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This is about Oldsmobiles and how many miles they were used, NOT GAS MILEAGE.
I just saw a discussion in another post regarding the fact that 50s to 70s American cars were considered used up and ready for the boneyard when they had accumulated 75 to 100,000 miles. While I'm sure this was a true statement for some car makes, I don't agree with this based on personal experience. My first three cars were Fords and they all fit into the mileage limitation above but my fourth car was a 1964 Olds Dynamic 88 with the 394. It had 80 some thousand on it and the engine appeared to have never been opened, in comparison to my previous Fords it ran like a new car! Good compression, low oil consumption and I drove it cross country at 80 mph with no trouble. I liked that car so much that my next car was a 1964 Jetstar 1 with the Starfire 394. This one had about 99,000 miles on it and also appeared to be unrebuilt. It was a bit "looser" than my previous but still ran great and was dependable. Further on down the line I owned a 65 98 425, 67 Toronado 425, 69 Cutlass 350, 72 Cutlass 350, 72 Toronado 455, and 73 Delta 88 350. All of these cars had from 75 to 125,000 miles on them and while I can't guarantee none had been repaired prior to my ownership but if so it wasn't obvious and I never had to do major engine or transmission repair to ANY of these cars. It was this dependability factor that led me to buy the 63 Starfire I have now, which I have owned for 7 years.
So, have I just been lucky or are Oldsmobiles really better at accumulating the miles, what has your experience been like?
Most of my early Olds' were higher mileage, probably due to my age and budget. Bought my '70 SX in 1976 with 88,000 miles on it and it purred like a kitten, open the hood and if you didn't see the fan blade turning, you wouldn't know that it was running. The downside was that I was 19 when I bought it, and abused it, puffing the motor @ 106,000. Not the fault of Lansing, that's for sure. My '73 Cutlass Supreme had 122,000 on it when I sold it, running like a champ. it was the same thing when you lifted the hood while running, no shaking, no nothing, just running like a clock. My '79 Toro had 83,000 on it when I bought it, gave it to my niece when it had 149,000 on it, only a timing set replacement when the plastic fiber, whatever they were made of gears disintegrated.
The first car I drove was a 1970 Cutlass Supreme 350-4bbl that my Dad bought second hand in 1977. It was going strong with no issues at 99,000 miles until I put in some cheap gas then did a high RPM burnout and detonated a piston. If not for that high school idiocy, it would have been fine.
I haven't owned anything pre 1973 , I have only owned Olds , pontiac and chevy over the years (Ford trucks for work ) . My Olds seem to outlast them all in mileage vs repair .
If you kept up with the maintenance they seen well over 100k and still ran decent , body wise in Canada, they turned into holy rust buckets .
Regular oil changes were key . The killer was the cooling systems .
You had to keep an eye on the copper core rads and replace them before the tubes were outlined with buildup from calcium deposits, fins rotted and falling out etc. If the cooling system was maintained well , our Olds would stack up much better than all the rest back in the day . Body wise/ suspension as well .
IMO, Most were scrapped between 90-110k due to rust, improper maintenance here in Canada.
Some people are just too cheap or lazy to maintain their cars, and bristle at the suggestion of regular fluid changes. Two gallons of prestone costs a lot less than having an engine rebuilt. 5 qts of a good oil and a Delco filter cost a lot less than having an engine rebuilt. I've also noticed people who can afford a new car every few years or so don't care, they just drive it and trade it in for something new. They don't care about the next owner, or the machine itself, like we do. It's yesterday's garbage. I wish I had hundreds of extra dollars to throw away every month...
[QUOTE=blakes7;1145957]. I've also noticed people who can afford a new car every few years or so don't care, they just drive it and trade it in for something new. They don't care about the next owner, or the machine itself, like we do. It's yesterday's garbage.
This comes with age haha, I'm almost ther ! Plus, none of the new cars today are worth keeping for anymore than 3 years. I tell my Mom, once the brake pedal starts getting low, call me, its time to unload it.
