so, on christmas i was talking to my grandfather, and he offered me his old buick. it's a '98 park ave, loaded with options, with roughly 75,000 miles. problem is, the 3.8 engine is supposedly toast, the intake gaskets were leaking into the engine and dilluted the oil to the point where it seized up while driving. his mechanic got it un-stuck but it's got a bad knock or something that will need attention. my grandfather said he could probibly even get it towed to my house for free with AAA.

do you guy's think it would be worth it to take on another project? i'm not even sure what i could re-sell it for after i fixed it, and i've already got the monte as a backup car... although with how much both my parents vehicles have been acting up lately, it would probibly be OK to have two backup cars, lol...

 

I hate to " 'dis " the car because it's a Buick... but what is the car worth? For all the work it is... you can haul it to the junkyard just as well as he can.

Unless I'm missing something here?

 

I vote part it out lol

 

pretty old not sure what I'd do but a free car I'd take can always part it out lol

 

honestly i'm feeling the same way about it, lol. it's in nice shape, but apparently it's only got the "standard" equipment for one of those cars ( still fairly loaded). car books at $3500-4000 if i'm lucky, engine would probibly be $500+ for something used that i could go through.

although, i also feel like, if i were to replace the engine i could give the car to my dad to commute with, scince his van has 250,000+ miles on it and is starting to get quite worn out. if that car is built for anything, it's driving 100+ miles a day on the highway like he does


also feel like, hey it's FREE, so how can i loose? lol.

 

X2 I'm sure you could get something out of it by parting it out especially if the body/interior is in good condition.

 

Id deffidently take it! You could drop an l67 in it maybe

 

Hi `Ryan,
If it's free & your have the time, $ dollars, & equipment to repair, then I think it would be a great safe ride for your dad

You maybe able to save the present engine & do a 30 over bore ? Or you seem to be able to find good deals on auto parts...Let us know what you decide `OK ?
p.s. Happy New Year 2012 Ryan 2 U & family


Quick Specs
Gas Mileage19 mpg City/28 mpg Hwy

EngineGas V6, 3.8L

EPA ClassLarge Car

Style Name4dr Sdn

DrivetrainFront Wheel Drive

Passenger Capacity6

Passenger Doors4

Body Style4dr Car

Transmission4-speed electronically-controlled automatic transmission w/OD

 

First thing you should do is pull the engine and take out the cylinders, if the engine seized up there may be lines carved into the cylinder walls, if that's the case you'd need to have it bored and it wouldn't be worth it. If you just have to hone it, then a full gasket kit is what, $500? And it'd be like new if you do it correctly.

 

I'd get it and do the swap. A lower mileage 3800 should be an easy find. My Dad had a few Park Avenue's in the 90's and they are great cars. They drive great and are very comfortable. It's like a Cadillac without all the high repair costs.