Ok, so I've been wanting an old wagon or van for a while now, because it would make biking, kayaking, and randomly moving stuff easier. Well, I found one, again, a Lesabre Estate, not sure of the year (early 80's) but it runs and they want $650 for it. Here's the hitch, my fiancee says I can buy it on two conditions. The first is easy, I just need to clean the garage so we have someplace to put it. Second is a bit tricky, I have to buy it with straight cash and cant deplete the bank account. We just put a deposit down on our vacation this coming winter, so cash is stretched thin for a couple weeks. So I'm in a tricky situation. Cant borrow money for it, cant raid the bank and I cannot, for the life of me, think of any combination of stuff I could quickly sell off to raise the money. What I'm thinking is picking up a second job for a few weeks, something like waiting tables or delivering pizzas again (*cringe*) to get the money to buy and license it. I also thought about putting an ad on Craigslist to see if I could get a couple of fat chicks willing to pay for some sweet sweet lovin.

Luckily, I've discovered the really ghetto car lots that have things like b-bodies and Astros for under $1000, so I'll find something that fits my needs if the Lesabre gets unloaded, which it should because it appears to be in great shape other than a little rust up front.

Maybe you can hit two birds with one stone, and deliver pizza to the fat chicks who are paying to score with you?

I know a couple guys still in the pizza delivery racket, they say the money isn't what it used to be. Gas prices have shot up, pizza prices have shot up, but delivery charges and commissions haven't, and the higher prices are leading people to tip less. My server friend says the money hasn't dropped off in the last few months, so that seems like a more profitable route.

Sell your body to housewives with pent up passion. :AH-HA_wink:

Fat chicks need lovin' too...but they gotta pay

Got any useless crap you could unload at a yard sale? I would think you'd have at least a few hundred dollars of junk you could do without sitting around the house like the rest of the world does. Maybe you could divest yourself of some of those useless kitchen items you were talking about in that other thread.....

Craiglist something?

I may be able to get $100 for some of the crap laying around, but anything more then that would require unloading something that I'd have to replace, like my bike or kayak or laptop.

I may be able to get $100 for some of the crap laying around, but anything more then that would require unloading something that I'd have to replace, like my bike or kayak or laptop.

EBAY!

Will donking it make it easier to load a kayak into the back? I mean, the load floor would be higher, but the reason I hate using the Fusion is that loading the thing onto the roof is a pain, so maybe lowering it would be better?

But then, wouldn't it be easier to drop the Fusion a couple inches?

Edited July 14, 200817 yr by Satty

My eyes hurt.

Yup, pizza business sucks more than it used to. People still think it costs nothing to drive the pizza to their fat, lazy asses and either tip cheap or not at all. Which is why I'm glad I no longer do it.

I'm with XP... have a big yard sale & unload some junk, esp. that combination

cappuccino-machine/pasta maker/food processor/HD-radio/geiger-counter

you were telling us about in that other thread.

P.S. if fat chicks payed for sweet-lovin' I'd be a millionare!

P.S. if fat chicks payed for sweet-lovin' I'd have pockets full of loose change!

FTFY :AH-HA_wink:

-RBB

Yup, pizza business sucks more than it used to. People still think it costs nothing to drive the pizza to their fat, lazy asses and either tip cheap or not at all. Which is why I'm glad I no longer do it.

Want to hear something funny? before I left my nice, cushy job as delivery nazi, I went around to several stores and talked to drivers, to see what kind of money they were making. The drivers in the crappy, low-income areas made more money overall because they had a more centralized delivery area which got them a larger number of deliveries and made it easier to take 3-4 at a time. I didn't really think about it before, but apartments and trailer parks fit a lot more people into a smaller area than houses do. The drivers in the higher-income areas made more per delivery, but took fewer deliveries because they had a smaller (population-wise) delivery area. They also used more gas because they were either running singles non-stop or doubles that were spaced out.

that said, if I went back, it would be to one of the nicer areas, because I really dont want to get robbed or deal with the dumb white trash and their "You're 1 minute late, I want my food free" crap.

