the primary issue with the 5.7 Diesels came down to a couple of things: Insanely out-of-balance reciprocating mass and a mismatch between intake runners and cylinder heads as GM expended zero effort to help the engine breath, or not shake itself apart. A good friend inherited one of these and, because he's a machinist, rectified the issue by balancing and blueprinting the engine to a tight specification, and then ported and polished/match flowed the intake and heads. He had the fuel pump pressure increased and the injectors rebuilt to handle the higher pressures. He also added a 4 speed AT from a Buick Grand National and the results were, Franky, superb. He could smoke the tires through 3rd gear, the car was fairly quiet, smooth, powerful, reliable and returned around 35 MPG. If only GM had tried...
Unfortunately they continue to do dumb shit like that still... sorta half ass it.. then be surprised when it fails. The early 5.7 Diesel did not even come with a water separator, that omission would take out the injection pumps.. also insufficient head bolts.. They eventually worked out most of the issues.. near the end of production.. then it was ended.. right as they would have probably been fairly reliable.
I agree completely with balancing an engine.. if you have the means/money it’s worth doing on almost any engine. Likewise with helping it breathe better..
I always wanted one of these Buick century diesels. I know nothing about working on cars though. You can’t even find the rare diesel Buick century’s anymore. But if I did I will definitely find someone who would be willing to do what you said. I feel like if gm had done it right you would still see them on the road today. Diesel engines go way way longer when they are maintained properly.
I worked for a Buick dealer in 1983. All the diesels that came into service were for oil leaks and it was always the rocker arm covers. They used RTV for a seal and mechanics would never wait until it setup before screwing cover down. We replaced many gasoline turbo engines because people would not adhere to oil change requirements. But never a diesel because they understood they had to change oil every 3500 miles. In fact, the dealer owner instructed us to change any diesel or turbo oil regardless of what ower requested if we thought it needed to be changed. He absorbed the cost.
I worked at Oldsmobile dealership in that year. And I remember a 4.3 diesel came through there and it was a V6 diesel it was in a Cutlass Sierra four-door
@@ronalddaub9740 I have one of these v6 diesels on an orange ngine table that has been there since probably 1995 or so when my dad put it there planning to put it in a Toyota 1 ton.
Our sheriffs office bought an Olds with the diesel. It was during the gas prices rocketing up. The short version: they tried to make it work to save $$ but it broke down so often it became a standing joke to have a tow truck follow it around the county. I worked dispatch for a year when they had it. Luckily their law radios worked so the deputies could call for help. I recall the most frequent gripe is the car would just quit/shut off randomly.
@@onno_vocks Interesting details. Converting a gas engine to diesel has never been a good idea. International Harvester learned that as well as John Deere.
My grandfather had a 79 or an 80 delta 88 with a 350 diesel. We could here it fire from a block away and always knew he was coming. This hits me directly in the nostalgia.
My dad's company bought him a 77 Delta 88 Brougham in black, 350 Diesel. Nostalgia, check. I now drive a diesel, but mine is a 14 TDI. Just a tad more reliable, and MUCH better mileage.
My father had a 81 Oldsmobile Diesiel. He cursed that car till the day he scrapped it. GM kept replacing the engine under warranty. 3 engines and 2 transmissions within 120k.
its actually for sale right now for a nice 4-6 hundred thousand and on in a decent size lot the building are way to gone to restore but would be cool for a paint ball or airsoft place or to build a house on
I showed my dad this video and he enjoyed it. He was working at a Cadillac/Olds dealer when these diesels came out and went to the GM training center certified as a diesel master tech. After he opened his own shop I too worked on these cars. They were noisy, smelly but very reliable... just don't pull out in front of a semi because they were slugs on the take off. The loose play in the steering column is due to the four "shifter bowl" bolts backing themselves out. Common thing on GM tilt columns. You just have to disassemble the top section of the steering column and rethighten the four bolts. Real gravy job, I think the book time was almost two hours and I could do them in like 20 minutes.
I still have one of those in an '81 Eldorado... Mine still runs, though it's been off the road for a while. Wound up sticking a blocking plate under the EGR valve and made way less smoke.
The trick I learned from an old Mechanic was to take the bolts out one by one and use the non permeant lock tight so they don't work loose again. My Dad and I did that job twice on an 84 Olds Cutlass. First time was just tighten and it worked loose again second time with the lock tight.
In 1986, we bought a 1979 Oldsmobile Delta 88 with a diesel engine. Beautiful car, well taken care of. Interior and exterior were in immaculate condition. 4 years after that, before we moved out of California, we rebuilt the engine. (my husband was a heavy equipment and auto and race car cylinder head repair specialist). We got about 32 MPG. In 1992, a pickup truck ran into us and totaled the car. But we enjoyed the car while we had it. Great job on this video. So glad we got to hear that motor!
I love the industrial sound of these old GM diesels! These motors were fine as long as they were operated in the right way but yeah, they were not really ready when GM gave them out!
There’s a video of a guy pulling onto the highway and the clatter of that V8 running through the gears brought back memories of my dad’s old Powerstroke. No loud exhaust, just sweet diesel clatter.
Very true. They were fantastic on fuel. And by the time a few years went by n they worked the bugs put of these things they really were reasonably reliable. Like you said, they weren't quite ready when they released them.
@@ethics3 I like these motors too. Clean dry fuel, proper maintenance, and reasonable operation makes these things last. I got outbid on an 85 D Delta 98 diesel at an auction this spring and I was really bummed
Happened to have closed captioning on and notice that when the diesel finally fires up, TH-cam's captioning algorithm labeled it as [Music] and [Applause] Very appropriate! 😄
These engines were OVER-appreciated; especially the early ones. It isn't about maintenance. Worst POS ever designed by an American car company. It isn't even a close contest.
Fun fact: Before the Clinton BTU tax, diesel was less expensive than gasoline which is why in the gas crisis 1970's automakers rushed diesels to market.
My Mom had a century wagon with a gas motor. I hated those back windows. I recently saw a vintage advertisement for this car on youtube where they claimed that the lack of roll down windows in the back was to help increase the width passengers had in the back seat. When the air conditioner does not work and the car you are in has vinyl seats, this totally sucks.
I loved this. I had two of those Olds diesels years ago. 1981 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham, and a 1984 Olds 98 Regency. So nice to hear that engine run again. Brought back great memories. Sure, they were crummy engines, but I sure miss hearing them run! When I was a kid, that's all my aunt drove. She'd go to the auto auctions, buy one for $200 or $300 (super-nice low-mile cars, but low sale price because of the diesel), drive it til it puked, and go back and buy another one, lol! Last one she had was my favorite. Goodwrench diesel, 1984 two-door Cutlass. I'd LOVE to find a late two-door Cutlass diesel today, but I know that's pretty much impossible. Great video.
Putting the EGR directly in the intake air flow was actually a genius idea on GMs part. Drastically reduced EGR temps with incoming air, and it didn’t hurt the flow of air on the very low-revving Olds diesel.
My grandma had one of these growing up. All through the 80's to just a few years back the thing took her to church and the store once a week respectively, and with barely any work needed I might add. She's gotten to that point where she can't remember her joyrides, so we took the keys from her. Poor thing sat in the garage for a year and it won't start now. I'm gonna try and get it running though so I can donate it.
@@JunkyardDigs glad to see another Diesel on the channel. Ever get a chance to revive a Mercedes Diesel its fun. I have a 78 300SD Mercedes turbo Diesel and have went through it all and it runs like a top. Again love the channel ❤
this ain't a so-crunchy-it's-minty old international harvester diesel, this is an Oldsmobile diesel. Where Slave Lake will never die, this is always one pair of shit pants and some garbage 80's Oldsmobile engineering away from blowing the heads off like the nuclear manhole cover. Replace the head studs that are probably the same spec as in my low compression Olds 330 from 1966 with some proper studs rated for diesel compression and ya got a decent chooch machine.
that engine block is one of the best gas engines GM ever made even thou it's set up for diesel. if you convert it back to a gas engine you end up with a very high compression gas engine made for drag racing and there highly sought after by old school motor heads me being one of them
I'm surprised an '81 would have gas struts; I thought all those full-frame GM cars had springs to hold the hood up. The gas struts seemed like a solution to a non-problem.
