Hopefully cut to the chase:
Dad's '99 DeVille- typical engine 100k work needed.
Disassembly started but not completed; can be rolled out of garage onto trailer.
Needs Northstar rebuild/replacement.
Book value RUNNING is +/- $1800.
Great body, well taken care of, etc.
Questions:
A. Is it worth attempting to sell online locally, etc., and if so, where? or
B. Should we let her go for the $400-500 scrap value?
While it's a beautiful, (when the engine ran) great running/riding car, we understand the demand/trouble to rebuild/value might not be there.
All suggestions welcome... hoping to move her soon.
Thanks for looking..

 

You could always list it for sale for scrap value. If someone is interested in it as a project they might come to you to buy it. If you scrap it you might have to tow it to a salvage yard.

If it doesn't run it probably needs head gaskets and new threaded inserts for over-sized head bolts.

 

These cars are beautiful, but unfortunately the Northstar is VERY sensitive to overheating and blowing head gaskets. Replacing the head gaskets requires lifting the body from the subframe and in order to correctly repair, the head studs need to be machined for steel sleeves. It has a lot to do with why you saw these cars in salvage yards in seemingly good condition so early in production. My wife had a gorgeous’98 that was black on black that I had painted the chrome grille gloss black. Right around 120k, the radiator ruptured a plastic cap at an intersection one mile from the house. By the time she shut down it was too late. I think you’ll be ahead to sell it as is with disclosure for whatever you can get. You also need to research the demand before you vest yourself any further.

 

Unless it has a special meaning to you, get'r gone. My $0.03 in USD.

 

We know it needs the head bolt rebuild..Dad managed to find a way to take the engine out without a lift, disassembled it, then (hard headedly) determined, despite EVERY mechanic, dealer service manager, expert etc. stating that EVERY Northstar made had the bead bolts go at 100K no matter how it was taken care of, that HIS engine was ok, so he only changed the gaskets, put it back together, put it back, reassembled that frontend, and drove it..til it started leaking again 3k mile later..
he was in the process of disassembling it for the second time.
My brother has a local scrapper who will haul it away for scrap value. Just not sure if it's worth the effort to try to sell otherwise, and if so, where.. None of us buy/sell anything online or elsewhere.

 

I had a buddy who used to specialize in Northstar engine repair. He did plenty of head gasket/bolt repairs with a decent success rate. He saved a lot of cars from being scrapped.

 

If you're going to try to sell it you can post it on Facebook Marketplace and Offer Up before using Craigslist.

https://offerup.com/

 

My current daily driver is a 2000 Eldorado ETC with the Northstar. It has 140K miles and still runs good.

But if something substantial happens to that engine, it's not worth spending money on it. I have put lots of junkyard engines in my beaters, but I'm not sure I would risk buying a junkyard Northstar.

 

yep..any junkyard Northstar would probably have the same issue with the head bolts.. I understand Jasper does rebuild them but they are not all interchangeable year to year.
...and even doing the work yourself..would have to be a labor of love..

 

Hummm...what if...a 71-76 500 Eldorado drive train would shoe horn in there? Even farther out there would a 66-76 Toro drive train fit.
Cadorado...Cadoro...Torolac...Torville.
Love the off beat frankinsteins. Otherwise unless someones in love with it its scrap. The junk man will make a few thousand in parts off it.

Exhibit A:
Badillac with a stuffed BBC 502

 

I always wondered if a supercharged 3.8 could bolt to the caddy transaxle. I kind of think they both have the 60° v6 bellhousing pattern.

 

Not even close. The N* and 4T80E transaxle are transverse. There's not a lot of room for a longitudinal setup.

The N* uses the 60deg metric bellhousing EXCEPT that one bolt is off. Also, 10-20% less HP is never worth the bother.

I'm puzzled by all the hate for the N*. The one in my Allante was a blast to drive, and other than needing to find the special tool to change out the water pump, no issues. Now the combination of Eyetalian electrics with early GM digital dash, THAT was a problem that I didn't want to deal with.

 

As Joe said, it was a great ride..the old man loved driving to Atlantic City down the AC Expressway at 90+... the one time he got pulled over the trooper saw he was in his 70s, shook his head and told him to slow down a little..
I suggest that, had the head bolt issue not come up, we might still be driving N*s of some kind..

 

Doubt someone will want it to restore. A slim chance someone needs it as a parts car because they all have typical Northstar issues at this point. Wife went thru the new engine route on her Deville worked for a while till a tree fell on it and totaled the car. Insurance wanted to give us nothing until we showed 7 G's in receipts for the engine job,. Our Northstar 05 SRX is holding its own at 160 thousand miles however rust and rot underside is horrible. If engine or trans poops out the car is scrap.

 

I really like my Northstar. It is smooth, quiet, powerful and reasonable efficient.

It is unfortunate that they have the head stud and lower block gasket Achilles heels, for it was a very impressive advanced engine for its time.

 

The Oldsmobile Aurora actually had a 4.0l Shortstar V8 that was based on the Northstar engine.

 

The SC3800 stock is slightly less HP than the Northstar, but can easily and dependably make way more HP without even pulling the valve covers. The plus is the head bolts/studs wont pull from the block either and it would keep nice cars from getting crushed.

No hate on the Northstar from me. I thought it was cool that GM was trying to break the mold and finally make Cadillacs fast and cool again. In fact I thought at one time the Northstar was going to be the flagship engine for GM, up until the LS came out a few years later. Its unfortunate that the failure rate is so high and the successful repair rate is so low that its driven the value of anything Northstar into the tank.