I celebrated the 4th of July by buying American.

[tman2093]

Chad, you may want to make an account over ar regalgs.org. fantastic site. Cousin has a GS. He thinks his Regal is faster, I disagree, but like you said. It's rock-solid reliable.

I will recommend changing your SC oil. use a turkey baster to siphon out the ols oil and put fresh in every so often. After about 80000 miles the coupler goes bad. Order a fresh one from zzperformance and you're good for another 80000. Easy job too.

Your pictures are really sharp and vibrant. The pic info says you're using a Kodak DX4330. You like it I assume?

Orientation of image: 1
Image input equipment manufacturer: EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY
Image input equipment model: KODAK DX4330 DIGITAL CAMERA
Exposure time: 0.008
F number: 2.8
Exposure program: 2
Shutter speed: 7
Aperture: 3
Exposure bias: 0
Maximum lens aperture: 3
Metering mode: 1
Light source: 0
Flash: 24
Lens focal length: 8
Exposure index: 120
Sensing method: 2
Custom rendered: 0
Exposure mode: 0
White balance: 0
Digital zoom ratio: 0
Focal length in 35 mm film: 38
Scene capture type: 0
Gain control: 1
Contrast: 0
Saturation: 0
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Subject distance range: 0

[Destroyer]

Originally Posted by I~LUV~Caddys8792

Here's the interior pics you asked for:



As my friend Evan said, "boy, this car sure doesn't have the legroom of the Mercedes."


It's got a nice big storage armrest back there, with HUGE cupholders (bigger than the front ones).


Simple, clean dashboard.


Easy to read instrumentation.


For some odd reason, it displays the weirdest exterior temperatures. It's usually in the 38-50* range, but sometimes it actually goes up to the ambient temp. I wonder if that's got anything to do with the fact they just replaced the HVAC control module?


I love this engine. Always have.


This is the only badge (well...aside from the GS badge) that would let any onlookers know what lies beneath.

It's no Benz on the inside, that's for sure.

[Rodya234]

I love the huge Buick instruments.

I hate the no legroom.

Also, the climate control unit is kind of out of the way. It looks weird.

[77CDV]

I'm having flashbacks to my mom's 2000 Century. The trans is a weak point on these cars, so heads up. Still a good deal for you, though, and much more livable financially than the Benz.

[gdwriter]

Considering Chad had the Benz for sale and listed on AutoTrader since April with very little action other than some scammers and flakes, I don't blame him for trading it in. The way things were going, it could have been a few more months before it sold.

I know it's not a Regal, but I love this ad for the '67 Electra 225 -- especially the music:

YouTube - 1967 Buick Electra 225 TV Ad

"When better automobiles are built, Buick will build them."

"Wouldn't you really rather have a Buick?"

[dirt_cheap_fleetwood]

Chad, talk to your uncle who works on these and see if there is a reset procedure on the outside air temp. I know there is a way to do it on the DeVilles and you can also calibrate the thermometer in case it is reading a few (or many) degrees off from actual.

[caddycruiser]

Congrats, what a good choice!

I've always been a big Buick fan, even in the days (such as your '03) when the lineup was pretty stuffy and old GM...it was still some of the most solid, most refined, comfortable, and even efficient product they made. Your GS is a great example of all of that. As others have said, just don't make it explode and it will be good and fast for a while

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

Originally Posted by caddycruiser

Congrats, what a good choice!

I've always been a big Buick fan, even in the days (such as your '03) when the lineup was pretty stuffy and old GM...it was still some of the most solid, most refined, comfortable, and even efficient product they made. Your GS is a great example of all of that. As others have said, just don't make it explode and it will be good and fast for a while

I like a lot of the cars of the "old Buick". The Park Avenue I prefer over the Lucerne, even though that's a very nice car as well....a lot more European and "modern" than the Park Avenue ever was, but like I was telling my sales guy, the PA has a vibe to it that the new ones don't.

Originally Posted by gdwriter

Considering Chad had the Benz for sale and listed on AutoTrader since April with very little action other than some scammers and flakes, I don't blame him for trading it in. The way things were going, it could have been a few more months before it sold.

I had a guy call me on it yesterday, and like every other person that called me on it, he was weird. He sounded like an aged hippie, half stoned out of his mind. He called me like 3 times in an hour, even though I told him that I traded it in and where it was. I even gave him my salesman's cell number so he could get a hold of him and snag the car before the dealer sent it off to auction. He said he wanted to buy it for his dad down in Phoenix, because he had one before but is now too senile to drive. Then he told me that he wanted me to go back to the dealer, trade the Buick back in on the Mercedes just so he could buy it directly from me and I'd have some more money out of the deal.


Yeah, that was a typical call on the car.

When Brian sold his '96 F-150, he got like 8 calls in two days from REGULAR BLUE COLLARED MEN! Nothing weird there, just the typical used car buyer. And heck, even one of those blue collared males bought the dang thing, and paid what he was asking.

Originally Posted by 77CDV

I'm having flashbacks to my mom's 2000 Century. The trans is a weak point on these cars, so heads up.

Yeah, now that I remember it, my dad was starting to have tranny problems with his '97 Lumina when he sold it to my uncle. It would slip under heavy acceleration, which was fine because that one only had the 160hp 3.1L V6, which isn't exactly a car that's meant to be driven hard. Mine on the other hand....

