Buying a beater?

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imported_Aurora40

New member
A guy I know is looking to get a beater and is gonna buy an Aspire. I was trying to convince him he should get a cheap yet exciting car since he'll be in it a lot. He wasn't into that.



Anyway, it got me thinking. If I were gonna buy a cheapy daily-driver, I'd try to get a 1992 Oldsmobile Achieva SCX W-41. Anyone remember that thing? They were very dominant in SCCA and IMSA Firehawk racing. They had 190 hp, like a 7400 rpm redline, LSD, oil cooler, electronic adjustable heavy-duty suspension, and other stuff.



Anyone know someone with one or have any experience with them?



I doubt I'll get one as I really don't need another car, but it would be nice to keep the miles off the 'Roara, and to sort of preserve a part of Olds history (sure, not as cool as like a 442, but it's pretty cool). Anyway, just figured I'd post up about it and see what others remember about the car.
 
I've never seen one, but remember reading about them. Was '92 the only year they were made in the Achieva body style? IIRC, they were pretty rare.
 
How many of those Acheivas were made? Like.... 5??



Like a lot of specially made hi perf cars, I'm sure most of those Achievas were driven hard daily. Combine that with the horrific early 90s GM build quality and its not a pretty picture.



If I were buying a beater I'd get an early 90s Accord or a pre 1996 Taurus with the 3.0L Vulcan V6. Widely available, super cheap parts, easy to fix, if it gets trashed or wrecked... who cares?
 
They made about 1100 of them in 1992. 1993 was the last year with about 500 made, but they were down 5 hp from 1992.



Bret, I've had nothing but good experiences with GM cars from any decade. If I were gonna get a 90's Accord I wouldn't bother at all. The point was to get something cheap yet interesting, not a cheap scoop of vanilla... ;)
 
A-40. I've had the same experience with GM cars as well. Camaro's, Caprice's, Riviera's, now Cadillac. Regular maintenance is all I do. Besides, It makes sense to me to spend with a company that PAYS into the Social Security fund and Pension plans that SUPPORT AMERICANS. My "Beater" is a rust-free '84 Caprice 2-Dr. 148K miles. It's not exotic, but it's not a belly-button car either.
 
My beater flavor is quite Vanilla but I love her. '98 metallic silver perfectly detailed Ford Escort 4-cylinder wagon. Perfectly, dependable, great on gas, cheap to maintain, and it allows me to fly under the "look at me" radar. Most people think I am a practical old man. Little do they know what 's hidden behind door number 1, 2 and 3. :D
 
Aurora40- I dunno, I'd be sorta leary about how well the Achieva would hold up too. I like to have a beater or two (or more :o ) around to help preserve the Audis and Jags, but I go for heavy-duty, fairly simple, rear-wheel drive cars. And yes, they work great in the snow (well, with snowtires and a LSD they do).



Heh heh, but I get the feeling you're kinda looking for a reason to play with an Achieva, so if you decide to go looking, just be careful to get a nice one that's been well taken care of. I can ALMOST remember them, but those aren't very big production numbers. How did the electronic suspension stuff hold up? It just sounds like a car that wouldn't age well to me...but what do *I* know about them :D
 
rek said:
My "Beater" is a rust-free '84 Caprice 2-Dr. 148K miles. It's not exotic, but it's not a belly-button car either.
Click to expand...



I've always thought Caprices were cool. Maybe I'm a dork. They are big and comfortable and have V8's. Plus, you could crash one through an ATM, steal all the money, and the car would still start up and drive you away... ;)



I should have bought my Dad's 1983 Delta 88 when he sold it. It had like 140,000 miles on it, a 5.0 V8, and a perfect interior and body. Sure, the power steering was so overboosted that you could turn it lock-to-lock while stopped with just your pinky... It was still pretty cool...



I did a bit of searching on cars.com and autotraderonline just to see if there were any SCX's or W-41s. I didn't see any, which is just as well as I really don't need to waste a couple grand... I'd still be curious if anyone sees any info or knows anyone with one... :)



I'm always a little surprised some of these types of cars aren't around on Autopia. I've never seen a Firehawk here (the original...), or an '89 Turbo Trans Am, or a Callaway Corvette, no Impala SS's that I can recall, no ZR-1's, no Corvette Challenge cars, where are all these people? No Reattas, Allantes, Toronados (I thought the 80's ones were sooo cool)... There are barely any Aurora owners... These cars are cheap, powerful, and many have great racing histories. There is a 1988 convertible Callaway with the full body kit, dymags, like 13,000 miles, for only $35K that I keep seeing in the back of AutoWeek (and it's red!)... It's a good thing I don't have a lot of money, or we'd have a lot of cars that make terrible daily drivers...



Edit: Accumulator, yeah I bet those shocks are a pretty penny when they go bad... I've no idea how they held up. I imagine similar to any other car, though. But the SCX might have been pretty beat-on...
 
