Best $100 to spend on a 1980's amarican full sized car.

[Ryland]

A friend of mine has a 1982 Buick LaSaber station wagon, the full sized deal that gets about 12mpg (really), and they are of course a poor collage student who try to leave it sit unused most of the week but when they do use it it just drinks gas, the other truble is is that they really like it, and that it has around 80,000 miles on it and is in reasonably great shape.
I offered to take a look at it in an effert to help boost the gas mileage, and figure that $100 is a reasonable goal to convince someone to spend in order to save money, now assuming that it has new air cleaner and spark plugs, what else should be checked?

[SVOboy]

Sell it!

[kamesama980]

best $100 to increase mileage...advertising to sell itsure you can get maybe another 5 mpg by putting in tuned carb, manifold, headers, open the exhaust, new tires (fully inflated), air dam, belly tray, rebuild the engine with high-comp pistons, etc but....you've got a full sized old school GM. it aint gonna get good mileage...even for $10k

[Ryland]

They don't really want to sell it because it's a station wagon! it will easly seat 6, or if you fold down the rear seat the back fits a 4x8 sheat of plywood or simaler sized objects, and that is what they use it for, hauling both people, and stuff, if it's not doing that, then it's not being driven.
And lets say that it does get sold, is the world better off by having a vehicle like this in the hands of someone who only drives 50 miles a week, or someone who is going to put on 20,000 miles a year?
So what would be the recomendations for replacing it with? they are an art student and they often haul stuff that can be as big as 2'x4'x8', we've fit stuff in the back of this station wagon that wouldn't fit in the back of our ford ranger pickup, nor in the back of a friends chevy S-10, so I'm all for sugesting they get another vehicle, but unless I can sugest something that they can buy for about what this vehicle would sell for ($1,500?) then I might as well just tell them to teleport them self.

[oneinchsidehop]

Originally Posted by Ryland

They don't really want to sell it because it's a station wagon! it will easly seat 6, or if you fold down the rear seat the back fits a 4x8 sheat of plywood or simaler sized objects, and that is what they use it for, hauling both people, and stuff, if it's not doing that, then it's not being driven.
And lets say that it does get sold, is the world better off by having a vehicle like this in the hands of someone who only drives 50 miles a week, or someone who is going to put on 20,000 miles a year?
So what would be the recomendations for replacing it with? they are an art student and they often haul stuff that can be as big as 2'x4'x8', we've fit stuff in the back of this station wagon that wouldn't fit in the back of our ford ranger pickup, nor in the back of a friends chevy S-10, so I'm all for sugesting they get another vehicle, but unless I can sugest something that they can buy for about what this vehicle would sell for ($1,500?) then I might as well just tell them to teleport them self.

The best $100 is for bus tickets and buy a second mini-beater.

Pretend your a farmer for a minute: the tractor gets horrible mileage, but are you going to trade it for a Metro? Of course not, the Metro can't do the work the tractor is designed to do. But even here in rural vermont, people don't drive the tractor (or plow truck, you get the idea) to the grocery store. Ok, a few do, but they get razzed. Even here.

Put the $100 toward another more FE form of transportation and keep the LaSabre as a "work" vehicle, used on an as-need basis. Like maybe a small motorcycle?

Plus, I bet the LaSabre is wicked cool, in the vein of "I got me a Chrysler it's as big as a whale and it's about to set sail..." Perfect party/tailgate car.

[brucepick]

Volvo 240 wagon, made '75 - '93. Get '88 or later.
Will hold huge amounts of stuff.
I think 4x8 plywood will need to go on the roof rack but they are huge inside. Washer or dryer, no problem. 1200 lb. total payload. Can tow a trailer.

Easy to work on.
If you're not a driveway mechanic you need a decent shop that will fix what's broke without breaking you. But that's true for nearly any car.

Driven normally, low 20's mpg highway and ~25 mpg highway.
I'm getting 25-32 highway depending on the season.
If you can find a stick that will be about 5 mpg better.
This car will save your life if you get hit.

[DarbyWalters]

Remove as much weight as possible...air up...grill block...ALL FREE

$100.00? maybe a smaller rebuilt carb?