We had a big farm customer who traveled bought one new. Everybody gave them a bad rap. He put over 50000 miles a year on it. We asked him how he liked it. He said best car ever. Great ride and was super dependable and great mileage. Not super fast but back the speed limit only 55. Brings back some interesting memories.
In thier later years they were pretty good engines. They just needed CLEAN fuel with absolutely no moisture in it, needed to be warmed up a bit before being driven, need to NEVER be overheated, and just be driven REASONABLY. Then the owner could enjoy good reliability and FANTASTIC fuel economy in a big full-size car
30:43 That....just warms my heart and makes me smile. I love to see unloved cars being enjoyed and getting the love they didn't get back when they were relevant.
Cleaning out my dad's house after he passed , we found fuel receipts. 1978 diesel fuel , he paid anywhere between 63 to 71 cents a gallon and gas was .71 to 80 cents a gallon. ( different locations) I remember the gas wars of the latev50s to the mid 60s . 15 cents a gallon for gas was the lowest I seen. We lived within 80 miles from 3 now closed oil refineries.
We had this exact car - an 81 Buick Century Limited with the poofy velour interior like that. The only difference was it had the 3.8 L V6 (gasoline engine). They had a small gas V8 as an option also. Very few got the diesel. We loved our car. It was super nice! It was so comfortable and quiet. We'd take long trips in it and I'd fall asleep in the back seat, it was so comfortable. I learned to drive on that car. Nice to see one still around. Hopefully you save it and take care of it. And YES - the back windows do not roll down! Only the small vents open. The idea was to increase rear seat hiproom for passenger comfort, so they recessed the interior door handles for the back seat. However I think most people would have rather had windows that rolled down and been a little less comfortable back there if you had 3 people sitting in the back.
The Chrysler K cars also had fixed rear windows with wings for 1981 as well. Needless to say, this "feature" didn't last long, as everybody agreed it was damn dumb. Not that it was Chrysler's last foray into goofy. All Neons... Every. Single. Neon. All had crank windows in the back, regardless of whether the front windows were crank or powered. And they only went down about 15%.
Back in the 90's I converted at least 30 vehicles to gas engines. One a diesel C10 with a 455 Olds. The owner said that he felt like it had 3 times the power (maybe) but what he loved was the difference in MPG 12 mpg to 18 MPG.
Those were cool engines. I don't know why this just showed up in my feed but I really enjoyed watching you guys bring this 5.7 diesel back to life. I worked at an Oldsmobile Cadillac service department back in the early 80's. The 5.7 was a 350 Olds gas engine converted to diesel, (I'm sure you guys already know this). They were good engines for the most part. The most common failures were usually a blown head gasket or broken crankshaft. When cars were designed to last 100K miles, these would still be going at twice that, so a few failures aside, well worth the money and most importantly, led to the 6.2 true diesel engine design. (Cranks break in those too though LOL!)
In this episode Angus quits cycling, Kevin drives like a NASCAR mechanic and you find out what 35 min of your life is worth. All this and more on this episode of One Flew Over th...What? It's a movie? Oh well, they know what I mean.
Yeah, they were a little underdeveloped before GM shoved 'em out the door, but properly sorted (especially a post-81 DX block) with a water separator and head studs will give pretty good service.
True. I had a 1983 Cadillac Seville Diesel, & it was a nice, reliable car. Of course, the first few years of the 5.7 diesel debacle left it unrecoverable from a marketing perspective. In fact, they ruined the prospects for all brands of diesels, except already established Mercedes Benz diesels, in the United States.
I'm British. Back in 81 I came to the US for my first experience of America. I was a teenager. We hired a Buick Century 3.8 v6, my first experience of american cars. It had all the toys you'd expect for a rental but it far exceeded the upmarket cars back home. I was besotted with that car, as was my Dad.
I had an 80 Cutlass with the 5.7 , bought it for $400 and put 200,000 before a head gasket stopped it. In `985 I bought a 1982 Olds Delta 88 with less than 40k and a bad pump. Rebuilt the Injuction pump and it went aalmost 300k. I put in an overdrive trans and changed the rear gear so it wound cruse at 70mph at 2100rpm, got 36 to 40 mpg driving from Pittsburgh tp Milwaukee. Had a third 82 Delta with a bad enging for $299. It had bad injectors, so I redid the pump for max power ( was told I would blow the engine, never did) and it qould smoke the rear Posi tires. We had all 3 until the fuel went from 30 cents less than regular to 30 cents more than 93 octane. Loved them as the were cheep transportation.
@@kylelee1101 No, asshole ABC story, they reported it with the usual misinformation they are known for. They had head gaskets failing due to water getting in the fuel, small service stations didn't have water separators on their pumps like truck stops, it was a new thing for the regular public, they were ignorant to the requirements, and GM put a small fuel filter with no water separator on the cars. I treated the car hard, I was a teenager, destroyed the car in a wreck eventually, so we had the engine put in another car, it kept on going, ran like a Swiss watch.
Wow, This 1981 Century with 5.7 diesel is very rare! I have never seen or heard about another one. 1981 is the first year 5.7 diesel available in Century, and last year for RWD platform, makes this a one year only option. In 1982 the Century was downsized and went to Front Wheel Drive and only had the new 4.3L V6 diesel available. I have had many GM 350 diesels over the years. Weak link is the factory head bolts. They would break and blow the head gasket. Replace with ARP head studs and engine will be good to go.
@@kararodriguez7601 not too sure, probably either. I remember riding in the back of a d body century as a kid, the little window was really helpful and the lap belts were fun to play with (instant retractable).
@@LynxStarAuto not really cost savings, more like a design screwup. if you look at the size and shape of the rear door glass, then compare that to the size and shape of the rear door, there is no way that glass will fit inside that door. especially if you eliminated the wing glass, the main glass is even larger. if you made the wing glass larger so the main glass could roll down, it would look bad... this was a case where the g-body designers designed a really good looking 2-door sedan or el-camino, and the 4-door was an afterthought.
Nice revival! Just a note, I've heard a number of people suggest that you change the fuel filter frequently on that system, especially after the car has been sitting. Fuel deteriorates the paper filter element and paper filter bits can clog up the injection pump and/or injectors.
@@isaakwelch3451 Thanks for the heads up. Is that the same filter as the 6.2 diesels use? Like a Wix 33136? Looks the same in the video. If so, I guess I better stock up on them for my truck!
Love that car. Theres a junkyard outside of town where i live thats been closed up for years. Last time i asked to walk through owner was kind of sick. Its grown over but i talked to him around October 2020,he said theres 60& on up cars exc in there. Was talking bout crushing soon. I have the number if you want. Bout 25 minutes from Ames.
Outside of madrid where i live. Havent talked to the owner since last summer. He wasnt up to letting me in at time due to illness. Was going to try and call him next weekend the 3rd.
"it has pre chambers like a 7.3 IDI.. so it doesent respond well to ether.." Well tell that to ol´ slave lake.. ether is the only thing it still responds to :D
@@ricardopereira771 And does it matter? He mainly only does videos on old engines with carbs anyway. At least you can tell he did some research before going into the revival.
When i saw most unreliable engine, i thought "Huh i never heard of a diesel engine being unreliable" then i remembered the 6.4 powerstroke was a thing...
I remember back in the 70's some company made a diesel version of a gas engine (smh) and it was the worst car by a LOOOOOOOOOONG shot. like, I gotta look up what car it was, but.... damn. Edit: It was the 1978 Oldsmobile models. Look those engines up, they're horrible. They might even be this engine...
