The Turbo T that no one wanted

[LIVE4RDO]

Hey crowd.

So my WE4 went to its new home in Arizona. I lasted about 24 hours before I purchased another Turbo Buick.

I actually laid my eyes on it back in May, and negotiated (with the right information from fellow TurboBuick member) to the price I was happy with.

The car has (or rather doesn't have) everything I was looking for, except chrome mirrors.

Has original 213k miles , but seems like was pretty well taken care of. What's interesting is that from 1987 to 2013 it only had 2 owners, but 2013-2016 it had 3. I was able to speak with pretty much all of them.

So here's what I got:

 

[LIVE4RDO]

First day was full of cleaning and cutting out someone elaborate stereo system that didn't work and John F Kennedy's era alarm system










And of course... gotta have some fun




Already have new bumper fillers.. who else, SpoolFool! And planning a trip to Jim Dunn to run some compression testing and come up with a game plan. After that trans is coming out and going to Dave Husek.

 

[Gene Van Horn]

Very nice, looks to be in great shape for that many miles. Love the color,good luck with new ride.

 

[wantattype2]

I like the bench seat & cup holders!

 

[blackazz]

I dont know is it jealousy or envy.
either way nice score!

 

[gusszgs]

Ya who's cup holder is that? How is it mounted? Cool TR, I really like the burgundy

 

[LIVE4RDO]

Ya who's cup holder is that? How is it mounted? Cool TR, I really like the burgundy

Thanks. It slides into the ash tray mount. All usual vendors sell them.

 

[chopped39]

Hey crowd.

So my WE4 went to its new home in Arizona. I lasted about 24 hours before I purchased another Turbo Buick.

I actually laid my eyes on it back in May, and negotiated (with the right information from fellow TurboBuick member) to the price I was happy with.

The car has (or rather doesn't have) everything I was looking for, except chrome mirrors.

Has original 213k miles , but seems like was pretty well taken care of. What's interesting is that from 1987 to 2013 it only had 2 owners, but 2013-2016 it had 3. I was able to speak with pretty much all of them.

So here's what I got:

200k and has an original Idler arm? The thing that catches my eye is the yellow crayon like numbers on firewall. is that 79? That car looks real nice for the miles it has. Nice score

 

[LIVE4RDO]

Had the car on a rack today, was very pleasantly surprised. Pretty solid for the car that lived first 26 years in IL, and was obviously driven.

Found few nasty spots on rear inner fenders, other than that it's leaking oil from everywhere (maybe that's what protected it from rust, lol)

Can't wait to start digging into it. Going to Jim Dunn soon to get compression test done and map out our build plan.

 

[1986 Buick GX1]

Man, that thing is hideous! I can see why no one wanted it. Lol
It looks sharp to me. Nice find.

 

[kidsixpack]

Looks real nice. Hard to believe it has 200k on it. I've seen so many cars that are absolute junk with half that.
Looks like you are the perfect caretaker of that car!!
KID

 

[LIVE4RDO]

Got some good news today. Did a compression test in the motor.

175-176 in all cylinders.

Real happy!

Now I can start my shopping

 

[xtremexnyc]

Love what you did with that WE4. Can't wait to see what the end result is with this one.

 

[Instro84]

man thats a nice looking car, good score.

 

[LIVE4RDO]

So here's an update on my build. Found many, many, many surprises. You be the judge.

Few things i saw on surface, which makes me wonder if that's what made last 3 owners dump this car within a month of ownership:











Next, I decided to pull interior out. You know you have a problem when seat belt comes out... with a piece of the floor







Where the seat belt USED to mount





and the other side ;-(



Surprisingly the rest of the floor is rock solid




just a little cleaning

 

[LIVE4RDO]

Out goes the spoiler



And repairs start!

 

[LIVE4RDO]

And some hidden gems! Rotted out body mount fixed with a glued piece of metal










And fixed the right way:

 

[Boost231]

Nice...

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

 

[LIVE4RDO]

Good news is the frame seems solid, rest of the floor is good. i'm sure there are surprises up front, but I can only hope that the worst is in the rear. Many long winters in IL, salty roads and over 200k there will do that.

Was told to dump the car, but I think I want to save it.

Collecting parts for better times, when I can actually have some fun with it.







The list goes on.

Brand new Caspers engine harness

Alky

TE45a

Dave Husek trans (not built yet)

Jim Dunn radiator

and two big orders from Full Throttle, Kirban of other goodies

 

[LIVE4RDO]

Passenger side patch




Brand new TE45a







And, why not: