Aloha gang. Wanted to thank all of you for your input of my oil leak problem with my 84 hurst. Now I'm in a dilemma. A gentleman who has a 83 hurst is wiling to trade for My 84. I gotta admit my car is in nice shape. No rust, lots of new engine parts, but my God, everytime I think we are almost done fixing it, another issues comes up. 2700 to fix oil leak from oil pan, as fix ac box cause it was damaged when engine went back in. Now lightning rods needs to be reconnected and aligned back . I know that's a pain to do. And I've pretty much given up on my car. Fixing it was a huge battle. Take 2 steps foward and then we gotta go 3 back. So frustrating. Now the man would trade me straight up for My 84. His 83 is in pretty nice shape but has a few surface rust spots and he has a chevy 350 in it. Now the question is trading My 84 for his 83. Is that a deal for him or me. I've dumped into the car 31gs and still not done yet. My car has the stock motor yet but as I said nothing but bad luck. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Have a great 2023 all. Stay safe!

Oil leak from my 84



Rust spot on roof

 

Keep your 84. There are undoubtedly problems with the 83 that aren't readily apparent.

 

You are considering trading your original Olds powered, 8.5” differential car for a Swapped Chevy, 7.5” differential car with rust spots??? Nope.

 

You gotta know the 83 will have just as many issues or more than the unmolested (Less molested??) 84.......

 

Chevy 350 = no trade IMHO, keep the 84, you'd get peanuts for that 83 when its time to sell.

 

JMO.

They're essentially the same car. I mean, there are the obvious differences between the years, but the Hurst parts installed are the same. Niether has T-tops so that's a plus. T-tops can rust from the inside out and you'll never know until it's way too late. But there are rust issues with the 83's roof. Got to find out why. Might be an easy fix, or could be a nightmare.

The main differences other than the color pattern- Same 3.73 ratios out back, and the 8.5" rear in the 84 is more desireable and valuable if it was ever parted or say, a 455 was installed. But there's no fear the 7.5 would get torn up by a SBC unless it was built, assuming he didn't change that, too. Cruise control setups went from mostly mechanical in 83 to electronic in 84. Same shift points and manners from the OZ overdrive transmissions, and you will still have the same lightning rods to contend with if you do any maintenance on that car in the shifter area. It may not be an issue now, but 81-83 tail lights and backup lights are getting extremely hard to find and not being reproduced. If they're in great shape, you have to keep them that way. Easier, at the moment anyway, to find 84-up style of taillights, although the rocket in the center changed in 86-88. Rear defogger switch- if it has one on the 83, is in the same place as the 84's if it has one, by your left driver side knee on the dash. They were usually up on the center dash panel in 83, but the H/O emblem goes there and it was moved to the lower left dash to compensate. Also, because of the single spaced radio in the 83, the radio had no spot for a clock, so a mechanical clock is up on the center plate. 84 radios had the clock built in. No big deal, but that is a difference if it matters to you.

Adjusting the L/Rs isn't hard. Usually it's only difficult when there's something worn or broken in them, or you have bent or wrong pieces parts in the setup.

Doesn't seem like either one is factory stock, so that part of keeping it pure stock is out. And I bet his SBC has a leak in it where he'd be getting a leak-free Olds engine. His car looks fairly nice but there's a reason he doesn't want that car anymore. I'd find out what that reason is first. Trade is up to you, though. You'd have to want it because pure stock H/Os keep their value. Modified cars, like anything else, can sometimes help, but mostly hurt these cars' values in the long run. If you know this guy well and trust him, swap cars for a weekend and see how y'all like them. It may clarify some things for both of you.

 

^^^THIS! Plus, the 1983 only has the 7.5" axle.

 

Keep what you have, you know where the skeletons are buried with it.

 

There is a reason the guy wants to trade and it isn't the color difference. You would probably wind up spending more on the 83 than your car. And if there were no other reason, it can be summed up in one word. RUST.

 

All in with the 84. Mine new back in the day.

 

So All of these comments I agree with. Work out the bugs with your car. It looks clean. Give it love and keep it.

 

Keep yours... You will regret trading for the 83... He would be getting the better end of the deal if you trade, NOT YOU....

 

^^^^^^ This is a big plus in my book.....

 

Cars of that age are always going to have problems. If fixing them takes the joy of ownership away from you, or the costs are beyond your budget then perhaps owning one might not be your bag. If you were to trade, you'd be trading all your known problems (and fixes) in exchange for a bunch of unknown problems and more fixes...possibly things that you've already addressed in your car. Unless you're intimately familiar with both cars, I think your best bet would be to keep the one you have and deal with each repair in turn knowing that each one improves the reliability of your car.

I think your 84 looks sharp, the better looking of the two cars. If you're looking at doing a straight no cash swap then you'd be taking 1 step forward and 10 steps back IMHO.

 

Thanks for all the input. Its just frustrating to keep fixing my car & yet, issues keep arising. Thats life, but man, this is insane. I have had it almost 2 years and only driven it 145 miles. its a long story but i truly hope the problem will be solved soon.
the 83, i knew the previous owner, & this man beat me to it. it was stock prior. you are all right, who knows what is gonna happen next, but guess thats life. Here in hawaii, no one fixes old cars like this, & thats tough for old car owners. the price to live in paradise. @HighwayStar 442. your car is sweet!!