Will donking it make it easier to load a kayak into the back? I mean, the load floor would be higher, but the reason I hate using the Fusion is that loading the thing onto the roof is a pain, so maybe lowering it would be better?

But then, wouldn't it be easier to drop the Fusion a couple inches?

Just wow....

Bump/update (bumpdate?)

Nothing is set in stone yet, I have a couple carrier pigeons out, I'm waiting for them to return to me with information on an Isuzu Trooper, as well as a couple of other cars. But the Lesabre I mentioned before is still available, and as of this evening, the funds to purchase it (or another toy car like the Daihatsu Rocky I saw earlier) have been acquired. I'm a wicked, evil, terrible, unscrupulous person, but by week's end, I'll be a wicked, evil, terrible, unscrupulous person with a new toy.

Trooper....

Go with the B-body dude.

The Trooper is 4wd and has new tires (one less expense later) but a ton of miles. I simply need more info on it. I'm going to go look at the Buick sometime tomorrow. If it hadn't been so dark, and the car weren't in a fenced in lot, I would have snapped a few pics.

Also considering an Astro that is really clean, but has a god-awful paint job, I would insist that they reduce the price by whatever a dozen cans of Krylon will cost me.

Troopers rust out underneath.

Pooper Trooper

Troopers rust out underneath.

Way less cool, less practical & no better on gas

than a B-body with higher repair bills & a goofy

look like it was designed to be driven through

really tall & narrow tunnels.

The Trooper is lame, it has the look of a London

double decker bus with none of the cool cache.

I went and took a closer look at the Buick, the tires are good, the interior is in great shape, just a bit dirty. The headliner over the cargo hold is sagging. But the damned thing wouldn't start. There was 1 person at the dealership, a chick who was talking on the phone, so I couldn't get any info on it, but I assume its the starter. I'm heading back tomorrow, cause I really like the car for what I'll be using it for.

Way less cool, less practical & no better on gas

than a B-body with higher repair bills & a goofy

look like it was designed to be driven through

really tall & narrow tunnels.

The Trooper is lame, it has the look of a London

double decker bus with none of the cool cache.

I would agree.

Chris

My eyes hurt.

Mine too. Donks on anything look terrible.

Chris

I went and took a closer look at the Buick, the tires are good, the interior is in great shape, just a bit dirty. The headliner over the cargo hold is sagging. But the damned thing wouldn't start. There was 1 person at the dealership, a chick who was talking on the phone, so I couldn't get any info on it, but I assume its the starter. I'm heading back tomorrow, cause I really like the car for what I'll be using it for.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Chris

BTW, its an '89 (I figured it was older than that, but I was wrong) and looks something like this:

Only not yellow and not nearly that clean. It has the wood wallpaper on the sides, but thats peeling. The only real rust is above the front bumper, the metal between the bumper and that thin strip of chrome under the headlights is pretty well gone. The handle on the back passenger door is inexplicably missing. The rear hatch swings open like its brand new. Oh, and it has the Olds 307. Anyone know of any real issues with this particular engine?

BTW, its an '89 (I figured it was older than that, but I was wrong) and looks something like this:

Only not yellow and not nearly that clean. It has the wood wallpaper on the sides, but thats peeling. The only real rust is above the front bumper, the metal between the bumper and that thin strip of chrome under the headlights is pretty well gone. The handle on the back passenger door is inexplicably missing. The rear hatch swings open like its brand new. Oh, and it has the Olds 307. Anyone know of any real issues with this particular engine?

My thinking is that you should paint it just like that....

The Olds 307 is what powered both of my '86 and my '87 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham (dElegance)s.

It's a great motor considering it's respective era.... it will give a Chevy 350 a run for its money IF

and this is important.... IF you make sure it is not starved of oil.

Theres two ways of doing this: check the oil (via dipstick) it early and often. Every time you gas up or

every 100 miles/3 days is a good rule of thumb. -- no back-talk from the lesbians please!

AND spend the $15 on CORK or thick rubber valvecover gaskets and throw them on asap... or even if

you pay a mechanic to do this it would not be too expensive.

The point is the Olds valvecovers are held on by only 5 perimiter bolts... two up top and three on the

bottom. This has always been the weakest link in the Olds rocket (based) motors.