My first car was a ‘55 88. When I sold it in 1968 it had over 140,000 on the 324. Here in the Gary, Indiana rust belt our cars suffered the same fate as Joe P’s in MA. My ‘72 had almost 160,000 when I swapped out the reliable but “tired” 350 for one of cutlassefi’s this past summer.
My first car was a '69 4-4-2 holiday coupe, a Canadian car that I bought in Rhode Island in April 1972 for $1800. It had 44,610 miles on it when I talked with my dad about it and his first response was, "Are you sure you want to buy a car with that many miles on it?" Well, I did - I had the 4-4-2 fever and this car solved the problem! I drove it for 9 years - sold it in 1981 for $1000 and it had 161K miles on it with me never doing anything with the engine. I did have trouble with the fuel pump but that was about it mechanically. I'd say the car did me well and that perhaps by the '60s higher mileage cars weren't nearly as much a problem as they might have been with earlier cars
Oil, grease and maintenance is the important thing. My 2nd car was a '55 Olds 88. It had 100.000 miles when I bought it bought it for $100. On a trip from Waterloo, Iowa to Witchita, Kansas and back, I used 6 quarts of oil. I drove it 2 more years and sold it for $100 to a kid who drove it for another couple years. Reason for selling..... I bought a 1965 4-4-2 convertible with a 4 speed. I have owned my mother's '67 Olds Delmont 88 (60,000 miles), '72 Olds 98 Coupe, '73 Olds 88 Delta Royale, '74 Cutlass wagon, '79 Olds Firenza, '76 Buick LeSabre, '76 Monte Carlo. they were all bought with about 100,000 miles and driven to about 200,000 miles and still running. I never had an engine failure, and yes, I changed timing gears timing chains, brakes and tires. They has 350's, 455's and the V-6 (Firenza).
I grew up in MA. Wearing out wasn't what killed these cars.
same here still live in mass. cars and trucks have gotten much better at everything including rot resistance over the years but at 11 years old my last truck was so rotted from year round use it couldn't be safely used any more, despite running great and using little to no oil between changes.
I've got 148,000+ on my 77, 104,000+ on my 73, 97,000+ on my 87. They all run pretty well, and just keep going when I want them to. Granted, I really don't put many miles on them, maybe 500-1000 a year, but I still love every mile.
My '72 was sold to me as having 87k miles, but since the mileage on the 1996 title that came with it was exempt, I suspect it actually has 187k mi. Given the general neglect the car has seen, I doubt it's ever been rebuilt. It runs poorly and has at least one burnt valve, but it runs enough to be drivable.
Back in the mid 80s I had a gorgeous triple black 98 Regency. The original engine made it to 225k before I changed it. It actually ran very well until the rings went on the #3 piston & it started fouling the plug. After I swapped in a nice low mileage '72 455 I pulled the left head on the old motor just to see what it looked like. The #3 cyl with the bad rings looked like it was chrome plated it was so shiny. The other cylinders didn't even have much of a top ridge.
It matters what kind of miles they get. If you're going down a federal highway at 60 mph for 10 miles, it's better than ten stoplights and 5 hard turns.
Joe is right, rust will get you. One of the things my company does is put stickers on all the access holes for bolts after done. They're heavy plastic black stickers. They last some five years, but that's a five year head start on no water accumulating in there. Of course, we also replace frames if we screwed up. My truck got a new one, even though it didn't need it in my opinion.
I think a lot of this has to do with oil .
Modern oils , especially synthetics , are " light years " better than oils of 40 , 50, or especially 60 years ago .
