'96 Century general project thread

[LeftVentricle]

Yeah, one long, one short, and the long one is on the rear. Which is why it's so difficult, and I'm willing to pay someone else to do it.

Speaking of, the mechanic came and did the starter this morning, and good thing he did. The yellow sedan suddenly sprung a coolant leak on my way home from work today. So I'm back in black. I will investigate the leak this weekend, though I don't know if y'all want me to post about it here since it's Buick V6 powered.

[86euro]

It's been a long time, but doesn't the newer style starter use a shorter bolt too? I've swapped many a-body starters over the years and agree that it's no fun. But the last one (over 10 years ago) I did, I swapped in a newer starter and the install was a breeze. I'll never install the older style starter again.

[LeftVentricle]

It has the new style, installed by the PO. The problem is one of the two bolts is largely inaccessible due to the subframe being in the way. I've done the job in the past, and it sucked majorly, but I really don't feel like it this time.

[SappySE107]

Are you using the original design starter or the newer one?

[LeftVentricle]

Expensive weekend. The starter on the black wagon seized, cost $180 to tow it home. As we all know, starters on these cars are dog ass, so I paid a mobile mechanic $150 to swap the crank position sensor on the yellow car. Then had to buy a new battery for $80 since I let it sit for too long while still hooked up. Old car shit I guess. I'll probably hire the same guy to do the starter some time soon.

[SappySE107]

I thought maybe it was missing the tube that is on there. The one you are talking about is pressed in and bolted to the head. Its vehicle specific and not a part of the lower intake.

[LeftVentricle]

This LX9 lower I bought from you is missing a pipe coming out of the thermostat that goes to the heater core.



My intention is not to publicly put you on blast. I just found it odd that this tube is missing. Does it not come to you with that pipe? My spare engine definitely has it. This is the best I could do since it's in the corner of my garage.

[SappySE107]

What? I don't remove any heater pipes so I don't understand what you are asking.

[LeftVentricle]

I bought a spare LX9 a few years back. It doesn't make sense on this platform to ONLY swap the transmission, so I will drop that in at the same time. Longer term, I will rebuild the LX9 that I just pulled with performance parts and probably put that in a W-body Century (to be purchased at a later date). The rebuild is really necessary since, because of the coolant leak, I had been running straight water for something like 8 months. It needs flushed at minimum.

While I have you here, why does the lower intake you sell not have the heater pipe? I had planned to repair the coolant leak and upgrade at the same time by installing the ported lower I bought from you, but it doesn't have that tube coming out of the back of the thermostat housing. Is that standard for your parts? And how would I properly install that tube if I were able to get one?

[SappySE107]

End of an era, beginning of a new era. I can't wait to see how the trailer turns out Are you going to do anything else to the drivetrain or the black car before they merge?

[LeftVentricle]

All right chums, let's do this.

Some of you may have seen me post about this in the Facebook group, but it's time for a new George. After much pondering, soul searching, and discussion with my household members, I have made a difficult decision. At first, I wanted to pull the drivetrain and slam it into the black wagon, then throw the black wagon's drivetrain back in here to put George "back to stock". I have that spare engine I bought a few years ago, and all the custom parts necessary, so it would be straightforward. But I would still be in the same situation I find myself in at present. Numerous electrical issues, a catastrophic water leak, a massive power steering leak, none of the doors work correctly. It doesn't make financial sense to keep patching this car together, so I'm not going to. I took a bunch of pictures just to make sure it was documented, but you all have seem me do this a couple times in this thread, so I won't bore you.







George is dead. Long live George.

However! He lives, he dies, he lives again. Much like the engine swap that was the genesis of this build, I'm going to do something I don't believe anyone has ever done to an A-body. I have my brother on board with it, which, as a fabricator, will even make this possible. I am going to swap the transmission and spare engine into the black wagon, as I originally planned. But George...

George will become a trailer. A utility trailer, at first, just as proof of concept. Then a place to sleep. A camper. I don't have a timeline yet. I don't have any schematics yet. I don't have any materials yet. But I want a project that I can work on in my spare time that isn't going to stress me out like this car has. Going on 13 years of ownership and so, so much has gone wrong, almost literally from day one. As a car, it is cursed. Maybe if it isn't a car anymore, the curse will dissipate.