When the olds diesel first came out they were horrible lots of problems but by the end of their run they were pretty decent had the bugs worked out but it was to late they got a bad name and nobody wanted them
If I remember correctly GM converted the 454 to the 5.7 litre diesel. I maybe remembering that wrong though. Anyway my dad bought one for my mom in 84 or 85 and all I remember of that big turd was mostly sitting on the side of the road lol.
Thanks for the memories! Swapped out 100's of these to gasoline. These motors used the gasoline block and couldn't handle the stress. It was a gamble between when the head or manifold gaskets would go before the 50k mark (if it didn't develop a rod knock first) My favorite one that came in was an Olds wagon with a manual transmission with overdrive, talk about MPG!
They didn't use the gas block, the blocks aren't interchangeable between gas and diesel. Diesels had thicker cylinder walls and larger main bearings, among other things. Those manual trans diesels are insanely rare. 79 only, with the 260 v8, and the stick wasn't advertised
@@tcap7917 That's a commonly repeated statement but it isn't true. The engines did share basic dimensions so they could be bored on the same machines that did gassers but the blocks are different. The 78-80 diesel blocks are also different from the 81-85 blocks, as GM made improvements to the engine
I've never had a problem with them. And while top posts are admittedly easier to jump start the side post ones don't get near the corrosion of top posts.
Was considering changing all my GM vehicles to top post, but kinda nervous about the posts contacting the hood. Seems like every time I go to change a battery, the post bolt strips and needs to be replaced. Gets old pretty quick.
I actually had a Oldsmobile cutlas diesel. Same color as your Pontiac. I put 369,000 miles on it and two engines before it caught on fire. You brought back memories
My friend had one of these in 1983/4 and we cruised it until the wheels were ready to fall off. It also always smelled faintly of French Fries. Great memories.
I subscribed to the channel just because these guys are actually careful with this thing. A lot of these other guys like Mr Zip ties just wreck stuff which is frustrating
@@castirondude Absolutely, the lack of mechanical sympathy is cringeworthy on other channels. It's horrible when a car is genuinely mint condition and they hack the thing up to add big wheels and tyres that rub and dent, big axles etc just because they can't appreciate the vehicle for what it is...
Those steering columns have plastic parts in them so I highly recommend puling the wheel and using non permanent lock tight on each of the bolts it's a one time fix and you can take it apart again if needed. If you let it go too long the plastic pieces could break.
Dude for some reason you need to get that car looking good again . I loved when that sucker fired up and you only got one cut on your hand . Finding the title was awesome. See how miles it gets to the gallon. That blue is going to be insane after you buff it all out. Good luck with cleaning it up, it’s going to look great.
My 81 Bonneville with this engine and no overdrive gets 27mpg going 80 on the freeway. This car is newer and smaller with and overdrive transmission so it should do better.
I am also pretty well versed in G bodies. The rear windows don't go down because there is not enough room inside of the door cavity to accommodate the glass and mechanism. When I was a kid riding in my '82 I thought that it was odd too.
@@Olds_Pwr the 1981 Century was technically an A body in name, but is identical to what would be considered a G body in 1982. This platform name change was to accommodate the new 1982 front drive cars (I have 2 currently but have had over 10) that were loosely based on the x cars. Cars like my 82 had been designed and on the road since 1978, same platform, different name.
There is an adapter available that will allow the back windows to open. It's called a cinder block - unfortunately, it's a one-time use gadget and there's sometimes some leakage whenever it rains.
I really enjoyed the part when you carefully moved all the broken glass on the passenger seat & put it in that handy space down the side of and underneath the seat. 35%...
We had an 81 Olds Cutlass Diesel growing up. The back windows don’t go down. Lol. Rounded off the little oil pump drive shaft and the idiot light for low oil pressure came on at the exact moment the engine seized.
I remember back in the day my father had a Chevy station wagon with those windows but they were even worse because they didn't open as far as on the Buick and they were manual! They REALLY SUCKED on family trips!
I have a 1981 Cutlass diesel. My advice is to restore the vacuum system. Smallest leak and the transmission will not shift properly because they don't have vacuum regulator like the regular TH trannies have. Also windshield flushing stops working since it runs on vacuum as well. Mine still runs like new, absolutely no chassis noise.
Just a tip. The lines will self bleed and yes Ether isn’t good on those engines but you can use WD40 as a substitute for ether and being WD40 is oil based is safe to use in the engine and works just about the same
ATF doesn't evaporate. I've seen cars sit for 15 years with fluid just as pink / red as it was when they were parked. Pretty sure a bad seal was mentioned when the car was first removed from the building it was in. Probably low on fluid when parked. Likely parked due to that, or perhaps the trans was thought to be fried. These are GM 200 Metrics, and they aren't very good, but a TH350 would have required a vacuum pump, and GM management and bean-counters were too cheap to do all that.
@@obsoleteprofessor2034 Oh, I get what you're saying there, but not knowing the story of how the car came to be parked, there's simply no proof that it evaporated. Possible explanation -- trans fluid contaminated with water (evaporates, but should still leave fluid), pan / gasket cracked / leaking, or run low on ATF before being towed. I've had cars sit for 10-15 years and the transmission fluid was full and had the right color, just like it was when it was parked. So while not impossible, certainly not likely. Something oft-overlooked, but common, vacuum modulators sucking ATF into the intake. Smokes profusely and runs the trans dry. It's gotten a lot of cars scrapped that didn't need to be. GM TH350s in particular are famous for this.
I knew a guy who had one of these. We used to take it to go skiing and it was a great car. It was like 4 lazy boys with an engine. The trunk was so big you could fit skis and luggage for 4 people in the trunk. It climbed hills like a mofo cause of all the low end torque. It ran on diesel which was way cheaper at the time and it had a block heater you could plug in to keep it from freezing in the coldest weather. it actually belonged to my friends girlfriend. She was about 5 feet tall and could barely see over the steering wheel. We lived right in LA and she would whip that thing into parking spaces i couldn't fit my Ford Focus. We called it the Buickstar Gallactaca or the Battlestar Galactatub it was so big. But for ski trips it was one of the most comfortable cars I ever drove. BTW WD-40 works great as starter fluid on diesels. No BS!
My parents had an '82 Olds Cutlass Supreme with the 350 diesel. That's what I learned to drive in. It wasn't overly powerful and did last a long time until the car was replaced.
I had a neighbor in the 80s who bought a new Cadillac Diesel for his wife, you could hear it a block away and we called it the "Cad a clack". He had major issues with it a year later and had a shop yank the diesel and put in a rebuild olds motor.
Is that the same school where your buddies beautiful 1964 Ford truck came from? If so, that place is the gift that just keep on giving. Man I totally lusted after his truck. See you in twenty hours!
I owned a 1980 Olds 98 with the 350 diesel. It was my grandfather's car and the original engine blew up at only 12,000 miles. It was replaced under warranty with a Goodwrench 350 DX block engine and never had a day of trouble with it after that. It would do 30-32 mpg without overdrive and likely could have done 35 if it had the 200-4R transmission that the later cars had. I drove that car in high school and college. It was a great car (but slow). It got totaled when a truck hit me from behind while I was sitting at a red light. The car had over 180,000 miles which means the Goodwrench diesel had over 168,000 miles without any problem and was still running when it got totaled and scrapped. I made a block off plate for the EGR and pulled out the EGR valve and cleaned the soot outt of the intake. Once it could breathe it felt almost as strong as a 2bbl 3.8L V6. 🤣
My father was a devoted Buick owner. Traded every 2-4 years depending on mileage and how well he liked the various models. When these diesels came out, the dealer he always traded with convinced him this was the wave of the future. After numerous issues the two years he drove it he took it back to trade it in and go back to gas. Incredibly, the dealer would not take it on trade. Told him to sell it on his own. He went to two more Buick dealers who would trade but for very small fraction of what he paid for it. That was the last Buick dad purchased. He wouldn’t buy any other GM vehicles either. I’ve always wondered what these cars did to GM/Buick loyalty. I’m going to be curious to see if similar things happen when batteries start dying and customers face similar trade-in shock with electric cars.
One of my high school teachers had one just like this brand new. I remember it well. There were actually a lot of these diesel GM's in my area, and the people who bought them drove them for a long time, as I recall. Probably had lots of service calls!
I remember those 80’s cars sounding like a truck and they had a different bolt pattern than the rest of the G bodies. Great barn find can’t wait for the next video
My boss at the time bought a new 1979 Olds 88 with the diesel. At 38,000 miles the heads warped and it had to have a complete engine replacement. At 45,000 miles he got rid of it. In 1992 a co-worker had the Olds version of the one here (a 4 door Cutlass) It had 46,000 miles on it and it just ran out of breath (poor or no compression) It went to the junkyard. Yeah---GM and their bright ideas. There were quite a few of those over the years, LOL. Those moving dollies work wonders. I bought a set from Harbor Freight Tools some years ago and still have them.
GM kne these engine were junk, but kept marking them an additional 7 years. They were so bad that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) was unable to certify the diesel V8 for sale in 1979 and 1980 because the test cars issued to CARB broke down before the tests could be completed. Of the nine cars supplied to CARB, all suffered engine problems and seven had transmission failures.
I had a 1985 Buick century with a 4 cyl diesel. loved that car, 40 mpg highway. got t-boned and was scraped but I still have fond memories of that car.
I love these old diesel cars. I was so happy to see a video like this for one of these. See if you can find a Chevette diesel or something along those lines.
My sister had one of these (gas V6) that eventually wound up in my grandmother's hands until she wrecked it... twice. That's what it took to kill that car. That said, I'm not a fan of keeping the original diesel engine in this car. Interesting car to keep around (last of the RWD Centurys), but the fact is, diesel power is one of the biggest polluters on the planet. I see a lot of disinformed and opinionated comments here. Diesel today is not the diesel of this engine's time, either. The fuel has been reformulated a couple times since then, and back then it was pretty much a waste byproduct, which was why it was so cheap. The Clinton BTU tax probably didn't help, but that has no bearing on the price of diesel today, it is a completely different product. Lots of comments as well about diesel being so popular in Europe, etc. due to taxation. But that's only half the story. Another fact, Europe (particularly the UK) has a high rate of respiratory diseases and related mortality, and diesel power is largely responsible for that. That's the one thing California is actually right about. As someone who suffers from such issues (had to give up a commercial trucking career because I can't be around diesels, period), diesels should be pretty much removed from the consumer market. I understand some farm operations need diesel trucks for hauling and such, but they really should be limited to farm or commercial use only. There are simply too many people buying diesels just to run around to the grocery store or Wal-Mart, or the Burger King drive-thru with them, and it's unnecessary. Especially with all the jerk-offs who insist on "rolling coal" on others. If this is you, you are simply showing what an a**hole you really are, and bolstering the argument for banning diesels from consumer purchase.
"if it breaks down" it's a 6.9 IDI if it breaks down that means it has no oil in it which means the owner's at fault. Seriously Kevin don't worry about that motor it's fine. if the truck breaks it'll be electrical or trans
Had a 79 Cutlas 4door sedan (slant back) that had the Olds diesel. Blown head gaskets, total junk. Bought a 73 Rocket V8 from a friend and did a swap out, keeping the starter from the Diesel engine. I basically created on hell of a sleeper! This car could get up and go. Only issue I had at the time was the fuel. A 73 engine required leaded fuel which was still available at the time but some pricks at some service station refused to fill it with leaded fuel. There was no restrictor in the fuel tank fill point and there was even a placard stating diesel fuel only. In the 80’s it was illegal to fill late 70’s cars with leaded fuel. Had to lift the hood to prove to the attendants that it had a pre ban engine in it. Luckily at the time most attendants were also mechanics and not some millennial whimps we have today. Wish I still had it today. Was a great G-Body car from GM. Kept the hydraulic brake booster on the car to avoid having to change out too many items, another item that I could not find a replacement for was the cruise control servo to work on vacuum system and the one on the car was incompatible with a vacume system. One of the last full bench front seats vehicles GM made.
My uncle had the gas version of this car. I specifically remember it had no air conditioning and came FROM THE FACTORY with rear windows that were NOT designed to go down! Vinyl seats, no AC and no rear windows.... They drove it from Boston to Prince Edward Island (17 hours one way!) and back and I never saw that car again LOL.
In 1980 I bought a 79 Malibu classic with a landau roof. It was a great car accept for one thing. It had a 305 V8. And in those days the compression ratio was 7.5 to 8 which made this little 305 gutless. But it was quiet and road very nice.
I had a buddy in church in the 80's his mom and dad had picked up one of these for a 3rd car for the teens to use and we used to back up to a crowd of other teens and floor it which I guess now is called rolling coal in a truck but we were doing it in a Buick Century with a diesel! I remember the rear windows did not even roll down they just had the power pivoting vent corners..plush velour interior and it was back in 1987 mint condition still...I loved that old car..we had loads of fun spewing out black clouds of smoke!
This was great. No classic rare barn find worth millions,”personally believe most of those are fake” Just a cool, eclectic rare American Diesel sedan brought back to life. Really neat from a kid from the 80’s. Well done
I'm a retired gear head . I worked on a lot of cars for normal reasons that you guys are doing your revivals on and the knowledge you have is fantastic and the bantering is just plain Fun 🤣
My parents had a '81 Chevrolet Caprice with the 5.7 diesel engine. Only problem was the injector pump gave out. Ran +250K miles and 7 years. Also got up to 44 mpg. Measured that twice on long trips. Always was a good car for my folks.
the primary issue with the 5.7 Diesels came down to a couple of things: Insanely out-of-balance reciprocating mass and a mismatch between intake runners and cylinder heads as GM expended zero effort to help the engine breath, or not shake itself apart. A good friend inherited one of these and, because he's a machinist, rectified the issue by balancing and blueprinting the engine to a tight specification, and then ported and polished/match flowed the intake and heads. He had the fuel pump pressure increased and the injectors rebuilt to handle the higher pressures. He also added a 4 speed AT from a Buick Grand National and the results were, Franky, superb. He could smoke the tires through 3rd gear, the car was fairly quiet, smooth, powerful, reliable and returned around 35 MPG. If only GM had tried...
Unfortunately they continue to do dumb shit like that still... sorta half ass it.. then be surprised when it fails.
The early 5.7 Diesel did not even come with a water separator, that omission would take out the injection pumps.. also insufficient head bolts..
They eventually worked out most of the issues.. near the end of production.. then it was ended.. right as they would have probably been fairly reliable.
@@kens97sto171 Then I believe it gave Americans a bad taste with diesels.
I agree completely with balancing an engine.. if you have the means/money it’s worth doing on almost any engine. Likewise with helping it breathe better..
@@myk1_spyep
I always wanted one of these Buick century diesels. I know nothing about working on cars though. You can’t even find the rare diesel Buick century’s anymore. But if I did I will definitely find someone who would be willing to do what you said. I feel like if gm had done it right you would still see them on the road today. Diesel engines go way way longer when they are maintained properly.
Deeezel
Derek, you da man!
Diesel, easy to work on. Won't turn into furniture polish when left sitting...well, at least not as quickly as gasoline does.
Get back to independence Derek I wanna see some smoke haha
Choochin
Vin, is that you??
I worked for a Buick dealer in 1983. All the diesels that came into service were for oil leaks and it was always the rocker arm covers. They used RTV for a seal and mechanics would never wait until it setup before screwing cover down. We replaced many gasoline turbo engines because people would not adhere to oil change requirements. But never a diesel because they understood they had to change oil every 3500 miles. In fact, the dealer owner instructed us to change any diesel or turbo oil regardless of what ower requested if we thought it needed to be changed. He absorbed the cost.
