Brake Lines and Front Calipers replaced, and rear cylinders.
Heater Core replaced.
A/c Compressor replaced.
Speedometer Cable replaced.
Replaced Radiator.
Replaced Alternator.
Tie Rod Ends.
Transmission gave out a week ago, so here it sits...
I purchased this car in 1999 from a college professor in Arizona, where I attended school for a while. The paint was and still is faded from sun damage, but the body still has no rust anywhere, amazing since these cars were especially prone to rust in the fender wells, rocker panels, bottoms of doors. All the chrome and trim is still intact. The interior is wide, roomy, plush, and very comfy, especially for long trips.
This car is the most reliable vehicle I've ever owned, it can really take a beating. While it is the most reliable, it is also the most underpowered. Whoever had the bright idea of ordering a 2-ton car with a 100 nothing horsepower dinky V8 should have their head examined. With that said, this car had no oil leaks until nearly 250,000 miles. The Compression is still good, no oil burning, ticks, pings, or knocks. The car was capable of nearly 25 MPG highway, but that number droppped quickly if I drove it through any kind of hills or mountains.
A few years ago I towed a Chevy Blazer with a dolly from Asheville, NC to Kingsport, TN on I-26. Not An S-10 Blazer, a full size 4-wheel drive 1986 K10 mudder with a broken drive shaft. Anyone who drives this road knows there is a 6-7 percent grade in either direction at the Tennessee/North Carolina boarder for 5 miles. Up the big hill going north, the car kept slamming between 2nd and 1st gear at around 35 MPH, so I finally just locked it into first and mashed the throttle down. The car did well for a gutless pig, and didn't start to get real hot until we got to the parking area at the top of the mountain. By then the temperature gauge was almost at 240, with a warning light. I pulled into the parking area and let the car idle and cool for a few minutes. When I opened the hood, the exhaust Manifolds were glowing red hot. The engine was still running fine, and didn't even burn a drop of oil the whole time. This stunt is probably what led the transmission to an early grave, it finally gave out last week. Try that with a modern full size car and you will be picking up the pieces along the highway.
Going down the hill, I held it in first gear, and had the owner of the blazer get in the truck and idle his engine so he could help with braking. We made it down just fine.
The car is currently sitting in my garage, but I plan on repainting it and getting and doing an engine and transmission swap. Probably will be a Buick, Olds, or Pontiac 455, just depends what I can get my hands on.
"Gutless Wonder from Oldsmobile"
- No surprise! That 260 was the worst V-8 that Olds ever made.
Put an Olds 455 into that car & use the TH-400 trans. You can get a vast amount of speed parts for the 455 at http://www.mondellotwister.com/ & get well over 400 HP.
Why are you complaining about a 20 YEAR OLD car?
It's way past its intended service life. Take it to the crusher and take what ever cash they give you.
I do not think that Olds V8 is too bad. According to the review, it has gone over 250,000 miles, still has great compression, and does not burn a drop of oil. I have personally seen multiple similar instances of Olds V8's going distances like that, and much higher. They may be slow, but they last. That is worth a lot as far as I am concerned.
The 455 is in an entirely different league, but as was pointed out, another great Olds V8. That will be a nice conversion if the reviewer does the swap. The Olds V8's were always great runners, and Oldsmobile was great back when it was distinctly Oldsmobile. I miss those engines.
Not that it matters, but I don't think that locking the trans. in 1 would have damaged it. That's far better than letting it cycle between gears all the time, and I agree about using the TH400 tranny, it should last a long time.
I've not owned the Olds 260 but I've had a couple Olds 307s - also not that powerful, but very reliable. We've also had a Caprice with a '265', and a Thunderbird with a 255. To be honest I never found any of those cars to be so underpowered that it was really a problem. There seems to be a correlation between those low-powered, low-compression V-8s and long term reliability.
By the way, I don't know what having that Blazer towed professionally would have cost, but it probably wouldn't have been more than the value of a running, usable Olds, however sun-faded and gutless!
Sure there's a correlation, the 260 is the same block as the 350, less cubes and more steel to handle the stress. Virtually impossible to overheat the motor.
I would also recommend putting a 350 V8 in your Cutlass; I think the 350 was a much better motor for the Cutlass than the 260 V8.
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