[LeftVentricle]

Alright boys, it's been a minute.

I don't have anything fun this time. I've been doing a lot of thinking about this fleet I've assembled, and some of it ain't good. Here's a list of what I have and what my tentative plans are.

1) 1996 Buick Century Special wagon "Greg"

This is the black wagon, which I have named Greg, since it's the opposite of George in a variety of ways: paint color, reliability, creature comforts. Powered by an L82. Once I get the title issue sorted*, I plan to swap my spare LX9 and rob George of the built transmission and do the swap correctly. That is, no janky ass wiring, retain air conditioning, performance parts installed, tuned. I may also swap over the tow hitch, but I'm still up in the air about that. The paint is terrible and I'm going to run with that: bedliner paint job. Fuck it.

2) 1992 Buick Century Special sedan "Goldilocks"

This is the yellow sedan, recently revived after five years of banishment to the garage. Motivation provided by an LG7 3.3L Buick engine and 4 speed auto. I plan to give this to one of my daughters once she obtains a driver's license, as that will help her in her career greatly. She plans to spend a lot of money on it to regain functional air conditioning (tl;dr AC failed completely some time in 2017, entire system rebuild necessary). A noble endeavor indeed.

3) 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier coupe

This pile of actual garbage was a gift from my uncle in 2020, who did not treat it well or maintain it in any meaningful way. Equipped with an L61 Ecotec and automatic. Heavy smoking means the carpet is roached, and a haphazard head gasket job ended in what I can only assume is a cracked block. It needs an engine, entire cooling system, carpet, front seats, tint, wheels, tires, probably brakes after sitting outside for five years. Classic basket case. I had considered giving this one to another of my daughters, but at this point I think I need to cut my losses and junk it. There are literally a million more just like it out there to start with a better base. If you feel like you want to take this trash heap on, feel free to PM me. I have a bunch of parts that will go with it too.

4) 2000 Chevrolet Silverado

I have not posted about this or the Cavalier because they're not 60v6. This truck belongs to my mother. It's an LS trim, LM7 (5.3L), auto, push button 4wd, extended cab, 6.5' bed. Ran when parked. It's been sitting for a couple years too. I believe its main issue is a misfire on #5. Also the driver's seat is destroyed. Typical GMT800 stuff. If anyone is interested in it, PM me. She's open to selling.

5) 1996 Buick Century Special wagon "George"

And now for the main event: the first documented LX9 swapped A-body. How the mighty have fallen. George has been further downgraded from Spot Of Shame to Exile In Garage, after the sedan triumphantly made its escape. Numerous are his foibles. In no particular order: coolant leak requiring replacement of lower intake manifold, power steering leak from an abraded hose, a wide assortment of electrical problems, none of the doors work correctly. I think it's time for George to rest. Revival at another date is still on the table, but even if I ignore the electrical and doors, I've robbed a lot from him to make Greg and Goldilocks run. After some long introspection and genuflection, I have decided that George will be "returned to stock", receiving Greg's L82 drivetrain and zero performance upgrades. I even have a set of factory 14 inch alloys that came with Greg to put on.

I wish I had another fun and wacky installment of Daniel And George's Wild Adventures, but that's not how life goes sometimes. Sometimes it just sucks.

*long story, PM if you want the details. I would rather not discuss publicly.

[LeftVentricle]

Unsurprisingly, after sitting for five years, the fuel pump in the yellow sedan was stone dead. I had two options: 1) pull the tank, clean out all the bad gas, install new pump. Good, but costs money and time. 2) pull tank from white wagon and slam it in. Great because it's free and known good. I'll let you guess which one I picked.

That was enough though. Starter, thermostat, and fuel pump got the old girl back on the road. New tires on the Malibu wheels, since those were 9 years old. We've never been more back, boys.


FUCK YOU BALTIMORE!

[LeftVentricle]

The folks in my thread on Something Awful agree. I just have never seen that before, and I have purchased a few radiators in my time. I'm still not using it right now due to the damaged plastic, and I don't really need to repair it any time soon.

[SappySE107]

I think the radiator is supposed to cut like that for thermal expansion. Not saying its necessary, but I think it was done on purpose. The aluminum radiator cleaned up pretty good