I worked at Oldsmobile dealership in that year. And I remember a 4.3 diesel came through there and it was a V6 diesel it was in a Cutlass Sierra four-door
I started many of those without glow plugs with a rag soaked in gasoline on the intake horn
@@ronalddaub9740 I have one of these v6 diesels on an orange ngine table that has been there since probably 1995 or so when my dad put it there planning to put it in a Toyota 1 ton.
Our sheriffs office bought an Olds with the diesel. It was during the gas prices rocketing up. The short version: they tried to make it work to save $$ but it broke down so often it became a standing joke to have a tow truck follow it around the county. I worked dispatch for a year when they had it. Luckily their law radios worked so the deputies could call for help. I recall the most frequent gripe is the car would just quit/shut off randomly.
@@onno_vocks Interesting details. Converting a gas engine to diesel has never been a good idea. International Harvester learned that as well as John Deere.
My grandfather had a 79 or an 80 delta 88 with a 350 diesel. We could here it fire from a block away and always knew he was coming. This hits me directly in the nostalgia.
My dad's company bought him a 77 Delta 88 Brougham in black, 350 Diesel. Nostalgia, check. I now drive a diesel, but mine is a 14 TDI. Just a tad more reliable, and MUCH better mileage.
My uncle had an Olds diesel. He got it cheap used, and loved it.
One slow loud clunker... I drove one once in the late 80's. Slow...
*Lots of starter noises*
Brrrbrrrbrrrbrrrbrrr *Schwooop* brbrbrbrbrbr
@@AmirFazadh 14 or 1.4?
More amazing to me than sitting since 2009, is that it was supposedly still running in 2009 LOL
You you you ut
@@hunterhaug1640
Shut up
I had 1981 chevy 4 door diesel ran good. Bitch to start in winter
Right?! What miles?
My father had a 81 Oldsmobile Diesiel. He cursed that car till the day he scrapped it. GM kept replacing the engine under warranty. 3 engines and 2 transmissions within 120k.
That old abandoned school is just the gift that keeps on giving.
its actually for sale right now for a nice 4-6 hundred thousand and on in a decent size lot the building are way to gone to restore but would be cool for a paint ball or airsoft place or to build a house on
@@Austin-mc2wv 400k that's how much my studio is worth ...Im coming to your state 😁
@@1922BluePhoenix i think its sold now id imagine all those buildings on the property will be torn down
@@Austin-mc2wv I hope that dodge Kevin mentioned when they did the f100 revival there was saved
I showed my dad this video and he enjoyed it. He was working at a Cadillac/Olds dealer when these diesels came out and went to the GM training center certified as a diesel master tech. After he opened his own shop I too worked on these cars. They were noisy, smelly but very reliable... just don't pull out in front of a semi because they were slugs on the take off. The loose play in the steering column is due to the four "shifter bowl" bolts backing themselves out. Common thing on GM tilt columns. You just have to disassemble the top section of the steering column and rethighten the four bolts. Real gravy job, I think the book time was almost two hours and I could do them in like 20 minutes.
I still have one of those in an '81 Eldorado... Mine still runs, though it's been off the road for a while. Wound up sticking a blocking plate under the EGR valve and made way less smoke.
The trick I learned from an old Mechanic was to take the bolts out one by one and use the non permeant lock tight so they don't work loose again. My Dad and I did that job twice on an 84 Olds Cutlass. First time was just tighten and it worked loose again second time with the lock tight.
this must have been before the time when GM had a locktite fetish.
In 1986, we bought a 1979 Oldsmobile Delta 88 with a diesel engine. Beautiful car, well taken care of. Interior and exterior were in immaculate condition. 4 years after that, before we moved out of California, we rebuilt the engine. (my husband was a heavy equipment and auto and race car cylinder head repair specialist). We got about 32 MPG. In 1992, a pickup truck ran into us and totaled the car. But we enjoyed the car while we had it. Great job on this video. So glad we got to hear that motor!
I love the industrial sound of these old GM diesels! These motors were fine as long as they were operated in the right way but yeah, they were not really ready when GM gave them out!
There’s a video of a guy pulling onto the highway and the clatter of that V8 running through the gears brought back memories of my dad’s old Powerstroke. No loud exhaust, just sweet diesel clatter.
Very true. They were fantastic on fuel. And by the time a few years went by n they worked the bugs put of these things they really were reasonably reliable. Like you said, they weren't quite ready when they released them.
@@johneckert1365 I got about 32 mpg from my 350 diesel in my pick up . I think it was a 1981 . Never had any problems in 2 years of running it
@@ethics3 I like these motors too. Clean dry fuel, proper maintenance, and reasonable operation makes these things last. I got outbid on an 85 D
Delta 98 diesel at an auction this spring and I was really bummed
@ethics3 How? My 3.0 turbodiesel Benz gets 27.5mpg on the highway... I'm not calling you a liar, but I just don't see how that's physically possible.
Happened to have closed captioning on and notice that when the diesel finally fires up, TH-cam's captioning algorithm labeled it as [Music] and [Applause]
Very appropriate! 😄
Yes approximately
Thank you guys so much for giving some love to one of the most underappreciated cars of that era. I'm so excited to see her all shiny! God bless!
Can't lie, i was happy to hear the ol' girl fire up, but i cringed every time the pedal was matted. Especially when they were tearing up the field.
These engines were OVER-appreciated; especially the early ones. It isn't about maintenance. Worst POS ever designed by an American car company.
It isn't even a close contest.
Fun fact: Before the Clinton BTU tax, diesel was less expensive than gasoline which is why in the gas crisis 1970's automakers rushed diesels to market.
If we like it they take it. They hate us! We escaped them once but they're determined to get us back under their control.
Diesel is still cheaper than gasoline in Europe, so most people drive turbo diesels over here, including me. Long live the 1.9tdi !!!
@@simonolthenorwegian Diesel is less more expensive in Europe than gas is.
@@castirondude less more expensive?!??!?!!?!?!?!?!?!?
@@simonolthenorwegian Diesel is more expensive in Europe than it is in the US. But gasoline is more more expensive
Non opening rear windows on 4 doors was one of GMs bright ideas introduced on 1978 mid size cars.
It was a federal safety feature to protect kids from falling out of the back windows. Pre-seatbelt laws.
@@jameswood231
No. All other makes had roll down windows on rear doors.
My Mom had a century wagon with a gas motor. I hated those back windows. I recently saw a vintage advertisement for this car on youtube where they claimed that the lack of roll down windows in the back was to help increase the width passengers had in the back seat. When the air conditioner does not work and the car you are in has vinyl seats, this totally sucks.
They don’t open at all? I thought the ones that only go 2/3rds of the way down were bad.
@@justinstearns9723 they have vent wings that do open but the rear windows do not roll down.
I loved this. I had two of those Olds diesels years ago. 1981 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham, and a 1984 Olds 98 Regency. So nice to hear that engine run again. Brought back great memories. Sure, they were crummy engines, but I sure miss hearing them run! When I was a kid, that's all my aunt drove. She'd go to the auto auctions, buy one for $200 or $300 (super-nice low-mile cars, but low sale price because of the diesel), drive it til it puked, and go back and buy another one, lol! Last one she had was my favorite. Goodwrench diesel, 1984 two-door Cutlass. I'd LOVE to find a late two-door Cutlass diesel today, but I know that's pretty much impossible. Great video.
Putting the EGR directly in the intake air flow was actually a genius idea on GMs part. Drastically reduced EGR temps with incoming air, and it didn’t hurt the flow of air on the very low-revving Olds diesel.
Is that EGR, though? There shouldn't be any emissions control on a passenger diesel engine from this era.
My grandma had one of these growing up. All through the 80's to just a few years back the thing took her to church and the store once a week respectively, and with barely any work needed I might add. She's gotten to that point where she can't remember her joyrides, so we took the keys from her. Poor thing sat in the garage for a year and it won't start now. I'm gonna try and get it running though so I can donate it.