Another big factor in " high mileage " engines was the frequency of oil changes . Especially years ago when the oil wasn't that great .
i bought my 69 442 drop top from a grandfather who purchased it new for his grad daughter, then let 4 of his grandsons drive it thru high school. I drove it to work as my DD and then let my 3 nephews drive it thru high school. When I restored it, I redid everything but the back seat and left it as a shrine for 6 high school boys
We must have had 300,000+ miles on our 75 Cutlass 4 door. The TH350 died at 200,000+, was rebuilt and the motor had a knock when we scrapped it. It was resold and on the road another 5 years! Our 81 Delta 88 got over 400,000 km, I got another 50,000 km on the 307 till the timing chain slipped and it still ran good, very little oil usage. Both cars were well taken care of, the 81 especially. Even the TH250C in the 81 lasted but had a couple of fluid changes. It died the first time behind a 403. The "great" sbc flattened cams, almost all them by 100,000 km in the 70's. I say the Olds V8 was very durable compared to some other makes, the TH350, TH2004R and worthless TH200C, not so much. They all seem to implode at a certain mileage.
Eric, you goof ball ! _ _ _ I got a good chuckle and told my wife i'm buying her a Bunnie-Suit so she can hide easter eggs around the living room so I can "put-the-chase" on in hot pursuit. Look Out Egg Basket !! hahahaha oh crap, I missed. Maybe I could be so lucky as to land her in the back seat. or her land me.
In 1973 I bought a brand new Dodge Power Wagon 4x short-bed auto with 318. That was before "Rancho Suspension" or "BF Goodrich A/T's) seems there were some big tires made by "Monaco" (32's) similar to todays Mud-Terrain's. First thing I did was add a home-made lift and leaned out the carb with smaller main jets.
I had a blast playing submarine in the local creeks in the canyons with my buddies and the hippy girls. The hippy girls we such fun having ride almost in our laps in the pickups all snuggled in close and giggly. Well, at 35,000 miles I had burned valves, and my dad and I did a valve job with one of the facer's and seat grinder's where he worked in the local GM dealership. That was very cool, and I have always yearned for my own Sioux Valve grinder set-up.
If, _ _ _ _ we were to put today's auto's through what we put our older cars through, they would be done at 100k, unless lovingly serviced regularly.
When running through the Rubicon Jeep Trail at Lake Tahoe, I had guys ask me if I suffer from break-downs, and I tell them I try to avoid the thought by doing extensive service and preparations at home on a level surface. It worked. (my first year through, I met an old guy who had a real trick old ****** with 350 chevy, and I asked him if he suffered from break-downs, and his response was "if you do your wrenching at home on a level surface, you won't have to do it in the Dirt.)"
General Service and maintenance makes a big difference in longevity. Then there is the climatic conditions and road salt, bye bye autobody.
I was reading through the thread earlier this evening about the wrecking yard photos.
I have concluded that if I need a reason to tour the great USofA, there will be 2-points of interest, wait _ _ _, 3-points of Interest.
1- National Parks
2- Wrecking yards in arid states
3- bunnies and hippy girls, oh wait, i'm married to a '60's flower-child, but it is still fun to observe natural beauty.
So, at my age, then if we can expect 100k, then I am at 67k currently, and probably wont make the 100k mark. hahaha
Do we have any trade-in value at 100k, or do we just get hauled out to pasture like the auto's that did not make the 100k mark.
I just saw a discussion in another post regarding the fact that 50s to 70s American cars were considered used up and ready for the boneyard when they had accumulated 75 to 100,000 miles. While I'm sure this was a true statement for some car makes, I don't agree with this based on personal experience.
We won't include garaged weekend drivers, as those cars were pampered and only taken out once a week or even once a month and driven in nice weather.
Factually and statistically, the reality is that 50-70s American cars were pretty beaten down and ready for the junkyard when they came close to 100,000 miles. That is true. That's another reason why manufacturers didn't include the extra digit on the odometer (99,999 max) as they knew when the vehicle was nearing the 100,000 mile mark, it was done for. So why even include the extra digit? Newer modern vehicles of course do include the extra digit as modern vehicles can easily see 200,000 miles and still are very reliable so the speedometer can record over 100,000 miles and beyond.
Usually the vehicles rusted and rotted out relatively quickly if driven in winter weather with salt. Quarter panels, fenders, bottoms of doors, trunk and floor pans, all rusted and rotted out. Hence finding an older car that hasn't been driven in the snow/ice or it's beyond logical $$ to fix a vehicle that has rot in all the above spots.
The other main reason modern cars last longer is through science and engineering. Engineers have had decades to improve on vehicle design, reliability and longevity. Computers and sensors are now monitoring and will reveal potential issues before they turn into major issues. Metallurgy and engine engineering has revealed what works and what doesn't work for long-term reliability. Just like modern air travel. Today's planes are much more safer and reliable than the planes of yesteryear. Through trial and error, engineers have improved on designs and weeded out the flaws. Commercial plane crashes are rare today but were actually commonplace back in the 50's-80's. Just like today's modern cars, the odds of surviving a crash are much greater than a car from the 50-70s. Sadly, a lot of those vehicles did really poorly in crashes and the occupants would suffer serious injury or death, while the same crash today in a modern vehicle results in no or very little injury. Engineers know that a 5 or 6 bolt main with splayed caps is a stronger design than a 2 bolt main in a long stroke engine. Cork gaskets are doomed to leak. Modern engines utilize modern sealants. One can go on and on about all the engineering improvements since the 70s.
Some have this romantic view of cars from the 50s-70s. The fact is however, cars were not built better back then, they were not as reliable as modern cars, and they certainly were not built safer. There are always exceptions to the rule but overall most daily driver cars from the 50-70's by 75,000 miles were ready for the junkyard.
The 350 Olds was way more reliable than the 455 Olds, when it came to engines.
Last edited by pettrix; January 6th, 2019 at 09:35 PM.
I used to buy and sell old cars in the 80's and 90's. I could almost always count on a Olds engine to be OK in a non running car. In other words if there was a 73 Olds that had been sitting for a year or so that wouldn't run, I could count on the engine being basically OK as long as it hadn't frozen and cracked due to no antifreeze. I bought many just that way for Diesel conversions. Only common problem with Olds V8's were oil drain back holes in heads clogged and timing chains. I found out the hard way that many other engines weren't so good notably Chevy's (cam lobes), Ford big blocks (oil burning). Buick V6 (just a shaky POS). Seemed like Chrysler engines were also great. But as said around here it usually wasn't mileage that killed cars, it was rust. The only reason there was such a market for Olds V8's was the Diesel fiasco.
Well, so far it looks like my impression of Olds longevity was right. I grew up in the Chicago Illinois area and totally agree with the comments about rust. For awhile in the late 70s and 80's I also had a side business stripping cars and selling parts (usually connected to whatever project I was working on at the time) I could buy running and driving rust bucket cars for $100 to $500 and do quite well selling chrome and stainless trim, interior hard parts, options. etc. I did mostly non-Chevy GM and Mopar and almost always sold the engine/trans combo for more than I paid for the whole car - and Olds always did the best.
In mid 70's NJ, where most of the trips were short, these cars did not fair well. I came across many sbo's that had concave lifters and wiped cams mostly all needing timing chains and valve guide seals at or around 60k miles. Were there exceptions to the rule, yes. I've worked on hundreds of these old american cars and all makes had their issues. I don't look at just one make with rose colored glasses. They were all pieces of crap, just some were bigger pieces than others.
My 68 442 saw just under 300K with one engine rebuild over 200K , 70 442 has a little under 225K on the orig. engine/trans.(though it did get the timing chain replaced)
Eric, you goof ball ! _ _ _ I got a good chuckle and told my wife i'm buying her a Bunnie-Suit so she can hide easter eggs around the living room so I can "put-the-chase" on in hot pursuit. Look Out Egg Basket !! hahahaha oh crap, I missed. Maybe I could be so lucky as to land her in the back seat. or her land me.
Hahaha, Hey Len buy her a suit before Easter lol , Wait thou, .... Jamesbo started the backseat deal here.
But let me tell ya' about a back seat deal.
I asked my wife, well, friend at that time. Ya' know we had just met . I'm on my best behaviour, Jack's hiding in my console, at this point its almost 9PM n' starting to get dark.
