I've got a flipping question!

[My_favorite_Brougham]

Yeah, so in my area there's a 1988 Brougham d'Elegance that I found on Craigslist. The owner doesn't have any pictures, but I did speak with her. And I found out the car has a blown headgasket.

And... I have a 1983 Oldsmobile Delta 88 wagon (y-vin 307) that runs absolutely great, but the body is complete junk.

So, I'm thinking about taking the excellent engine from my wagon and dropping it in the blown engine of this '88 Brougham d'E. I'm tempted to do so, because the lady told me the car is really in excellent shape with no body damage. And she said the seats are great, other than she cut the magazine holders off when her kids ripped them apart. And the headliner has thumbtacks holding it up. The good part is it has the real wire wheels, though she says they have surface rust.

I'm just wondering if its financially worth it. I mean I have a junk wagon that I dropped 2k in a/c and engine work into that I want to get rid of, but I know I can only get about $500 for it. I'd like to use the engine, junk the body, and then flip this Brougham. Should I do it?

But I'm hoping I don't trade off one jalopy for another. This is a country Texas car that the owner said sat in a field before she bought it. It's $500, and she's not dropping one cent. The thing is, it's 90 minutes away, and there's no pics.

Hmmmm.. thoughts?
~Greg

[tenmark]

Wow, sounds like an opportunity to me. Of course, seeing is believing. If it's what's she says it is, you could flip the wheels (or use them), part anything mildly interesting, and junk it. $350/$400 for Detroit junkers around here.

As to moving and swapping engines around, I dunno. Again, have to see the car but if you feel it's worth it and you wanna do it - go for it!!

[My_favorite_Brougham]

Okay.. minor update.. I got a minor look at some pics, and the car is junk!


If ya'll remember, I looked at a car before for this purpose. It was a triple-black d'Elegance with the wires. But that car looked like it went through a blender. So I passed. And I passed on this one, too.

It seems the blown engine cars have beat cosmetics, but I guess it makes sense. But what should I do with my Olds? It has many new parts, and a whole new a/c just over a year old ($1500), but the compressor went out a couple days ago, which I think is pretty shabby for a system as young as mine. But all the other parts are new. It's just not worth getting rid of for only $500 (a $2500 loss), but it's just to pricey to keep running. What I want is a nice car to transfer everything over to, that has a little better resale value.

I just need a Cad to put these Olds guts in!

[1990CaddyBrougham]

Looks like a wax job and some new contact paper wood grain and your golden!!!!

[My_favorite_Brougham]

Ehh, but it's not a Cad...

[csbuckn]

Looking at the pics, I dont know if I would give up on the wagon. But if you do, take the motor out, rebuild it(maybe throw some performance stuff in there)and wait for a nice caddy.

[My_favorite_Brougham]

Originally Posted by csbuckn

Looking at the pics, I dont know if I would give up on the wagon. But if you do, take the motor out, rebuild it(maybe throw some performance stuff in there)and wait for a nice caddy.

Performance... on a 307... I dunno about that. Besides, I wanted to use the Olds engine because it didn't need any work like a rebuild... say from a blown headgasket.

I was hoping to 'flip' a blown Cad with this engine, ya know. And while I like driving the Olds fine, it just feels like a Caprice, like a regular car. Not long-hooded, nosey, and heavy like the Broughams are.

[deVille33]

Don't worry, oportunity will rear it's head again. Until then you have a good yard car for hauling parts.