The_Infamous

First of all, and most important for my car-buying decision-making, does a '62 Dynamic 88 have a lighter plug/jack thing? I may be buying this vehicle but it doesnt have a sound system. I do not want to put a car stereo in so I am going the cheaper way: hooking up my home stereo to her. If the car does not have a lighter jack to plug in the stereo via adapter/converter, I may not get the car, as I'd rather not run wires to the battery.

Here is the car I am considering: http://wilmington.craigslist.org/cto/4416824963.html

I know everyone here is an Olds fan, but let's be practical and objective. I've seen the car, ridden in her, not driven, and the only thing that a non-mechanic like me can see wrong is the headliner in the back. There are some minor rust spots too. Is this a good deal for this car?

But really I just want to know about the lighter thing. I would appreciate it if someone messaged or commented me on Facebook at Aaron Elijah McDonald, or email at eli_mcdonnell76@yahoo.com, as this is the first time I've come to this site and may forget to check before i buy the car. Thanks.

Eli

MDchanic

I don't think there was a car made after about 1938 that didn't have a cigarette lighter, and this one is no exception.
I believe that the Olds 98 that year had four.

A cigarette lighter outlet is really a very blunt instrument in the connection world, though -
Why not just splice in a better solution?

As for whether you should buy the car:
I cannot say in any meaningful way without seeing and driving it. Pictures can be very deceiving.
It looks like a reasonably good car from what I can see, but $3,600 looks high to me.
CollectorCarMarketReview shows a '62 Dynamic 88 sedan in #4 condition to be worth about $2,100.

I would say, though, that if you're a "non-mechanic," as you say, this may not be the car for you, as things WILL go wrong with it, and will probably do so on the road, and if you can't get out, wiggle the right part, and get it going again, it's going to be a very, very trying experience.

Welcome to ClassicOlds.

- Eric

oldcutlass

Welcome, hooking up home stereo?

MDchanic

Sounds shagadelic to me, Baby!

- Eric

oldcutlass

Tedd Thompson

I think this is the first time I have heard of a car sale that might go bad because of a cigarette lighter....Tedd

Allan R

The car has already been extensively changed from original so I don't understand the fear of having someone wire in a newer car stereo and speakers. The sound will be better than plugging in a boom box with a cig lighter adapter. This is likely a plug and play car that just looks stock, but isn't. IMO the seller is trying to recover the cost of his parts and labor in his selling price - it's too high for this model, especially since it's not really that desirable. It's a turnkey driver that hopefully is more reliable than when it was stock.

MDchanic

You guys realize that the OP will never read any of these comments, right?

- Eric

oldcutlass

I bet he does...

The_Infamous

lol yeah I remembered when I started looking up the cost of replacing panels on a 72 Dart and asking whether I should get a 67 Galaxie 500 instead of the Olds. I'm not an Olds guy, I'm a classic car guy, admittedly one who is mechanically challenged. I'm more the artist. :P

As for the mods, yes I know. I prefer original classics over mods any day, even if they are less reliable. I guess I'm a purist in that regard. The seller put in an electronic ignition which I will one day change back to original, even though, according to him, it's better for the car in every way. My issue is that I dont want too much that I have to change back to stock. I know he put a lot of hard work and money into the car, so it would kind of suck having to reverse it all (and i wouldnt do it any time soon), but I really would rather have an ACTUAL classic American car (preferably muscle but with my budget I wont be picky right now).

I hear ya on all points, and now that I think about it, I get it. He told me 3 grand a week ago but I havent really talked to him since. Like I said, I've been looking around, and my area of NC is over-priced central. Fayetteville, Jax, Charlotte, and Myrtle Beach all have reasonably priced and drivable classic cars but the Pender/Brunswick county in the middle of it all doesnt, probably because it's on the beach and there isnt that large of a collector base.

Ok so I'm rambling. MDchanic, you said something that got me thinking, about how things with the car WILL go wrong on the road. If I bought a PURE classic car with no mods, that would probably happen more than with this mod, I am assuming.

I'm thinking of offering him $2500 (he said 3 grand cuz he has bills to pay, originally the car was over 4 grand i believe), and seeing how he reacts. If he doesnt take it, I'll go to $2700 maybe. But I cant really go much higher when there are cheaper cars in just as good condition, albeit a little further away...

MDchanic

Good thing I didn't bet Eric a beer that you wouldn't come back...


Wow. Isn't that kind of like being a deaf musician?
Maybe your handle should be "Beethoven."



Well, all he changed were the ignition, carb. (with manifold), M/C, and radiator.
The radiator is a little bit non-original looking, but the carb probably improves performance and may work a bit better than the 2GC, and the brake modification is practically a necessity for safety.



