Couldn't leave well enough alone.

OK. So the whole family loves the DaddyWagon, but there used to be a couple of SportWagons that frequented Sears Point RaceWay when I used to race there in High School, which got me to thinking "What Would Buick have put into a SportWagon option package if it were offered in '96 (besides the suspension upgrades that I've already done)?

I made the "Frankenbumper" myself out of bits and pieces I collected at the boneyard, polyurethaned together and painted to match the car. - Looks like I'd expect GM would've made for a "SportWagon" trim package.

Well, the first thing was that I had to make up for the fact that although the RoadMaster's LT1 had HorsePower to spare, it did not have the TORQUE of a 455, and I wanted those low 14's.

I opened it up as much as I could on both ends, feeding the intake through a Dual Snorkel Corvette intake plenum, though a larger, F-body MAF and a polished manifold. I may eventually go for a port there, but for the moment, breathing is great. On the exhaust side, I got some ceramic coated tri-y headers from Clear Image Automotive, high-flow cats and went though some of the last of Doug Thorley's B-Wagon CatBacks (lucked into finding them being liquidated by the factory on eBay!). It sounded like a dragster with his system, so I swapped the mufflers for DynoMax Super Turbos and put in an H-pipe. They still sound great, but don't wake up all of the neighbors and set the dogs barking for blocks around like the Thorley's did . I also put on LT4 composite covers to give me clearance for 1.6 roller rockers and beehives, allowing the engine to pull to a decent shiftpoint (also added the LT4 knock module to the PCM so that it doesn't mistake the valvetrain noise for knocking). The ignition electronics, cap, rotor and coil are all now MSD and I'm running Taylor 8.5mm wires with Platinum Champion plugs.

I got a set of 3.73 8.5" Rear gears (and one of the last factory reluctors for this gear set for my ABS) and an Eaton Posi (The tow package that it came with had an Auburn Posi which was not rebuildable) which gives me a bit more of a kick in the pants without being as costly gas-wise on the freeway as 4.10's would be. I'm playing with the idea of a 2600 or 2800 Edge or Yank Torque Converter, but for the moment, she's doing a fine job of keeping up with traffic!

Woo-hoo! My DBA slooted brake rotors arrived from Australia. It took me a couple of months, but I finally got around to putting them on. Slotted, vented kangaroo-paw rotors, using KORE3 hubs, Hawk racing pads for the Impala SS and Caddy Fleetwood Limo calipers... and the setup works great with the ABS!!

There have been additional suspension upgrades as well, including upgraded bushings, progressive bumpstops and race bags for the rear, hooked up to the factory leveling compressor.

The interior is still a like-new, tan leather Limited package, so I've felt no need to change much (a lot of people would opt for Bonneville bucket seats up front with a console, but I like being able to handle an extra person on the big bench by flipping up the armrest/console, and it gives "the Girl" a place to sit and snuggle that isn't offered on many vehicles nowadays. The boys love the tailgunner seat (I did add a third seat belt back there so I can safely carry 9), so the only upgrades (it came with a jukebox CD player and I upgraded the head-unit and speakers) was to the cluster.

Prior to the LT1 years, the RoadMaster Estate had a wonderful cluster with a full complement of gauges. I wanted a tach, so tried a Z28 cluster for a bit. It worked nicely, offered all the gauges that I wanted and a speedo that went to 150, but sadly, I lost a half-dozen dummy-lights, some of which I really wanted. I had a friend, who, upon hearing me gripe, offered up an A-pillar cluster that he'd bought for his Caprice Wagon (the wagon had been stolen before he'd had the chance to install it) so I switched to a CANADIAN cluster (which is calibrated to a 0-200 (km/h) scale. I tweaked the pulse ratio so that the 0-200 MPH scale works, put in a new faceplate I had screened up and now I have a custom 0-200 MPH cluster that looks (almost) stock - the odometer is synced (since it was calibrated hor kilometers) and I now have an easy to calibrate signal so my speedo's nice an accurate. I love it.

It's *STILL* not perfect, but I'm having a blast working on it. It's my daily driver, so I really can't do anything to it that will take it off the road for more than an afternoon, and I need to keep it on regular gas at around 21 MPG (which limits me a bit on head modifications and displacement changes).

She's the last of a whole class of cars, the big wagons, which once ruled America's roads... and she was the epitome of that class of cars. The best ever made.

Big, luxurious, fast and comfortable. They were phased out not because they were impractical, but because there was much more profit to be had by putting a closed bed on a worktruck than giving the same treatment to a top-of-the line luxury car.

Too bad. I love mine (and it's NOT a minivan).