Wait, we'll buy it! Where's it at? junkyarddigs1@gmail.com
My grandma had an 81 Eldorado with the diesel...she hated that car, blew it up on purpose while my grandpa was out of town lol.
@@JunkyardDigs lol
@@JunkyardDigs glad to see another Diesel on the channel. Ever get a chance to revive a Mercedes Diesel its fun. I have a 78 300SD Mercedes turbo Diesel and have went through it all and it runs like a top. Again love the channel ❤
Very cool I am on the hunt for one. Near Michigan or in Michigan. up to $1500... 2 or 4dr.
10:54 come on son, don't be like that! go lay down!
She needs that Cosby in a can!
this ain't a so-crunchy-it's-minty old international harvester diesel, this is an Oldsmobile diesel. Where Slave Lake will never die, this is always one pair of shit pants and some garbage 80's Oldsmobile engineering away from blowing the heads off like the nuclear manhole cover.
Replace the head studs that are probably the same spec as in my low compression Olds 330 from 1966 with some proper studs rated for diesel compression and ya got a decent chooch machine.
My father actually used to daily one of these
He obviously wasn't paying attention to how much slave lake loves cosby in a can
Lol fkn kids don't know shit. Jesus tap dancing Christ what an absolute fucking brick of a car this was great to watch
For a diesel freak like myself that engine sound is a symphony that I can literally listen for hours
Diesel freak lmao
I want one so badly dude 🤤
Is it a6.2
@@justinmanse2849 no it was one of the converted 350 engines and one of the most notoriously unreliable POS's GM ever put out.
@@robertbuckley7814 I've never even heard of that before
that engine block is one of the best gas engines GM ever made even thou it's set up for diesel. if you convert it back to a gas engine you end up with a very high compression gas engine made for drag racing and there highly sought after by old school motor heads me being one of them
"Let's open up the hood and see what we got"
*Hood immediately slams shut
It's like the car knows that it's shit
I'm surprised an '81 would have gas struts; I thought all those full-frame GM cars had springs to hold the hood up. The gas struts seemed like a solution to a non-problem.
oh...
"No, don't look!"
"It really does have that vintage work truck feel." And enough torque to climb a telephone pole.
I dunno about climbing it but wrap around it sure
Now I actually have something to look forward to on my birthday tomorrow
Edit: thank you to all the happy birthday wishes it made my day
HEY SAME!!!
Happy bday
happy birthday dude
@@Neo-we4hq nice
@@wyattbaker7794 thanks
We had a big farm customer who traveled bought one new. Everybody gave them a bad rap. He put over 50000 miles a year on it. We asked him how he liked it. He said best car ever. Great ride and was super dependable and great mileage. Not super fast but back the speed limit only 55.
Brings back some interesting memories.
In thier later years they were pretty good engines. They just needed CLEAN fuel with absolutely no moisture in it, needed to be warmed up a bit before being driven, need to NEVER be overheated, and just be driven REASONABLY. Then the owner could enjoy good reliability and FANTASTIC fuel economy in a big full-size car
@@johneckert1365 I'd just run it on waste oil lmao
I never heard a single positive thing about them...
30:43 That....just warms my heart and makes me smile. I love to see unloved cars being enjoyed and getting the love they didn't get back when they were relevant.
Cleaning out my dad's house after he passed , we found fuel receipts. 1978 diesel fuel , he paid anywhere between 63 to 71 cents a gallon and gas was .71 to 80 cents a gallon. ( different locations) I remember the gas wars of the latev50s to the mid 60s . 15 cents a gallon for gas was the lowest I seen. We lived within 80 miles from 3 now closed oil refineries.
04:45 yeaaaaa! mint!
Next its time for Radioactive Piss
Nice to see you here
Needs a set of hood stacks like the Frenchman's got
5:17 "Put er in the Ketchup!"
F*king mint ! 👌👌👌👌
We had this exact car - an 81 Buick Century Limited with the poofy velour interior like that. The only difference was it had the 3.8 L V6 (gasoline engine). They had a small gas V8 as an option also. Very few got the diesel. We loved our car. It was super nice! It was so comfortable and quiet. We'd take long trips in it and I'd fall asleep in the back seat, it was so comfortable. I learned to drive on that car. Nice to see one still around. Hopefully you save it and take care of it. And YES - the back windows do not roll down! Only the small vents open. The idea was to increase rear seat hiproom for passenger comfort, so they recessed the interior door handles for the back seat. However I think most people would have rather had windows that rolled down and been a little less comfortable back there if you had 3 people sitting in the back.
I’ve heard that the V6 diesel engine was solid, and wasn’t just a converted gasoline engine.
The Chrysler K cars also had fixed rear windows with wings for 1981 as well. Needless to say, this "feature" didn't last long, as everybody agreed it was damn dumb.
Not that it was Chrysler's last foray into goofy. All Neons... Every. Single. Neon. All had crank windows in the back, regardless of whether the front windows were crank or powered. And they only went down about 15%.
I can see it now.
This week on Junkyard Digs, can we get grandma's Buick to roll coal. 😂😂😂
Back in the 90's I converted at least 30 vehicles to gas engines. One a diesel C10 with a 455 Olds. The owner said that he felt like it had 3 times the power (maybe) but what he loved was the difference in MPG 12 mpg to 18 MPG.
Those were cool engines. I don't know why this just showed up in my feed but I really enjoyed watching you guys bring this 5.7 diesel back to life. I worked at an Oldsmobile Cadillac service department back in the early 80's. The 5.7 was a 350 Olds gas engine converted to diesel, (I'm sure you guys already know this). They were good engines for the most part. The most common failures were usually a blown head gasket or broken crankshaft. When cars were designed to last 100K miles, these would still be going at twice that, so a few failures aside, well worth the money and most importantly, led to the 6.2 true diesel engine design. (Cranks break in those too though LOL!)
If this was Top gear and you had a preview of what's in the episode - "In this episode Angus finds a bicycle...."
"Jesse complains about his foot, and Kevin learns how use wiper blades."
Angus finds a bicycle, and needs it to get home! 8-))
Perfect
In this episode Angus quits cycling, Kevin drives like a NASCAR mechanic and you find out what 35 min of your life is worth. All this and more on this episode of One Flew Over th...What? It's a movie? Oh well, they know what I mean.
I read it in Jeremy Clarkson voice lmao
Yeah, they were a little underdeveloped before GM shoved 'em out the door, but properly sorted (especially a post-81 DX block) with a water separator and head studs will give pretty good service.
True. I had a 1983 Cadillac Seville Diesel, & it was a nice, reliable car. Of course, the first few years of the 5.7 diesel debacle left it unrecoverable from a marketing perspective. In fact, they ruined the prospects for all brands of diesels, except already established Mercedes Benz diesels, in the United States.
Or the GM goodwerench replacement block with roller cam
I daily drive a 81 Pontiac Bonneville with the 5.7L diesel and it’s a great car. I do keep it off these Iowa roads in the winter though.
Doin' the right thing. These are getting rarer by the day
Very nice. I'd like to find a Pontiac Paraisnne with a 5.7L or a GP
I'm British. Back in 81 I came to the US for my first experience of America. I was a teenager. We hired a Buick Century 3.8 v6, my first experience of american cars. It had all the toys you'd expect for a rental but it far exceeded the upmarket cars back home. I was besotted with that car, as was my Dad.
I had an 80 Cutlass with the 5.7 , bought it for $400 and put 200,000 before a head gasket stopped it. In `985 I bought a 1982 Olds Delta 88 with less than 40k and a bad pump. Rebuilt the Injuction pump and it went aalmost 300k. I put in an overdrive trans and changed the rear gear so it wound cruse at 70mph at 2100rpm, got 36 to 40 mpg driving from Pittsburgh tp Milwaukee. Had a third 82 Delta with a bad enging for $299. It had bad injectors, so I redid the pump for max power ( was told I would blow the engine, never did) and it qould smoke the rear Posi tires. We had all 3 until the fuel went from 30 cents less than regular to 30 cents more than 93 octane. Loved them as the were cheep transportation.
