Back in the Fold

[JDub76]

Hello,

I'm a long-time W-Body fan. The first car I ever bought in 1993 was an 1989 Olds Cutlass Supreme with a 2.8L. I traded it in thinking I wanted something faster like a 19-20 year old does. I've missed it ever since. A 1996 Cutlass Supreme with a 3.1L hit the local Craigslist with only 80K miles completely local to the Chattanooga area. I took the plunge and came back into the fold. I'm excited about having my new weekend cruiser. A couple of low hanging corrections are the outside mirror switch and the power antennae cable. Outside of that, I will start tinkering and tuning because most of the car is 25 years original. 

Jeremy

[runt]

Nice!  I once had a '96.  Loved the car.  Enjoy!

[oldmangrimes]

I've got a 95 Cutlass 3100 that just rolled over 254k miles, so I'm jealous of your 80k miles.   The good thing about w-body is that pretty much any problem you have with your Cutlass has been experienced by somebody here, either active currently or archived in an old post that we can help you find.     Tell us more about the condition of your car, do you know any of the service and repair history?    With that low of miles, did it sit unused for a long period of time?  Any rust?  Was it garaged or parked out in the weather?    Are you looking to keep it original or improve anything (suspension, stereo, etc.)?

[JDub76]

It's been a busy week. The original owners were here in the Chattanooga area. It looks like they bought the car when they were in their early 60's. I found their obituaries in 2017 and 2018. I'm assuming it was sold as part of their estate. A couple owned it for a few months until the guy I bought it off of saw it and randomly made them an offer. This guy's wife finally told him he needed to sell some of his cars.

I'm looking at mostly routine maintenance at the moment. I took her in for an oil service this week. I went ahead and had the coolant system serviced because the coolant looked dirty. I'm definitely making an appointment to have the plugs and wires replaced since one of the wires is missing some outer rubber. I will probably have the transmission serviced over the summer. I'm also assuming the original shocks/struts are there so that is down the road. The power antenna won't retract, but I think that is a solid DIY project. The side mirror power switch doesn't work. I've gone ahead and ordered one. Hopefully I can find some quick instructions online. 

Cosmetically, she is 25 years old. There are several spots that have been touched up. The front quarter panel does have a shallow dent/crease about 4 inches long. The seats are in solid condition. I did notice the leather has pulled away from the bottom of the door handle section, but that is expected. 

Overall, I am looking at keeping her close to original. I'm looking forward to some fun weekend time. I will say I didn't remember my 1989 Cutlass Supreme being as floaty as my grandma's 1985 Ninety-Eight, but this girl feels like she floats then again I'm used to driving modern SUV's.  

[jiggity76]

Welcome!  Good looking coupe you got there.