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Thread: 1986 LeBaron Wagon

  1. #1
    Garrett booster
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    1986 LeBaron Wagon

    So last year I scooped up a turbo wagon for the sweet price of FREE from an older lady down in Virginia with plans to put it together for my wife to drive (so she can stop taking my SRT swapped wagon from me during the summer). It needed a good bit of work, and has quite a bit of "custom" body work done to it (the lady didn't own a vehicle with any straight panels), and had a dead alternator. Turns out, it had quite a bit more electrical gremlins than I had originally thought. 2 alternators, 2 voltage regulators, and some head banging later I have it charging just fine. Put some used Auto Zone Daytona rear springs on it and Napa shocks on the back to replace the broken/frozen/blown rear air shocks and it rides pretty nice, although quite a bit nose high now. I plan on putting 2gn neon front struts on the front to bring the nose down and doing a DIY fix for the window regulators up front and seeing if I can get the AC system to hold a charge. I'm going to delete the cat since it's smelling pretty bad, and build a cheap exhaust system because she likes to hear turbo noises, and eventually I plan to turn the boost up some. I know performance is going to be limited with the log setup but should be pretty fun as it is for her, and hopefully save some cost on fuel vs the 6.2 gas f250 she's been driving.

    Eventually I'm going to order all 4 brake hoses, a new fuel filter, and a couple rolls of polyarmor lines to replace all the brake and fuel lines since they're pretty crusty. Other than the passenger rocker panel, and the dirty interior, the car is in remarkably good shape and only has 121K miles.

    When I get out of work I'll upload some images, I just thought about it while I had some free time sitting here at work. Thanks for all the help you guys have given me over the years. You all have helped more than you'll ever know.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Actually just found this one, hood is partially popped in here, but it is also slightly bent.
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  2. #2
    Super Moderator Turbo Mopar Staff 135sohc's Avatar
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    Re: 1986 LeBaron Wagon

    SUR&R copper-alloy is the stuff to get now. Zoro/grainger with a coupon has the best price delivered.
    1994 Shadow Sedan. 2.2 N/A, A568 400,000 miles. "the science experiment"
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    ...if you know what I mean... Turbo Mopar Contributor csxtra's Avatar
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    Re: 1986 LeBaron Wagon

    Quote Originally Posted by 135sohc View Post
    SUR&R copper-alloy is the stuff to get now. Zoro/grainger with a coupon has the best price delivered.
    +1 on this...easy to bend/flare and no corrosion worries.

    And the SUR&R double flaring tool works GREAT for making up brake lines on NiCopp.
    Warren Hall
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    Rhymes with tortoise. Turbo Mopar Staff cordes's Avatar
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    Re: 1986 LeBaron Wagon

    Quote Originally Posted by csxtra View Post
    +1 on this...easy to bend/flare and no corrosion worries.

    And the SUR&R double flaring tool works GREAT for making up brake lines on NiCopp.
    That looks neat. I picked up the mastercool unit this last summer and it did a great job.

  5. #5
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    Re: 1986 LeBaron Wagon

    She is a keeper if she will drive that! In the 12 years I have owned my Omni, I don't think my wife has ever even sat in it.

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    Re: 1986 LeBaron Wagon

    Quote Originally Posted by 135sohc View Post
    SUR&R copper-alloy is the stuff to get now. Zoro/grainger with a coupon has the best price delivered.
    I was going to use the polyarmor coated steel lines since it's bendable by hand, but I'll look into the copper-alloy stuff. Whatever I use wont be a big deal, this won't be her winter beater or anything.

    Quote Originally Posted by jamesmonty View Post
    She is a keeper if she will drive that! In the 12 years I have owned my Omni, I don't think my wife has ever even sat in it.
    She loves these weird quirky old cars lol. When she was pregnant with our daughter (who's now 9) her daily was a 93 2.5 5 speed voyager, she loved that van. She often steals my SRT swapped LeBaron to drive the kids to the store or to school during the warmer months. One time when I was traveling for work I called her and I heard her say "hold on a second" and then a flurry of engine revs, tires spinning, and boost noises. She came back and said "I just raced some chick in a mustang" I'm happy I put a ring on that one.

  7. #7
    Super Moderator Turbo Mopar Staff 135sohc's Avatar
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    Re: 1986 LeBaron Wagon

    If your not doing any flaring (using premade sections) it is not so much a big deal to use steel. The copper alloy stuff is just so nice to work with and it makes perfect flares every time. AGS used to promote their lines were made in north america, the last few times I bought some pre-made sections and bulk coils they were sourced from China... just not the same quality I came to expect with AGS. The SUR&R branded stuff is made here, marked in 12 inch intervals and they anneal it just right so it does bend and flare better than anything from AGS (steel or their copper alloy) IMO.
    1994 Shadow Sedan. 2.2 N/A, A568 400,000 miles. "the science experiment"
    1987 Shelby CSX #418. Long term rebuild and restore ?

  8. #8
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    Re: 1986 LeBaron Wagon

    Quote Originally Posted by 135sohc View Post
    If your not doing any flaring (using premade sections) it is not so much a big deal to use steel. The copper alloy stuff is just so nice to work with and it makes perfect flares every time. AGS used to promote their lines were made in north america, the last few times I bought some pre-made sections and bulk coils they were sourced from China... just not the same quality I came to expect with AGS. The SUR&R branded stuff is made here, marked in 12 inch intervals and they anneal it just right so it does bend and flare better than anything from AGS (steel or their copper alloy) IMO.
    Well I'll probably just end up making the flares myself since it'll be easier for me, thanks for the tip!

    Took the car on a road trip the other night. On the way back it started raining. This is when I learned that the low beam reflectors are separating on both sides, the wipers don't work, and the high beams were pointed at the sky because the Daytona springs had it squatted in the rear. So instead of fixing any of that, I lowered the front with 03 neon struts I had laying around . I'll post up a pic when I get home. I have a set of LeBaron GTC wheels laying around that my wife loves that I'm going to toss onto this. Car needs an alignment super bad now (it needs tie rods too), but at least it looks rad.

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