I’d rather put $3500 into a learning experience on fixing up a car than buying a Lazy Boy trying to watch anything good on TV.
Edit looks like lazy boys are cheaper but bought a nice brand recliner thing for my mom, it was $3500
It was satirical commentary in response to those who fear spending $100 on a used car.
3 Likes
after a decade there’s no way the gasoline is still good.
You don’t even need to do that. 1 sniff and it’ll be evident that the old gasoline is no longer good. The entire tank and lines will need to be cleaned out before even trying to start this thing. Tester has the right idea. Get a wrench on the crank and see if the engine can even be turned before doing anything else.
4 Likes
Almost a Zero chance of that fuel being usable .
3 Likes
This is a not a lawn mower with a gas tank and carburetor that is vented to the atmosphere. With those after a few years the gasoline dries up and leaves a hard residue that clogs everything up. Worse, it starts to dissolve again with new fuel and pieces of the residue that are past the fuel filter then break loose and clog up the carburetor parts.
This is a car, and if the tank is sealed like it’s supposed to be then the gasoline will not have evaporated away and left a residue like an abandoned lawn mower. The fuel may be too old to burn (like 6 months of summer storage in a lawn mower can do) but certainly not completely dried up.
Evaporation is not the problem. It’s the ethanol in the gas reacting and forming varnish.
4 Likes
I was going to respond, but @texases nailed the it for me.
Another problem with a 1980 anything is that its fuel system wasn’t designed for E10, so the rubber parts could well have deteriorated over the last decade. Brakes would be another place for corrosion problems, master cylinder, calipers, bad hoses, etc, etc.
1 Like
Pretty much any old car can be restored. It depends on what sort of work you like to do. If you prefer to work on the engine/transmission/drivetrain, check for rust problems, as you probably won’t find repairing those much fun. However if you want to get some body repair experience, rust is your friend. Even if you have to totally replace the engine and transmission, this car could still be a winner for you as an occasional or even daily driver…
If your goal is to make a profit on the restoration, that’s a different animal. How successful you’ll be depends a lot on what price the car will bring once restored. That varies all over the place, and to make a profit even if it will bring a good price restored, the restoration will have to be close to something approaching showroom quality
Tester
1 Like
I think there is a lot of “jumping the gun” going on here. Remember, from 1980-1982 this car had the diesel engine as standard equipment. The gas engine was optional. I think the OP’s first step is to ask the neighbor what engine it has. If it’s the diesel he can say “no thank you” before spending a penny on the POS.
4 Likes
You’re right about the diesel being the standard engine, but I bet that very few of those dogs have survived. But good to check.
Couldn’t you reduce the maximum throttle on the diesel injector pump to make the engine last longer? If this is the same vehicle I had a discussion about a long time ago, then the problem is that they used a gasoline engine and cylinder head and modified it to be a diesel without strengthening the parts, especially the valves. People would pay to have it converted back to gasoline.
tester,
That old gasoline article is pure BS. I’ve personally had no problem starting a vehicle with 2+ year old gasoline in the tank and it runs and drives without any problems. I’ve personally started a car with a rusted out gas tank EVAP system where the tank is vented to the atmosphere with 3 to 6 month old gasoline in it and it sputtered and stalled, so I had to add some fresh gasoline to make it run.
Nope. Already a dog at full throttle.
2 Likes
1 in a thousand chance of having the diesel engine, most were replaced with gasoline engines during the first ten years of use. If this Cadillac has a running diesel engine it may be something of interest.
That wasn’t the problem and often you’d have the thing on the floor trying to gain speed-kinda like a VW. Until about 1980 the engine was a lighter version and then they beefed it up. The main issues though were head gaskets due to the head bolts. Another was the Stanadyne injector pump itself that was prone to failure, not like the pumps used in MBs.
I remember pulling the camper south of San Antonio in a head wind. I could maintain a speed of about 45 by shifting from drive to second with the thing floored depending on whether uphill or downhill if you’ve been on that stretch. And that was when it was brand new. No way to salvage that engine.
Been using 91 Octane nonoxygenated gas for cabins 2 cycle boat motors, lawnmower and chainsaw with sea fome, never had a problem till this year. Chainsaw would not start. New air filter as the old one was pretty trashed, new plug as old one was pretty fouled, would not start even with starting fluid. 2 cycle Gas was a couple years old, smelled fine. Fix it shop cleaned the carb, said when they could get it to run the clutch was shot. Going for a 10" electric pole saw now as I am leaving big stuff to the tree guys,
Was there a recall? Today there would probably be a class action lawsuit if a car like that was sold.
Yes sort of. Warranty was extended to 100,000 miles. Didn’t do me any good. 200,000 before putting in a Goodwrench reman.
I bought the B&D pole saw for about $100 mainly because I have a bunch of their batteries. No problem except it doesn’t have an oiler like some. Very useful though. Got two chain saws and wouldn’t do without but I do have to watch the gas so it doesn’t go beyond one year. I also still have my old manual pole saw with two 5’ PVC extentions so I can reach close to 20’.
If I can get the one branch down, I should be able to knock the whole tree down. The problem with hiring it done is they wreck the yard with their equipment.