The letter you read was like the one doc left for Marty.
Ahh the gm 5.7 liter diesel I remember that motor my folks had one if the weather was perfect it had a 50% chance to start
And didn’t that exhaust just leave a pleasant scent 🤣
Ours always started, only plugged it in when the temp dropped to zero.
@@Maples01 wow i can’t believe it from what i read those motors where awful
@@kylelee1101 No, asshole ABC story, they reported it with the usual misinformation they are known for. They had head gaskets failing due to water getting in the fuel, small service stations didn't have water separators on their pumps like truck stops, it was a new thing for the regular public, they were ignorant to the requirements, and GM put a small fuel filter with no water separator on the cars. I treated the car hard, I was a teenager, destroyed the car in a wreck eventually, so we had the engine put in another car, it kept on going, ran like a Swiss watch.
@@Maples01 , just about it. Diesel doesn’t directly freeze, but “ gels “ . . Good luck with that one ! 👻
Take the steering wheel off, inside tighten up everything under the wheel lock ring. Common issue the bolts would loosen on tilt columns.
Wow, This 1981 Century with 5.7 diesel is very rare! I have never seen or heard about another one. 1981 is the first year 5.7 diesel available in Century, and last year for RWD platform, makes this a one year only option. In 1982 the Century was downsized and went to Front Wheel Drive and only had the new 4.3L V6 diesel available. I have had many GM 350 diesels over the years. Weak link is the factory head bolts. They would break and blow the head gasket. Replace with ARP head studs and engine will be good to go.
The early 80’s GBodies didn’t feature roll down windows in the rear. Only the rear quarter glass that flips open. It was a very weird quark for them
Yep. Cost savings. 🤷♂️
I could totally see this intended as a government vehicle. Maybe something with a cage in the rear
@@JS-wc4xs what kind of government vehicle? Like a cop car? Or FBI?
@@kararodriguez7601 not too sure, probably either. I remember riding in the back of a d body century as a kid, the little window was really helpful and the lap belts were fun to play with (instant retractable).
@@LynxStarAuto not really cost savings, more like a design screwup. if you look at the size and shape of the rear door glass, then compare that to the size and shape of the rear door, there is no way that glass will fit inside that door. especially if you eliminated the wing glass, the main glass is even larger. if you made the wing glass larger so the main glass could roll down, it would look bad... this was a case where the g-body designers designed a really good looking 2-door sedan or el-camino, and the 4-door was an afterthought.
"So the first step is gonna be check for spark"
Spit my drink out
I said the same thing! Spark?? Diesel!!
Almost typed the same thing and then thought I should check the comments first.
@@easttxredneck Haha, me too!
@@jlm10181978 diesels have spark it’s called glow plugs.
I had an '83 Bonneville with the Goodwrench Diesel. That engine was indestructible. It still ran great by the time the rest of the car disintegrated.
I can neither explain nor defend why I like that car so much. Who doesn't want a luxury farm truck boat though?
Needs raised a little and a set of 35s , maybe stick a light bar on it and call it a day
Thats no boat really lol. Look up the oldsmobile Parisian
@@nb7466 *pontiac. I had a 86.
@@lynardbtiggin6148 your right. Its was the oldsmobile delta 88. My sister in law had ine and it would keep running when you shut it off lol
My mom had a 86 caprice classic. Nice cars. It was a couch with 4 wheels and a v8
Poetic that the song on the radio was "You spin me round" by Dead or Alive.
So satisfying to see these old rigs just come to life. Thank you!
Nice revival! Just a note, I've heard a number of people suggest that you change the fuel filter frequently on that system, especially after the car has been sitting. Fuel deteriorates the paper filter element and paper filter bits can clog up the injection pump and/or injectors.
Filters for these were discontinued last year. No longer available sadly
@@isaakwelch3451 Thanks for the heads up. Is that the same filter as the 6.2 diesels use? Like a Wix 33136? Looks the same in the video. If so, I guess I better stock up on them for my truck!
@@w8nwo No, the olds diesels use a different filter than the 6.2's. Wix number for a DX block olds diesel is the 33063.
Love that car. Theres a junkyard outside of town where i live thats been closed up for years. Last time i asked to walk through owner was kind of sick. Its grown over but i talked to him around October 2020,he said theres 60& on up cars exc in there. Was talking bout crushing soon. I have the number if you want. Bout 25 minutes from Ames.
Email me, junkyarddigs1@gmail.com
@@JunkyardDigs Kevin this is the one I was telling you about last fall but didn't have any contact info on.
Are you talking about that g-body junkyard just north of Swaledale?
Outside of madrid where i live. Havent talked to the owner since last summer. He wasnt up to letting me in at time due to illness. Was going to try and call him next weekend the 3rd.
Scrap went up considerably. Then dropped again. Better move on it. We scrapped 394 cars in 2014 before the bottom fell out. They brought 100,000.00.
"it has pre chambers like a 7.3 IDI.. so it doesent respond well to ether.."
Well tell that to ol´ slave lake.. ether is the only thing it still responds to :D
5.7 d will lift the heads with ether (have seen it happen) . Old techs tip was crank em on Raid or wd-40. Lol
He does not know a thing about diesel engines... And gas only the old ones with carburetor...
Slave Lake! Nuff said. There’s trucks then there’s Slave lake the legend.
Was looking for this comment.
@@ricardopereira771 And does it matter? He mainly only does videos on old engines with carbs anyway. At least you can tell he did some research before going into the revival.
When i saw most unreliable engine, i thought "Huh i never heard of a diesel engine being unreliable"
then i remembered the 6.4 powerstroke was a thing...
And it’s just as faulty older brother the 6.0
I remember back in the 70's some company made a diesel version of a gas engine (smh) and it was the worst car by a LOOOOOOOOOONG shot.
like, I gotta look up what car it was, but.... damn.
Edit: It was the 1978 Oldsmobile models. Look those engines up, they're horrible.
They might even be this engine...
@@hifiteen49 this is that engine. Even though it's the "Oldsmobile Diesel" it showed up in all kinds of gm models
When the olds diesel first came out they were horrible lots of problems but by the end of their run they were pretty decent had the bugs worked out but it was to late they got a bad name and nobody wanted them
If I remember correctly GM converted the 454 to the 5.7 litre diesel. I maybe remembering that wrong though. Anyway my dad bought one for my mom in 84 or 85 and all I remember of that big turd was mostly sitting on the side of the road lol.
Thanks for the memories! Swapped out 100's of these to gasoline. These motors used the gasoline block and couldn't handle the stress. It was a gamble between when the head or manifold gaskets would go before the 50k mark (if it didn't develop a rod knock first) My favorite one that came in was an Olds wagon with a manual transmission with overdrive, talk about MPG!
They didn't use the gas block, the blocks aren't interchangeable between gas and diesel. Diesels had thicker cylinder walls and larger main bearings, among other things.
Those manual trans diesels are insanely rare. 79 only, with the 260 v8, and the stick wasn't advertised
@@isaakwelch3451 it was my understanding they did not make a seperate mold for the diesel block, they modified the gas block.
@@tcap7917 That's a commonly repeated statement but it isn't true. The engines did share basic dimensions so they could be bored on the same machines that did gassers but the blocks are different. The 78-80 diesel blocks are also different from the 81-85 blocks, as GM made improvements to the engine
As a GM guy I can wholeheartedly agree that sidepost batteries are JUNK
Agreed
I've never had a problem with them. And while top posts are admittedly easier to jump start the side post ones don't get near the corrosion of top posts.
Was considering changing all my GM vehicles to top post, but kinda nervous about the posts contacting the hood. Seems like every time I go to change a battery, the post bolt strips and needs to be replaced. Gets old pretty quick.
In my experience the sidepost is by far superior over the top post.
@@jamesb1221222 simply put some rubber over the post. Make sure you get a shorter battery. I agree 100% they are a pain.