[dissimilation]

Along the vein of the tractor metaphor, also think of MPG times people. If you have a CRX that gets 50 mpg, it can only do so with 2 people. In people per mpg you're getting 100mpg, where with 6 passengers in this wagon, you're getting 72mpg. It's not fantastic, but if you're keeping six people from driving separate cars - there is value in that. If you were to spread those 6 people across 3 CRXs, you'd need to divide each of those 100mpgs by 3 (simultaneously running cars), giving you a total of only 33mpg. 72mpg vs 33mpg? Not a hard choice. I freely admit that I chose a two seater to further my point, so please don't attack me on that. I personally hate a Suburban, but more specifically I hate the concept of one person driving a Suburban. If you fill all 8 seats in it, it's not as uneconomical as we'd like to attack it for.

[omgwtfbyobbq]

What's the engine and is it carbed?

[ajohnmeyer]

According to wikipedia the station wagon came with a standard 307ci V8 made by Oldsmobile. There was an option for a GM made 350 though...

According to this site it looks like you could swap over to the 85+ roller heads (and intake manifold, and whatever) and see some mileage gain if you have the 307.

If you have the 350 then the possibilities are truly endless. There are so many old junked cars with 350s in them just laying around, undoubtedly with "performance" parts that you could use to get a bit more MPG out of the beast.

Oh, and most drastically there was the option for the Oldsmobile Diesel V8 engine. I'm sure this would need a tranny swap too. The Olds diesel has a bad reputation, they apparently didn't put as many head bolts on as they should have, but apparently if you can find one still in good shape and keep it well maintained they'll last a very long time, again wikipedia.

[bobc455]

Are you mostly interested in around-town driving? I would think about changing rearend ratios (if you can find one in a junkyard cheap), and then just tune, tune, tune. Cutting out some weight would also be a freebie.

Or highway driving? Then MPH is a freebie (slow down), and working on the aerodynamics would help. And maybe an overdrive, but I doubt you can do that for $100.

-BC

[omgwtfbyobbq]

Originally Posted by ajohnmeyer

According to wikipedia the station wagon came with a standard 307ci V8 made by Oldsmobile.

Shoot. I would look around for another cam, and try grounding off a couple lobes for a 6cyl. If that works, try to take a couple more off for a four. It won't be as good as an actual swap, but there should be a noticable increase in mileage if it works, and it's cheaper'n crap to do.

[Bruce]

Originally Posted by Ryland

figure that $100 is a reasonable goal to convince someone to spend in order to save money, now assuming that it has new air cleaner and spark plugs, what else should be checked?

Besides the stuff already mentioned (air is free), swapping the lube for synthetics. If they're interested in hypermiling, throw in a tach and vacuum gage, preferably on the inside so it doesn't impact airflow, and use a low viscosity engine oil.

As far as driveline mods are concerned, I'd look for a tall rear end, like 2.29 or so, if you have what it takes to swap it out. My `78 Malibu had one and would spin at 2000 RPM at 60 MPH, even though it just had a 3-sp AT with no lockup. If you get one from the boneyard and labor is free, it'd probably be cheaper than new tires.

If you do need new tires, get the narrowest and largest diameter that will fit and meet the rim specs and safety inspection requirements; large diameter tires will raise the final drive ratio, and narrow tires will be more aero. If you have a mix of tire sizes, put the large diameter ones in back.

[omgwtfbyobbq]

Major surgery?

[omgwtfbyobbq]

Isn't Ryland helping 'em? He seems to have more than enough mechanical inclination.

[rvanengen]

Having had a few cars of almost this exact vintage and style...

-- Air up the tires (free!)

-- if the tires are not all that good, get some good LRR style used tires ($50 total) put on the beast

-- check alignment ($20 if you know the right mechanic if not free!)

-- new air filter (if needed, $5 to $10)

-- stay under 35/45 mph if possible to avoid needing any aero mods (biggie and free)

-- pull the plug on the a/c clutch in the summer (if it even still works, free)

-- consider disabling the secondary jets on the 4bbl carb...it will be a bit slower, but then if someone get a bit throttle happy, it won't matter as much. (free)

-- definitely advance the timing as much as it will tolerate w/o pinging (free)

-- check for brake drag & repack the front bearings

----- Get a good vacuum economy gauge and mount it on the dash ($50?)