Aurora40...I thought I was the only one. Almost all the cars you've mentioned I've been interested in and I find intriguing. Also deserving of mention in your list would be the 1989-1990 Turbo Grand Prix, a really neat car.



Personally, I have driven an Achieva SCX W-41, and while it is very character-rich and unique (nothing like a 190hp big-jug 4 banger from the early 90s), it is an extremely unreliable car, and not one that I would reccomend as a daily driver. They had a reputation for blowing head gaskets, as well as a lot of other motor-related niggles. Nonetheless, what I wouldn't do to have one to tinker with.



While not trying to sell anything, and only because we are on the subject of cool GM cars, I have a low-miles (25k) 1990 Buick Regal that I've put alot of work into , currently for sale. I'd say its pretty unique with the quad-bucket leather seats, 3800 TPI engine, lowered suspension, and nice paint. I was going to do a manual transmission swap (from an 88-90 GP or Cutlass - 2 other rare and unique cars), but I never got around to it, and ended up buying my neon.



Oh and one other thing, a car that I had that reminded me alot of the W41 olds in terms of personality/coolness/uniqueness was my 1992 Lumina Z34 5-speed coupe. Talk about unique. That car had such a cool twin-dual-cam v6 engine (what GM called it, basically a DOHC v6). The bottom end wasn't all that powerful, but from 3500-7200 RPM (yes, 7200 RPM on manual tranny cars - all 500 of them)it SCREAMED. To this day, I've never heard a car with such a glorious, raw, raspy growl. About the only thing that comes close is an E30 M3, but that is a 4 cylinder. My buddy, a BMW zealot, agrees that the only thing as raw and unbridled that he could think of was an E30 M3.



I'll post pics of the buick and the Z34 in my gallery so you can take a look.



-Tom
 
rek said:
My "Beater" is a rust-free '84 Caprice 2-Dr. 148K miles. It's not exotic, but it's not a belly-button car either.
Click to expand...



---and---



Aurora40 said:
I've always thought Caprices were cool. Maybe I'm a dork. They are big and comfortable and have V8's. Plus, you could crash one through an ATM, steal all the money, and the car would still start up and drive you away... ;)



I should have bought my Dad's 1983 Delta 88 when he sold it. It had like 140,000 miles on it, a 5.0 V8, ...

I'm always a little surprised some of these types of cars aren't around on Autopia... no Impala SS's that I can recall ...
Click to expand...



Yep, those GM b-bodies ARE cool. I'm sorta in limbo about a couple of them I have, on/off project cars that I oughta either finish or unload. 9C1 (cop car) Caprices are a LOT of car for the money (and some of us even prefer them to the Impala SS). The wagons are some pretty high-performance vehicles for something that can accommodate a 4'X8' sheet of plywood! LOTS of little tricks that can make these cars VERY serious machinery. And they last forever.



MANY Impala SS aficionados use Zaino. It's virtually the official product of the Impala SS folks.
 
SuperBuick said:
Oh and one other thing, a car that I had that reminded me alot of the W41 olds in terms of personality/coolness/uniqueness was my 1992 Lumina Z34 5-speed coupe. Talk about unique. That car had such a cool twin-dual-cam v6 engine (what GM called it, basically a DOHC v6). The bottom end wasn't all that powerful, but from 3500-7200 RPM (yes, 7200 RPM on manual tranny cars - all 500 of them)it SCREAMED. To this day, I've never heard a car with such a glorious, raw, raspy growl. About the only thing that comes close is an E30 M3, but that is a 4 cylinder. My buddy, a BMW zealot, agrees that the only thing as raw and unbridled that he could think of was an E30 M3.
Click to expand...



Damn... That's one I forgot about. I always thought the Z34 Lumina was pretty sweet looking. Those slats in the hood and the skirts and spoiler really did it for me. The 3.4 Dual Twin-Cam is a pretty cool engine, but I've never heard one run.



I'll be keeping an eye on your gallery... ;)



Accumulator, yeah, those Caprices run for eternity. There's no stopping those things. A buddy of mine has a '96 Impala SS in that blue-grey. He uses Kit-Wax on it or something, not Zaino... :( He lives way too far away (like 600 miles) for me to work on that thing...
 
Accumulator said:
---and---







Yep, those GM b-bodies ARE cool. I'm sorta in limbo about a couple of them I have, on/off project cars that I oughta either finish or unload. 9C1 (cop car) Caprices are a LOT of car for the money (and some of us even prefer them to the Impala SS). The wagons are some pretty high-performance vehicles for something that can accommodate a 4'X8' sheet of plywood! LOTS of little tricks that can make these cars VERY serious machinery. And they last forever.



MANY Impala SS aficionados use Zaino. It's virtually the official product of the Impala SS folks.
Click to expand...



