iChris' VR Statesman

[iChris]

Greetings from perth!

I found this forum via some googling, so I thought I might as well join up seeing as this site is a wealth of information to newbies like myself! and for me to share (my very limited) information too.

a few days ago I came into possession of my new pride and joy, a VR statesman (Buick 3.8L V6 auto). I saw it and I just had to have it.

Pros:
- 3rd owner of the car, original owner was the shire of Esperance (log book up to date with services, etc)
- odo just ticked over to 150,000
- trans and gearbox in good order
- interior very clean, velour trim and seats all in tact and not torn/ripped
- exterior in very good shape for a car of it's age, no sun damaged paint at all, all trim and badges there
- sports exhaust
- all electrics work! right down to the power antenna and analog clock in the dash!
- not a leak to be found yet (whoah!)
- aftermarket sound system with sony "xplod" 4 channel amp

it's a beautifully maintained car.

Cons:
- sagging hood liner at rear (easy fix, I'll get the whole roof re-trimmed)
- slight exhaust leak
- a few shopping trolley dents/carpark dents/stone chips on bonnet
- breaks need attention
- aircon service - the climate control works but I suspect the aircon may need a re-gas as I can hear the compressor kick in.

all up, I think it was practically a steal for the 5 grand I paid for it.

my plans for the car are as follows (for now), I plan on "restoring" this car to what it was, a grand cruiser, no plans as of yet for modding the engine.

- new rotors and break pads all round/new break fluid - I'm not taking any chance with the breaks as it's a older car. no record of them being serviced any time in the past - my brother and I are doing this on the weekend. (he's a mechanic)
- new ignition barrel (it jams often and it's bound to fail soon) is also being put in this weekend.
- chrome tips on the exhaust pipes/plugging of the leak
- re-trimming of the liner
- removal of the stonechips/trolley dents
- cut and polish, and removal of the pinstripes
- aircon service/regas
- installation of a sub

"maybes" for down the track
- installation of a vr/s caprice interior - full leather and woodgrain
- ecotec conversion





AS SHE IS NOW

 

[luke23]

haha some googleing is how i found justcommodores aswell!! and you said 3.6l, the buicks are 3.8l, and yeah the paint looks like its still pretty mint, exept not a fan of that black strip along the doors, goodluck with it!!

 

[Kernal]

Nice and clean.

I had the same pinstripe on my VT. Used a steam gun to get it off, took about 10 minutes. Couldnt even tell it was there to begin with.

 

[Bazza]

Good Luck with the project

 

[HERONVY]

Very clean mate, you got a great buy

Good luck with it all

Al

Sent from my X10i using Tapatalk

 

[VS 5.0]

Looks in great condition...good pick up.

 

[iChris]

thanks for the words of encouragement!

it was a great buy, and it's very clean and not too far off being perfect apart from as stated above so I don't mind spending some money on it as I still have about 4,000 left in the kitty to spend on it.

I was looking at getting a late 90's fairlane before I saw this baby, and I just had to have her when I saw it!

 

[iChris]

a quick update, new rotors/pads and break fluid went in today, and did a full service of the breaking system. drives almost like a new car now (well, breaks like a new one!) the rear pads where worn almost to a nub.

couldn't find a new ignition barrel today, but I'll keep looking throughout the week after work if I get time.

planning on sussing out a paintless dent removalist on monday to come out and pull those shopping trolley dents out sometime next week. (my brother has a BA falcon, XR6 turbo of course that needs some removed too), so 2 birds with one stone on that one. and looking at sussing out a hood re-trim too.

plans for tomorrow are to give it a good clean! she's really dusty right now and she needs a good clean in and around the doors and got some matte black paint to touch up the inside of the wheel arches too.

I'll try to remember to take some more pics of the progress for you guys.

It's all happening right now though!

I'm also looking for a vr/s caprice grill in good nick, so anyone in Perth that has one PM me!

 

[frogsta]

Just thought I'd say *brakes haha, just gets to me every time you say breaks and I panic :3

 

[VS_Pete]

nice pickup mate.