Assorted ramblings and bolt-ons with Daniel and George

[CorvairGeek]

I had to repair the speed sensor (from the transaxle) wiring on our '96 in 2017. We had gotten a lone ABS code one time. I was shocked at how much of the twisted pair to the speed sensor was melted and fused together. There was some other melted wiring damage too, IIRC. It was still all clipped to the the back of the oil pan. I had to unclip and pull the small harness out on the driver's side to repair it. This isn't the best picture, and it almost looks like it was chewed, but it wasn't. I am amazed it was actually working.

[Duke George V]

That looks more like the crank position sensor wire. I don't believe the VSS is a twisted pair.

[CorvairGeek]

I think you may be correct. It has been a while ago and I do believe I had to repair both (VSS & CPS). I wondered why the area had been so hot. We bought the car new and nothing odd or unusual has ever happened to it.

[tlc1976]

My 89s have yellow and purple wires for the crank sensor. But also a solid bare metal wire and a foil jacket. I took an old harness and made it into a test cable.

[Duke George V]

Cruise cable and module from a 2001 Aurora. This will fit the big throttle body.

[Duke George V]

Changed the water pump on the wagon the other day. I took pictures but honestly, we've all done a water pump. It appeared to be the original part for the engine. Recall the engine is from a 2005 Malibu that had, according to LKQ, about 110k miles. I have put around 63k VERY HARD miles on it since installing it. I am not mad that it failed. After ~175k miles, it owed me nothing. Past Daniel had some foresight and bought the part 6 years ago, so the most difficult aspect was spelunking through the garage to find it.

[Duke George V]

Non-update update. I've been meaning to write up a post about the 2000 mile road trip I took the wagon on during Thanksgiving, but the circumstances of the trip weren't fun. I'm having a hard time coming up with the right words. The car performed flawlessly, and averaged 24.7 mpg, including a high score of 30.9 on the final tank before arriving back home. I took plenty of pictures. I'll give it a shot this weekend, I think.

[Keiths1976]

Is it still driving this sir lol . Did u hit anything lol

[Duke George V]

Non-update update. I've been meaning to write up a post about the 2000 mile road trip I took the wagon on during Thanksgiving, but the circumstances of the trip weren't fun. I'm having a hard time coming up with the right words. The car performed flawlessly, and averaged 24.7 mpg, including a high score of 30.9 on the final tank before arriving back home. I took plenty of pictures. I'll give it a shot this weekend, I think.

I can't be bothered to write a real post about this, so I'll just give you all a little bit of drama and move on.

My dad died a few days before Thanksgiving at age 59 of multiple organ failure. He'd been a long time alcoholic and was homeless for ten years, and that catches up with you. The 2000 mile trip was from Vegas to the Bay Area and back to try to handle is final affairs. The day before he died, my wife decided she was done, and wanted to move out. I put her on a plane to her mom's place in Kansas on January 29th. So I haven't really been in the mood to write up a real post. I will give you guys probably the two best photos I have ever taken of this car though.

Near the Golden Gate Bridge:


And in the Sierra Nevada mountains at a spot called Peddler's Hill:



That aside, I'm planning to get what I hope will be a reliable daily driver so I can stop worrying about whether George is going to start in the morning, what's that noise this time, and so on. Found another '96 wagon on Marketplace IN THE SAME CITY I BOUGHT GEORGE IN. After basically interviewing the guy over the last couple says, I feel like it will be a good daily. Lots of preventive maintenance done recently, including the ever-vulnerable lower intake gaskets, silly custom interior stuff, and a front clip swap from an '85 Century.


I swear if any of you snipe me on that wagon...

[CorvairGeek]

Great pics but truly sorry to hear about your losses.

[Pontiac6ksteawd]

The only concern I would have about that wagon is there on the front bumper.. California. Which likely means the stupid California emissions.

Odd that he chose that front end. But to each his own!

[CorvairGeek]

A 96 3100 from Cali will have a funky looking secondary air injection system.

[Duke George V]

A 96 3100 from Cali will have a funky looking secondary air injection system.

George is also a California car. It does not have an air injection system. That's some 80's tech.

[CorvairGeek]

It actually didn't appear until 2000 on the 3100. I thought I had seen it earlier, there are so many Cali cars being scrapped here now.

[tlc1976]

Wow that’s tough to hear about everything that went on.

I actually like that 85 nose better. I was never much of a fan of the turned back headlight design that followed. But those were my favorite wheels.