Needing help on my Cutlass salon

[David Williamson]

Okay I will check it now, But over all how are these cars?
They good to have, do they have a lot of problems?

 

[CaliCuttie]

When I first bought my '86 Cutlass Salon with the 307 V8 it was an absolute dog and couldn't accelerate to save its life and that's that the previous owner deleted the catalytic converter and converted it to true dual exhaust. I fixed all of my vacuum leaks and got rid of the cruise control unit (you can simply unplug it as well) and changed the air filter with a cheap FRAM filter and that instantly gave me a boost. Worn spark plugs are another culprit for power loss as well. Your results may vary seeing you have a V6 and not a V8. Good luck!

 

[CaliCuttie]

Okay I will check it now, But over all how are these cars?
They good to have, do they have a lot of problems?

the V6s in these cars are not as reliable as the 307s is what I hear. The Oldsmobile 307 is known as being a very reliable engine but not so much for power. Just check this google search!
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=olds+307+reliable

 

[G-Body_Vet]

Okay I will check it now, But over all how are these cars?
They good to have, do they have a lot of problems?

I guess that depends on your definition or "problems" and "good to have". What made you decide to buy one?

As with most other cars, it depends if you're starting with a car that's had a rough life or something that's been taken care of.

My advice....if you're not already, get familiar with a wrench or get ready to spend money on repairs. The reason I say that is that these cars quit rolling off the assembly line between 22 and 32 years ago. Expect some normal wear and tear from the jump. The reason most of us are here is because we're addicted to these cars.

 

[G-Body_Vet]

Okay I will check it now, But over all how are these cars?
They good to have, do they have a lot of problems?

the V6s in these cars are not as reliable as the 307s is what I hear. The Oldsmobile 307 is known as being a very reliable engine but not so much for power. Just check this google search!
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=olds+307+reliable

To touch on the V6 thing a bit.......one of the biggest problems with this Buick design (incl the Buick 350's & 455's) is that they had aluminum oil pump housings. Heat + aluminum + wear = low oil pressure and low end noise. There are companies (such as T/A Performance) that sells booster plates, etc to help alleviate these problems. But honestly, the best remedy for an underpowered N/A 231 is usually a V8. Luckily these body styles can accommodate just about any engine you desire.

 

[David Williamson]

See that's what i thought was cause it was a v6, not as much power.
The life it has had, it has been rear ended and the bumper cut off from the frame not the whole frame but a couple inches to get it off.
That's why I have to pay to get it put back on cause I cannot weld.
Also a couple dents and a rust hole where the car was hit.
So I am paying to get this car re painted due to fading and peeling of original paint, brand new bumper possibly a new frame swap, and the dents and rust hole covered and knocked out.
I bought it cause I love g bodies and the Cutlass is a car I have not had yet and wanted to get one cause their body and style are just amazing and so good looking.
I had a 1985 Buick riviera that was a fantastic car and sold it to get this one.

But over all I am just going to fix this up and make it my show car/daily driver and take the best possible care I can provide for it.

What sucks is I am not a mechanic nor do i know what I am doing, I have the biggest passion and love for cars and always wanted to fix them and work on them.
But never taught how to work on a car, I can do simple things like oil changes, tune ups putting in alternators, fuel pumps power steering pumps.
Just never been so much as to actually get so far in it I could do all the work that you all might be able to do like knowing that the problems are and fixing them.
I do stuff that is just known and easy.

 

[G-Body_Vet]

See that's what i thought was cause it was a v6, not as much power.
The life it has had, it has been rear ended and the bumper cut off from the frame not the whole frame but a couple inches to get it off.
That's why I have to pay to get it put back on cause I cannot weld.
Also a couple dents and a rust hole where the car was hit.
So I am paying to get this car re painted due to fading and peeling of original paint, brand new bumper possibly a new frame swap, and the dents and rust hole covered and knocked out.
I bought it cause I love g bodies and the Cutlass is a car I have not had yet and wanted to get one cause their body and style are just amazing and so good looking.
I had a 1985 Buick riviera that was a fantastic car and sold it to get this one.

But over all I am just going to fix this up and make it my show car/daily driver and take the best possible care I can provide for it.

What sucks is I am not a mechanic nor do i know what I am doing, I have the biggest passion and love for cars and always wanted to fix them and work on them.
But never taught how to work on a car, I can do simple things like oil changes, tune ups putting in alternators, fuel pumps power steering pumps.
Just never been so much as to actually get so far in it I could do all the work that you all might be able to do like knowing that the problems are and fixing them.
I do stuff that is just known and easy.

It's never too late to learn. The beauty of the internet is that you have instant access to a large database of information.
I've never had any formal training with cars either. My family always worked on them so I just picked up on it. The only real mechanic training I had was in the military with CH-46E helicopters. The hardest part of most jobs is just having the right tools for the job. You learn as you go and that's how you get experience.

 

[David Williamson]

That is the best advice I have ever gotten, Thank you for that.
I am going to just use my time to go fool with my car now and look at everything you all said and I will look it uo on the internet to know exactly what and how to look at it and determine if its broke unhooked snapped anything.

How hard/easy is it to knock dents our and bondo a hole?
or is bondo not the best stuff to use?

 

[G-Body_Vet]

That is the best advice I have ever gotten, Thank you for that.
I am going to just use my time to go fool with my car now and look at everything you all said and I will look it uo on the internet to know exactly what and how to look at it and determine if its broke unhooked snapped anything.

How hard/easy is it to knock dents our and bondo a hole?
or is bondo not the best stuff to use?

Don't mention it! Before you get in over your head here's something to think about. In that earlier post I said the car's history determines the problems you may have with it. You might want to think if you're starting with a good foundation before you dump a ton of time and money into it. Are the rear frame rails rusting out? How are the trunk floors, floor boards, lower/inner door seams, etc? I'd give it a good once over before spending money so you know what you're getting into.

 

[88hurstolds]

Before you do that, for the sake of odd things I've seen, make sure you don't have a floor mat sliding up under the gas pedal (preventing it from travelling when you depress it).

Maybe a floor mat from Toyota would solve his problem :lol: