaired incorrectly in the past so it was not a surprise to see this. That brown underneath is bondo, which is also ready to drop off the door. I noticed the car is painted all tan and then the wood grain is applied, That impacts the tone of the woodgrain.

I don't know what I'm going to do about that door yet. I want to put new brake lines on and need the new shocks before worrying about the body work. Plus it's the end of summer so I'll look for a different door over the winter, and fix that in the spring.

re the pictures: Joe, use the "go advanced" button under the quick reply box. Then look towards the bottom of the page and you'll see a smaller box that says manage attachments. Click there and a window opens allowing you to upload pics from your pc.

Finally got a front door for the wagon. I thought it was tan in the pics but turns out to be white. That car was white with a burgundy interior. I would have liked to have seen that car. But it's back to winter here so it will have to await another season.

Awesome, great to hear! I bet that was a challenge to find.

If you are getting rid of your old door and your new door has trim, I wouldn't mind buying the trim that goes along the edges of the woodgrain from you. It looks like the same trim for my '77. The photo below shows what I am missing. I wouldn't mind trying to get both the top and bottom from you so the I could cut the other section for the part before the door.

Thanks

Joe

Joe, I have the door put away for now but we may be able to work something out. I'm certain it's the same trim and I'm prety sure the replacement door has it.

Finally found the pics of the new door: Sheesh, I have a lot of crap on this here PC...

Awesome! Thanks for posting the pics, looks like a nice door. Interesting that it has the door ding strip in the middle as well.

Joe

It's been a while since I've revisited this topic.  I still have the wagon but, it's taken a beating the last several years.  It's pretty much a winter car now, and as such will only receive necessary maintenance  and selected repairs.  Which leads me back here today.

This spring the tailgate began to malfunction.  It swings like a car door for people to enter the rear seat. But it stopped unlatching to fold down for cargo loading.  Since I need that feature I decided to tackle that yesterday.  I was surprised at how simple it was.

After removing the interior trim panel, I removed the access door to the latch area. 

Then I saw that the lockout feature was misplaced.  The lockout is to prevent the gate from laying down while the window is open.  This rod is simply pushed down once the glass is about 90% retracted.  That last 10% releases the lock on the fold down latches.  Obviously the rod is supposed to go through that rusted out hole in the brace at the bottom of the door, to keep the rod in place.

Since this car is pretty much on borrowed time, I decided not to get too fancy and just make a new bracket to hold the rod where it's meant to be.  After a few measurements, I cut a piece of metal and began bending

After some test fitting and trimming, eventually I wound up with this. 

Which sits in this position

After painting and general clean-up of the insides of the door, I tacked this in place with two self tapping sheet metal screws, and then took the opportunity to clean the slides for the rear window and lubricate all the mechanicals.   Now to go get some materials for the next home repair project.

Got a chance to see the ole girl today.  

Looks like everyone is happy so far. The replacement door was mounted and given a driver effective re-paint.  

New tires, exhaust and some paint over the existing rust. 

Sure do miss this car!

White Walls!!

4 hours ago, dmfconsult said:

White Walls!!

I just knew you'd point that out! 

I do think it looks pretty good, but...

Just to wrap up this thread I should note that this car was sold to a mechanic at the shop I frequent when I need work done.  This particular person always liked doing the annual inspections on my cars and appreciated the fact that my cars are generally in their original condition, and I drive them often.  So it was with this Wagon.  He was interested when I mentioned I was thinking of letting it go and we spent an hour after he was done at work one day, where he was able to put it on his work station lift, and we went over every single problem I knew about.  He assured me that he intended to fix the car and use it for taking his family  for ice cream, the movies and the beach. It would not be sold to a demo derby competitor. 

Considering the accumulation of issues, I figured the money I would spend to keep this car going would be better spent on some concerns with my other cars.  I then decided to basically give him the car.  He promptly offered that I would have right of first refusal if he ever decided to sell it. So I'm sure this was the best outcome for myself and the car.

This week one of the owners of the shop told me that he was just thrilled with this vehicle! I know how he feels.  I miss it a lot! 

I hope I don't have these kind of withdrawal symptoms because I sold my 56'.  It'll be expensive to go to Sweden just to see the old girl........?

Apparently the thrill is gone.  I was offered the opportunity to get it back, which I passed on.  Subsequently I saw it on Craigslist.  Probably will be a show stopper at a future demo derby now. 

Oh well, I tried to save it.

I don't think so JD. Much to pretty of a car for that.

I would hope not Lamar,  but I think I got the best years it had left to offer.  It really had quite a few problems, all of which could be fixed depending on how much one wanted to throw at it.  But all of which together results in a car that is really worn out.    Oh well!  Can't save em all I guess.  

Sorry to hear this John.  Hope it finds its way to someone new to the hobby that can learn by repairing it.   They are good cars!

My Dad gave me one of these back in the day. I was driving a Renault 10 so the change was rather dramatic. I peeled what was left of the woodgrain off with a heat gun and went on my way with no problems for years. I seem to recall is had a 455 or something huge under the hood. Didn't get the 35mpg I was accustomed to. More like 9mpg???

I found I could fit an entire Volvo 122 hood in the back!  For what it was I found it pretty nice. Last seen with my first wife.... Come to think of it my second wife got a wagon too. Hmmmm.

P