With the 3100, you got the 4T60-E. The Supercharged 3800 uses the 4T65-E, which is a heavier duty setup. Still though, I've heard that these have a weak planetary gearset that don't like to be shifted from N->R without being fully stopped, so I'll be careful about that. And the worst thing that you can do to these is burnouts from the hole....that's what'll really nuke the tranny, so I won't do that. I'm actually kinda afraid to do a WOT from a stop...just so much tiresmoke and noise. I'm used to that week-kneed Mercedes.

But if it does go, I've got that 4 year/40,000 mile warranty..

Originally Posted by Rodya234

I love the huge Buick instruments.

I hate the no legroom.

Also, the climate control unit is kind of out of the way. It looks weird.

Yeah, it doesn't have a lot of legroom compared to the cars I've had. Still though, it's better than what my friends have ('01 Civic Coupe, '93 Maxima SE, '04 Titan King Cab, '01 Cherokee Sport). I guess I'm no longer the definitive "road-trip king" in the group.

Originally Posted by Destroyer

It's no Benz on the inside, that's for sure.

Yeah, but unless you go to a Rolls or Bentley, you can't really beat a W140 for quality of interior design and execution. That will most likely be the nicest, most expensive car I've ever owned.

Originally Posted by tman2093

Chad, you may want to make an account over ar regalgs.org. fantastic site. Cousin has a GS. He thinks his Regal is faster, I disagree, but like you said. It's rock-solid reliable.

I will recommend changing your SC oil. use a turkey baster to siphon out the ols oil and put fresh in every so often. After about 80000 miles the coupler goes bad. Order a fresh one from zzperformance and you're good for another 80000. Easy job too.

I made the account, waiting on confirmation email. Thanks for the recommendation.

I've heard about that Supercharger oil, I upsold a supercharger service when I worked at the Chevy dealer. It's crucial to the supercharger, but man that stuff REEKS! It's like the worst smelling, most burnt gear oil you've ever smelled. The tech that did it on the GTP worked in the back stall, and it was 12 stalls away from the write-up area, and the whole shop stunk of that crap for a while after the service was done, but thankfully, there isn't much of that fluid to extract and change, so it doesn't take much time or money.

Originally Posted by tman2093

Your pictures are really sharp and vibrant. The pic info says you're using a Kodak DX4330. You like it I assume?

Orientation of image: 1
Image input equipment manufacturer: EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY
Image input equipment model: KODAK DX4330 DIGITAL CAMERA
Exposure time: 0.008
F number: 2.8
Exposure program: 2
Shutter speed: 7
Aperture: 3
Exposure bias: 0
Maximum lens aperture: 3
Metering mode: 1
Light source: 0
Flash: 24
Lens focal length: 8
Exposure index: 120
Sensing method: 2
Custom rendered: 0
Exposure mode: 0
White balance: 0
Digital zoom ratio: 0
Focal length in 35 mm film: 38
Scene capture type: 0
Gain control: 1
Contrast: 0
Saturation: 0
Sharpness: 0
Subject distance range: 0

That's actually my dad's camera, lol. It's older than mine, so I don't really like using it, especially because you've gotta look through the little viewfinder to see what you're taking a picture of, not a screen like on most new cameras. I left my camera up at a buddy's cabin last weekend so that's why I had to use his.

The pics did turn out surprisingly well though.



What's a good site for Supercharged 3800 go-fast parts?

[77CDV]

Originally Posted by I~LUV~Caddys8792

Yeah, but unless you go to a Rolls or Bentley, you can't really beat a W140 for quality of interior design and execution. That will most likely be the nicest, most expensive car I've ever owned.

"Oh, that a man's grasp might exceed his reach, else what's a heaven for?"

[Rodya234]

This site has pretty much every W-body/3800 performance part you could want. Don't catch mod fever, its very hard to cure!

[thebigjimsho]

My parents' '95 Lumina LS blew its tranny within a couple months of new. My father bought it with a couple thousand miles as he usually bought dealer demos. He bought it with the point of taking it cross country within a couple months of purchase. It's a common theme in my family(my brother's Altima in '00, my V in '04).

Since the tranny was hard to find, my parents got a rental...for an 8,000 mile cross country trip. Too bad for my parents and little brother the rental Lumina only had a radio...

[hueterm]

Just don't throw your tranny at the track in Chicago. It's a long tow back to Mpls.... :-)

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

I've gotta do a tranny flush soon as part of the 60k service. I'm at 59,7xx now.

[Rodya234]

These torque-y engines (4.9L, 3800 S/C) blow through their 4T6x-e trannies all the time. But I don't expect you would have to replace one for another at least 40k. Depends on how hard you drive it; that 1-2 shift at WOT is really hard on the trans.

[AMGoff]

Chad, you have very little to worry about with regard to your transmission... Those early 90's W-bodies and 4.9 Devilles used the 4T60 transmission, while the 97+ W-bodies used the much improved 4T65 auto. Better still, the GS used a different, beefed-up version of the 4T65 which also had a larger torque converter. However, check and see when exactly your car was built - if I recall, they were beefed up further with a stronger valve body sometime through the 2000-run.

Either way, it's a very reliable transmission and is more than sturdy enough to handle the power of the SC 3.8 - so much that it's still used with the LS4 and that has even more power. You have absolutely no reason to baby it whatsoever - give it the beans with all the WOTs your heart desires and don't think twice about it. I beat the snot of my GS and had zero problems in the 70,000 miles I put on it.