Once again, thanks to all of you for your kokua. have a great weekend.

 

Thanks, Unfortunately the roads in upstate NY in winter did the 84 in. It was my daily driver, even in the dead of winter. I morph many parts from the 84 into this. https://classicoldsmobile.com/g/user/48698.
My clean 87 cutlass was brought from a excellent builder here in 2006. Before I even joined or knew him. I have been adding to to the car for 17 years. I do most of my own work. Good luck, once you get the bugs worked out. Hurst Lighting Rod are the most fun you can have with your clothes on! Your 84 looks like new.

 

Ahh. I am sorry for your lost. At least here in hawaii we have no snow, but alot of salt from the ocean & the air. i dont know, i always liked the 83. i know tthe 84 has better rear end, but something about the 83 i really love. BTW, his 83 was in the new hawaii 5.0 series. He uses his car yet. its not a garage queen. when i get home i'll post more pics pf mines, & his. and i will list all that i put in, excluding the new stuff recently. you all will be like WTH!!! The man who put the trans back in, disconnected all the wires, & now we have to line up the rods. its a pain in the @$$ since i live in a condo, & not many ppl work on these kind of cars.
take care all, & stay safe.

 

Although it’s a personal preference and understand why you are interested in the 83’ keep the 84. Maybe swap wives instead and learn how to work on your own car.
Dustin

 

thanks for your input. I can fix my own car. Pulling tbe.engine is out of my league. If I explained what happened to the car since day one when I had it all of you wouldn't believe all the bad luck the car n I went through.

 

Has the car been through alot of owners? I had a beautiful clean, low mileage 85 Eldorado Biarritz with the stainless steel roof. Of all and there has been many, 85 Cadillacs I have owned. This one was a lemon! I was like the 7th owner. Sold it.

 

I'm the 4th. Long story short. From singly changing the distributor and carburetor, turned into pulling the motirr and trans out to get the distributor out. It was stuck. I wish o took videos or pics of the car in mid air hanging with the tow strap around the distributor, and car is 2 feet off the ground. Every single bolt on the block stuck like someone used Impact guns to tighten it or used some kind of seize to keep it tight. This car has fought us from rbe start. I've tried to keep my head up bur nothing has gone right

 

That salt air in Hawaii wreaks havoc on cars.

 

yes it does. But with alot of tlc it can b prevented. Chemicals nowdays do winders

 

Update on my 84. now the alternator is dead, battery dead, & car still idle's rough. i have sold it to a friend who is looking for a 84. but i have scored. i found a very nice 83 in Texas. should be here in the 808 may1st. will post new pics when it gets here.

 

Nice! Always liked the 83's. My friends have an 84 with t-tops. What county do you hale from? I get over to Maui co every 3 years to recharge my Aloha spirit

Pat

 

I'm in honolulu. Yea my 84 is nice but it has fought me to the point of no return. I have never encountered anything like this. The 83 is very beautiful. Will show iy when it gets here

 

Whereabouts in Texas is the new one from?

 

Chandler. He posted it and had many offers but no one came. I had a friend go look and it turned out ok.

 

Nice. Should be a good dry car.

More pics when it gets there!

 

yes sir. I will. I can't wait.

 

Cool! It's been 20+ years, since I was on Oahu. Small town guy here, terrible traffic in Honolulu. Good luck with the H/O!

Pat

 

traffic is worse now. Before I let go the 84 I will take a pic of both before she goes to the new owner. I'll have the most beautiful hurst on the islands.
here is a 87 rhat was in a meet up tonight

 

look at this hurst. He wants 10 gs. He is nuts. It's a rust bucket, 1 piston is no good, leaking water pump, oil leak, and car runs rough. Lucky he gets 5gs

 

That's not even a H/O, it has a 1987 (or 1988) nose. Parts car (?)

 

just showujg a g body here in a show. Not many g bodies here

 

she's home!! Da 83 and 84 together

 

Nice! Mahalo for the nice pictures! Sand interior with no t-tops. That would be nicer where you live! Still has the factory front plate. FYI that car was made 15-20 mins from where I live. And there is a good chance that my dad had his hands on the differential and my ex-fil, installed the dash.

Pat

 

wow thats awesome!!! Yea I want to take a pic of the 2 in a nicer place but I can't drive 2 cars one time lol. Had a scary nightmare. The shifter was stuck in drive on the 83. I thought I was stuck again like the 84 did to me few years ago. These lightning rods are finnaky. But I'm glad she home. 2 of em come to hawaii on the same boat. Unfortunately both 83s were damaged by the shippers. Mines has a dent n will be fixed. The other has a big scratch. Here's the other one. Have a great weekend ohana



BTW do BTW do u know how to make the door key locks turn easier. Unreal 4 keys and only one works semi decent. It's very hard to turn. Tried wd40 in the key hole but not successful

 

Get a hold of Joe Padavano. He can cut you fresh keys with codes on the cylinders. Joe is in the group as a Moderator.

Pat

 

awesome. Thank you. only problem is that I don't know which key will work. Ots crazy.