Way back in 1968 my father in law ordered a brand new Buick Sportwagon for his growing family. It was their daily driver until around 1986 when he moved on to Lincoln sedans. The wagon went into the garage and was used as a second car now and then, until no one in the family was interested in it anymore except for me. In 2007 I pulled it out from under cardboard boxes and got it running. I have been complaining about the way it has been neglected ever since. Last month I went to drive it and had to wash off two inches of dust and spoon feed some gas into the carb to get it running. Later that evening in the middle of my ususal tirade, he stopped me and asked "You got a dollar?" I said yes, and handed it over. He threw both sets of keys into my lap and said "that damn car is your problem now, I want it gone this weekend." Well OK then. Sunday night I filled it with gas and drove it the 150 miles back to my house. That trip really shook the old girl up, lots of oil leaks and some from the transmission. But it ran great. After reviewing some paperwork, it looks like it has been driven a total of 2,300 miles in the last 7 years. That is changing, I have 1,200 miles on it in the month I have owned it. After giving this some thought I would say this is the best deal I have ever gotten on a used car. I will have lots of questions for you all in the future, but for now I am driving and smiling.
Very nice indeed. Congratulations. Probably makes him happy knowing someone will take care of it. And if you want to double your money on it, just send me a note. haha
If it was my family they would be having it appraised to see what it was worth. I would never get it for a Dollar. Good Luck with it.
Well,,, You have finally beat my record for price of a car,,,, I gave $2 for my 65 skylark GS... have fun with your vehicle....be very,very sure to put zddp into the oil before driving it much at all.. or you will destroy the engine.... and then add zddp at each and every oil and filter change from now to eternity....
Doc, does the 430 in my riv need zddp? I thought it was only the nailheads Not trying to hijack the thread...
Uh oh... Good thing I've only gone maybe 100 miles without it, ill put it in with my cam swap. Thanks
put the zddp in before you even start it up again....I lost a brand new engine because of that,,, lasted 3000 miles....
back when the auto factories started putting roller cams in all the cars,,, the oil companies decided that their products no longer needed the zinc additive that prevents friction in them... so they just left it out, still charging the same price , naturally., and they did not tell the public about this fact... people used the oil in older cars with flat tappet cams in them and a lot of them lost the engines because of it... I did, an engine that I had just built , ''right''... so now you get to put the zinc in your self for about $8-10 a pop..... but that is better than rebuilding a engine for thousands....dont fail to do it... you will lose the engine....zddp is the chemical name for the additive....
Just a few things. Yes, the sporty in my avatar is now mine. I have been using Valvoline VR-1 lately, is that enough zinc additive to stay out of trouble? Going by a lot of old paperwork, it looks like the heads have been redone, but the original engine block is cruising along with about 175,000 miles. The tires were new in Feb. 2004 and that is when the front end was rebuilt and the front drums were converted to disc brakes. Less than 3,000 miles have been put on the car since then. The tires look brand new, but what say you all? Also the car is leaking a lot of oil from what appears to be the oil pan itself. But the fan spreads it all over the place so it is hard to tell. Anyone use ATP 205 to stop leaks of this type? I appreciate all the comments and advice. Thank you.