Otherwise, if it is being driving so little, but hauling so much, it is doing EXACTLY what it was designed to do...and with a little bit of patient driving, it might get up to around 15mpg...but don't count on much more...12 isn't too bad for a 25 year old tank around town!

Now...if they can plan their driving, and make it a fun contest...they might hit 20mpg. It can be done, but realistically, with several college age drivers...15 is a really good goal...and at $3/gallon for 50 miles a week...$10 to haul stuff and people isn't too bad...just a pizza or two!

My thoughts...keep it, drive it when needed, otherwise, get a couple mopeds, bicycles, hop on the bus, or walk...all good college activities!

[VetteOwner]

ok do a general tune up of everything:
NEw spark plug wires
(u already did plugs or thinkign about it)
new pcv valve
do a coolant flush and refil with new coolant
new belt(s)
do a tranny flush
change the rearend fluid
run a can of seafoam thru it.
repalce all vacum lines
clean all grounds with a wire brush in a drill
and what rvan said

[DarbyWalters]

Maybe a can or two of SeaFoam...to possibly free up any stuck vavles/rings/ect.

[Ryland]

The only public transit we have is the Drunk Bus (I think it's still $4, and they will pick you up at your house), they only live 5 blocks from school, 15 blocks from work, and have a decent new bicycle that they plan to use thru the winter, and everyone has been warning them about the danger of rear wheel drive vehicles on snow covered roads.
I'm still waiting for it to get back from my friends dad who is doing an oil change and fixing a few things befor winter, and I assume that they would also be doing a tune up on it with new filters and spark plugs, but I know how much is really being done, so once it's back I figure I'll check things over as well, check the timeing, PCV valve, filters, rear end gear lube, sea foam it, pull the A/C belt if I can, I'm just not used to amarican cars, so I thought I would ask for tips.

[BIBI]

Does the car have a block heater? Maybe try reduce the weight of the car.

Or SeaFoam, valve ajdustment, alignement, maybe all thats is doing ok... ?

[rvanengen]

Let me 2nd (or 3rd or 4th) Seafoam and a complete tuneup! Not only will it help the MPG...it will help it running well with so few miles and long sitting idle times.

I suppose the best advice otherwise that I learned from my dad...drive it like it only has 100 miles of life left but you need to go 200 miles!

[VetteOwner]

??? theres aparently a problem with rwd on snow??? id want rwd over fwd anyday...

[Coyote X]

Easiest thing that will help around $100 is swap to an electric fan with a thermostat so it isn't running all the time. Considering the emissions equipment on it has probably been nonfunctional for 20 years I would remove it. I would swap the old cat for a junkyard converter off an obd2 car that has the honeycomb guts in good shape and it would probably pass emissions even without all that crap on it making it run bad.

If you can dig around the junkyards and find a smaller crank pulley so you can underdrive the belt driven stuff that would be great as well. If it has a quadrajet on it you can tighten up the spring tension on the air valve on the secondaries and make it open slower so it doesn't run quite as rich at wide open. I don't think I would bother changing metering rods because properly tuning it is a pain and it won't really gain you much unless you run it pretty lean.

There are a lot of cars made around that same time that have a rear end that is basically a bolt in swap and could be done in an afternoon if you have experience messing with them. Look in junkyards and find a better gear ratio than what is currently in the car. Also pull the speedometer gear out of the junk car's trans when you get the diff so the speedo will stay accurate on the car.

I think that car should be higher mileage than what it is getting, my 80 camaro with a 350 got around 18-22mpg with normal driving so I think that car just has an issue somewhere that nobody has noticed. Maybe the carbon canister has lost its carbon and it is letting gas escape and getting dumped on the ground? Lots of old stuff on that car that could need to be gone over to make sure it is right.

