This is a 1991 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme sedan, a mid-size car (by American standards) powered by GM's long-serving 3.1-litre V6 driving the front wheels through a 4-speed auto 'box. It's a runner and MOT'd (albeit only to the end of the month), but it needs some TLC which I don't currently have the time to give it.
Good bits: Starts / drives / stops / steers - actually drives quite nicely. All lights, wipers etc. work, tyres are good. Has a funky digital dash. It's a 6-seater, although the middle front passenger would need to be on the skinny side. It uses a drivetrain that GM made for about a million years, so mechanical bits are plentiful and cheap. It's also a pushrod engine so no cambelts to worry about, and it isn't as bad on fuel as you might think. Aircon seems to work after a fashion - it's not ice cold but definitely colder than the ambient temperature. It's called an Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, which is a much cooler name than Vauxhall Vectra or whatever. It has a towbar.
Bad bits:
-Bodywork is presentable but not perfect - the horizontal surfaces all have some degree of lacquer peel on them, there are a few minor dings and a bit of bubbling on the nearside front wing above the bumper (in what I like to call the W210 spot).
-Engine needs a tune-up - starts fine but seems to be over-fuelling (the chap I bought it off reckoned a tired injector) and can cut out at idle sometimes, mainly when cold.
-Gearbox works fine but has an ATF leak. It's not pouring out but it's losing enough that it'd probably need topping up every week or so. I put in a Wynn's stop leak treatment at the weekend - it's too early to tell how successful this has been, you may be lucky or you might need to take bits off and put Hylomar round them.
-The engine doesn't start off the key - the key does the ignition and steering lock but there's a separate flick switch under the dash to operate the starter. The advantage of this in light of point 2 is there's no cutout mechanism if the car's in gear so if the engine stalls at a junction, you can just flick the switch and pull away straight off, you don't have to faff about putting it into park.
-The boot doesn't currently open as I snapped the key off in the lock because I'm a hamfisted idiot. It might open with a bit of fiddling as most of the key is inside, it just needs lining up with the pins properly.
-Will probably need a bit of work for its next test - apart from the above, the previous owner reckoned the parking brake was a bit rubbish, it might need other bits too, I haven't had time to go over it in too much detail.
Pics:
Good bits: Starts / drives / stops / steers - actually drives quite nicely. All lights, wipers etc. work, tyres are good. Has a funky digital dash. It's a 6-seater, although the middle front passenger would need to be on the skinny side. It uses a drivetrain that GM made for about a million years, so mechanical bits are plentiful and cheap. It's also a pushrod engine so no cambelts to worry about, and it isn't as bad on fuel as you might think. Aircon seems to work after a fashion - it's not ice cold but definitely colder than the ambient temperature. It's called an Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, which is a much cooler name than Vauxhall Vectra or whatever. It has a towbar.
Bad bits:
-Bodywork is presentable but not perfect - the horizontal surfaces all have some degree of lacquer peel on them, there are a few minor dings and a bit of bubbling on the nearside front wing above the bumper (in what I like to call the W210 spot).
-Engine needs a tune-up - starts fine but seems to be over-fuelling (the chap I bought it off reckoned a tired injector) and can cut out at idle sometimes, mainly when cold.
-Gearbox works fine but has an ATF leak. It's not pouring out but it's losing enough that it'd probably need topping up every week or so. I put in a Wynn's stop leak treatment at the weekend - it's too early to tell how successful this has been, you may be lucky or you might need to take bits off and put Hylomar round them.
-The engine doesn't start off the key - the key does the ignition and steering lock but there's a separate flick switch under the dash to operate the starter. The advantage of this in light of point 2 is there's no cutout mechanism if the car's in gear so if the engine stalls at a junction, you can just flick the switch and pull away straight off, you don't have to faff about putting it into park.
-The boot doesn't currently open as I snapped the key off in the lock because I'm a hamfisted idiot. It might open with a bit of fiddling as most of the key is inside, it just needs lining up with the pins properly.
-Will probably need a bit of work for its next test - apart from the above, the previous owner reckoned the parking brake was a bit rubbish, it might need other bits too, I haven't had time to go over it in too much detail.
Pics:
