I'm Baaaack....

[Jrs3800]

I hate you. I freaking hate you!


<---Jealous.

More pics please!

Car is only missing one option..... CCR... Heated seats and memory all included....

[Boss455]

Sweet ride! Another one for Team Buick!

[wjcollier07]

What we have here is a gorgeous 1996 Buick Park Avenue Ultra.

lol. Were you a car salesman in a former life?

Actually...I'm a salesman in a current life. Does it show?

So..anyways....lets get back to reality.

Just got back from Don's...boy was that fun.

The unfortunate bit about the whole thing is that I found out after buying the car...that it was purchased, and spent the first decade of its existence in New Hampshire.

The day I got the car, I took it to my shop and had the tires balanced and rotated since they were all pretty far out. While I had the car up on the lift, I was inspecting the underside thoroughly for the first time. I saw one of the sub frame washers was looking rather loose. I put my hand on it, grabbed it, and not a moment later, it, and a bunch of rusty chunks came falling down on my hand. I inspected the rest of them, which I found to be loose, but not quite as bad as the one that had just essentially crumbled in my hand.

I decided I needed a few things from the Bonneville for the Buick, the radio antenna, floormats, and, of course, a subframe washer or two.

Off to Don's house. My first effort regarding the sub frame was to get the bolt out that was still there from the crumbled washer. That turned out to be a real PITA...and with a lot of stubbornness and one of Don's heavy impacts...I got the mounting nut to begin spinning inside the body...thus disallowing me from removing the obviously rusted frozen bolt. On the Bonneville of course, it being strictly a Florida car, the bolts looked brand new coming out, along with the washers being nearly perfect. The rest of the rear bolts on the Buick came out rather easy, but not lacking chunks of rust..and all of them were well on their way to rotting through just like the one did.

Long story short, the newer bolts went back in tight, which definitely got rid of a ton of road noise, clunks, rattles and squeaks...but now I have the dilemma of finding a body shop that can cut an access hole to the top nut and get that sucker out, similar to what Peter G had to do with the 92 Ei...though I hope I don't have the same ordeal in front of me that he experienced.

Overall things are better...I'm very glad I caught that those were rusted...had I not...it might have been and different sort of interesting discovery.

I've got a busy week in front of me..but I'll still try to bathe the poor thing so I can get some graphic whorage up.

Oh..and I LOVE BOOST.

[redmetrix]

The 96 Ultra is the most Ultimate GM car ever built IMO The stock sound system is pretty impressive as well.