I spent the entire day rearranging the garage so that I could park my new Riviera inside.

Under the cover, my '06 Mustang looks
absolutely huge from this angle.

My '96 Mustang had to go, and it will not be returning. It's former position will now be taken up by the '06 Mustang. The '96 will sit behind my truck at the curb, under a car cover, this will make it more convenient to take to events. 

My plan is to take it to as many Cars and Coffee type events as I can, and see if it catches anyone's eyes. Yes, I know that I'll have to list it on CL. 

Interestingly enough, I found that the Riv could fit it's snout under my garage table. My '06 Mustang could not, as it has a higher hood. 

Why didn't I just park the Riv in that spot? I would have liked to, but then I wouldn't be able to access the car as easily. I'd have to move the car parked in the left side spot, because the doors of the Riv are so long. And I'm not that skinny anymore. if I ever was.

To accommodate the '06, I'll have to raise the table. Which I did by adding some sections of 2x4 under the casters. It worked, but that table is getting awful tall! It's getting awfully close to pub height!

The '06 Mustang will probably end up sitting a bit until next year, when I buy a new set of tires for it

It's kind of funny that I never noticed how chunky the '06 Mustang is. But that only seems apparent in comparison. It is an inch or so taller than the Riviera, and the hood and trunk are noticeably higher. The Mustang is 188 inches long, while the Riv is 207 inches. But the Riviera body doesn't extend to the end of the bumpers. The front grille is set back at least four inches from the edge of the front bumper. Likewise the rear deck is another four inches shorter than the bumper. The front and rear ends are quite tapered as well as the body sides. This really reduces the visual bulk of the car, making it appear quite a bit smaller than it's measurements would suggest.

It's actually as long as the Navigator and the Flex. 

My plan will be to swap out the Riv and the Flex without having to disturb the other cars.

The only car that my Wife is comfortable driving is the Flex. I need it to be available to her if I'm off somewhere. 

I had parked the Riv in my sloping driveway and noticed that there were a few drips of oil under the car. I had noticed some oil dripping on the oil pan when I had loaded the car on the dolly. The car had been transported with the nose up and I'd driven it on level streets. Oil leaks often pool and build up in a low spot or depression on the motor until they spill over the edge. The smell of burnt oil reminds me a little too much of  my last years with my Cadillac STS!

Lot's of these cute little critters around my house.

Looking under the hood I saw some pine nuts on the transmission. That means that either mice or squirrels have been there. It could mean some possible damage to the wiring. I should have used my shop vac to clean the area, but I had my leaf blower handy, so I blew the area clear. Unfortunately it didn't really blow it clear, instead it must have dumped it on the exhaust system. I found that out  after some driving, as there was some smoke coming from that area! Not good. After it cooled off I used my compressor and air nozzle to blow off the exhaust system. It worked, crispy stuff fell onto the driveway. 

I'd been noticing a faint smell of gas. I found that the original quick disconnect gas line had been replaced with a section of high pressure fuel line. The hose clamp was a bit loose and it was seeping a small amount when hot. I tightened it up and that solved the problem. 

The car runs well and if it was going to overheat, I'm certain that it would have done so already! We had quite the heat spell when I brought it home. The brakes, steering, and suspension are working smoothly, and  the turn signals and other lights are all working fine. The car was built when GM was big on daytime running lights, DRLs, and that complicated system is okay. I do not like automatic lights, I prefer to control them myself as needed. The "perimeter lights" also stay on after being locked. It's another small annoyance. However this a feature that's been adopted by lots of new cars. 

Now it's a matter of shaking the car down, that can only come from driving it. I'll use it for local errands and gradually expand the distances that I drive it. 

The tires on the car are pretty bad, all the sidewalls are badly cracked. I haven't checked the age of the tires yet, but I don't really need to. They are obviously old. The seller had to replace a flat tire with a new one, because the tire shop told him that it was too old to fix. If I want to really use the car I'll need to replace them. It's a big expense up front, I would have preferred to wait and see just how good the car is. I don't want to do the half ass thing with used tires anymore. They got to be pretty expensive, and nothing makes a car look unloved like a set of mismatched old tires. I'll be making the rounds looking for a decent deal on a good quality tire.

At least this car uses 16 inch tires. It's gotten to be pretty difficult to find good quality 15 inchers. The size is 225/60 16, the same size as those on my old Jaguar XJ6. The Riviera doesn't really need high speed rubber, even with the supercharger, the electronic cut off is set at 109 mph. 

