I'm new to this forum. I just purchased my next project; 1978 Cutlass Supreme from the original owner's son for $1000. It is in original, unmolested condition. It currently does not run and has not been on the road for about 2 years. This weekend I'll have an opportunity to hopefully get it running and remove the interior; it has a strong musty smell. There is no serious rust anywhere. I welcome your input and suggestions. The car is equipped with a 260 v8 and 200 metric trans. About 2 years ago, the owner rebuilt the front end and brakes. The engine at this time won't start, but turns over easily so i'll start my investigation. I suspect no spark or lack of fuel.

thanks guys!

 

Welcome to CO, and a very nice purchase (especially the price!!!)!!! Good Luck on gettin' her going down the road!
Aron

 

Welcome to the site! Sounds like you got yourself a good deal there. Best of luck with it!
Keep us posted with your progress.

 

Welcome.

 

looks to be in nice shape needing some TLC

 

Thanks for all of the replies!

Update on the Cutlass;

I checked the usual basics, fire, fuel, timing and compression...lol!

What I found was that the PO had the spark plug wires 180 degrees out of order.

I reinstalled them in the correct order and she fired right up!

Still running a bit rough but it's been over 2 years since it has run. I'll go thru the carb this week and put some fresh fuel in the tank and get it straightened out. I did back it out of the driveway just to say I drove it...lol...more updates to come!

 

another update: I rebuilt the carb and still unable to get it to idle, it accelerates fine but still has an obvious vacuum leak...checked the usual stuff, hoses, booster etc...my guess is that the intake gasket is leaking...ran a compression test and all cylinders checked ok within 5 lbs of each other. I pulled the intake and overall it looked pretty good without major gunk build up so it looks like the owner did regular oil changes...i'll post some pictures...

 

on the wrecker...ready to come home...

 

engine

 

Looks pretty clean, I would have verified whether you had a vacuum leak prior to pulling it apart.

 

Hey there Oldcutlass!

I appreciate the feedback! I check all the external vaccum lines, booster, carb plate etc...what i found was that when it was running, I could close the choke valve almost all the way and the engine would speed up and not die. I thought that told me that the engine was getting air from somewhere else. The owner's son that I bought it from told me that he replaced the intake when he stripped a bolt for the thermostat housing a while back...It wouldn't idle under about 1100 RPMs so??? any thoughts or input would be appreciated. Thanks!