Project Cars--You Get to Vote on "Hold 'em or Fold 'em"

berri

Sorry to hear that! The tires are probably too recent, but maybe that Coker tire that advertises in Hemmings? But you know, now that your baby is damaged goods perhaps you can put some 20+ inchers on it and sell it in one of those drug dealer neighborhoods in Philly - just kidding! Actually, my Camry got T-boned around two years ago and since it was pretty new the $11K or so to fix it (included side airbags and headliner - ouch) was still cheaper to the insurance company than totaling it. However (knock on wood) with today's body shop technology the repair has turned out very good. Paint still matches (paint match is computerized now) and no rattles (body shops are using factory type welding now ). So hopefully you'll have the same experience. I think there are some Michelin's and Goodyear's that will give you a very nice ride if you can't find the same Uniroyals any more (I don't know if you are aware that Michelin now owns Uniroyal).

explorerx4

Coker has lot a tires. It might be worth it to check their site.

andre1969

Ouch!! Sorry to hear that Lemko. Glad you're okay though, and that the Brougham should be okay as well.

And, like others said, check out Coker Tire. They've been around a long time and have a wide selection. I got tires for my '57 DeSoto from them back in 1993!

Good luck, and glad you're okay!!

uplanderguy

Geez, I'm sorry to hear that!

In 2008, I had my R1 Lark running in our driveway, in drive, with the parking brake on, listening for an exhaust rattle, as I'd done previously. Luckily, I wasn't underneath the car, as I watched it roll into my six-week-old Cobalt. The wheels of the Lark were turned left, so the corner of the front bumper went down the left side of the Cobalt, parked in our turnaround.

The Cobalt had over $3K of damage; the Lark, $700-odd. Same bodyshop did both and did better work on the Lark than the Cobalt! So know that it can be done!

I got the parts for the Lark for the bodyshop (bumper extension and headlight rim, NOS) and they couldn't believe how cheap they were to buy.

I had J.C. Taylor insurance at the time for the Lark, and it was no sweat in the least. I hope you have the same good luck. I later switched to Hagerty and they seemed great although I never had to use them.

lemko

I was driving back in another car last night and saw what appeared to be a rubber cargo tie-down with two steel "S' hooks on each end lying by the concrete barrier right about where the incident happened. I dont' know if that was the cause or not.

lemko

I was checking out Coker last night and they have a tire that looks appropriate for that year car. I doubt I'll find those Uniroyal Royal Seal tires anymore, but you never know.

Thanks for your concern!

andre1969

Thanks for your concern!

But of course! Knowing you, you were probably more concerned about the Brougham, than your own safety... :P

fintail

If you post on Caddy specific forums, you might find a NOS set or something, but then you have the risk of old tires. How old were yours?

uplanderguy

Good point. I'd found on my old cars that as the tires approached ten years they'd be getting hard, and wobbly at lower speeds.

When I bought my '64 Stude, I saw the tires were eighteen years old--too old to be driven safely at speed IMHO.

xwesx

I'm starting to get the point where I worry about the tires on my pickup and van when I use them. I mounted the van tires new in June of 1995, and the truck's tires were installed in July of 1997. I think the van has about 18K on its tires; the truck's have about 45K.

I just haven't strongly considered replacing them because neither vehicle sees more than maybe two hundred miles a year.

texases

10 years is enough for me. Between ozone degradation, dry rot, and just the rubber getting hard/slick in the rain, I'm no fan of older tires.

fintail

When I replaced the fintail's tires earlier this year, they were about 14 years old. I had some front end work done on the car before the new tires were installed, and the invoice read "needs new tires" highlighted in yellow marker, which proved to me I needed to get new tires.

xwesx

I know what you mean. Second opinions really help drive home those "feelings." Mine is simply deferred maintenance - a dangerous thing that likes to stack up and bite you when you can least manage it. But, I figure the tires on the rigs are at least 20 years newer than the spares, so it's not all doom and gloom. Well, maybe it is, after all! :P

fintail

Deferred maintenance - always an issue with a 40+ year old unrestored car like your van and truck or my old car. Over the past year, the fintail had been making a louder rubbing or humming noise - I suspected wheel bearings (praying it wasn't a rear end or something) - needed replacement, too. That blew the budget way up when the cooling system work was done - but it had to be done then. And it needs a little valve work, has a relatively tiny oil leak, turn signals have been goofy for a few years. Pick your battles. What I want most is a refinished steering wheel.