I just need a good set of Touring rated tires (110 mph.) that should be plenty of reserve. How fast do you think that I'm going to drive this thing anyway? From what I've gleaned so far, I think that the car will be a fantastic freeway and highway cruiser, which is exactly the use that I have planned for it. 

I'm lucky that the car is in pretty good original condition. My plan is to work on the cosmetics and the minor (and not so minor) things that it needs fixed. Like the HVAC, and the passenger window. It gets pretty hot in there without ventilation! The CD player won't read a disc, but the radio works fine and sounds pretty good to me. I'm a bit afraid to try a cassette in the player, I'd hate for it to get stuck in there! The paint is still very shiny, it has a couple of scrapes on the outside edge of both bumpers. There's also a dent in front of the left rear wheel. Parking by Braille, I guess. I sent away for some touch up paint.

The car looks silver to me sitting by itself in the Sun, but compared to the much brighter Ingot Silver of the Flex, you can see the brownish tint to the color. Sandstone Beige metallic. Not my favorite color, and not the one I would have chosen, but I am happy that it is still in good shape. 

I want to keep it under a good cover when it's not in the garage. Preservation is the name of the game with this car. Even so, since the mileage is so low, I don't see any reason not to drive it regularly once it's squared away. Even if I drive it a lot, I don't imagine that I would put more than five or six thousand miles a year on it. 

I've only put around 50 miles on it so far, but I really like how the car drives. It's very solid and quiet, and rides really smooth. Although the 8th. Gen Riviera debuted in 1995 and only ran until 1999, it was GM's most advanced platform at the time. It was shared with the Oldsmobile Aurora, as well as the Buick Park Avenue. That model ran into the new Millennium, ending in 2005. 

Compare that with my '96 Mustang. The Fox body platform debuted in 1979 and the Fox Mustangs ran until 1993! Then the platform was updated and became the SN97 which ran from 1994-2004!

There are still a lot of GM produced videos on the '95 Riviera available on YouTube

The Riviera was ahead of it's time, and subsequent GM models built upon the concepts of this platform and these cars ran another 15+ years, past the mid teen years of the 2000's. This means that the Riviera is still a pretty modern car.

The '97 Riviera uses the updated Buick 3800 Series Two V6, mated to a supercharger. Acceleration is pretty good. The intention was to provide V8 type performance coupled with V6 type fuel economy. It is rated at 240 hp with 280 lbs. ft. of torque. That is pretty impressive. By comparison, my '94 NorthStar Cadillac was rated at 295 hp. with 300 lbs.ft of torque. The Cadillac was a much more expensive car and was equipped with  a very high tech aluminum V8 with DOHC and 32 valves, plus an additional 800 ccs of displacement. 

In comparison to my '96 Mustang it looks even better. It has 25 hp. more, and torque is only 5 ft.lbs. less than the 4.6 V8. On the road performance between this Mustang and the Riviera is quite similar, but the Mustang has a higher top speed.

The Riviera is rated at 27 mpg. on the freeway, Buick V6s are known to get good fuel economy. The gas tank holds 19.4 gallons, it should have an impressive range per fill up. I haven't checked it yet, but at 25 mpg. range should be well into the high 400 miles mark. Maybe that's why Buick didn't make a trip computer available. They knew their customers wouldn't be running out of gas easily! Premium fuel is required for this boosted engine.

I anticipate that the Riviera will fit my needs very well. Of course, none of this will make any difference if I can't get my car's problems fixed!

 I went to the wrecking yard Today.

Rancho Cordova. I just happened to be in the neighborhood.

I hadn't done any serious wrecking yard scrounging since I was looking for the smart junction box for my Daughter's Mustang. I have the feeling that I'm going to be spending a lot more time in places like this. The entry price has only gone up a buck to 3.00, not too bad.

If anything, their yards are even cleaner than they were before.

The final generation 1995-99 Buick Riviera was not as popular as GM had hoped. The first year saw strong sales, a bit over 40,000, which shrunk to less than 1,500 cars in the last year. Less than 80,000 cars were produced, over five years. The last one was built 24 years ago. How many have survived long enough to be currently found in a wrecking yard? Not many! They aren't very common on the road, and even less common in wrecking yards.

Not like my '96 -'98 Mustang.

Of course, now that I have one I'll be looking for them. I'll probably start seeing them everywhere!