Before I became a Maxima owner, I was a strict GM fanatic. Prior to my '94, I owned a 88 Caprice Classic with a 5.0 L motor. I got rid of it in 2000 because the engine died from a severe oil leak.



In a nutshell, I would get a 9C1 or P71 Crown Vic for a beater. Other choices would be a '93-'94 S-10 Blazer 4wd, '92-'94 Maxima GXE or SE, '97-'99 Maxima SE, '87 Regal w/ 350...to name a few.
 
Accumulator, let me give you a nudge. A 9C1 ized Caprice(control arms,springs,sway bars,duals, 5.7L crate motor) will dust a lot of the current "Raves". They never suspect it. All these components will go right in to most B-Bodies. Big station wagon brakes, ceramic friction material. I'm waiting for either collector plates, or the end of smog chek to put in the 400CI engine sitting in my garage. Hey, I have to, it will go just perfect with the Tilt wheel, optional instrument cluster, cruise control, power seats,windows,trunk,door locks,dash adjustable passenger mirror,map lights, that is in my beater already.
 
amn... That's one I forgot about. I always thought the Z34 Lumina was pretty sweet looking. Those slats in the hood and the skirts and spoiler really did it for me. The 3.4 Dual Twin-Cam is a pretty cool engine, but I've never heard one run.



I'll be keeping an eye on your gallery...
Click to expand...



YEah, I loved the hood vents, and it was one of the few cars with a bodykit and spoiler that managed to look nice. Mine was all black, I removed all the Z34 graphics, etc. I posted one pic of it side by side with the buick but all you can see is the wheel basically. The 24-valve v-6 badge is visible. The 3.4s coupled to an automatic sound pretty lousy, as the engines were slightly different (5-speeds had different engine management/timing/5 more hp, and 400rpm higher redline), but with the 5-speed, oh the sound!!! I miss that car. I will post better pics as soon as I get the chance.



-Tom
 
rek said:
Accumulator, let me give you a nudge. A 9C1 ized Caprice(control arms,springs,sway bars,duals, 5.7L crate motor) ...
Click to expand...



Heh heh, you're preachin' to the choir here ;) I already have all the good suspension and brake stuff (including custom A-arms with Delalum bushings and 11/16 NASCAR-style ball joints, etc. etc.). Even have a few sets of the T-84 Euro headlights. Just have too many cars in general, too many PROJECT cars in the works, and I recently sold the family warehouse (with the lift). My garage here at the house is pretty big, but not THAT big. Got the b-bodies stashed at a friend's bodyshop (one off the frame) while I decide what to do.



But yeah, the 9C1 Caprice IS an unbelievable car for the money. Lightyears ahead of (even a new) P71 Crown Vic (I had one of those too, was able to do a direct comparison).



I oughta list a 9C1 here if I ever get one back together, someone would get quite a bargain. Heh heh, it'd be even cheaper if someone wanted to put it back together themself :o
 
Too many cars??? Naw, I used to have one for every day of the week. I'm down to five now, but I have been "Looking" at a couple of other ones. I resist the urge though, but I keep flashing back to the XLR I sat in while waiting for them to finish up on some warranty work. That liquid/wet silver, shale-colored leather, exotic euchaliptis wood trim, 18 inchers, James Bond style roof into the trunk, big LCD screen, DVD player......OOPPS, this thread is supposed to be about "Beaters"
 
rek said:
Too many cars??? Naw, I used to have one for every day of the week. I'm down to five now, but I have been "Looking"..
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Yeah, I really DO have too many for the way I like to keep them. Like you, I'm currently down to five "regular drivers", the others are either projects or garage queens. But "uh-oh" if/when any of the projects actually get finished (heh heh, Accumulatorette isn't holding her breath).



Trouble is, except for (occasionally) the Volvo, every car gets its undercarriage, etc. detailed every wash, for instance, and that sort of regular detailing takes a lot of time.



BUT, a little more back on topic, it's cool that people have "beater faves" that they can get excited about. A fun car that you aren't so, uhm, INVESTED in can be great to have around. I might even drive my beaters even more than my GOOD cars, probably because I don't feel the need to clean them up every time they get a little dirty and I don't mind leaving them in parking lots. It DOES, however, pay to choose something reliable.



And speaking of Luminas, which seem to be quite popular here, there's always the 9C3 (police package) model. Rear disc brakes, which I don't believe were offered on the civilian models. Can you tell I'm partial to police package cars? I just LOVE sedans for beaters anyhow, great practicality



Oh, and rek, you might be surprised what CAN pass a smog test, especially for your Caprice's model year. Some quite radical cars have passed CA's emissions test. Once you get past the "visual" part (easier for older cars), a lot of it's about how well they're tuned. Even pretty "lumpy" cams can pass.



Aurora40- Your buddy uses something like KIT WAX on his Impala?!? Sheesh, and that blue/green/gray metallic is SUCH a cool color too...Maybe you oughta send him some decent cleaner wax or AIO for Christmas.
 
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