I was proactive, and replaced the ancient bias ply spare with a new tire when I got the others.

lemko

I think they were about 12-15 years old, but they showed no signs of dry rot and performance didn't seem to be affected.

xwesx

I was proactive, and replaced the ancient bias ply spare with a new tire when I got the others.

Yeah, I think that's in order when I finally replace tires on my rigs. The truck definitely comes first. While the tires are slightly newer than the van's, they have far more miles... and the spare is original (I kid you not!). Sounds like perhaps yours was as well. :P

I have needed to use the spare a couple times, and it reminds me of those old kid's bicycles with the solid rubber wheels....

fintail

I think the spare was from around 1970 - I had a weird idea to keep it as a sentimental freakshow piece, but decided against it as it isn't exactly a small item. I remember when I got a flat years ago, I drove to the tire shop on the bias ply, and they were pretty alarmed by it.

berri

Texases, if your name reflects where you live and drive; hot weather absolutely kills rubber and electronics. You'll go through tires and batteries faster than in the North, really!

texases

Oh, yeah. DFW is HOT for several months. But ozone is also a big factor, LA is bad on tires, even when it's not so hot.

Most tire companies and safety orgs put 6 to 10 years for max. age. I'll go with that.

andre1969

just got a call from my mechanic, who looked my '85 Silverado over, after my little overheating catastrophe in DC the other week, that got the fire department called on me. He messed around with the carburetor and choke, replaced the fuel filter, oil change, checked it over, etc, and said it's ready to go. No permanent damage to the engine as far as he could tell. In fact, he said he was impressed at how well it still runs, considering the age and such.

So, it looks like the old 305 still has some life left in it. Hate to admit it, but there was a small part of me hoping that the damage was fatal, so it would force me to get rid of it. But, tomorrow is another day I guess... :P

tjc78

The 305, Ford's 302, and Mopar's 318 are darn near indestructable. Keep oil in them and just keep driving them. Heck the Ford's don't even need much oil pressure!

xwesx

Hahaha; you might start badmouthing it again, depending on how much you want to get rid of it (but need the "fatal" excuse to finally go through with it)! Those old engines are amazingly tolerant to abuse; especially compared to anything in the "newer" category. I'm hoping the 360 in my old plow truck makes it through another winter, but I seriously doubt I'll be disappointed.

lemko

I was fearing just the opposite with my Brougham! The 307 in my ride is another one you can add to that indestructible list. It might not be a powerhouse, but it keeps going and going and going...

xwesx

Agreed, lemko! The 307 in my '69 C20 sat for over 24 years (from 1973 to 1997) without use or care, has just over 73,000 miles on it today, has never been cracked open (e.g., all seals and gaskets are original), and it has no significant leaks (just the typical ooze of age). That's quite an engine, in my book!

andre1969

They're actually two totally different 307's. The one in your C20 is a Chevy unit, essentially a 283 bore with a 327 stroke. I've heard they were a bit fragile, something about the block being "soft" or something like that? But I wonder if they beefed them up for trucks. I know with Mopar at least, back in those days the truck version of an engine was often different from the car version, even if they had the same displacement.

The 307 in Lemko's Caddy is an Olds unit, of the 260/307/350/403 engine family. I've heard they're pretty indestructible, something about using a lot of nickel in the engine block which makes it stronger, yet lighter at the same time. My grandmother's '85 LeSabre had the 307, and it was still running strong when we got rid of it with 157,000 miles on it. I do know someone at work though, who had one in an '87 or so Electra Estate wagon, and he said it was getting sludged up by the time he got rid of it. However, he was rough on cars, tended to neglect them, and did a lot of trailer towing.