Depending on what he did (HEI vs aftermarket electronic pickup), it may or may not be an improvement. HEI will improve reliability over points, if you never do any maintenance, but if the HEI distributor wasn't recurved, it may hurt performance and economy.
An aftermarket pickup will keep your original distributor and appearance, and also reduce maintenance, but won't increase performance.



Maybe. Depends on your luck.



Sounds like you're in the right ballpark. Considering the work that's been done, I think that's fair.

- Eric

70cutty

You do realize that home stereo will not be easy or cheap to hook up to the car.
You will need a big power inverter as well as better alternator. It will be much better, maybe even cheaper, to buy car stereo and wire it the right way. Around here you can get a nice cd deck, couple of 6x9 speakers for about $100-$150 depending on the brand. Amp and couple of 10" subs will be another $150-$200 depending on the brand. I don't see the reason to hook up your home stereo.

oldcutlass

I don't believe there are any Hei's available for a 394, I would assume a points replacement kit in the distributor. Changing it back would be pretty easy. The work that the current owner put in to this car is normal maint. and is usually required in resurrecting an older car from a deep sleep.


I would make the $2500 offer and see if he bites. Be aware older cars require a lot attention until they are reliable, you will be investing more money into this car after the initial purchase.


As far as the home stereo thing, you need to wire what ever inverter or adapters to get power separately to accommodate the load. I would not run it off the cig lighter in this car.

MDchanic

Hmmmm... Good point.

It's easy to change back, but I'd leave it, and keep a spare set of points and condenser in the glove compartment in case it failed.

- Eric

Nilsson

Good luck, remember classic cars are a black hole where you shovel mass qtys of cash. You could very well give starving artist a new meaning.

The_Infamous

If that's true, 2 minutes after I buy her, she'll explode. When it comes to cars and my family, we spend thousands every six months on modern cars...

Regarding everything else everyone has said, I guess I have a lot to think about. I'm glad I came here before just going out and buying the first classic I see. I used to tend to do that. Poor Firebird, I still miss her :'(

But I'll save all this info you guys provided and talk to my more mechanically-smart acquaintances and see what they think.

I'll check back here every once in awhile until I decide what I'm gonna do. If I'm here a lot, you know I bought her :P

Thanks everyone!

The_Infamous

Ok so Friday the 9th I bought the Olds 88 for $2750. Now, the hard part, insuring her for a decent price. My friend told me that classic car insurance would be cheaper but with NC's horrendous laws combined with insurance companies' ridiculous stipulations, I've found it would be cheaper to just insure her with liability at first and when I have gotten the little repairs taken care of, maybe upgrading her to collector's insurance.

Just about everything wrong with her is cosmetic. The classic car restore guy/co-worker who went with me told the seller there was something "making noise" in the back but the seller replied that it always did that and his dad's Pontiac did the same. Later the restorer told me it was probably wheel bearings or something and I should have it checked out, and that there is also probably an exhaust leak, but nothing major. This was confirmed (at least for me), when we drove into the parking lot at work and a co-worker walked up and the first thing he said was "So where's the exhaust leak?" A lot of people I work with know something about cars. I had a F-bird with a much worse exhaust leak years ago and this didnt sound half as bad so I didnt notice it.

However, I will get her undercarriage looked at by a mechanic as soon as I can. But this insurance though. I think I've literally tried to get a quote from every major company and three or four smaller east coast companies. How do you insure your vehicle? All things considered, I think liability is the only thing she needs right now. I wont be driving her that much and there is pretty much no chance of her being stolen or lost in a natural disaster where I live.

PS. He did NOT put the electric ignition in but it did come with her, along with most of the other original replaced parts.

MDchanic

Sounds great, keep us posted!

As far as insurance goes: You've got a $3,000 car. You could pay that much every year insuring it against fire, theft, and collision, so why waste your money?

Antique auto insurance is for collector cars that aren't driven much.
If you're planning to drive it regularly, you need regular car insurance.
Get liability and medical only, but don't get the minimum unless you're 16 years old.

- Eric

70cutty

So, did it come with a lighter?

MDchanic

"Fix the lighter."

- Eric

oldcutlass

Congrats on your purchase. From what you describe it may need an axle bearing. For the exhaust leak, take it to a local muffler shop for a quick fix.


Car insurance is a whole other ball game. If you are using it as an everyday driver, no collector car insurance co will cover it. The stipulations of collector car insurance is that you may have to meet a minimum age requirement (we don't know your age), it has to be garaged, generally the paint has to be shiny, cannot be used as daily transportation, you must have another car to drive, and it must be kept in an enclosed garage. Liability only for this car might be the option to run with for now.