So by 9:15 I asked her to go steady. She said OK. So I replied, Put-er'-ther !
So its now dark, we been going steady for about 15 minutes, but I know... I don't have any room on my credit card. So I ask her, do you want to get in the back seat ? She said nope I'd rather stay up front with you.
Yeah, I married to a blonde.
In my case, the Olds engines run a good long time, but it's the transmissions that didn't hold up. I know BOP all use the same pieces. But it's just been a strange coincidence even with regular maintenance.
First Olds was a 72 Cutlass I got to drive to and from college. It was an older man's car with weathered paint and a dry-rotted vinyl roof. Can't remember the mileage but it was likely in the 70K range. I only had it a few weeks before a better car (at the time) came along. I sold the Cutlass to my cousin who drove it two years before the trans gave out. I got the car back and parted it out.
In 1994 I bought an 84 Delta 88 Coupe with 52K on it. After a timing chain at 90K I drove it until the trans went at 120K. Rebuilt that and drove it to 190K when it rotted away around me.
My current 75 Delta Vert with a 350 and my 78 Delta Coupe also with a 350 both have just over 100K on them. They both have already received timing chains and other basic maintenance. Original trans still in both.
My most impressive one was my 77 Grand Prix. I know, not an Olds... but I got it with 144K on the Pontiac 350 and TH 400. That trans went out around 180K. It was a holiday weekend and I couldn't get it rebuilt. But my neighbor had a used BOP TH400 literally sitting in his backyard. It even had moss growing on it. I swapped that in and drove that car until 290K on the same 350 motor.
Location: Sherwood Park, Alberta, in the Great White North
Posts: 359
I hauled a 64 Dynamic 88 out of a boneyard with 78,000 on the clock; it had been owned by an old guy who apparently never changed the oil and never drove it past 45 miles per hour. I got it and promptly drove it at 80; - it had no oil rings left, but it sure would move. Rebuilt it, it purred like a kitten. It didn't need much of a bore, the taper was gone, that's about it, and it balanced up beautifully after that. Put another 40,000 on it before I traded it off for my Wildcat.
Part of getting long life out of a vehicle was keeping it in tune and maintaining the cold weather warmup systems. I had two Caddies, a 71 Coupe Deville and a 72 Eldorado in the 1990’s, both well cared for by the previous owners. The Eldo was my everyday driver. I kept it tuned up and the heat stove and choke mechanisms working on both cars. Cold New England winters were never a problem and I would be gentle on the gas for the first couple miles. When maintained those Q jets and associated systems worked well. Both cars made it well beyond 100K but the Eldo rotted out. The Deville I eventually sold.My 70 Cutlass I got in 1998 or 99 with 58 K miles. When I switched to a 4 barrel manifold I was amazed at the cleanliness inside the valley, whoever the original owner was they did frequent oil changes. By the time I got the car the quality of oil was superior to what would have been used in the 70’s. I’m now at 81 K. I use oil with zinc.My 2000 Grand Marquis went quick once the rot set in, rock solid drive train but typical Ford rust from factory as standard. The amount of salt used has increased from when I first began to drive. The Soviet state inspection system flunks cars with rust, back then rot wouldn’t flunk a car unless it was ready to break in half.
I used to buy and sell old cars in the 80's and 90's. I could almost always count on a Olds engine to be OK in a non running car. In other words if there was a 73 Olds that had been sitting for a year or so that wouldn't run, I could count on the engine being basically OK as long as it hadn't frozen and cracked due to no antifreeze. I bought many just that way for Diesel conversions. Only common problem with Olds V8's were oil drain back holes in heads clogged and timing chains. I found out the hard way that many other engines weren't so good notably Chevy's (cam lobes), Ford big blocks (oil burning). Buick V6 (just a shaky POS). Seemed like Chrysler engines were also great. But as said around here it usually wasn't mileage that killed cars, it was rust. The only reason there was such a market for Olds V8's was the Diesel fiasco.