If you:

1. drive a high milage Olds 307 powerd car with the original gaskets (my triple silver 86 FB had 180,000 when I replaced them!)

and

2. you do not monitor the resulting oil leak, not adding oil when neccessary

you will probably

3. replace the motor at some point or junk the car with a blown 307

----

Me and you may not be tight like Charley Murphey & Rick James but

I'm giving you honest, valuable advice here.

Troopers are often very expensive to maintain and difficult to get parts for; I'd totally rock the Buick wagon if I were you. $h!, just reading this thread makes me want to go out and get one!

Thanks, thats what I'm looking for. I've got a guy who can do gaskets (hell, I could do them myself if I had time) and who will do them free (he owes me) so the Buick is a more appealing option than contender #2, the Trooper whose electrical work was apparently done by the British.

As far as color goes (its brown with the woodpaper and cheap Wal-Mart tint on the windows) yellow isn't my cup 'o tea, I'm thinking something like black or maybe a gunmetal gray. Only problem is the tan interior wouldn't go too well with either of those colors.

I love yellow on 90% of cars but I'm not feeling "1970 GSX saturn yellow" on an '86 Electra.

Gunmetal gray and more so black Goes with everything/anything.

Ditto on the gunmetal grey.

Satty, as has been said before, this thread is useless without pics!

Chris

ANother vote for gunmetal gray or black..black goes with everything. Get the Buick.

You know what else goes with everything and helps the

car go unnoticed by potential thieves & po-po?

gray primer.

Just got back from buying it. $650 became $500 really fast. The car needs a tune-up and fluid change, it started up after I fiddled with the carb for a little bit. The back driver's side window motor is dead (the window goes down so I assume its not a track problem) and, as I think I mentioned, the door handle on the back passenger's side door broke off. The handle is in the glove box, not that it helps much. The driver's seat back wont adjust (spider gear or motor) so I have to drive semi-reclined, but its not too bad. The brakes are mushy (wow, like thats not common on 80's GMs) and it has a slight exhaust leak. And what I thought was rust turned out to be broken plastic, guess I should have looked closer. That means there is NO rust on the body, just a dent near the back. Glass is good, bumpers are pretty good, seat belts seem to work. The tailgate window goes up and down. Basically, I'm pumped. I had to park it at the Autozone next to the dealer (they're cool with it) until Jill gets home to run me up there to get it.

It even came with the original window sticker, $19k and change when new. It was rated at 24mpg highway, and it will probably get around that once its tuned up.

Cool beans, Mr. Satterfield.

Oh, and the people who owned it before traded it on a Caravan. I bet they're totally not regretting that.

I told a friend that it seats 8, she asked if I even knew 8 people. Harsh.

I got the car to a safe place (long story, but its not at my house) but I did manage a few pics:

And all the lights work, somehow I didn't check that before I bought.

The previous owner left a pack of baby wipes and a butter knife under the front seat. Both were thrown out when I did a quickie vacuum job at the car wash.

I have had good luck with the Olds 307 in my 1981. Mine leaks a tiny bit of oil through the valve covers but it is only a drop here or there. It has 116,700 miles on it and it doesnt burn a drop of oil. Never have to add oil between changes. The transmission will go before the engine does if its like mine. It should go for a long time. Remember the oil fill is in the front of the engine not on the vavle cover like a Chevy is.

NICE!!!

That's a MAN'S whip right there!

I love those wheels.... brings me back to 1995,6,7

A family friend fo ours had an EXACT clone of that car, wheels and all, for their

"second car", their first being a refrigerator white '95 Isuzu Rodeo. They owned

a bakery and used to do the small to medium deliveries in that B-body Kombi.

I have had good luck with the Olds 307 in my 1981. Mine leaks a tiny bit of oil through the valve covers but it is only a drop here or there. It has 116,700 miles on it and it doesnt burn a drop of oil. Never have to add oil between changes. The transmission will go before the engine does if its like mine. It should go for a long time. Remember the oil fill is in the front of the engine not on the vavle cover like a Chevy is.

Awww...you ruined it. I was going to have a repeat of BV"s "where do you add transmission fluid" thread, only I was going to ask where to add oil.

