Some questions ive asked but not totally.

[1986montecarlols]

Well I was out on my way to the casino today to use my Comp money i got for some stupid crap I never did at the casino, sucks to be them to give me free money, I ended up filling my tank with the extra money I walked out with. Anyway on the way there me and my buddy were doing some talking because he has no radio. He was tryin to talk me into getting rid of my 86 monte luxury sport. Well heres the thing

In the next 3 years I start going to Eastern Michigan Univ, ill have a bachelors in History and might be able to get a low ranking assistant job in one of the museums or related feild in detroit area. Well I say all this because out of the 20K loan ill be getting ill have 8,000 extra for books, transp. gas expenses and what not and traveling if I want to. Now some might call me crazy but I might want to do some restoring to my car. Ive got some questions so pace your self!!!

1st as ive talked about before I will need floor pans one day, I cleaned mine up the best I could with sandpaper, grinder, etc, I didnt use naval jelly to kill 100% of the pits etc but it was 95% taken care of. Towards the drivers seat we go, and theres a half dollar size hole I just temp. fixed with a plate of steel and rivets, im plan on riveting the other side too. Now above the rocker panel area floor board that area is almost non existent, its as if the rocker is the floor lol. Thats where the salt gets ya I guess. Now that I painted the hell out of it its almost non existent, someone on here said find why it rusted, well it was the cauking that went, I replaced all of that. But anyway even the transmission tunnel is showing signs of rust. Now I know it will be roughly $1100 just to replace my floors one day
2ndly addeed to above will this include the price of half of a new transmission tunnel fabbed peice you guys think, I know the body shop told me 1100 for the floor boards.

2ndly I am spending $300 this Sept. out of school loans to fix 3 spots of rust holes at the body shop. After which even If I dont paint the whole car I do plan on painting all tiny surface rust spots on doors and adjacent areas to them. Ill have no rust but in the inside as I already stated.

3rd, I told ya guys about a line of rust that extends right along a weld by the back seat. above the rear axel, is this expensive to fix, im sure that would be custom work at the body shop. Oh and not only that I will need new wheel wells as well one day, When I painted the interior of the car the paint was seeping out of the wheel wells down underneath the car I dont know if thats normal or not. and I do have some crunchy spots anyway on the car.

Ok lastly, I dont really care about gas mileage, I was plannin on putting a 350 engine in hoping to get around 350 horses and get the usual 12 miles to a gallon most likely when I go to eastern. Well that right there will cost me some big bucks, let alone the fact my Th200 POS will not hold up because I dont have a good transmission. Now it comes down to this, if youve read so far thanks


I do like the 70-72 and 78-79 models a bit better, obviously the first ones are out of my price range, the 78s and 79s are also rarer. But for what im doing the rust fixing, swapping out an engine and transmission, fixing I figure will cost me a lot. I figure new wheel wells $1000, new floor boards $1100, new transmission tunnel, and other custom work $750 prolly, and engine $1000. That is thats close to $4,000 dollars. So I dont know. Ive seen some pretty nice monte carlols in the $4,000 range and all. I like my Luxury Sport its rare and all but geez is it a bad idea to really restore this car, fixing floor boards or should I sell it the Saginaw MI black people for $2250 or so and go south looking for something completely rust free in which we all know exists anyway? Take your time reading this please, Im sick of writing half assed questions to you guys, this is the real deal. Thank You 😀

 

[LuckyPuck]

Sell your car..... Take about $5,000 and for that you can get a very nice, clean G-body from down south and drive it up to where your at.

Not sure where your at but you can get a rust free driver quality 70-74 Cutlass for under $5,000 down here in tennessee. That way you'd already have the good motor and transmission, the body style you like better, no rust, etc..


at least that's what I'd do.

 

[1986montecarlols]

Yeah

im not to sure at the moment, im lookin all over ebay and what not, im not too impressed really. Craigslist is not any better. A lot of the cars im finding here in Michigan especially are no better off. The 5000 dollar ones are about as good as the one I have lol. So maybe I am going to be better off just saying the hell with it and fix mine up. I dont know. I do like the hood of the 78s though. I wonder if a 78 hood would bolt up to my 86 or not? thats a good question anyone know? lol

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

You are looking in the wrong places. Try the Los Angeles area, or some places in Florida and Georgia. Ebay is too expensive. It's a good place to sell, but not a good place to buy. As far as it goes, getting involved in a huge project will drain more money than you can believe. You can spend all the cash on just the body alone, and wind up still getting ripped off with rust repairs that rot out again in a short time. You are out the cash and back at square one. Keep the loan money for school, and use it when you are done if you have any left. Get a good but cheap 4 banger beater while you are getting your education, and either put this Monte away, or buy another to play with once you are done. Just don't spend your college money on a car project.

I am currently going back to school for a Mechanical Engineering degree, BTW. I am taking Calculus and Chemistry next semester while working a full time job and trying to maintain a house. Building a car before finishing school is one of my biggest regrets. It never got done, and I didn't finish school. Now, I am 34 and wiser, so I am finishing the paint on my current project Monday so that I can put the car aside while I finish school. However, I have spent over $3,000 on the body and paint doing it myself without anywhere near the rust you describe. Anyways, mine is a long and complicated story that I am sure you don't want to read. The bottom line is this: If you finish school well, you will easily get a job that pays well enough to build a project car at that time. You may also change your mind as to weather or not you wish to build that car anyways. It takes a few years to get a real degree. Don't have the car hanging over your head. Concentrate on school and getting your career in order. The person you will be when you get the degree will thank you when you get out of school.