My '97 was lacking a few items, the most noticeable being the right front fender wheel house chrome trim.

I also discovered that the inner fender liner was missing.

The spare tire hold down nut was gone, as was the supercharger cover. I think that these engine covers will end up like original air cleaners, frequently missing as cars pass through different owners over the years.

My car had three OEM wheel center caps, These bear a Riviera emblem, the fourth is a plain aftermarket replacement. Since I already have three originals, I'm looking for another original cap.

The console cover/ armrest on my car was broken, I fixed it, but I wouldn't mind finding a better replacement. That's the first rule when fixing up an old car, is that it's easier and more satisfactory to replace damaged items with a better part. When available.

I tried to find some of the stuff on Ebay. The fender trim was currently not available. I belong to the ROA, the Riviera Owners Association, so why not look in their classifieds? 

I reached out to a guy selling 8th. Gen parts through the Riview. He contacted me and told me that he might have a fender trim, but didn't recall what kind of shape that it was in. He would let me know when he returned from vacation.

I haven't heard back from him yet, and two months have passed.

So I decided to go back to my roots, and venture out and hit the wrecking yards. 

Pick and Pull, (P&P) has gone all high tech and now incorporates a searchable data base for their inventory. Inventory means donor cars, not particular individual parts. What is available on a particular vehicle is up to luck! Sometimes you find a pristine complete car, and other times you find a picked over wreck. You've got to be the first vulture at the feast. 

You determine the radius of the search. I had to go out 150 miles to get a hit in Rancho Cordova. That's just east of Sacramento. These Rivs are pretty scarce.

Would I drive all that way just to see if I could find something that I needed? 

Yes, I would, but it would incur a substantial cost in fuel, as well as time. Fortunately I didn't need to.

A solution presented itself, we had planned a family vacation in the Santa Rosa area. I volunteered to provide transportation for my Daughter who lives near Sacramento. I'd pick her up on our way there, and drop her off on our way back. It would only be an additional 20 miles to the wrecking yard in Rancho Cordova. 

This would be a win, win, and win solution.

Northern California has been going through a hot spell with uncharacteristic temps exceeding 100 degrees.

Lucky for me, the temp was only in the mid 90's for my wrecking yard excursion.

The P&P, was located in what appeared to be a well kept  industrial area. The yard itself was neat and well organized. 

Now that P&P is techy enough to have a searchable database, it also now has the liability waivers handled electronically through tablets. I guess they realized that a scribbled, hand written sign in sheet couldn't be used that well in protection of any potential legal challenges. Now you must enter your name in printed format, as well as your signature. I wouldn't be surprised if the tablet snaps a photo, to tie the name to a particular individual. They don't ask for ID, but most customers now pay with a credit card, and they do gather info for their rewards programs. Did I read the entire disclaimer? Nope.

I later had my hunch confirmed, that the liability release tablet snaps a picture of the customer. The girl at the counter didn't like me asking so loudly. I suppose that many patrons would like to remain anonymous. Though I really don't have a problem with that, as it actually protects the customer also.

I will admit that it's extremely helpful to have info on the inventory available, before you visit the yard. It saves a lot of time and wasted effort. I used to cruise my local yards weekly, looking for stuff that I could use.

They also give you a print out on where the cars are located in the lot. In addition, they can also do a parts interchange search. This will give you alternatives to search for. Both of these lists are printed out and provided to the customer. These services are worth the extra buck!

As I mentioned, they only had ONE Riviera that I would be interested in. In fact I only saw that one Riviera in the yard.

I did a quick visual assessment of the car, concentrating on the single most important item that I wanted. The wheel opening trim. Unfortunately, it was missing, so was the inner fender liner. However, I've learned to look all around the car. Sometimes the part will be thrown under the car, sometimes inside, and often in the trunk. 

I kept my eyes open for the wheel center cap at the same time. I found two, one had half the mounting legs broken off. The second only one and it still had the retaining ring. I picked it up, I might be able to fix it or stick it on with double sided tape. If, it was cheap enough, that is. I found that the console arm rest was in good shape except for the latch pin. So I decided to take that also. I didn't bring my little torx screwdiver set, but I was able to loosen the crews using a needle nose vise grip pliers! Improvise, adapt, and overcome! I decided to check the other cars in the immediate vicinity, clean up crews will often pick up parts off the ground, and throw them into any available open space.

I didn't find the wheel trim, but I also needed the spare tire hold down nut, which I found!

