If you were the best wagon of the 90s which one would you be?

dculberson wrote: I love the B-body wagons, ie the Roadmaster, but they do not fit the bill here. They're "fun" to drive in a straight line and they're comfy, but they're nailed together like a Soviet era truck and handle just about as well. A new set of shocks and stiffer springs would help, but you're still piloting around 4,700 pounds of loosely connected steel. Granted, with 260hp on tap and RWD it's still fun, but curvy mountain roads are not its forte.

Bobzilla wrote: But he said "fun". I don't think Honda even knew what that word meant when they created the Accord wagon.

I know you're joking, but the Accord wagon was actually a heck of a car. It's barely heavier than the sedan and the H22 and 5-speed from a Prelude drop right in. You can get 200hp and 33 mpg pretty easily. It's probably beyond the purview of this thread but they're neat cars. A stock one is not un-entertaining to drive if you're okay with FWD, and a lightly modified one can be a blast. Jere, the last thing I would worry about is resale value. Even an "uncommon AWD turbo wagon" is going to eat up any future gains in current costs. You'll never make money on a car, especially a project. Between purchase cost and maintenance you'll be way in the negative compared to modding what you've got, but I don't consider those things when deciding what car to get. Just get what you want and can afford and enjoy it!

I haven't been looking at the resale value specifically, maybe I should be though, just put some blinders on, and be happy with the free car

Now I am thinking I should have said sentimental valve or potential for upgrades as some of the defining factors .

For example why not sell the Camry for say a Volvo. I could probably make a little money to put towards parts for the Volvo and gain RWD in the process. Then maybe have a car that might almost be a classic 15 years from now if it doesn't die in a crash sometime along the way? I don't know that there will be sentiment for the Camry like there will be for a turbo Volvo.

As far as upgrades I could carried away with the camry and do a motor/trans swap maybe see 300HP+ on the camry but it will always be a FWD plow crazy boat. Before I get carried away with the camry, why not a better platform with similar costs. There isn't much in the line of off the shelf suspension parts out there for the camry either (Maybe a good limitation rather than thinking about 300hp as a family car). If it was say the civic wagon, upgraded suspension parts can cost close to what replacement parts would.

We also have a PT Cruiser taking up space in the driveway that would just be nice to get rid of/ cash in.

Swank Force One wrote:

Bobzilla wrote:

dculberson wrote: I love the B-body wagons, ie the Roadmaster, but they do not fit the bill here. They're "fun" to drive in a straight line and they're comfy, but they're nailed together like a Soviet era truck and handle just about as well. A new set of shocks and stiffer springs would help, but you're still piloting around 4,700 pounds of loosely connected steel. Granted, with 260hp on tap and RWD it's still fun, but curvy mountain roads are not its forte.

I disagree. See point A.) http://bangshift.com/blog/category/project-cars/bangshiftprojects/buford After owning a couple B-body 9C1's, I can say they are not all that great in a straight line, but much better when you have to use the round thing in front of the driver.

Weird, so if you significantly modify the suspension of a car, it can perform better?

If "significantly modify" means changing shocks, springs and worn out parts for new, then yeah, it's significantly changed.

jere wrote: We also have a PT Cruiser taking up space in the driveway that would just be nice to get rid of/ cash in.

Eeek!

Bobzilla wrote:

Swank Force One wrote:

Bobzilla wrote:

dculberson wrote: I love the B-body wagons, ie the Roadmaster, but they do not fit the bill here. They're "fun" to drive in a straight line and they're comfy, but they're nailed together like a Soviet era truck and handle just about as well. A new set of shocks and stiffer springs would help, but you're still piloting around 4,700 pounds of loosely connected steel. Granted, with 260hp on tap and RWD it's still fun, but curvy mountain roads are not its forte.

I disagree. See point A.) http://bangshift.com/blog/category/project-cars/bangshiftprojects/buford After owning a couple B-body 9C1's, I can say they are not all that great in a straight line, but much better when you have to use the round thing in front of the driver.

Weird, so if you significantly modify the suspension of a car, it can perform better?

If "significantly modify" means changing shocks, springs and worn out parts for new, then yeah, it's significantly changed.

The point was, you can make damn near anything handle acceptably with the proper shocks and springs.

A Jeep Cherokee won the autocross portion of the GRM Challenge this year.

