Reliability, ease of work, enjoyability?

[ticketsspek]

Hello all, I'm new here and considering buying a 1985 Olds Cutlass Supreme. The last time I saw it was around September, and it was in kinda rough shape. The driver side headlights were missing, or kicked in, the tires were flat and kinda disgusting. and the radio was missing. Oh, and also the engine doesn't run. I didn't talk to, or see the dude, and it's in an obscure town. He wants $1,200 OBO for it. Should I buy and fix it up?
How reliable are they?
How easy are they to work on?
Can I at least burn rubber and not have to worry about messing other things up?

 

[CaliWagon83]

Time for us to ask you some questions. 😉 Is this going to be your daily driver, or a weekend/hobby car? Most mechanical parts for G-Bodies are still relatively plentiful, but a lot of the body trim and interior pieces can be a little tougher to find.

In terms of “burning rubber” the only factory Gs that could really do that were the Grand Nationals, and to a lesser extent, the Monte Carlo SSs and Olds 442s. If you’re looking at doing an engine swap, you might want to beef up a few things.

 

[motorheadmike]

I used to daily a Monte Carlo SS and a Turbo Buick in my 20s... for as good as those cars were - they still ended up on the back of a tow truck from time to time thanks to abuse. If you abuse it, it will break. If you modify it and abuse it, it will break more often and cost more to fix it. I think I hate myself so I keep building them, beating them, and fixing them.

Buy the best car you can to start with and save yourself the initial *ss pain.

 

[ticketsspek]

Time for us to ask you some questions. 😉 Is this going to be your daily driver, or a weekend/hobby car? Most mechanical parts for G-Bodies are still relatively plentiful, but a lot of the body trim and interior pieces can be a little tougher to find.

In terms of “burning rubber” the only factory Gs that could really do that were the Grand Nationals, and to a lesser extent, the Monte Carlo SSs and Olds 442s. If you’re looking at doing an engine swap, you might want to beef up a few things.

Most likely a daily driver, and until I can get my regular car back, It'll probably stay that way, I don't mind how it looks, just as long as it gets me somewhere in town. and within maybe 25 or so miles of my town. I'm perfectly fine if I can't burn rubber.

 

[ticketsspek]

I used to daily a Monte Carlo SS and a Turbo Buick in my 20s... for as good as those cars were - they still ended up on the back of a tow truck from time to time thanks to abuse. If you abuse it, it will break. If you modify it and abuse it, it will break more often and cost more to fix it. I think I hate myself so I keep building them, beating them, and fixing them.

Buy the best car you can to start with and save yourself the initial *ss pain.

Alright, so drive like a grandmother, or someone with enough time to get to wherever I'm going?

 

[CaliWagon83]

Alright, so drive like a grandmother, or someone with enough time to get to wherever I'm going?

With the engines most of these had stock, you won’t have a choice. You’ll get smoked by a Prius if it has a base V-6. 🤣

 

[bob64]

They were a decent car in there day. But it's sitting, neglected, its going to have issues. Your not going to just throw gas in it an go. Gas mileage ain't great either. They are pretty straight forward to work on if you got auto sense. Reliable, if you totally rebuild it, remember it's old.

Burn rubber, lmfao ya throw gas on tires an light.

If your looking for a daily driver avoid it, if your looking for play toy an a hobby buy it, it can be fun!!

 

[CaliWagon83]

Not trying to discourage you, ticketsspek, just know what you’re getting into. There are plenty of guys on this board that daily their Gs, so it can be done. Just realize that dailying a 30+ year-old car is going to be a lot different than one 5-10 years old.

 

[TURNA]

Cutlass's are cheap compared to other GBody's save out for a good one.

In the long run you will be saving $$$

 

[Clone TIE Pilot]

There are also low emission legality issues you may have to deal with. Also G bodies are very phrone to being messed around with and Jerry rigged by previous owners. POs just love to cut up the factory wiring and splice them in bizarre ways and screwing up the emission systems. Most modern mechcanics are clueless around old carbed cars, so don't expect much in the way of professional help if you get in too deep.