I love the way it drives, smooth as butter, even though it looks like #@&%. The inside is beautiful, full leather and power. I'm trying to make it look presentable on the outside.
Take a look at this link. Page 2 shows what I did so far. One spot on the frame is going to be tough to fix. I can doctor it to pass inspection but would like it repaired right. Boxing it with welded steel seems to be the answer. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.
P.S. Thank you Night Wolf for the reply. So you know about rust living up here. I'm just the eternal optimist, or very stubborn, or very cheap. Just ask my wife. I really do enjoy turning rust heaps into something. Drives my wife crazy. This is the sixth or seventh car I've done this with. Starting to lose count. The secret is when the Brougham finally dies (engine or tranny) I will look for another heap that I can transfer all the new parts to. My Brougham has parts from 3 Oldsmobiles and a Buick. You might say I own a Cadillac Mongrel.
P.S.-P.S. Sorry about the stolen DeVille and I know the Olds 307 V8 well.
Wow, that car is suffering and I don't think it can be brought back without $$$$$$
My father just bought a perfect 1992 Brougham with 99K miles for $2,500... and I think you will be putting much more than that to get all that 'cancer' out.
I used to live in Chicago and saw some beautiful older cars. Here rust-free is rare. So far I have maybe $900 invested in mine. I do the labor myself but I might have to pay for the frame fix.
I know one does not usually get back the money and time put into restoration. I get the satisfaction of turning an automobile into a thing of beauty, pure art.
You sound like the perfect person for a unique, nearly one of a kind '89 Fleetwood Brougham, pretty much rust free and stright, that mostly needs cosmetic work
You will put way more time and money into that car than it would take to find a rust free creampuff. It would be an excellent education though. Good luck whatever you decide.
Aha! It does have Virginia plates. Beautiful Brougham! I am going to use some Rustoleum underneath. The POR would be better but I have a gallon of Rustoleum already. I have also heard of spraying with oil, 40 or 50 weight. But then it cannot be painted again.
Actually I was thinking of purchasing another Caddy maybe next year and using my current car for parts. I like the Chevy 305 better than an Olds 307 though. The 307 is sluggish and cannot be modified easily or cheaply. And I do like the front facia of the '89 better than the '91. Also I'm not a fan of the plastic cladding on my '91. That is what caused the bottom of the doors to rot. The salt gets in there and stays. Viola, major rust.
There is another alternative. Buy a Town Car or even a Grand Marquis. I know, blasphemy. But the newer Fleetwoods are fewer and so damned expensive. The allure of a newer rear-drive luxury automobile is hard to resist. But,
Ford (Fix Or Repair Daily, Found On Road Dead).
Anyhow, thanks guys for the replies. Much appreciated.
Start trolling eBay and be ready to travel. You can save yourself a lot of heart ache. When you start welding to that frame, you'll find out how little is really left. I am sorry to say it, but I grew up in northern Minnesota and have seen plenty of cars succumb to that exact form of cancer.
Cut you losses and buy a rust-free sweetheart. There are plenty out there, you just have to look harder than the next guy.
Living in the South for the last 2 years has started making me forget what buying a used car from the North was like..... the underbody of my '96 Town Car with 100k miles looks nearly new.
You can get a replacement frame from a yard in NY for about $300-$400. You can get is stripped to bare metal for $100-$200. So for $400-$600 you have a rust free frame to start with and you can avoid shipping fees. You can get doors cheap too! Not to say there is not a lot of effort here but it sounds like you're not afraid of that
I know exactly what you are going through. I've found that my 1978 Firebird was so long gone that I had a complete rolling chassis shipped to me from Arizona. I'm not sure this would be at all worth it with a D-body, but for the old F-body it was exactly what I needed to do.
Instead of welding onto rotted metal, which seeds more rust, you should replace the components with either rust free or stripped and coated parts. At least if you're looking to hold onto this car.
__________________
1981 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Turbo - LS1/T56
1993 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham - 383 Vortec/4L60
1993 Mazda Protege LX - BP-ZE/G25M-R
1994 Mazda Protege DX - B8-ME/F25M-R
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