I went back to the Riviera to take another look. Looking at the car I realized that the wheel openings, front and back, looked almost identical. Could I use the rear trim on the front?

I noted that the rear trim was screwed on, as opposed to being held on by clips like the front piece. I removed the trim and mocked it up in the front opening. It fit quite well, though it's a bit shorter. I think that I can use it until I find the proper replacement.

I did another search of nearby cars and found a Supercharger cover in a nearby Park Ave's trunk. It was the proper one, supercharged engines were used on Park Ave Ultras. Under the hood, I found that someone had tried to rip the cover off this particular Ultra, but the mounting nut was still in place, so I also took that. 

Likewise with the inner fender liner. I removed one from the same Park Ave. It was of a similar shape and design and I carried it back, mocked it up on the Riv. It didn't fit as well, but I could cobble up a mounting, until the proper part was found. 

All in all, I only paid around 75.00 for everything, including tax and entrance fee. 

Later on, I looked online, a replacement OEM center cap was 140.00! A smooth aftermarket unit was 30.00. 

My car's right side window doesn't work, it's up and I can hear the window motor whir when I hit the switch, but it doesn't move. The regulator is probably bad, and on second thought, maybe the window was "fixed" or blocked in the up position. I've done that in the past myself, it is better than being open all the time.

I thought that I could easily find a new replacement regulator on the Net. I did a pretty thorough search without luck. I found a few used ones listed on EBay. My preference was for a new replacement. I should have checked the regulator on the car at the yard, but I believed a new replacement would be easy to source. Wrong! 

I didn't even take a look at the window mechanism, I didn't know if the regulator was the cable and pulley design, or more like the old fashioned heavy metal assemblies. 

To paraphrase the old military response to mealtime, "Take everything you need, and need everything that you take!" which should be the mantra for wrecking yard picking. Sometimes it helps to take a list with you. The donor car won't be available forever, so take it all on one trip. In my case, I won't be going back to that yard anytime soon.

Now that I have my Riviera I will keep my eyes open on CL for parts, or cars being parted out. I'll also check with P&P periodically to see if another donor shows up. This is how enthusiasts start to develop a parts hoard. We keep our eyes open and pick parts that we might want as spares or that are in better condition than the parts already on out cars.

I ended up ordering a used regulator off of Ebay, it cost me around 65.00, at least half the price of a new one, but who knows how much life is left in it? At least there's free shipping and a 90 day return policy. 

I wonder if my Riviera's former owner became disillusioned when he discovered that parts couldn't be readily found. He might have thought that the car would be an easy project. He hadn't had it for too long, he only bought the car in January of this year! 

Oh well, that's the old car game. I think that my Riv was a pretty good buy, it just needs a bit of TLC and a few repairs and it will be good to go. 

I just re-learned a valuable lesson, don't take anything for granted, check available donor cars for any needed parts or desirable "spares" while you're at the yard. Those donors won't be there forever.

Luckily my car is in pretty good shape and was only missing a few parts. Now I have to take the '96 Mustang out of the garage to make room for the Riv.

And I've got to sell that Mustang. 

 Meet my "new" '97 Riviera.

In the CL listing, the color was identified as "brown." ???

In a classified listing in the back of the Riview, a seller described this color as
 "Platinum Beige Metallic" That is a more precise description.
The interior leather is taupe.

The car sounded pretty good when I found it on CraigsList. I could only rely on the verbal description, as there weren't any pictures posted in the initial listing. 

What was very impressive and especially appealing, was the very low mileage for the age, just over 81,500 miles on a 26 year old car!

It seems the seller bought the car in January of this year. He told me that it had previously belonged to an  older person, and had spent several years in garage storage. 

Buick Cascada convertible circa 2017.
The name comes from a Buick concept car.

The current seller was also an older gentleman, about a decade older than me. I guess that he decided that he didn't really want to deal with the problems, or finding the parts that it needed. He had a late model Buick Cascada convertible next to the Riv in his garage. Maybe this newer car was the path of least resistance that he followed? If so, I can't say that I blame him.

The seller told me that he priced it low, because he really wanted it gone. It wasn't that he didn't like the car, but that he needed the room in the garage. He had stated in the listing that he would trade for a smaller car. He had a lot of trouble getting out of the Riv, because he couldn't open the long doors enough to make egress easy. A common problem with big coupes. 

