It seems like these shouldn’t be exposed. Idek what these go to.


Says emergency something. Dont know what this is.

There’s a blue cord running through the door to the console. Not sure why.

Rust on hood


Hood wont shut all the way

Dent, rust and scrapes on passenger side


Rust, and accident damage

Haven’t tested the seats yet

Lining of door



Pretty gross below the backseat. Water damage?

Yes i have a radio. I took it off incase someone would runoff with it.


Lock is chipped. I have to manually pull it up and down. Door opens and locks though.

Not sure what the **** is for. Looks as if its missing something.

Ahh the famous screw i told yall about. Why is this here? It still locks and unlocks. I didnt know that till today. Its just harder.

What is this?


Trunk


Trunk

Previous owner left me this broken stereo. Can i do anything with it or is it junk.


The Bad: rust on hood and on sides near trim, the inside roof needs repaired. The keys given fit in the locks funny...i have three. One for the trunk, passenger and driver side door. Seems like to me something is wrong with the locks. I have to turn them slowly so i dont break the keys and it feels tough to open. I will try oiling it



I want to start work on it but I’ve never owner a car besides this and a 2002 Buick that I sold to get this beauty. What should I start on first to fix it? I will be using this as a daily driver.

EDIT: Check engine light came on. Previous owner did inform me to get a new battery. And we have experienced some ice storms lately which could’ve been the culprit as that killed my last battery.

 

Congrats. I'd start with safety items, then drivetrain, electrical, and lastly body, paint, and trim. Put some lubricant in the locks to free them up.

 

Congrats and X2 on the safety items. With your back door problems, do the rear windows roll down? Can you see a nail/screw object holding the doors or are you assuming there is something there because you cannot open the doors? Try checking to make sure the door panels are not catching on the sides thereby keeping the doors from opening. Did the previous owner ever remember taking off the rear door panels to possibly work on the window mechanisms? He possibly could have not aligned the rear door panels properly? Good luck with the project.

 

Yes, WD40 works wonders with door locks. Squirt into the keyhole, and anything that moves. Work it in, you'll see an improvement.

 

thanks for the reply! Yes I can see a screw or nail inside where the backdoor locks should be. I’m not sure what they did to this vehicle or about rear door panels. I have some research to do. Is there a specific topic on this site that i can use to help with this project? Or a YouTube channel?

 

Post a couple pics of the problem areas, the more eyes on the problem the better the chance someone has an idea to fix it.

the car looks in good shape overall!

i agree w old cutlasses list start w safety end w paint.

In the middle you can always find small projects to fix or repair that are satisfying to get done but maybe dont add a lot. An example of this is on my old 85 the edge of the seat cover had a 4” seperation. Every time i opened the door it was the first thing you noticed, red interior w white foam showing. I stiched up the seperation, and while it wasnt a new seat cover the repair was good enough that it wasnt easily noticable especially when just opening the door. Very satisfying to complete and only took 20m or so.

 

More pics have been provided as well as an update. I will definitely need to fix the seats. They seem to be original, but what do I know?

 

Will do! Thanks for the suggestion.

 

Can someone help me out with the pictures i provided?

 

the back doors actually open, I just have to manually lock and unlock them. Unlike I previously thought. The windows don’t go down sadly. There ain’t even a option to roll them down...no buttons or levers or nothing. The only part that opens is the back part of the window like how some old trucks or busses have where you can unlatch it and a little air can come through. Is this normal?

 

im trying to look up info on drivetrains but i dont see any. Whats a good website for oldsmobile parts? Have you personally used one?

 

rockauto is a good site for replacements parts if you search on this site you will find a code for 5% off.

 

cuttthroat82,
Yes, unfortunately, the big back windows do not roll down. That is the way all those (Cutlass, Regal, Century, Malibu, Bonneville) 4-door cars were made from '78-86 or 87. That's why the little vent window at the back swings open. Those little guys would also be power if you had the option. Kind of stupid to do that but maybe the rear doors wouldn't allow for window tracks. At least your '82 square back design is a lot better than the '78-'80 in my opinion.
Good luck with your project.

 

Hi, little black button on the steering column is the 4-way hazard flasher switch.
Yep, as others have said,get the safety stuff up to snuff & work from there
As supreme cpe said, I thought it was really stupid to not have roll down back windows but probably not enough room for tracks. I hated those fastback coupes/sedans in '78-'79.
Imho, I detest aftermarket stereos; those speakers may not be any good either. That microphone piece is probably connected somehow to the stereo.
Good luck.
Say, looks like I posted on this before. So I probably just talked to myself too! wth?