In reply to ReverendDexter: Ha yeah I think that everytime I do any work on it I figure if we give it enough time it will spontaneously-combustion on it's own

Bobzilla wrote:

Swank Force One wrote:

Bobzilla wrote:

dculberson wrote: I love the B-body wagons, ie the Roadmaster, but they do not fit the bill here. They're "fun" to drive in a straight line and they're comfy, but they're nailed together like a Soviet era truck and handle just about as well. A new set of shocks and stiffer springs would help, but you're still piloting around 4,700 pounds of loosely connected steel. Granted, with 260hp on tap and RWD it's still fun, but curvy mountain roads are not its forte.

I disagree. See point A.) http://bangshift.com/blog/category/project-cars/bangshiftprojects/buford After owning a couple B-body 9C1's, I can say they are not all that great in a straight line, but much better when you have to use the round thing in front of the driver.

Weird, so if you significantly modify the suspension of a car, it can perform better?

If "significantly modify" means changing shocks, springs and worn out parts for new, then yeah, it's significantly changed.

They did a whole lot more than springs and shocks. The one thing I don't like is the upper arms on the rear, looks like lot's of bind being introduced.

That build is an awedome read, I'll be following from here on in

Well its not from the 90s, but there is a pretty neat cadillac wagon I've been jonsing on lately. I cannot recall the model name, but its letters.

EDIT: first gen SRX

Adrian_Thompson wrote:

Bobzilla wrote:

Swank Force One wrote:

Bobzilla wrote:

dculberson wrote: I love the B-body wagons, ie the Roadmaster, but they do not fit the bill here. They're "fun" to drive in a straight line and they're comfy, but they're nailed together like a Soviet era truck and handle just about as well. A new set of shocks and stiffer springs would help, but you're still piloting around 4,700 pounds of loosely connected steel. Granted, with 260hp on tap and RWD it's still fun, but curvy mountain roads are not its forte.

I disagree. See point A.) http://bangshift.com/blog/category/project-cars/bangshiftprojects/buford After owning a couple B-body 9C1's, I can say they are not all that great in a straight line, but much better when you have to use the round thing in front of the driver.

Weird, so if you significantly modify the suspension of a car, it can perform better?

If "significantly modify" means changing shocks, springs and worn out parts for new, then yeah, it's significantly changed.

They did a whole lot more than springs and shocks. The one thing I don't like is the upper arms on the rear, looks like lot's of bind being introduced. That build is an awedome read, I'll be following from here on in

YEah, they replaced 20+ year old bushings/balljoints/control arms etc...... hence the "worn out parts for new" line in there.

But you are correct, I love the build. I had an 89 9C1 that I wish I'd never gotten rid of.

They also replaced suspension arms in the rear upper and lower), solid metal (not delrin) bushings in the front, plus new bars. I don't konw from reading it how much if any they changed the geometry, but this was a whole whole lot more than a quick refurb plus springs and shocks. The front may work quite well, but the rear is now operating in bind. What's the old ACBC quote? "If you stop any suspension moving it will work quite well" Something like that. I'm sure the car is great despite the borked up rear suspension, and I love it personaly, I even posted it in the hotlink thread.

jere wrote: Relevant criteria in order of importance for those that want it. 1. must a 90's era wagon 2. must be cheap to care for and feed (ie parts and fuel the camry got about 25mpg hwy with roof basket loaded up and 20 in the city) 3. Fun 4. Other random practicalities like space for cargo passengers bonus points for wagons that won't need pushed out of the sandy beaches.

Not as cool as some other wagons in this thread, but a Saturn SW2 would meet all those requirements quite well, especially after a few bolt-ons. Unlike many wagons mentioned, its quite easy to find cheap, with a manual trans.

ProDarwin wrote:

jere wrote: Relevant criteria in order of importance for those that want it. 1. must a 90's era wagon 2. must be cheap to care for and feed (ie parts and fuel the camry got about 25mpg hwy with roof basket loaded up and 20 in the city) 3. Fun 4. Other random practicalities like space for cargo passengers bonus points for wagons that won't need pushed out of the sandy beaches.

Not as cool as some other wagons in this thread, but a Saturn SW2 would meet all those requirements quite well, especially after a few bolt-ons. Unlike many wagons mentioned, its quite easy to find cheap, with a manual trans.

Funny story re an SW2 Wagon. BAck in the 90's I had a friend who ordered an SW2, fully loaded, leather, everything she could get with a manual trans. They kept questioning her about the trans when she ordered it. When it arrived and she went to pick it up, the whole staff inc the manager and owner came out to see why someone would ant a loaded wagon with a manual, it just didn't compute for them.

In reply to ProDarwin:

I'd love to come across one of those easy to find SW2s with a manual transmission, that's currently at the top of my list for my next daily driver.