Initially, the listing didn't have any photos attached to it, but the car sounded good, and the price was listed at 2,945.00, a real throwback. I knew what the car looked like, I'm somewhat familiar with the last generation Riviera. I had read all about them in Car and Driver, and other magazines. I had even test driven one about fifteen years ago. Although I was not particularly impressed at the time. 

I'd been a member of the ROA, the Riviera Owners Association, even before the '95 Riviera was released, I'd seen it featured in the club magazine. 

I've been thinking that I needed to get another Riv, it's been over ten years since I owned my last '66. I wanted to get involved in club activities, and I'd feel kind of dumb showing up to events in my Mustang! 

I was looking for something that fit my Vintage Lite criteria. A car that I could massage back into acceptable condition, no rebuilding or repainting. Just an application of TLC and fixing the hopefully, little faults. 

I'd also seen a '77 Riv on CL that looked pretty good, I had owned a '77 Coupe de Ville and I thought that it would be similar. The price was in the right range.

There was also a '70 available on CL, it looked good, but had been painted in black primer. It was past the budget busting end of my range at 10,000 dollars. 

For a time I had entertained the thought that maybe, just maybe, I should finally get the first gen I've always wanted. A good idea except that those run anywhere from 20-35,000 bucks for a nice one. I'd really like one, but I don't want to put that kind of money into a hobby car. So maybe a "project?" Again?

I'd promised my Wife, (and myself!) that I'd sworn off projects! 

I started looking through the ROA classifieds looking for a suitable project. You know, something priced around three grand. That would only buy a rough, non running car. But I didn't really need good paint, or shiny chrome, or a nice interior. Just a straight, complete, mostly rust free car.

So, I had three possibilities.

The red '77, the silver '97, and some kind of 60's project. 

Truth be told, I really didn't want another second Gen, and I couldn't get too excited by the somewhat plain '77.

The '97 got my attention, the price certainly was right, the miles were right, but the car was located in Fresno! No picture! I tried to contact the seller through the CL link. First, I sent an e-mail, then a phone call, leaving a message, and then another e-mail. There were no responses. I had lots of questions. The color was listed as brown, I didn't recall seeing any brown Rivieras in magazines. What kind of shape was the body and interior in? 

A  week went by, there was nothing. All I could do but wait, and look through my old Riviews, looking for stories on the '95-'97 models. We went out of town one weekend, I figured that if it was meant to be, things would work out.

I clicked back on the CL ad every day and now saw that there were now two pictures posted. The color looked like silver to me, and the car looked to be in good shape, at least on the left side. Then I got a call from the seller, who answered a few of my questions. I asked if I could go see the car the next day, and he agreed. He told me that he'd had a lot of calls and e-mails, but he seldom checked his e-mails. He was surprised that there were inquiries from as far away as San Rafael, even from San Diego. I told him that I was from San Jose, and that I could go see the car tomorrow. He told me that he had a local inquiry, and that if that didn't go through, to call him at 10:30 the next morning.  He would hold the car for me.

This is when having a truck comes in handy.

Or a Navigator. I wanted to try towing something with the Lincoln.

Hello Dolly!
(Old person's reference!)

I drove out to Fresno the next morning during a 100+ degree hot spell that had hit all of Northern Calif. I called the seller once I was enroute. The car looked as good as I'd hoped, especially the right side which didn't have a picture displayed. It started right up, the seller gave me a bit of backstory. He told me that the HVAC didn't work, and the right window didn't go down. There were a couple of small dings as well as a small dent in front of the left rear wheel. The left front fender trim was missing. So was the inner fender liner! There was no owner's manual in the car, and he had only one key and the remote. As it turns out. he'd had it smogged only a couple of months before, along with an oil change. He'd also replaced the left rear tire since he'd had a flat. I suppose that the tire was too old for a shop to repair. I took it for a test drive around his condo complex and it seemed to be okay. I wasn't going to haggle over the price, I told him that I'd take it! 

We had a nice conversation was we filled out the paperwork. I still had a week to register it in my name without getting another smog test. 

We went outside in the now 102 degree sun to load the car on the dolly. 

Front wheel drive cars are easy to tow, since they can be towed on a dolly. The rear wheels aren't connected to the power train, so there's no need to disconnect a drive shaft. Initially, I had placed the gear selector in neutral. It wasn't until I stopped to check the loading before I entered the freeway, that I realized that the transmission should be in Park, which would also keep the wheels more securely on the dolly.

