ancorder Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 I'm taking money to the owner tonight. Yesterday my wife and I went and looked at a 1995 Cutlass Supreme sedan. 128k miles, good overall shape. Comes with good winter tires, too. $1100. We currently own a 1991 Cutlass Supreme with 143k miles (which will soon be for sale). Decided the 95 will be an upgrade for us, and called to hold the car until after work tonight. Interior is in immaculate condition. Far better than any other used car we've looked at in the last two months (yes, it's taken that long). There was obviously a bit of a bump to the right rear; the bumper has a crack in it and the plastic piece that runs between the tail lights is cracked, too. But nothing's bent underneath and it's not really noticeable from 15 feet. There's a crack in the windshield but we'll be able to get that repaired once we insure it. Other problems include the passenger window not rolling down (may be the switch; I've replaced a couple window motors before so not worried about it), and the big thing is the A/C doesn't work. The light on the HVAC controls comes on, but the clutch doesn't engage. It doesn't make any weird noises or anything, so I am hoping it's just low pressure in the lines. Supposedly it worked a few weeks ago. Stupid me, I didn't take any tools with me, so once I get it I'll jump the relay and see if the clutch engages, then I'll go rent a set of manifold gauges and get some refrigerant. Fingers crossed that's all it is. Also, the back seat seems a lot lower to the ground than in our 1991. Is it just me? Not really a problem because I won't be sitting back there, but kind of weirdly low. Feel free to congratulate me or tell me I'm an idiot for buying another one of these cars. I will miss the digital gauges Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94 olds vert Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 Is your 91 a sedan? The digital gauges are cool. I have a one waiting to go in my Cutlass. Congratulations on a new one, I'm sure you will like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ancorder Posted July 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 Yep, it's a sedan. It's been really a very good car. A couple of headaches but rarely more than annoyances that were only exacerbated by my lack of mechanical skill. We put about 80k miles on it in the 4 years we've had it, including two cross-country trips and a drive to Alaska. But it's ugly as hell and not worth me painting, plus the A/C no longer works and someone stole the nice wheels off it, etc. Figure it's time to move on and let somebody else drive the older one. It's getting close to beater with a heater territory. Best car I've ever had in the snow, too, by far. I was driving around while the SUVs on my street were stranded. Of course they might just be bad drivers, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2001goldGTP Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 i love my 90 sedan with the digital gauges, also buddy these things do pretty good on dirt too, mine went down the pony express trail a couple times in Utah, no issues other than going around objects because it wont go over them lol, congrates on the new car any pics yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ancorder Posted July 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 Yeah, we had some fun on parts of the ALCAN Highway last summer, let me tell you. But the Cutlass handled it very well. No pics yet; leaving in about an hour to go get cash and sign it over & drive home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
virtuetovice Posted July 8, 2011 Report Share Posted July 8, 2011 WIN! We will wants pics...and a VIN to see what kinda goodies it has. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ancorder Posted July 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2011 Well, she's in my driveway. Unfortunately it's too dark for pictures, so I'll snap some before I head to work tomorrow. 1995 Olds Cutlass Supreme sedan, white with blue cloth, 3100 AT Vin: 1G3WH52M6SD300444 And good news! I got it home, pulled the cover off the A/C relay and tripped it manually, and the compressor kicked on. So I went and bought an A/C refill kit, but it appears the low side fitting is underneath the air box, and it was too dark to be fiddling with it tonight. So hopefully I can get to that tomorrow and it'll be just a matter of giving it a bit of a topping off, and we'll be good to go. Fingers crossed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MemphisMan Posted July 8, 2011 Report Share Posted July 8, 2011 I'm crossing my fingers. Hope thats all it is. That'd be sweeeeeet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted July 8, 2011 Report Share Posted July 8, 2011 Congrat"s My ac was down too, put 1 can in with leak seal & within 2 weeks gone, added another with a can of dye & seal & sofar it's holding. these compressors always leak around the seal that holds the two sides of the compressor together & yep that's where mine was leaking. If your lucky with the sealer you can get them sealed up or at least sealed up for a season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white4d96 Posted July 8, 2011 Report Share Posted July 8, 2011 Congrat"s My ac was down too, put 1 can in with leak seal & within 2 weeks gone, added another with a can of dye & seal & sofar it's holding. these compressors always leak around the seal that holds the two sides of the compressor together & yep that's where mine was leaking. If your lucky with the sealer you can get them sealed up or at least sealed up for a season. DId not know that. I'll have to look into that area on mine. Then again I'm guessing mine has multiple leaks as it loses a charge within 2 days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted July 8, 2011 Report Share Posted July 8, 2011 Try putting some dye in it, even without the special light you can still see the dye, but the light works even better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ancorder Posted July 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2011 Hopefully will have some time to do A/C tomorrow. Family's coming to town this evening so might not be until Sunday. Anyway, here are some pictures I took this morning. Please forgive my incredible photography skills and lack of underhood & underbody pics for now. Glamour shot. Inside so clean! Still clean! Even the back is clean. Trunk is clean, too. Plus four studded tires that have maybe 500 miles on them. Obviously got bumped at some point. More owies. But overall not too bad. Ain't she purdy? Ah, the old beast. He's jealous because he's balding. Things I will miss about the 91: digital dash, trunk spoiler/luggage rack, and the ability not to care about scratching the paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2001goldGTP Posted July 8, 2011 Report Share Posted July 8, 2011 swap the tail lights!! i love the olds logo on the older lights lol, and if you want sawp the whole back over, the luggage rack will go on with some screws and the panel is just some adhesive if i remeber correctly. my white cutlass came factory with the black panel on the back and it looks better to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94 olds vert Posted July 8, 2011 Report Share Posted July 8, 2011 I agree. I like the old tail lights better. I like the 91 better. The new one is very clean! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ancorder Posted July 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2011 (edited) It's funny, my wife was concerned about the cracks on the rear of the 95, and I said we should just swap the plastic panel over. She looked at me like I was nuts, but I think it's golden. For some reason I hadn't even noticed that the lights were different, now I definitely want to keep the logo'd ones! Is that hard? I can't imagine it's more than a few screws, but knowing these cars... I have to contemplate the luggage rack. I know lots of people don't like it, but I think it completes the look of the car, having that bit of a lip on the back. Plus I've used it for luggage and Christmas trees, and it makes a really good handle for opening the trunk. But I don't know if it's worth the effort or not. Plus, it will leave holes on the trunk of the 91, and I want to sell it. Anybody interested? 143k miles. Also, what are the wheels on the 95 called? I know the crosslaces (used to have some on the 91 before they got stolen), but what do people call these? I also didn't realize at first that they are 16s. Tires are 215/60/16. Edited July 8, 2011 by ancorder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2001goldGTP Posted July 8, 2011 Report Share Posted July 8, 2011 (edited) there are three wing nuts ont each tail light, you dont need tools to swap those, as for the black panel im 99% positive its just an adhesive. it all will fit, and yes unless you swap trunks and have them painted, there will be extra holes, however you wont have to worry about glueing back on the panel. good luck, i'll see if i have any pics of the back of my white cutlass for you EDIT, i just have a pic of the exhaust on a cold morning and you can barely see the panel, not enough to see if you will like it also if you want to part that car a bit i would be interested on knowing the condition of the red trim on the 91.... Edited July 8, 2011 by 2001goldGTP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ancorder Posted July 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2011 (edited) If you could snap a pic of the back of your car at some point I would greatly appreciate it. Also, not really interested in parting the car; would like to sell it whole. But if I can't get a decent off on it I might part out non-essential items and then scrap it. But I would hate to see it come to that. The car has plenty of miles left in it for someone who isn't vain. Anyone know about the style of wheels? Or why the back seat seems so low? Edited July 8, 2011 by ancorder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94 olds vert Posted July 8, 2011 Report Share Posted July 8, 2011 I do like the look of the luggage rack. I'd say go for and swap the tail lights on your new cutlass. It's not that hard and they look better. The rims on your new cutlass people refer to those as sawblade wheels/rims. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ancorder Posted July 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2011 I am 99% I'll swap the lights. The luggage rack... maybe. Have to consider if it'll be worth the effort plus the holes on the 91. I thought the sawblades were the ones like in this thread: http://www.w-body.com/showthread.php/33647-Bonneville-wheels-Surprise-Surprise!?highlight=sawblade I guess there could be multiple variations. There's probably also a thread around here that lists all the various stock wheels... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94 olds vert Posted July 9, 2011 Report Share Posted July 9, 2011 Those are the Grand prix saw blades. Different from the Cutlass saw blades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2001goldGTP Posted July 11, 2011 Report Share Posted July 11, 2011 i wasnt able to get a pic this weekend the cutlass and i currently dont live at the same house and are about 50 miles away sorry about that, just trust me its nice. i did a goole search for yeah though: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.dealercarsearch.com/Media/1573/52942_17.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.carsbyowner.net/by-owner/1992-oldsmobile-cutlass&usg=__UH558AnPdhguATcnIrpF_Je0_cM=&h=480&w=640&sz=58&hl=en&start=452&zoom=1&tbnid=vRpYHFI5HLyqgM:&tbnh=151&tbnw=201&ei=ihgbTsb9FM3WiAKKptDSBQ&prev=/search%3Fq%3D1990%2Boldsmobile%2Bcutlass%2Bsupreme%2Binternational%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1680%26bih%3D837%26tbm%3Disch&chk=sbg&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=78&page=17&ndsp=28&ved=1t:429,r:16,s:452&tx=0&ty=-62 i hope these links work http://img.youtube.com/vi/gq8eKdRM3OE/2.jpg you can see it a little Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy K Posted July 12, 2011 Report Share Posted July 12, 2011 (edited) removal of the tail panel requires the removal of about 7 10 mm bolts accessible through the trunk lid. you do need to lubricate them before hand, just in case. When I have worked on tail panels I have actually salvaged the retainer pegs from j/y vehicles and replaced any poor condition or rusty ones... I used a soldering iron to melt the plastic (having a little extra junk plastic from the j/y helps) to reattach loose or bad pegs. Hell, they all need reinforcement. you have sawblades on the 95. Dare I ask if it has the rare manual mirrors??? I love the look of the 91. Is it an international? Where you are located? She needs pie rims! <--- *no space or need for that car* Edited July 12, 2011 by Crazy K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ancorder Posted July 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2011 Thanks for the pics! I do like that look on the white car. Especially with the gray lower body. But I don't like the style of the reverse lights (and corresponding lower part of the panel) on the 91 as much, so I may keep the panel the way it is. Pretty sure I can swap just the brake lights (and not the reverse lights), right? I need to check... Was sick all weekend and wife is pregnant, so not a lot got done car-wise. Crazy K: No, it has power mirrors. Thanks for the tips about the panel assembly; I need to scrounge some pieces for the windows anyway, so I will grab some extra plastic & pegs when I do that. The 91 is just a regular ol' Cutlass Supreme. No S or International or anything. I think the Cutlasses have held their looks better than any other 20-year-old car. If the paint was good it'd still be a very nice looking car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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