1989 Pontiac 6000 Wagon - my build thread

[wagonman76]

This is the winter ride so I am not so concerned about keeping it nice.

Heres the first quick and dirty mod, a grille block made of coroplast. I just cut an oversized piece of thin coroplast, sandwiched it under the emblem to keep it from going anywhere, and tucked everything else in. The top side has a couple zip ties and is screwed down through the hood latch since it was handy. Then I cut around the headlights. The factory 6000 grille was a real cobjob style, huge gaps everywere. Hopefully this should made a little difference. I may paint it, but it is zero degrees outside and is supposed to be -20 to -30 next week. Maybe itll raise the engine temp a tad too.

The airdam was the biggest help on my Celeb, but the same thing wouldnt last a day on this car with all the snow I have to push through. Some people on here have talked about rubber belting. I can get it at work, but I wonder how it would hold up going down the road. Theres a lot of wind force at 55 mph, I wonder if it would just push out of the way.

Heres a shot of the rear just for kicks. I started to remove the roof rack crossbars, but they wouldnt come out unless I pulled the whole roof rack off. Id like them to be more easily removable because I do use it sometimes to haul things. Maybe Ill figure something out. I think the rear wing could be hurting airflow too, it is about level with the top of the roof rack and is supposed to direct some airflow down over the window. I started to remove it but Im going to have to get some hardware. I had some hinges for a non-wing a-wagon once, but hard to say if I still have them buried somewhere, thatd be the way to go.

[RH77]

Good grille-block -- let us know if it works out! I'm wondering about the rear spoiler -- was it a factory install? I'm trying to remember if it has merit with air re-direction...

I really miss the good old mid-size A-body wagon. It seems like GM had it figured-out with the Celebrity, 6000, and Cutlass Cruiser. I really hope people warm up to a the idea of traditional wagons again -- honestly, I'd buy one. Instead, we get the Toyota Venza instead of a "Camry Wagon" and the "Crossover" designation.

-Rick

[lunarhighway]

looks like a 90's passat

[wagonman76]

Kinda sorta does. My first thought was a Merkur XR4Ti.


So far I dont notice much any change in operating temperature. Warmup might be a wee bit faster. Ill have to wait till the temperature goes back to normal outside for an honest comparison. We are below zero right now along with most of the northern states.

The wing on the back of the wagon was factory. Most of wagons Ive seen had the wing, but they did make some without. My old white 6000 SE wagon did not have the factory wing, and many years ago I swapped one on for the look. Im sure I saved the non-wing hinges, like I save everything else.

The a-bodies were great cars, and there are still a lot of them running around here. I always preferred wagons over SUVs and minivans.

[wagonman76]

Last Saturday the weather was temporarily warm, so I got to do some things. I found my old non-wing hinges and special bolts. The wife complains about me keeping these kinds of things, but I usually end up using them again some time or another. You can see the difference between the wing and non-wing hinges.

Then I removed the roof rack. I tried and it did not come apart at all. So I just removed the whole thing. I happened to find enough proper metric bolts in my bolt cans to plug all the threaded holes and keep the roof from leaking.

I was hoping to notice something, but Monday we had the worst storm of the season, and hence my worst mpg of the season, 22. Then the next couple days we had the highest winds of the season, 50-60 mph. I guess my mods seemed to work because despite the wind and storm I was able to get a tank of 27.

Then Thursday it cleared off, even though it was 0 deg F. We get these really heavy strips of laminated cardboard at work off the steel we buy. They are formed as an L shape. I took one and smashed it mostly flat, then cut it to the length of my existing cracked valence. I tried my best to gently form it to the curves, it still tore one layer. Then I screwed it on with a bunch of drywall screws. I figure if I damage it or if it gets soaked and falls apart, no big loss and it will be free to replace. It almost matches the bottom gray of the car, doesn't look too bad. I wanted it done to go downstate with on Friday.

Friday on the way to work, it seemed to make quite a difference. I noticed several things. First it would coast farther and more easily. Also my mpg with the foot off the gas was noticeably higher at the same speeds as before, not sure exactly why that is but I'll take it. I also got my best downstate mileage last night. There was still a lot of wind too. Engine temp is about the same as always. I did hit it on some frozen mud downstate but it hardly did anything to it. So far so good.

[Big Dave]

I use an air dam and it is quite effective, but I don't kid myself about using it in thev snow.

[wagonman76]

The cardboard airdam had separated its laminate in places but was still intact all the way from one end to the other. It held up surprisingly well.

In the spring cleanup piles I found a ton of lawn edging, including one brand new roll. Spring cleanup truly is the most wonderful time of the year. So I removed the cardboard airdam and made one out of some of the new lawn edging.

I'll leave it on and once the snow comes, I'll see if it bends or breaks or whatever, or who knows it might just hold up.

Also this summer I would like to make a real metal grille block for it.

[wagonman76]

Here's the new grille block (actually did it before it snowed last year). It's a piece of heavy duty hypalon (scrap from work) and around back it's tied on with a couple of long shoelaces, and sandwiched under the emblem.

Maybe I'll "basjoos" the headlights (cram weatherstrip in the gaps).