It was a hot day (over 100 degrees) combined with blazing sunlight, while I had loaded up the car with the seller giving me some direction. It was loaded a bit to one side, but I didn't think that would be a problem. A bigger problem was the turnbuckle for the wheel strap was located too far to the right, and the strap angled off from the top of the wheel. The opposite turnbuckle seemed to be located properly. 

I decided that it was a good idea to stop and check the car and dolly before I entered the freeway. I stopped in the parking lot of a gas station and unloaded the car to reposition it. That meant kneeling down on the hot pavement, lowering the dolly's ramps, and undoing the safety chains and wheel straps. I pulled out a rubber floor mat from the Nav and used it to protect my knees from the heat. 

It took two tries to get the car loaded properly, but the wheel strap just didn't fit, it was still at an angle. It had worked itself off the top of the tire in just the couple of miles that I'd driven it so far. Why was the turnbuckle positioned like that? I checked the right side and found that the turnbuckle was on a sliding mount that could be adjusted for the proper location. I tried to move the left side and it was stuck all the way to the right. I couldn't move it by hand. I retrieved the lug wrench from the Riv and banged on the turnbuckle and it freed up and was easily moved to the proper position. 

It was so hot! I had parked where there was some shade from a small  tree, and took occasional breaks in the shade. I was concerned that I might pass out from heat exhaustion! After I loaded the car I went inside the market and bought a big soda. I sat in the Nav with a/c on trying to cool down. Before I left I went back to give everything another once over. That's when I put the transmission in "Park" and applied the parking brake, this way I didn't have to leave the ignition in the "on" position. 

I was ready to go when I looked under the car and saw that I'd left the loading ramps extended! It would have been awfully noisy if I'd driven off like that! I called my Wife to let her know that I was on my way home from Fresno. My poor Wife, I was not in the mood for an extended conversation and I was pretty abrupt. I was quite tired. It's easy to forget things and to make mistakes when the heat combines with fatigue, so it's a good thing that I double checked my work! 

Home again. Mileage while towing was an average of 16 mpg.
It's much easier to unload a car from a dolly.

I took it pretty easy on the drive home, keeping it at 60-65 mph. I didn't need any drama, just a safe drive home. It was 102 degrees on the drive out of Fresno, but got cooler as I approached home. Driving over the Pacheco Pass was without incident, but I kept my speed in check on the twisty downhill descent approaching the Casa de Fruta. The rig was very stable and I was passed by all kinds of trailers and campers, and even another truck towing a car on a dolly. The Navigator had no problem maintaining freeway speeds going uphill, unlike my V6 F150. Even without trailer brakes, the Nav had no trouble stopping, it is rated at 8,000 lbs, towing capacity, and this load was only about half of that. But tail gating is for suckers. I arrived home tired but happy, and it was easy to unload the car by myself. But dinner came first!

My new car was home, safe and sound, and I had a story to tell about it.

And that, is just another episode of the Car Guy's life!

 My truck just passed it's latest milepost,

Photo taken  several years ago on a trip to
the Oregon coast.

It just completed 170,000 miles. I bought it brand new in 2007. 

A couple of months after I went through the trauma of having my '96 Mustang fail it's smog test, I needed to smog my truck.

Like all my other cars, my truck doesn't accumulate much mileage, but it's steady. I use my truck at least once a week, and put 60 miles on it on that day. This is a pretty good use pattern, I drive it on a 60 mile round trip, plenty of time for the engine to reach operating temperature as most of the trip is at freeway speeds. This also helps me run through the gas in the tank. I don't keep the tank more than a quarter, to half full, so it isn't full of months old gas. 

I figure that I put around 250 miles a month on the truck, that works out to about 3,000 miles a year. Though I drove it to the Sacramento area a couple of months ago to pick up a piece of furniture that my Wife had bought while on an outing. 

It's been awhile since I had the oil changed, I try to keep the intervals to approx 5,000 miles, which is only once a year. I decided that would be my first step in my smog test preparation.

I thought that I would clean the MAF sensor, except that the V6 engine doesn't have one! ????

After the oil change I decided to put some better gas in the tank. I have to admit that I'm a cheapskate, and I always use the cheapest gas that I can find. I never had a problem with any of my cars. The '06 Mustang, as well as the Navigator, both suggest premium gas, but they run fine on the cheapest 87 octane. I also don't run my cars very hard, no constant heavy acceleration and high speed running, just occasional towing with my truck.

