We could write books on wagons. You either love them or loathe them. They remind us of kids. Pointing fingers and wacing at the cars behind you, with that flipped backward jump seat. They’re sometimes racecars too, maybe it’s the weight distribution or the stealthy factor. I believe it’s the juax-do-position of a family truckster doing wheelies off the line.
For 840 Customs, this 1992 Buick Roadmaster was something the entire shop got behind. “I’m always looking for weird new things,” Brandon said. “That’s kind of what we do. We build weird stuff.”
The Roadmaster came out of Sacramento, chosen mostly because it was clean. No rust, no big drama, just a bone-stock B-body wagon with a TBI 350 and enough blank-canvas energy to get Brandon’s attention. For 840 Customs, it became a multi-phase project meant to push a platform that does not exactly have Camaro-level aftermarket support.
“This platform’s just weird, so there’s not a lot of support for it,” Brandon said. Naturally, that made it more interesting.
Under the hood now is an LM7 5.3-liter pulled from a 2004 Silverado. The engine has been fully built with a forged rotating assembly and is intended to support serious power once the next phase comes together. The plan is a mirrored turbo setup, likely using a pair of Precision 64/66mm mirrored turbos.
“I’m a designer at heart, so I’m always looking for what looks the best,” Brandon said. “Get some performance, but it’s got to look nice.”
That sums up the whole car. The Roadmaster is not trying to hide the work. It is trying to make the work look intentional.
Engine management is handled by a Holley Terminator X Max, mounted cleanly in the glove box. The swap also uses a 4L80E transmission, a Holley intake setup, and a dual-injector arrangement that gives Brandon room to grow when the turbo system goes on.
Brandon owns 840 Customs out of Salt Lake City, Utah, where the shop works on a little bit of everything. At the time of the interview, they had several 1960s muscle cars in the shop, along with the Roadmaster and a Cadillac project in the works.
But the common thread is not any one era or style. It’s the blend.
“We’re focusing on bridging that gap between the old-school cars and all the new technology,” Brandon said.
That makes the Roadmaster a pretty accurate rolling business card. It is an old full-size GM wagon with modern engine management, a built LS-based drivetrain, a tucked engine bay, custom interior work, 3D-printed parts, and enough oddball charm to make people stop and ask questions before they even know what they are looking at.
For all the custom work, the wagon is not just a trailer piece. Brandon and the 840 Customs crew drove it to LS Fest West from Salt Lake City, a roughly 500-mile trip.
The wheels help with that presence, too. The Roadmaster sits on 22x9s in the rear and 20x8.5s up front, giving the longroof enough stance without completely burying the fact that it is still a full-size Buick wagon.
Inside, the Roadmaster has been completely reworked. Brandon said it is the only wagon he knows of with a full black interior, which meant stripping and re-dyeing the cabin rather than simply swapping in a few parts and calling it done.
The interior also shows how 840 Customs approaches the little stuff. There is a custom 3D-printed eyebrow over the Holley dash, a floating stereo head unit, a Grant steering wheel, and a custom center console based around a 1994 Impala piece with 3D-printed inserts.
“This whole car, there’s like 26 3D-printed parts on it,” Brandon said. “Just to make things new and fresh and try to keep the platform moving.”
That is a good way to think about this build. It is not a restoration. It is not a pro-touring car in the usual sense. It is a big GM wagon being pushed forward one phase at a time.
Two years ago, Brandon said they completed the drivetrain swap. The year before, they tackled the suspension. This year, the focus was on the interior and the 3D-printed details. The turbo system is next on the list.
