It's been 36 years since I've driven a G-body. The first car I drove after getting my permit was my parent's 1979 Cutlass Supreme. It had a 305 with a 4 barrel. It was a beast for any high school kid to be driving. I was quickly shuffled to a VW squareback. In hindsight, my parents made a wise decision.
I remember the Grand Nationals coming out when I was in high school. They were the coolest cars I'd ever laid eyes on. 30 years later... I discovered that a friend had a 1985 GN in his garage that had been there for a few years. It was part of his brother's estate. His brother had died in 2009 and his kids inherited the car, but weren't able to pick it up. It had a transmission leak and none of them could make the cross country trip to WA and haul it home. My friend decided to get the car and put it in his garage. Typical estate arguments arose. I made an offer on it earlier this year and asked him to see if the kids would be willing to let it go. We got a yes. It's been over 3 months of paperwork chasing and I finally got the title in the mail.
It had sat for 12 years, though not <always> outside. It was in a garage for 7 years and then outside in a barn for 5 years. It did stay dry. A mouse had gotten into the trunk, but didn't do much damage. No critters had lived in the interior which was dirty, but in decent condition. Nothing was chewed on in the engine compartment.
I took it home, but it wasn't the easiest thing to push around. The brakes were shot in a manner that they didn't work at stopping the car, yet somehow managed to make it impossible to push. I discovered my garage would be woefully inadequate for doing much of the work necessary. I decided to count my pennies and haul it to a local shop. It's been there for just over a week. The brakes had to be completely replaced. The gas was surprisingly yellow (no rust) and the fuel tank looked good (now with a new fuel pump). We managed to get it to start, but it ran very rough. New plugs and wires have been installed and I'm now waiting on some new injectors to arrive (had old ones cleaned and tested... 3 were bad). It has such a long way to go, but I'm excited.
I remember the Grand Nationals coming out when I was in high school. They were the coolest cars I'd ever laid eyes on. 30 years later... I discovered that a friend had a 1985 GN in his garage that had been there for a few years. It was part of his brother's estate. His brother had died in 2009 and his kids inherited the car, but weren't able to pick it up. It had a transmission leak and none of them could make the cross country trip to WA and haul it home. My friend decided to get the car and put it in his garage. Typical estate arguments arose. I made an offer on it earlier this year and asked him to see if the kids would be willing to let it go. We got a yes. It's been over 3 months of paperwork chasing and I finally got the title in the mail.
It had sat for 12 years, though not <always> outside. It was in a garage for 7 years and then outside in a barn for 5 years. It did stay dry. A mouse had gotten into the trunk, but didn't do much damage. No critters had lived in the interior which was dirty, but in decent condition. Nothing was chewed on in the engine compartment.
I took it home, but it wasn't the easiest thing to push around. The brakes were shot in a manner that they didn't work at stopping the car, yet somehow managed to make it impossible to push. I discovered my garage would be woefully inadequate for doing much of the work necessary. I decided to count my pennies and haul it to a local shop. It's been there for just over a week. The brakes had to be completely replaced. The gas was surprisingly yellow (no rust) and the fuel tank looked good (now with a new fuel pump). We managed to get it to start, but it ran very rough. New plugs and wires have been installed and I'm now waiting on some new injectors to arrive (had old ones cleaned and tested... 3 were bad). It has such a long way to go, but I'm excited.