Mr_Shiftright

heavy cast iron pushrod blocks just don't bend and twist like little alloy engines do.

One severe overheat on a modern engine and you're done.

lemko

This 1968 Dodge Dart GT 340 has been a daily driver on the streets of New York City for 40 years!

http://blogs.hotrod.com/manhattan-mopar-this-gts-dart-has-been-a-new-york-daily-- driver-for-40-years-88123.html#axzz2iVnIio5x

lemko

...got the check from the insurance company today. Hoping to hear back from the bodyshop when the parts arrive!

explorerx4

It has a manual transmission!

fortee9er

Fintail here are some interesting older MBs I found on the Copart website:

http://member.copart.com/c2/lot.html?_eventId=lotDetails&execution=e1s2&lotId=28- 473873&isFromHomePage=Y
http://member.copart.com/c2/lot.html?_eventId=lotDetails&execution=e1s4&lotId=27- 903933&isFromHomePage=Y
http://member.copart.com/c2/lot.html?_eventId=lotDetails&execution=e1s6&lotId=27- 904543&isFromHomePage=Y
http://member.copart.com/c2/lot.html?_eventId=lotDetails&execution=e1s8&lotId=16- 428453&isFromHomePage=Y
http://member.copart.com/c2/lot.html?_eventId=lotDetails&execution=e1s10&lotId=2- 5104213&isFromHomePage=Y

lemmer

Jeez. They don't make Mercedes like they used to. Or maybe they do.

But anyway, the local dealer kept dropping the price on my friend's old 2004 E55 AMG. I test drove it. Mechanically, it was a 10, the perfect gentleman's express...until the check engine light came on for no apparent reason. The interior looked perfect as well...until I looked closely or touched anything. Anything with a spring or clips or plastic trip like an ash tray or a cup holder either had a crack in the plastic or wouldn't latch or was completely inoperable. the navigation wouldn't come on. Might have been user error. But there definitely was a dead spot in the display screen.

The car was such a sublime driver and supremely comfortable. Why did they have to build so much of the interior of a $90K car with 2nd rate recycled Chinese plastic?

fintail

I'd love to examine the money pits, do I need to create an account to view? I can't view the links as-is.

fintail

Sounds like the car has been exposed to a harsh environment or was abused by the prior owner (current owner isn't original, right?), maybe. My E55 had none of those maladies, and the W211s I have seen didn't seem bad inside. I bet the dealer offered zilch with those issues.

fortee9er

Sorry didn't think about that but creating on account is easy and doesn't cost anything. If you decide to create an account look up the "lot id" on the links I posted.

fintail

I'll look into that. Another site at which to kill idle time

fortee9er

When my wife asks what am I doing on the computer I tell her "I'm in the casino".

stickguy

I refer to the posters here as "guys I met on the internet". Get some funny looks at times...

fintail

Now that Craigslist can be searched by year, I took a few minutes this rainy morning to find some highlights from a time that wasn't so good for most cars:

In the beginning...

Interesting if it is built that year - probably in the first few hundred units of production

Palin's first car?

"ready for V-8 swop"

Once a common sight

Shove it

High price and condition

Hey Lemko Andre Tjc etc...

This herd is thinning

1970s version of a modern SUV

Euro

Period colors

Future donk or lowrider?

Starsky and Hutch part II

Badge engineered to perfection

Put your brats in the back

'Ol Blue Eyes

ab348

Some interesting finds there.

The '76 Maverick is equipped with the Luxury Decor Option (LDO) like our family's '74 was and I am surprised to see that Ford changed the seat design. Ours had what I always thought of as Euro Mercury Capri seats, with rounded cushion corners and rather vertical headrests - this one seems to have more of a domestic style. Awful cars regardless, though this one is in outstanding condition.

I like that big Ford wagon and the '77 LTD II, but would not want to have to drive either one.

The white '78 Cutlass is gorgeous. Price is only a bit out of line too.