[itjstagame]

Now for my $0.02. 12 MPG is PERFECT. I had a same body style caprice (actually an '88 9C1 with the police 350ci) and I routinely got 8MPG in highschool, I think close to 10 once, but never over 10.

The aero on these cars is the same as a brick. Camaros are more strealined and the newer ('92+) Caprice/GM wagons also had an awesome streamlined body and could get 16-20 pretty good.

But for that age and body, 12MPG sounds perfect. Your plans to seafoam and look over the obvious sound spot on. I'd shy away from cutting out cylinders or the secondaries. For how little it's driven it won't matter much and the fondest memories I have from high school/college are the times when the secondaries were open :-). Especially as a party car it wants the secondaries.

The 'best' in my opinion beyond driver skill and going slower, would be major engine work, increase compression, increase advance, etc, because these things will add power and fun to the party wagon AND boost FE a bit. For now just increase the spark advance a bit but I would not go all the way to 'just before pinging' as suggested. Because with a car that old longevity is more important and I've killed engines with too much advance, I'd back off a bit more than than, maybe go 1/2 to 3/4 between current position and pinging.

Electric fan is a good idea, now sure what kind of increases you'll see, I've yet to do it to my PU. It sounds good in theory but I've seen mixed experiences.

A lower gear final drive is a big one and as was said you can find one very easily in a junkyard and a swapping isn't too bad, but it will still be a hassle and probably isn't too worth it and again makes it less fun when the secondaries open.

The only other thing I'd really do is increase tire pressure to 50psi or so and make sure they're wearing even, etc.

The last biggie would be to repack the wheel bearings and make sure all wheels spin freely, but this can be a hassle and pricey for not much gain. On the other hand I had a bearing seize on the mentioned 9C1 and can tell you that replacing the whole hub (that magically exploded) is a lot more expensive that just doing the bearings.

[VetteOwner]

lol i love parts that magically do stuff beyond what anyone would have thought...

but yea, those cars wer ea HEAVY car. litterally a barge. we had a 77 caprecce classic and it got about 14 around town and 17 or 18 highway (350 +auto) not much you could do fe wise...

[yellowtail3]

This car will always be a mileage pig, but you can:

- drive it gently

- run tires to max sidewall pressure

- don't idle at drivethrus - just park the car at nearest spot and walk in

- If you want to put money in it, switch to elec fan, if it is currently belt driven.... if you can do it on the cheap.

The best bet? Look carefully, and you can find a $1200 or so Escort Wagon with a 5spd, that will do everything better and get near 40mpg.

this one cast me $950

[Ryland]

Well, my friend got her car back, a while back and just the other day was able to get a list of things that were done to it, it looks like it has been gone over pretty well! carb was rebuilt, tranny fluid changed, spark plugs, wires, cap, all changed, new cat and muffler, all new belts, I think it even had a valve job.
and it only has 72,000 miles... it's been driven a bit more seeing as how it's winter and we have alternent side parking where you have to move to the other side of the street every day (waste!), the sugestion of a differnt vehicle was met with a firm "No", of course they think my Citicar is goofy looking and are the only friend who said that they DID NOT want a ride when I have my electric car working... seems like a good filter for picking friends... drives a gas guzzler, dosn't like electric cars... hmmm.

[instarx]

The best $0.25 you can spend on this car to get better mileage? Put an egg under the accelerator pedal.

If that's too dangerous, put a foam block under it.

[JoeBob]

Best $100 to spend on this car? Depends on how it is driven. If it is for short trips with only the driver, then buy a bicycle. Use the bicycle for short trips, single person. Take the money saved on gasoline for these trips and buy a moderately sized used motorcycle. If someone travels by themselves 95% of the time, that is a good, economical, pleasant and fun way to travel as long as the weather is good, or one really likes punishing themselves.

Take the money saved on gasoline and buy a service manual for the big station wagon. Learn to maintain it so it can give the best performance and FE it can.

There are certain things a big station wagon can do really well. And if it is paid for, and only has 80,000 miles, so much the better.

[rayjay]

Spend the $100 on gas. Really.

Otherwise keep the tires aired up, make an airdam, do some bellypan work, block off all the grille it will tolerate, practice better driving techniques.