As I mentioned before, I let my '96 Mustang sit for months with some cheap gas in the tank. I didn't even try to burn it up or top it off with fresh stuff. I also didn't drive the car long enough to get it really warmed up before the test. After it failed, the tech advised me to run some premium for the retest, which I did. I don't know if it made the difference, but I didn't want to take any chances, so I put in a quarter tank of Chevron Supreme, which I consider the best gas. The odometer read 169,960 miles and I drove it up and down US101 before I took it to the Smog Hut for the test. 

On the way home the odometer turned over 170K. 

The weather has finally turned for the arrival of Spring and I ran the truck through the car wash. I sprayed some Castrol Super Cleaner on the tires, before I left, since I ran out of Bleche White. The tires were pretty grubby looking.  The wash made a huge difference in how it looks. I spent some time applying preservative to the black plastic trim on the grille and bumpers as well as the door handles. I then wiped it down with water less car wash. It looked pretty good, but it still needs a good polishing and waxing. 

I've got to clean out the interior, as my work truck, it starts to accumulate quite a bit of stuff.

A few months ago I spent some time trying to polish out some minor scratches, as well as polishing the headlamps. Some of the scratches in the clear coat show as white against the green color. 

It needs the cowl vent grille replaced, some parts of it have deteriorated from exposure to the Sun.

The top is bulging a bit too much to fit the new top molding.
That will take a bit of massaging.

The tail gate top trim piece was a thin plastic molding and it fell off years ago. I bought a stainless steel replacement that was quite expensive at 169.00. I have to straighten out the top of the tailgate a bit before I can attach that. I backed into a post with the tail gate down, which put a dent in the top. That's why the trim became loose and later fell off. 

Looks bad, but still comfy.

The interior of the truck has held up pretty well. The driver's seat bottom is cracked and split, the steering wheel shows some wear at the top. I bought one of those cheap, stretch on steering wheel covers, but I will have to buy a replacement seat upholstery replacement. This will be an original OEM part, I can't stand those horrible polyester knit stretch on seat covers. 

I've owned this truck for 16 years and it's been pretty good. I wanted a long bed, and the access cab is a bonus. I had considered a V8 model, but I wanted a base truck, and most V8s were equipped with more stuff that I didn't want. The V6 has been more than adequate, and only disappoints when it's towing it's max load of 6,000 lbs. up a mountain. The V6 also gets respectable gas mileage, I can get 20 mpg. on the highway at a steady 65 mph. 

I wanted a truck with rubber floors instead of carpets, manual windows, seats, mirrors, and door locks. The real important good stuff was built in at the factory. It has power rack and pinion steering, power brakes with four wheel discs and ABS. It also came with the factory towing set up. I added a chassis receiver tow mount. A tilt wheel, FM radio (since replaced with CD player) and most importantly A/C. It has my favorite gauge layout with a big round speedo with the other four gauges surrounding it. Cruise control would have been nice, but it doesn't come with the XL work truck trim package, and I didn't want the more expensive XLT series goodies. I lucked out when the dealer had a Forest Green truck, most work trucks come in white. My mind was made up the instant I took a test drive in it.  

It has really comfortable seats, is quiet, and rides very smooth. It handles surprisingly well and I love driving it. I've taken it on many long trips, for just my Wife and I, it's perfect. Carrying a third passenger makes everything miserable and cramped. I can see why crew cab trucks are so popular, but my truck was bought as a work truck. Luckily I've got other vehicles for carrying more passengers. 

I don't have any desire to modify the truck with different wheels or a custom grille. It is fine just the way it is. I have no desire for a newer or fancier rig. I'm just going to take care of the truck I've already got.

At sixteen years and counting, I'd say that I've gotten my moneys worth.

It's a keeper. 

The truck lives outside, like most work trucks. It sits under a large tree at the curb, which helps cut down on UV exposure. But there is also a downside. It recently got covered by dirt, Redwood tree pods and debris, and bird droppings, all cemented by an unusual late Summer rain storm. I pulled the cover off the housing for the roll up tonneau cover, and vacuumed out all the accumulated leaves and debris.

Time for another clay bar, polish and wax.

If it's going to be a keeper, I'd better take care of this stuff. I'll cover these procedures in future posts.

 Seek and Ye shall find. Part Two.

Good advice.

Does this look like a Cadillac, or what?

I think that it does, even down to the tiny fins formed by the tail lights. 

