2005 EquinoxLS

Flybrian is right. Did we expect perfection for that amount of money? You never buy an old car and expect it to just run and not need anything. Anyone that tells you that they bought a car for $500 that didnt need something is talking out of their ---. I never bought one of my B-bodies that didnt need something. Sometimes they need quite a bit but the parts are cheap and things are easyier to do on these old mid-size and full-size cars than most others. As for the heating did you cheack the thermostat to see that its working? If it is stuck open it will cause a lot of problems. Poor heating,long warmup times,poor fuel economy to name a few. This can also cause the smoking if its running rich. Make sure the choke is opening the way it should after you make sure about the thermostat. I have proven there is nothing wrong with a carbureted car if it is set up right. My 1979 Impala worked fine on a lot of -15 mornings.

Add a third.

A 1979 Caprice is an excellent choice for winter use. Sorry you didnt get the lady that hit you. I hate when people slide through the system. Drives me nuts since it happened to me once. Be glad the '87 is fixed and back in the running.

I will admit to sometimes giving in to this temptation. Sometimes the idiosy of some people just gets to you. Sometimes I will admit to hating that fact when people ask me dumb questions they damn well know the answer to. I can admit when I ask a dumb question.

Had something like that happen to the 2000 when I had it. Though the person was better about dealing with it. Dont give up. I wouldnt worry too much about winter weather yet. In the worst case just drive the '81 if nothing else. Just a suggestion. But I wouldnt let it slide on any of my vehicles either. And the police should darn well know that you have to file a police report in order to get paid from insurance. Good luck and I hope the Monte Carlo turns out like new.

Welcome Diane. Nice to see a woman here. There should be more here.

I will most likely seal the floor in the future(Though I think thr builder may have did this). I have heard paint (At least here in the salty north) isnt a good idea since it more than likely will peel. My mom is good about staying out of the garage affairs and how I have it set up. She has did pretty well with the car since hers is a Cheverolet Aveo one of the smallest cars made. I want as little on the floor as possible with the exception of a few of the heavy duty shelves my dad had in the old one.

I am in the same boat right now. Getting my garage organized. Once my shed is fully built then I can get the lawn equiptment out of the garage and get the cars out of storage. I will insulate it, drywall it, I would like a furnace but I have to see how Moms funds work out. I have a 3 car 22 by 33 feet. 2 of the 3 stalls though are 24 feet deep. Good spot for the 1981 and 1985. I am also going to install cabinets and have a few shelves. I have 2 workbenches and a shop light will go above each one. My house too only included 2 outlets in the garage but a friend of mine ran another circuit and now I have plenty of outlets. My dad would have did all this had he been here and he was looking forward to it. Now it is up to me to get it done the way he would have wanted. One thing in my favor. I have nearly every tool for every job.

I am deeply saddened by this event. Probably half of the town is relation to me in one way or another. Grandma used to own her house there until she couldnt anymore. Spent a lot of summer days up there as a family. Never crossed my mind that something like this could happen. None of the people involved with this are relation to me but it still shocks me to hear about this.

Same here Knightfan.

It depends what shape it is in. Though I know from expierience that things go wrong unexpectedly due to age. Like I have said before, I love my 2 old cars to death but I am glad to have a new one also that I know I dont have to worry about as far as keeping it fixed or having things happen to it. I also dont like subjecting the old ones to the winter elements we get here in Northeast Wisconsin. The bodies on both are pretty much rust free and I would like them to stay that way. The Equinox is FAR less likely to rust than the 2 old ones. Not to mention being easier to deal with in general in the winter.

Both engines the 305 in the '85 Caprice and the Olds 307 in the '81 Bonneville are in excellent shape so I will stick with them. But with the '85 Dad had said if something ever happened to the 305 that he would think about a 350. That is a LONG way off.

Too bad. Hopefully you can get what you want and hopefully it doesnt blow up in the meantime. I was under the impression that the Olds 307 is one of the most durable engines GM made in the 1980's. Mine proves that. So did the one on the 1984 Buick Park Avenue that had 260,000 miles. That one didnt use a drop of oil.

That took a little doing but it looks cool. Gee, maybe I should put a Duramax in one of the B-bodies if the engine ever goes in one of them.

Happy birthday Knightfan a little late. I usually cant get my old ones out on my birthday (December 9th) but some things can change. Hope you enjoyed the drive.

What about finding another 307 or maybe an Olds 350 to put in it? If the rest of it is good maybe thats a good thing to think about. Just put new tires on the Bonneville and they say it could use a few steering parts but it isnt an emergency. People keep hinting I should sell it with getting the 1985 Caprice but I am not ready to do that yet. I have a place in the garage for the Bonneville and it doesnt really need much. Headliner,steering parts,paint could be better but isnt bad.

People can tell I am when I am in one of the B-Bodies.

I hope to not have to sell the Bonneville. Some people keep telling me I should because I now also have the Caprice along with the Equinox. Not yet though I say. I love it and it has treated me right. It has a rebuilt transmission rebuilt by the best in the Fox Valley. The Caprice too has a rebuilt transmission done by the same person.

I have did pretty well with tires. My Bonneville currently has a broken belt in the left front tire and a piece of it must stick out because it loses air slowly. Hopefully I can get it to the tire store on Tuesday without something drastic happening. I keep a pair of coveralls,and an X wrench so that if a tire needs changing, I dont get dirty and the X wrench works better than the factory wrench. I dont know about having cars without a spare tire. Tires are a lot better these days but things can still happen. Give me at least a dummy spare.

My 307 in the 1981 Bonneville is kind of the same way. It seems like it doesnt have much power. Though it is a lot better since the timing was adjusted. For some reason when the timing was VERY retarded. Might want to check that out. I was told that if the EGR passages get blocked that it causes it not to have much power. I havent had that checked out since that reqires removal of the carburetor. Mine doesnt use a drop of oil and it leaks an ever so slight amount off the valve covers. The 305 though in the Caprice does seem to have more power though and the 1984 Park Aven ue with 260,000 miles had more than the 1981 does. I wonder what the true issue is with both of ours.

That Actually leaves a lot of options. A B-body maybe? Hmmmm? Not that I would be biased to lean towards that direction.

The 1977-90 B-bodys. Easily my favorite. Though the 1978-88 midsizers are a close second. Like my new Equinox too.

A lot of things didnt exist in 1969,59,or 49.

Try to organize my new house a little better. Now that we got the old one emptied out so we can give the keys to the city. That poor old house is so trashed from people taking stuff from it and the asbestos people putting holes in the walls and other things that it will be a good thing when they do finally tear it down. And I lived in that house since 1978. Just wish my Dad was here to enjoy the new house with us. That hurts a little bit.

Cold. I can take cold far better than hot. I can dress for cold. Being hot means only being able to take so much off.