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I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today!

29621 messages,  Last post on May 22, 2013 at 10:51 AM

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Messages Page 2759 of 2963

#27576 of 29621 Weirdness from Japan by wevk

Jan 16, 2013 (12:45 pm)

http://pinktentacle.com/2010/07/bosozoku-style-rides/

#27577 of 29621 Re: Weirdness from Japan [wevk] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Jan 16, 2013 (6:03 pm)

Replying to: wevk (Jan 16, 2013 12:45 pm)
nobody does weird like the Japanese---they are very imaginative about things like this.

#27578 of 29621 Re: 1987-91 Olds 88 coupe... [uplanderguy] by hpmctorque

Jan 16, 2013 (7:38 pm)

Replying to: uplanderguy (Jan 15, 2013 4:19 pm)
Nineteen eighty five was the the first model year for the FWD Park Avenue and Ninety-Eight. I bought a '85 98 Brougham in '88. Nice, roomy, comfortable car, with relatively good performance and reliability for that period.

#27579 of 29621 Re: 1987-91 Olds 88 coupe... [andre1969] by hpmctorque

Jan 16, 2013 (7:37 pm)

Replying to: andre1969 (Jan 16, 2013 6:52 am)
I bought my '85 98 Brougham with 31,500, and it was already on its second transmission. The original had been repaired or changed under warranty by the first owner. The second transmission failed at 88,000, and the third at 153,---. Since the car also had other needs by then I managed to carefully nurse it to the junk yard. It cost me a traffic ticket, though, because a traffic light turned yellow at an intersection. I didn't want to stop because of the badly slipping transmission, but the light turned red as I approached the intersection, and the camara caught me. The money I got from the junk yard paid for the fine, give or take a beer or two.

#27580 of 29621 . by fintail

Jan 16, 2013 (7:40 pm)

Saw 2 more old 911s today, both 70s era I would guess - a yellow one on black Fuchs style wheels, seemed to be sitting too high, and a silver one on polished Fuchs wheels.

#27581 of 29621 Re: 1987-91 Olds 88 coupe... [andre1969] by ab348

Jan 16, 2013 (7:48 pm)

Replying to: andre1969 (Jan 16, 2013 6:52 am)
Around 1998 or '99 I worked for a time with a fellow who was a bit of a gearhead who had one of the early Olds 88 FWD coupes. I think it was an '87. He still had the original transmission and attributed the longevity of it to the fact that he installed an aftermarket transmission cooler shortly after buying it new.
 
This is a fellow who had a Northstar-equipped Cadillac around that same time whose starter failed when he went to leave work one Friday. He left the car in the open-air parking garage for the night, bought a replacement starter and all the gaskets you'd need to replace it (in the Northstar it was buried in the valley between the cylinder banks, under the intake) and returned on the weekend with his tools and replaced the thing on the spot.

#27582 of 29621 Re: 1987-91 Olds 88 coupe... [ab348] by uplanderguy

Jan 17, 2013 (7:11 am)

Replying to: ab348 (Jan 16, 2013 7:48 pm)
Not two minutes ago, from my upstairs home-office window, I spotted a white '86-'88 white Buick Park Avenue...earlier style of that body with the earlier-style trim and taillights, but looked bone-stock and took off quickly from the stop sign down the street. Funny since we were currently discussing these cars.
 
And people say GM's don't last.

#27583 of 29621 Re: 1987-91 Olds 88 coupe... [uplanderguy] by tjc78

Jan 17, 2013 (7:35 am)

Replying to: uplanderguy (Jan 17, 2013 7:11 am)
I know of someone who put over 250K on an 88 LeSabre. The car was certainly rough around the edges and leaked just about everything but it kept going on original engine/trans.
 
He gave it to a family member known for destroying cars and he managed to get two years out of it before something fatal happened.
 
I am the first one to knock the 3800/4sp when comparing to modern drivetrains (in terms of refinement/power etc) but properly maintained they are certainly bulletproof. I'd put them right up there with Ford's older "lopo" 5.0s and 4.6 modular motors.

#27584 of 29621 Re: 1987-91 Olds 88 coupe... [tjc78] by dieselone

Jan 17, 2013 (8:17 am)

Replying to: tjc78 (Jan 17, 2013 7:35 am)
I am the first one to knock the 3800/4sp when comparing to modern drivetrains (in terms of refinement/power etc) but properly maintained they are certainly bulletproof. I'd put them right up there with Ford's older "lopo" 5.0s and 4.6 modular motors.
 
I agree. Nothing wrong with the durability of the late 3800, but like you I just don't like it. I know some chime the 3800's torque delivery, but I never found the 3800 Series III in my wife's '07 Grand Prix particularly powerful. Sure it was quick to about 40, but after that if always seemed sluggish to me. The 3.5 powered Taurus she has now feels far more responsive and her gas mileage has gone up by 2-3 mpg overall in mixed driving (despite having over 50 more hp and weighing 700+lbs more). Plus I really disliked how crude the 3800 sounded to my ears. Just not my cup of tea.
 
But yeah, if you avoid the 3800s that had intake issues they will last longer than the cars they're in.
 
Ford's 4.6 seems to be able to last a long time too. My dad put 230k on a '92 Crown Vic with relative ease. Of course it was burning oil and would smoke. That seems to be a problem with high mileage 2v 4.6s. But like the 3800, the 4.6 was a great engine in the 90's that were out classed in the '00's.

#27585 of 29621 Re: 1987-91 Olds 88 coupe... [tjc78] by andre1969

Jan 17, 2013 (8:21 am)

Replying to: tjc78 (Jan 17, 2013 7:35 am)
I am the first one to knock the 3800/4sp when comparing to modern drivetrains (in terms of refinement/power etc) but properly maintained they are certainly bulletproof. I'd put them right up there with Ford's older "lopo" 5.0s and 4.6 modular motors.
 
I think towards the end, that combination was getting outdated, so if you wanted the latest and greatest, there were much better choices out there.
 
However, for used cars, often priorities are vastly different. So if you want something cheap to buy (thanks to depreciation) and fairly reliable (as long as you can avoid the intake gasket issues that Dieselone mentioned) and just want something that's "good enough", I think they make decent cars.
 
If something happened to my Park Ave, I don't think I'd actively seek out another though. Not that it's been a bad car, but I just want to experience something different the next time around. Back when my Intrepid got totaled, the first potential replacement I found was another Intrepid. It was a nicer model though, the ES with the more reliable/cheaper-to-fix-when-it-does-break 3.2, and leather, alloys, and a sunroof. But, I figured that after ten years with one Intrepid, it was time to get something else. And, if something happens to the Park Ave, I'm going to try and keep the same attitude.
 
One good thing about the 3800 is that, in the bigger cars at least, usually there's enough sound insulation to drown out any engine coarseness or undesireable sounds.

Messages Page 2759 of 2963

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