The odometer reads 36k and change, I assume its been rolled, so at 136,000 miles I expect quite a bit of life left in it.

On the agenda for today is adding air to the back, driver's side tire, changing the oil and probably a good tune-up.

I do have a transmission question, its the THM200-4R, just want to know if the fluid is sealed or if there is an easy access point to drain it so I can add fresh fluid.

Congrats, it's a monster! Way cooler then a Pooper.

Some TLC and it should be good to go.

Awww...you ruined it. I was going to have a repeat of BV"s "where do you add transmission fluid" thread, only I was going to ask where to add oil.

The odometer reads 36k and change, I assume its been rolled, so at 136,000 miles I expect quite a bit of life left in it.

On the agenda for today is adding air to the back, driver's side tire, changing the oil and probably a good tune-up.

I do have a transmission question, its the THM200-4R, just want to know if the fluid is sealed or if there is an easy access point to drain it so I can add fresh fluid.

You'll probably have to drop the pan and replace the gasket to change the fluid - unless an aftermarket pan with a drain plug has been installed. It's a messy job (especially without a lift), so I would advise paying a shop to do it.

Just for the hell of it, I called Goodyear to see what a tune-up would run me. $350 for a cap/rotor, plugs, wires, and air and fuel filters. I'm on Autozone's website now and for the cap/rotor/ plugs, wires, brake pads, oil, transmission fluid, air, fuel and oil filters its $121. Plus, Autozone has a decent online repair guide, so I'm not going to have to hunt down a Haynes or Chilton manual. Autozone has my new favorite website, because they actually price their parts and even let you send your order to the store. There is no squealing, so I'm not going to do belts right now, and its going to need rear shocks, but that can wait too. I may go ahead and put new rotors on, depending on how the current ones look, for $18/each, its cheap and easy enough. I'm going to do some calling around about a motor for the back window, or I'll be super lazy and get new back doors, hopefully with good window motors and door handles.

Just for the hell of it, I called Goodyear to see what a tune-up would run me. $350 for a cap/rotor, plugs, wires, and air and fuel filters. I'm on Autozone's website now and for the cap/rotor/ plugs, wires, brake pads, oil, transmission fluid, air, fuel and oil filters its $121. Plus, Autozone has a decent online repair guide, so I'm not going to have to hunt down a Haynes or Chilton manual. Autozone has my new favorite website, because they actually price their parts and even let you send your order to the store. There is no squealing, so I'm not going to do belts right now, and its going to need rear shocks, but that can wait too. I may go ahead and put new rotors on, depending on how the current ones look, for $18/each, its cheap and easy enough. I'm going to do some calling around about a motor for the back window, or I'll be super lazy and get new back doors, hopefully with good window motors and door handles.

If the motor is bolted in and not welded/rivited, it should be easy. If it is...that sucks.

AutoZone's website is great. They actually have pictures of what the actual part for your car looks like, not some gineric part. Great prices too.

I'll admit I'm a bit jelaous. It's a god deal, and

coming from me that's a serious complement.

Good luck with it, & BTW: welcome to the world

of 'Merican BOF/RWD/V8 tanks. Carefull... they

ARE addictive like nicotine & chubby-gilr sex. :wink:

I'm going to unload the Fusion sometime soon because its getting on my nerves again, so the timing on this couldn't have been better. For $500, it was an incredible deal, for the same money I could have had the Trooper (with electrical issues that I am in no way able to fix myself) or a Dodge conversion van with 300,000 miles and its own electrical gremlins or a '95 Taurus with no radio.

Speaking of radios, the Buick has the standard GM AM/FM/cassette, but it wont stay turned on unless I hold in the power button. And the antenna was snapped off so it gets crappy reception. The latter I dont mind because there are no good radio stations around here, but the former is a problem because I could get one of those old school tape adapters for my iPod until I get around to a new head unit. I have some special ideas in mind for the sound system, including possibly an independent marine unit (waterproof) and speakers in the cargo area for any situation that might involve the back of a station wagon being open and some sort of sound being required.

Sounds like you're gonna have a lot of fun with that car.