I remember the Ford M series bottom end dying around 100,000 km or so as well. I had bill's, including the sale of the car in 1982 for our 81 Delta 88, so I knew exactly what was done and when. I remember nothing major done but oil changes every 3,000 km, tune up items, gaskets and maybe a timing chain, a long time ago. This car, feeding off how good the 75 Olds Cutlass we nicknamed the beast, cemented how good the SBO was. My ex BIL talked about how much power the two 455's he transplanted in 80 1/2 that was diesel powered, had until he blew them up. His Mom took the truck and put a supposedly good 75 Olds 350 in the truck. It used oil, he tried to blow it up but couldn't. It may have been the case of not enough power to kill self. Our 75 suffered similar abuse at the end and still lived, also a 75 Olds 350. I had a 318 oil burner and it replaced a slant 6 with a hole in the side of the block. I actually blew up the first 318 I put in there. Even the later magnum versions were so so. My daughter over revved the 3.9 with under 200,000 km in my Dakota, made an awful noise. So I swapped in a 5.9 magnum, it got over heated and cracked a head. I ended up buying Ram EQ heads and the thick aluminum plenum plate, gasket was starting to lift after just a few miles, both very common problems. Our old 2010 Challenger 3.5 V6 also began using oil after stretching one oil change to just under 8000 km. Very few lasted like the Olds V8, SBO especially, even till recently. The diesel fiasco was real for sure but before my time. One guy I know replaced the blown 350D in his 81 that he bought in 83 with 2 403's, the first one was bad, the next one was Ok and kept it a few years before trading it in. The last two 76 Olds 350's I bought bad factory bearings, shim head gaskets and factory nylon timing chains, no cracks just slop. One had 121,××× miles, the other supposedly 90,000 miles. Great oil pressure and compression in 40 year old motors is very rare from the ugly mid 70's, nearly everything else from that era was unreliable compared to the SBO V8.
Last edited by olds 307 and 403; January 8th, 2019 at 05:33 AM.
Maintenance is definitely key to longevity. My Dad trained me to change the oil and filter often and I've done it all my life with good results. I've also changed transmission filters and fluid fairly often even on old high mileage cars, although I know a lot of people say not to.
Maintenance is definitely key to longevity. My Dad trained me to change the oil and filter often and I've done it all my life with good results. I've also changed transmission filters and fluid fairly often even on old high mileage cars, although I know a lot of people say not to.
I've done that too, and never had any problems related to fluid changes.
Maintenance is definitely key to longevity. My Dad trained me to change the oil and filter often and I've done it all my life with good results. I've also changed transmission filters and fluid fairly often even on old high mileage cars, although I know a lot of people say not to.
Ah... The old "do not disturb the sludge" school of thought
I think a lot of this has to do with oil .
Modern oils , especially synthetics , are " light years " better than oils of 40 , 50, or especially 60 years ago .
Another big factor in " high mileage " engines was the frequency of oil changes . Especially years ago when the oil wasn't that great .
X2. I strongly believe this is the majority of it as far as engines are concerned. There is not doubt that some modern manufacturing and engineering have some to do with it also but I believe lubricants are the biggest factor.
the old 307 was in our 1980 Delta 88 for 230,000 original miles, pulled out in good running condition... installed into a Olds wagon from the 80's and is still running 20 years later with another 100,000 more miles on it now. All that was ever done was the timing chain was replaced at 140,000 miles with an all steel replacement.
It only had tune ups with cheap wires and distributor cap/rotor every 100,000 miles, and it did get oil changes with valvoline 10/30 and wix filters every 3-4,000 miles without fail. It never used more than a pint of oil between changes.
I was told by a couple of people the 2004R died regularly around the same mileage as the 84 Delta 88 mentioned here. The TH350 in the mid 70's seemed questionable as well. Our 75 died and I picked up a 76 Cutlass with 160K with a nearly dead TH350, the reason the last owner junked it. I paid $50, a win for me.
January 5th, 2019, 11:26 AM
or her land me. 