 

[1986montecarlols]

Yeah

I am going to eastern michigan in 2 years, the tuition leaves me with around 8,000 extra every year. I figure ill be there for 2 years too. I have about 4 years left till ive got my masters. Time really flies by I tell ya. I remember just yesterday I was starting. Its already been 3.5 years since I started going to college for my masters in history. I am not going for teaching though. I am looking for something in the fields of analysis, museum, government jobs, possibly attorney and and law school down the road. I do get depressed at times though for good reasons. My mom just had a stroke at age 57, im always broke not because of the car though ahha it runs great thank god. Ive been fired 3 out of the 5 jobs ive ever had. 2 because I cant drive a forklift well enough. I have 0 depth perception you see! The first job I ever had I lost because I was immature and stupid. 2 Others were way to far to drive too and I lost way too much in gas driving. But onto the topic at hand, I do exagerate a lot, the rust i speak of everywhere is surface rust, except for floors which I fixed, but the damage was done already. The wheel wells have tons of life in them, and I suspect I would only want to redo them when they really rot through correct? Lastly im not too worried about finisihing school like ya said messed up in. School is like my life I enjoy it a lot. I love speaking to my professors for hours on end even after the class is over, ill admit it im a real nerd when it comes to French History, philosophy, and all that other good stuff. So fixing and restoring my pimp shouldnt be in my way. Ive always gotten straight As and Bs in my classes. I just hate math,. thats my weekness Cutless. Im sure you love it though going into engineering? Anyone else out there into history and what not? Also give your opinions if you would like. What state are you from Cutty I forgot. 😀

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

I actually hate math too, but I can learn it so I have willed myself to do so. I have ADD, which made it hard for me to do school work back when I was younger as I was never on medication for it. I graduated with a sub-2.0 gpa from High School despite being very intelligent. Now, I finally AM on medication for it and it helps me do quite well. I got a B in my accelerated combo class of Pre-Calc and Trigonometry last semester, despite the fact that it was at 8AM and I work a second shift job. Oh, did I mention that I suffer from horrible insomnia too?

Anyhow, I basically figured out that I had several things that were stressing me out and ruining my life a couple years ago and decided to figure out how to correct them. Number one was that I hated my dead-end job managing a pizza store for a small-time franchisee and needed out. However, I needed education to have a chance at a good career path. So, I figured out how to make the same money I made managing, but with much less hours. Next up, I needed to lose weight. So, I got on medication, cut myself to 1,000 calories a day, and started working out. 3 mos later, I lost 60 lbs. Then, I had the Cutlass hanging over me due to body work I had started many years before. I could not do the body while managing as the job wore me out since I had been spending 55-60 hours a week on it. I also had the roof on my back porch collapsing due to extreme rot and that needs fixing too. I am hoping that by the end of this month I will have that taken care of as well. I figure I can pick away at assembling the car slowly during the school year and not have it affect anything so long as the water leaks are fixed, it is painted, and the windows and weatherstripping are in. I also still have my original project car from when I was 15. That needs an engine ( which I have) and a transmission (which I also have). I may paint it too, then sell it next year. I figure that I do not have the time and finances to do 2 project cars. They create WAY too much chaos, so I am going to try and sell that one when it is put together. However, it can sit for a while as it takes up far less space than the Cutlass does since it is not torn down.

Oh, I am in Florida.

 

[1986montecarlols]

yeah I know what your saying about the depression

My mom had just had a stroke 3-4 months ago, we are not entirely sure. But anyway I have always been closer to her then my dad. Hes always cranky and complainining about something. Hes the type that is never happy no matter what he does, sucks to be him though. lol Hes retiring from a life long job here shortly and is getting ready for major cutbacks. If it were not for my mom I would most likely not be living here due the ammount of arguing I do with my pops. I help her in any way I can, She cant read, has trouble getting out sentences, you name it. I do it all for her. She goes to the hospital some 3-5 times a week too. My dad takes her of coarse. I worry all the time about finding a job in the gov. sector, museum, and other areas in writing and speaking which I am so fond of doing. I really hope to make it onto the history channel one day. The other big problem I have had recently is internet p*rn addiction especialy euro p*rn. I am not one to lie about it or snicker about it. I have wasted some 5-6 hours on forums posting away. I do not have a gf and really never did too much with one either. I am 22 man and am just too busy to have that in my life right now which is a good thing. My dad for one always has told me stay away or youll end up like me. But I do know I have to stop wasting my life away on that garbage. I also suffer from insomnia for the above reasons. I think when I look at that stuff it takes my mind off of everything going on in my life at the moment. My brother just drinks a 12 pack of bud everynight but I dont think waht i do is as damaging to my body ahha. I dont wnana make this into a psychological thread but its cool I see youve had your share of problems too Cutty. I think ill end up just fixing my car as I am already emotionally attached to it as it is. 😀 😀

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Well, I suffer from severe bouts of depression mostly stemming from loneliness, and the fear that I will die alone. I tend to dwell on mortality, and well... I look at the same basic internet subject matter as you...lol. I would give up everything I have for the right girl, but as of yet I have not found anyone I liked who ever felt the same for me. Anyhow, Depression is the other reason I never did well in school. I may have an IQ in excess of 150, and the ability to understand and explain pretty much anything but it is all pointless to me if I am forced to spend my existence alone. I can write well, have a vast knowledge of subjects like history, science, engineering, cultures, mechanics, music, electronics, art, etc. but none of it fills that empty place that can only be filled by another human being who wishes to spend their life with you. Sorry for the rant, but I am feeling very down right now. I get to paint my car tomorrow ( part of it) and have no one to help me. Usually, it's a social occasion to paint a car, but now all my friends who would help have moved away and I do everything alone.