Dead Bird

[B's Bird]

Sad to say our 1991 SC is dead. Head gasket went, cost prohibitive to fix. We are sad about this to say the least.

The car is black with black leather. And is an automatic.

I am going to take off the Cobra PBR brakes and rotors as they will fit my SHO. Maybe the rear brakes as well.

The front seats are both the 6 way power seats and all parts work. The rear seat just had the top portion repaired and it too is in good condition.

If anybody is interested in the seats let me know.

I'm not going to keep the car around long as I get all verklempt just seeing it sit there.

We just spent $700 getting the A/C upgraded and working for the summer and less than 2 weeks later, the head gasket went. In addition both power side windows have been repaired and work perfectly.

I can't see spending any large amount on the car as it's still only going to be worth $2K. It was to be a project car but this has made it not feasible.

 

[B's Bird]

Pics:

New belts, new hood strut supports, etc. Fully functional 6 way electric seats, black leather. Doors work perfectly, windows, locks, mirrors. No rust.

 

[DrFishbone]

That's a shame man! You have a very nice looking car there.

Too bad we're so far apart....I've been wanting the black manual seatbelt parts from a Canadian car for a long time now. I sure don't need it, but I'd even be interested in buying the car from you if there were a cheap way to get it back here.

Maybe it will find a good home...headgaskets aren't too big of a deal for someone who can DIY.

 

[the-big-e]

Ditto for me too....

You have a really nice SC there, so lang as there isn't any rust.....

Head gaskets aren't that hard to do....

 

[B's Bird]

No rust on the body at all.

Some of the underneath is "brownish" but that's normal for up here.

My SHO has a lot more rust than this car.

I'm just not a mechanic. I can do brakes and various other things blindfolded but I'm afraid to open up lumps. And I'm certainly not equipped to do a swap or anything resembling it.

The mechanic does not recommend doing top end only? Do you guys think top end only would be advised? Mechanic thinks bottom end will soon follow and a friend with a SC Bonneville says similarly.

 

[the-big-e]

How many miles on the car....

I've seen a few SCs where the head gaskets were done and the engine soon developed a knock.....

But, I think it was because of water getting into the oil....

 

[B's Bird]

How many miles on the car....

221K kilometres or 137K miles.

I suspect there is rad water in the oil right now.

I just don't want to fix the top end and then have to do the bottom end a month later.

A couple years ago the cats in my SHO broke down and sucked back into the engine. Killing it. I had it replaced and a little bit more and never regretted it.

But I'm not as rich these days.

 

[S_Mazza]

I just don't want to fix the top end and then have to do the bottom end a month later.

Well, there's no way to know for sure the condition of the bearings without getting in there. But you might as well drain the oil and see if water comes out first. If not, then hey, you're probably no worse off than before as far as bearing wear goes.