This is the last of the FWD sedans, the XTS. It replaced the DTS. The DTS replaced the final DeVille series. With the end of the DTS, Cadillac finally said goodbye to the NorthStar engine. This engine was much maligned, but when it debuted in the early '90's, it started a whole new era for American luxury cars. 

I had a '94 Seville STS, only three years old at the time. It was beautiful, and it ran like a scalded dog. That Seville was a beauty, the design was clean and aggressive, and it was completely American. It was my then current dream car and I got to own it. For some reason, the fact that it was FWD became a real problem with the buff books, as the German cars were all RWD. FWD which had once been the hot set up, now it became passe. Relegated to econo boxes! 

This is the last movie in which Stallone 
still looked like Stallone. If it's good enough for Sly...

Well, I can tell you that it handled just fine on any highway you could choose. Yes, it did not feel like a RWD car when you really hung it out, but it could still go around curves pretty well. Have you ever seen the Stallone movie "Get Carter?" Ol' Sly is driving a black Cadillac STS and gets into a chase with an old Jaguar XJ6. That Seville hangs the rear out in an amazing manner.

This STS is the next model after mine.

I actually thought that the 2000-2005 Deville looked pretty good. It now shared the same platform as the Seville. It was now only 207.6 inches in length. This model shed almost all of the traditional DeVille styling details except the egg crate grille. The square headlamps, slanted roof line, and square tail lamps gave it a kind of anonymous vibe, but I thought it looked like a big Seville. Kinda.

It certainly looks better in black.

I suppose that it was too anonymous, because the DTS that replaced it displayed all the heritage Cadillac design cues, but without the Deville name. All under the banner of Art and Science. While still a large car, it was also a more manageable 207.6 inches in length.

The DTS had an egg crate grille, stacked head lamps, and thin vertical tail lamps, all traditional cues. I must admit that it looked like a proper Cadillac.

The big Cadillac got a platform change to produce the 2013 XTS, still FWD with a 300 hp. V6. It was produced until 2109 with one face lift. This  model was slightly smaller with a length of 201 inches.

The XTS shared the division's new look, based on the successful Escalade. I will admit that newer Cadillacs are quite attractive, and they are immediately recognizable as a Cadillac. 

There's a lot to like with the XTS. The styling is more contemporary. The interiors are quite nice.  A normal non turbo V6 is available. The earliest models are already ten years old. Depreciation has brought the prices down. The last models were made in 2019 so lots of used examples in good condition, with low miles, are available. They fulfill all my new "Vintage Lite"criteria.

As I stated earlier  I don't have a  problem with FWD.

The interiors are a big step up from the 2000 models. The dash looks modern and cool, there is a nice use of wood, and the switch gear, which was always a let down in the 2000+ models, looks much better. 

This is a nice interior, and nice interiors
 are an important thing to me.

Cadillac also seems to know a thing or two about wood.

I will admit that Cadillac's new line of SUVs and cross overs are also looking pretty good.

Cadillac CTS, late model with a lot to recommend it
and plenty to choose from

Another possible candidate is the face lifted 2012+ CTS. The new more curved front end styling really conveys the traditional road locomotive vibe. The interior was upgraded extensively. These are RWD V6 models but they also have 300 hp. which is plenty. They are considered to be pretty good handlers while maintaining an acceptable ride. These are still in production so there are plenty to choose from.  I was checking one out, while on my Cadillac Quest, and found the interior a bit snug, but acceptable, even in the back seat. The quality and appearance of the interior was also quite acceptable and many color options were offered, so I wouldn't have to settle for a black interior.  A low mileage pampered example would be the preferred choice. Imagine buying a used car just to drive it, with the expectation of years of trouble free service. Makes me feel like a regular car buyer. 

Of course I'm as likely to buy a brand new Cadillac as I am to buy a new Navigator. But that isn't the point. The fun is finding a car that you would like to have bought new, at a greatly depreciated price. I've even been checking out the XLR, the Cadillac Corvette, 

So I suppose that there is hope for an old Cadillac lover like me.There is going to be a steady availability of good used cars becoming available and at better prices as the years progress. 

It all depends where my attention is focused. 

Does this mean that I'm starting to lose interest in Vintage cars? Kinda-Maybe. I liked vintage cars not just because they were vintage, I liked them because they were desirable to me and affordable. This is the important criteria, true vintage cars have really been losing the affordability battle.