My dad had an '82 Omega 2-door like that one from new. Have not seen one here for years. It was actually a really nice little car for the time with the V-6, luxe interior, etc. Surprising amount of room inside. Took it on a few road trips. He got rid of it after running it into a telephone pole, no injuries thankfully.

Mr_Shiftright

'77 Accord--great little car, kinda pricey for the miles though.

350SL -- the only collectible 350-380-450-560. If it's really this nice, that's a fair price. You could probably ship it to Europe, and even with a good $3000-$4000 added on in shipping and VAT, etc., come out all right.

76 Mercedes 450SLC -- crazy money

tjc78

The Buick would be nice with the right wheels, those Pep Boy specials look like crap. The white Cutlass is really nice. The LTD wagon is a decent survivor.

fintail

My fintail became more of a project car today. Roads dried up, so I decided to go out for a little drive. Initial start was a little groggy (was 25 degrees warmer last time I drove it, idle speed set too slow), but ran and drove fine after adjustment. Turn signals were working really well. When I returned, I was parking the car, and after turning it off, noticed I wanted the car to be maybe a foot closer to the wall behind it. I thought I would push the car rather than start it, I couldn't move it an inch. I always set the parking brake, and I think it is stuck on - I get a slight groan from the rear wheel when I push hard. If it was stuck in park, I think I'd still be able to rock it a little. This is going to be fun to fix! Parked with walls on two sides...at least it happened where the car lives rather than at a store or something.

fintail

350SL is also definitely a Euro model, as they didn't come to the US until 72. Might make re-import easier.

andre1969

I could deal with that Electra, even with those cheap chrome wheels. Seems like a nice car for the price. I wonder which 350 it has under the hood? Guess a Buick would be most likely, but possibly an Olds unit, less likely a Chevy? I think Oldsmobile, and the Delta 88 in particular, was the biggest victim when it came to that engine swapping fiasco of the time.

I find myself liking that brown '76 Cutlass Salon sedan, too. In that color, it makes me think of an Olds version of Sheriff Justice's police car in Smokey and the Bandit. Might not be bad with the Olds 350, but some of them got stuck with the tiny 260.

The '82 Imperial doesn't seem bad, for the price. Around these parts, I'll see them show up at Carlisle from time to time, and people usually want a small fortune for them.

lemko

Heck, I'd just find a set of those 15" factory chromes and put them on the car. Even steelies would look better than what's now on it.

fintail

Funny thing - I stopped by the old car today to check something, and the brake wasn't frozen - the car rolled fine. Looks like I won't be setting the brake again until I have it inspected. Crisis averted for now.

uplanderguy

For some reason, I'm thinking that brown Cutlass Salon sedan was on eBay at some previous point and we had discussed it. I loved the Salon's interior when in corduroy, but that's an odd one to have the column shift.

While you didn't see GM's with buckets and console and column-shift, like Ford, you would see them occasionally with buckets, no console, and a column-shift. When I'd see a new Chevy come into our local dealer like that, I always figured the person ordering it just assumed a console came with bucket seats. Similarly, when I'd see a Monte Carlo or Caprice come in well-equipped but with blackwall tires, I'd think they forgot to order whitewalls. In both cases, shame on the salesman though for not pointing those things out.

uplanderguy

Good for you on the parking brake semi-fixing itself. My first Stude's parking brake didn't work back when I bought it ('88), and I found a local brake shop with an older guy who thought it'd be kind of neat to work on an old car. I bought NOS adjusters and parking brake cable and he had it working fine and seemed to enjoy working on it. In the past 25 years I have found that finding guys like that who even want to work on an old car is nearly impossible where I live, sadly.

If you and andre have area mechanics to work on your cars, good for you!!

qbrozen

I find that kind of odd. I mean, working on something simpler and with all that luxurious room to actually get your hands around things is so much more enjoyable than dealing with tightly packed engine bays full of wires and harnesses. I would think more people would be clamoring to get that type of car in their shop to give them a break.

lemmer

This car and particularly the price made me laugh. If the engine is really nice, sell it and crush the rest.

http://nwga.craigslist.org/cto/4155933509.html