izackary
Nomad
Lucky you guys, you get to deal with me a LOT more often now!! 
Today I pulled the trigger on the black '96 LSC I'd been eying the past week. It has its issues as some of you know, but the price was too good to pass up, not to mention the mileage (91k). A Carfax report revealed that it was a fleet car at first, racking up about 31k its first 2 years. The second owner put the other 60k on over 13 years. The car was bought from a small independent dealer with about 40 cars on the lot. Originally the asking price was $2995, but with the air ride leaking, I bought it for $2300 as-is. So here is where I'm at right now:
The engine purrs nice and smooth and pulls hard through the entire rev range, no issues there. The transmission shifts very well, with the exception of a low RPM shudder which to me says it is time to flush the transmission fluid out and replace it all with new Mercon V + filter. I checked the fluid tonight: the color is a reddish brown, like dried blood, with no strong smells. If anyone remembers my final months with my '94, the tranny fluid started always smelling like it was on fire.
The suspension, as some of you know, is hit or miss. At the dealer, the nose would sit on the ground after about an hour of being parked. The compressor still lifts it right back up, but the funny thing is that switching off the air ride keeps the car up while parked. So a leak has to be traced. I am preparing for the worst but hoping for the [strike]best[/strike] less-than-worst. Other than the air issues, some ball joints need replacing. I've only had good looks so far at the uppers up front, the passenger side of which looks rather recent (green boot? Moog?) but the driver side boot is torn up. The brakes have a bit of noise; I have a feeling the rotors have gotten a little warped at some point, but it stops just fine and doesn't drag at all with my foot off the brake pedal. The wheels are chrome directional 10-spokes, but the finish is cracking between the lug nut holes. Tires are all matching Michelin MXV4s with good tread still on them, the same tire I used to have on my '94.
The interior is Light Graphite, and mostly in very good condition. The leather is all flawless for 90k, no holes or cracking. I plan to get some conditioner worked into the seats sometime soon. The plastic trim is all good as well. It has the factory phone built in, which will be removed, but I may wire the mic and button into a navigation head unit down the road. However...the rear edge of the headliner has been duct-taped over, so I will address that down the road. The driver seat seems to be missing the power control switch, so I have to look into that; the power glide feature isn't working on that seat, which is likely related. Both lumbar supports work, and the passenger seat works 100%. The moonroof moves just fine, however it has an issue staying seated closed at highway speeds, so that will be looked into. Last and probably least, the tach is stuck at about 1200 rpm, but the left turn signal indicator as well as the high beam indicator are both sitting rather low in their holes, so likely something has just slipped down onto the tach needle holding it still.
The HIDs seem to work fine, however they are pointed very low, so I will have to fix the mounting of the assemblies, most likely. The driver-side side marker has moisture inside it, and the cover is peeling from the passenger side, so those will have to be replaced down the road. Some saw the rust/rot behind the front passenger-side mudflap, so I will be hunting for a whole black fender, most likely. Otherwise the paint has some dull areas, but it seems to be 90-95% fine.
That about covers it all! It will take a little while to get the flaws straightened out, but even so, I'm pretty happy with everything! Especially after 30 months of being without my own car! I will try and get some photos up soon, but only AFTER I get the rear wheels swapped and oriented properly! NOT before!!
Today I pulled the trigger on the black '96 LSC I'd been eying the past week. It has its issues as some of you know, but the price was too good to pass up, not to mention the mileage (91k). A Carfax report revealed that it was a fleet car at first, racking up about 31k its first 2 years. The second owner put the other 60k on over 13 years. The car was bought from a small independent dealer with about 40 cars on the lot. Originally the asking price was $2995, but with the air ride leaking, I bought it for $2300 as-is. So here is where I'm at right now:
The engine purrs nice and smooth and pulls hard through the entire rev range, no issues there. The transmission shifts very well, with the exception of a low RPM shudder which to me says it is time to flush the transmission fluid out and replace it all with new Mercon V + filter. I checked the fluid tonight: the color is a reddish brown, like dried blood, with no strong smells. If anyone remembers my final months with my '94, the tranny fluid started always smelling like it was on fire.
The suspension, as some of you know, is hit or miss. At the dealer, the nose would sit on the ground after about an hour of being parked. The compressor still lifts it right back up, but the funny thing is that switching off the air ride keeps the car up while parked. So a leak has to be traced. I am preparing for the worst but hoping for the [strike]best[/strike] less-than-worst. Other than the air issues, some ball joints need replacing. I've only had good looks so far at the uppers up front, the passenger side of which looks rather recent (green boot? Moog?) but the driver side boot is torn up. The brakes have a bit of noise; I have a feeling the rotors have gotten a little warped at some point, but it stops just fine and doesn't drag at all with my foot off the brake pedal. The wheels are chrome directional 10-spokes, but the finish is cracking between the lug nut holes. Tires are all matching Michelin MXV4s with good tread still on them, the same tire I used to have on my '94.
The interior is Light Graphite, and mostly in very good condition. The leather is all flawless for 90k, no holes or cracking. I plan to get some conditioner worked into the seats sometime soon. The plastic trim is all good as well. It has the factory phone built in, which will be removed, but I may wire the mic and button into a navigation head unit down the road. However...the rear edge of the headliner has been duct-taped over, so I will address that down the road. The driver seat seems to be missing the power control switch, so I have to look into that; the power glide feature isn't working on that seat, which is likely related. Both lumbar supports work, and the passenger seat works 100%. The moonroof moves just fine, however it has an issue staying seated closed at highway speeds, so that will be looked into. Last and probably least, the tach is stuck at about 1200 rpm, but the left turn signal indicator as well as the high beam indicator are both sitting rather low in their holes, so likely something has just slipped down onto the tach needle holding it still.
The HIDs seem to work fine, however they are pointed very low, so I will have to fix the mounting of the assemblies, most likely. The driver-side side marker has moisture inside it, and the cover is peeling from the passenger side, so those will have to be replaced down the road. Some saw the rust/rot behind the front passenger-side mudflap, so I will be hunting for a whole black fender, most likely. Otherwise the paint has some dull areas, but it seems to be 90-95% fine.
That about covers it all! It will take a little while to get the flaws straightened out, but even so, I'm pretty happy with everything! Especially after 30 months of being without my own car! I will try and get some photos up soon, but only AFTER I get the rear wheels swapped and oriented properly! NOT before!!
