76Olds88

Kind of excited to work on something new and road friendly compared to my jeeps.

It even has a 455... even if it is the low HP smogger version

Not sure of the plans so far, I am leaning toward a pro-tourer look on bags.

Need to do some searching to see if it is worth fuel injecting this engine yet.

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I have started buffing the paint since these pictures and it is coming back nicely.

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It still had some skunky gas in this vid, and it has a bad manifold leak that looks like a pain to fix.




So far I found a small hole in the drivers floor (currently smaller than a baseball, but will grow when I cut it out)

The obvious quarter issues and door issue

The trans is squishy - but that just may be the way these were valved.

It has a stumble, but all the vacuum lines are in rough shape

The drivers door panel armrest is loose

Rear wheel cylinders shot

no thermostat

AC non-op (but complete)

2 burned out headlights

Dome lights, trunk lights etc are all amazingly functional

3 speakers do not work.

Nasty drivers side manifold leak - this doesn't look easy to get to

Fires right up every time, but it can be a little cold blooded - but not bad.

The rear bumper may need adjusted, the gas cap flap hits it, and the rubber is really hard now, I am worried that it will break.

The dual exhaust was put on even more jenky than I thought, I wish I could have gotten a picture of what was done up at the manifold.

Tsandoval33

That's awesome man!!
I like those big old 88s

octanejunkie

Great old boat! Hope you get it all running well. These are getting rare now Good luck with the recommissioning

Fullsizelover

Congrats, amazing what a little buffing can do. Interior looks to be in great shape, and indeed the exhaust manifolds are hard to reach.
Worst case some bolts are broken too and engine needs to be lifted. Then you can install headers like I did

1yesfan

I like the rim set up.

76Olds88

I do too, somehow only one is in great shape though. The rest have surface rust. I was thinking of throwing on some 17's or so, with airbags and try to set it up pro-touring or similar.

I'd like to wake the 455 up a bit with some low $$ things if possible and have some fun.

illumined

Nice find! I wouldn't mind feeling the malaise in one of these.

76Olds88

This thing rides squishier than my '87 Caprice did.


There are some wiring issues I have found. The AC compressor is not getting power, but it does work if I jump power directly from the battery. I am thinking the radio is also something stupid.

I started changing out vacuum lines as well.

I took it to the gas station to fill the tank.. I found out the gas tank seam leaks like a sieve.

The rear brakes are toast. The wheel cylinders are newer but leaking and the drums and pads are shot. Not a big deal, but I may want to look into a disc conversion, not sure yet. I pieced one together for my jeep, not sure if anyone makes just a bolt on conversion bracket for this axle though.

octanejunkie

The A/C doesn't kick in on my 88 either. Have you had any luck tracking down the fault?

jaunty75

I wouldn't bother. Rehabbing your brakes with new shoes and new or newly turned drums plus new hardware is much easier, cheaper, and the car will stop just fine. Your car has disk front brakes, and most of the stopping of the car is done by the front brakes, anyway.

I have a '73 Custom Cruiser, which is very similar to your car in size and weight, and I have disks on the front/drums on the rear. I completely overhauled the rear brakes when I got the car in 2010. They're in good shape now, both front and rear, and the car stops just fine.

If I were you, I'd put my money, time, and effort toward your other problems and not worry about fixing things that really aren't broken.

76Olds88

It will eventually be converted, for now I'm fixing what's here. Discs stop far better, and are easier to maintain. I can convert to discs making my own kit for within $100
of replacing all the drum stuff. I did it on my jeep, and the improvement is huge going to a 4 wheel disc setup.

My long term plans will require the upgrade as I don't plan to keep it stock, and want to make it be able to carve some turns. It won't be a sports car, but I plan to beef up the handling.

The other problems are really minor, so tackling this stuff makes sense.

Fullsizelover

If you really want rear discs maybe try a 91-96 Caprice 9C1 or Impala since they had 5x5 bolt pattern also and should be on every scrap heap in the US.
Not sure if swapping a complete rear axle is compatible but if you try it please let me know I might be interested