Donated LT1: 1995 Buick Roadmaster

This 1995 Buick Roadmaster showed up at my favorite car donation seller on eBay, and for those of you who know, the ’95s came with the Corvette-derived LT1 engine. Unlike most of the donation cars that show up here, this Buick is a running, driving car with no discernable issues aside from the usual cosmetic faults associated with a driver. The Roadmaster is an alternative to the Chevrolet Impala SS for far less money as the collectability has never come close to that of the SS. All told, I’m still more than a little surprised to see bidding as low as it is, as it sits at just $255 here on eBay.

The Roadmaster is still under the radar, in my opinion, especially since all the hoopla seems to surround the Chevy version of the B-body, the Caprice. When enthusiasts began wising up to the fact that the Caprice could be equipped with the LT1, it sparked a bit of a frenzy with grandma’s old wagon in the garage suddenly being sought after. The wagon and LT1 combo is undoubtedly cool, but there were also plenty of other GM long roofs produced without the LT1. One of the more disappointing finds is a B-body without the LT1, so you want to be sure of what you’re buying; an L99 engine is a disappointing alternative to the LT1.

Compared to the Caprice, the Roadmaster was produced in far lower quantities, especially when equipped with the LT1. The 1994-1996 Roadmaster are the LT1 years, and fewer than 100,000 were produced. Forgetting the engine for a moment, the Roadmaster is a phenomenal cruiser with a traditional setup – body-on-frame, rear wheel drive. It’s the last of its kind, a dinosaur if you will, that reminds us how important four doors and bench seating was to the American public for decades. The interior of this Roadmaster shows every mile that its 220,000 mile odometer, but it’s clear the driver was the sole occupant most of the time – the rear bench and passenger front seat look decent.

The 260 horsepower 5.7L V8 is powerful, yes, but in a car of this size, you won’t feel like you’re in a rocket ship. That’s really not the point of the buzz around the LT1 in these big body sedans. It’s the feeling of effortless torque when you bury your foot in the throttle, and the structure being completely nonplussed by the thrust. Based on the description, the only major issue revealed by the seller is the need for new engine mounts and a check engine light caused by a misfire. Overall, unless I’m missing something obvious, this seems like a bargain price for a classic LT1-powered driver.