1988 cutlass

[Guest]

hi,i bought a 1988 cutlass a couple years ago and ran into ignition problems on the column also the water pump is shot, im just wondering if it would be worth it to fix it up .It has a stock 307 but the body is in real good shape just been sitting a year and i dont know if the 307 is worth putting money into?thanks for any help

[Peter J.Heizmann]

Hi, Robbie...Welcome to the Forum.

My thoughts are "it is totally up to you".

Are your goals to restore it ground up for shows, or, a nice daily driver, and so on. Does not sound like insurmountable problems, unless, there are other major problems you did not list.

Regards, Peter J. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

[Guest]

Having owned one of these, I have some thoughts.

There are several advantages to repairing this car:

1) parts are readily available either through the auto parts store or through salvage;

2) being a rear-wheel-drive car, it will generally provide for easier access for maintenance and repair than the front-wheel-drive cars;

3) Yours is one of the last years of production for a very popular GM line (Olds Cutlass Supreme, Buick Regal, Pontiac Grand Prix). By the time yours was produced, GM had many years of experience building these cars, so it is proven, reliable, technology.

4) These cars are popular with the Hispanic community, so you should always be able to find a buyer.

Disadvantages:

1) If your Olds has the "metric" transmission, it will not last very long. When it expires, replace it with a Turbo Hydramatic (unless you're concerned with maintaining authenticity). There are other forum participants that will be able to give better advice on this topic.

2) Since these cars were made in huge numbers, it is unlikely that it will ever increase much in value (though it has happened with cars like the '57 Chevy BelAir& '65 Mustang).

This would be an excellent car for you to gain experience on. If the rest of the car is solid, I would go ahead and spend the money on the repairs you've described. You should have an attractive car that gives reliable transportation for many miles. Just don't expect that this project will be a big money-maker for you. Good luck!

[ex98thdrill]

Those were nice looking cars. I still think GM made a mistake when they quit making them. Not knowing where you live, I can say that in New York, the bodies always held up well but the sub frames rotted right out from under them. If you live in an area where there is a lot of salt used, I'd check the sub frame out before you do too much to the car.