I actually had a Oldsmobile cutlas diesel. Same color as your Pontiac. I put 369,000 miles on it and two engines before it caught on fire. You brought back memories
My friend had one of these in 1983/4 and we cruised it until the wheels were ready to fall off. It also always smelled faintly of French Fries. Great memories.
Please give this car some proper TLC, it's begging to be back on the road and working properly
Agree, these cars are awesome. The 80's was the last time you could buy a proper car.
I subscribed to the channel just because these guys are actually careful with this thing. A lot of these other guys like Mr Zip ties just wreck stuff which is frustrating
@@castirondude Absolutely, the lack of mechanical sympathy is cringeworthy on other channels.
It's horrible when a car is genuinely mint condition and they hack the thing up to add big wheels and tyres that rub and dent, big axles etc just because they can't appreciate the vehicle for what it is...
Throw a turbo off a power stroke on it, build a manifold to fit it and let her eat!
@@johnstamper2965 These engines can't handle much of any boost. If you have the later DX block you can do maybe 3-5 psi boost but that's about it
Those steering columns have plastic parts in them so I highly recommend puling the wheel and using non permanent lock tight on each of the bolts it's a one time fix and you can take it apart again if needed. If you let it go too long the plastic pieces could break.
“Wait, how do you buff cars?” That look on his face while saying that, priceless 😂
I really wanted to see you wash that thing. It was buggin' me the whole video.
Yeah would have been the first time I do. Imagine what there home looks like.
Dude for some reason you need to get that car looking good again . I loved when that sucker fired up and you only got one cut on your hand . Finding the title was awesome. See how miles it gets to the gallon. That blue is going to be insane after you buff it all out. Good luck with cleaning it up, it’s going to look great.
My 81 Bonneville with this engine and no overdrive gets 27mpg going 80 on the freeway. This car is newer and smaller with and overdrive transmission so it should do better.
I am also pretty well versed in G bodies. The rear windows don't go down because there is not enough room inside of the door cavity to accommodate the glass and mechanism. When I was a kid riding in my '82 I thought that it was odd too.
@@Olds_Pwr the 1981 Century was technically an A body in name, but is identical to what would be considered a G body in 1982. This platform name change was to accommodate the new 1982 front drive cars (I have 2 currently but have had over 10) that were loosely based on the x cars. Cars like my 82 had been designed and on the road since 1978, same platform, different name.
There is an adapter available that will allow the back windows to open. It's called a cinder block - unfortunately, it's a one-time use gadget and there's sometimes some leakage whenever it rains.
I really enjoyed the part when you carefully moved all the broken glass on the passenger seat & put it in that handy space down the side of and underneath the seat. 35%...
We had an 81 Olds Cutlass Diesel growing up. The back windows don’t go down. Lol. Rounded off the little oil pump drive shaft and the idiot light for low oil pressure came on at the exact moment the engine seized.
Lay a gasoline soaked rag over the intake. She'll light off instantly, as long as you have some compression.
Just don't let go of the rag.
I remember back in the day my father had a Chevy station wagon with those windows but they were even worse because they didn't open as far as on the Buick and they were manual! They REALLY SUCKED on family trips!
Crank windows in gm products is an upgrade..
I have a 1981 Cutlass diesel. My advice is to restore the vacuum system. Smallest leak and the transmission will not shift properly because they don't have vacuum regulator like the regular TH trannies have. Also windshield flushing stops working since it runs on vacuum as well. Mine still runs like new, absolutely no chassis noise.
32:36 I was waiting to hear John Davis’s commentary on this cars handling. The camera work reminds me of the vintage Motorweek episodes
When you got the radio to work, that couldnt have been a more perfect song 🤣
What song was it?
Nevermind I went back and listened and you’re right fits perfectly😂😂
You spin me round
Just a tip. The lines will self bleed and yes Ether isn’t good on those engines but you can use WD40 as a substitute for ether and being WD40 is oil based is safe to use in the engine and works just about the same
Every car I've ever revived had a bone dry transmission. Not a stain on the ground but no fluid. I didn't know ATF "evaporated"
Maybe it leaked out and drained away
ATF doesn't evaporate. I've seen cars sit for 15 years with fluid just as pink / red as it was when they were parked.
Pretty sure a bad seal was mentioned when the car was first removed from the building it was in. Probably low on fluid when parked. Likely parked due to that, or perhaps the trans was thought to be fried.
These are GM 200 Metrics, and they aren't very good, but a TH350 would have required a vacuum pump, and GM management and bean-counters were too cheap to do all that.
@@anonymousinc6330 Odd that the pans were dry
@@obsoleteprofessor2034 Oh, I get what you're saying there, but not knowing the story of how the car came to be parked, there's simply no proof that it evaporated. Possible explanation -- trans fluid contaminated with water (evaporates, but should still leave fluid), pan / gasket cracked / leaking, or run low on ATF before being towed.
I've had cars sit for 10-15 years and the transmission fluid was full and had the right color, just like it was when it was parked. So while not impossible, certainly not likely.
Something oft-overlooked, but common, vacuum modulators sucking ATF into the intake. Smokes profusely and runs the trans dry. It's gotten a lot of cars scrapped that didn't need to be. GM TH350s in particular are famous for this.
I knew a guy who had one of these. We used to take it to go skiing and it was a great car. It was like 4 lazy boys with an engine. The trunk was so big you could fit skis and luggage for 4 people in the trunk. It climbed hills like a mofo cause of all the low end torque. It ran on diesel which was way cheaper at the time and it had a block heater you could plug in to keep it from freezing in the coldest weather. it actually belonged to my friends girlfriend. She was about 5 feet tall and could barely see over the steering wheel. We lived right in LA and she would whip that thing into parking spaces i couldn't fit my Ford Focus. We called it the Buickstar Gallactaca or the Battlestar Galactatub it was so big. But for ski trips it was one of the most comfortable cars I ever drove. BTW WD-40 works great as starter fluid on diesels. No BS!
My parents had an '82 Olds Cutlass Supreme with the 350 diesel. That's what I learned to drive in. It wasn't overly powerful and did last a long time until the car was replaced.
The v6 diesel was actually pretty reliable. They just inherited the bad rep from the 350 diesel
Waaait, thers a v6 too?
The 4.3 diesel V6, seen them in FWD cutlass cierras.
@@johnssonsmixed8303 have a buddy that built one- Harland Sharp rockers, bigger nozzles, and something done to the pump. Noisy, slow, fun
@@johnssonsmixed8303 Yes very rare. Even more so a 4.3L V8 1 yr only engine. About holy grail
@@derbymankg Ah yes good cars. I'd like to find one or a G-body diesel.
I had a neighbor in the 80s who bought a new Cadillac Diesel for his wife, you could hear it a block away and we called it the "Cad a clack".
He had major issues with it a year later and had a shop yank the diesel and put in a rebuild olds motor.
Is that the same school where your buddies beautiful 1964 Ford truck came from? If so, that place is the gift that just keep on giving. Man I totally lusted after his truck. See you in twenty hours!
I owned a 1980 Olds 98 with the 350 diesel. It was my grandfather's car and the original engine blew up at only 12,000 miles. It was replaced under warranty with a Goodwrench 350 DX block engine and never had a day of trouble with it after that. It would do 30-32 mpg without overdrive and likely could have done 35 if it had the 200-4R transmission that the later cars had. I drove that car in high school and college. It was a great car (but slow). It got totaled when a truck hit me from behind while I was sitting at a red light. The car had over 180,000 miles which means the Goodwrench diesel had over 168,000 miles without any problem and was still running when it got totaled and scrapped. I made a block off plate for the EGR and pulled out the EGR valve and cleaned the soot outt of the intake. Once it could breathe it felt almost as strong as a 2bbl 3.8L V6. 🤣
My father was a devoted Buick owner. Traded every 2-4 years depending on mileage and how well he liked the various models. When these diesels came out, the dealer he always traded with convinced him this was the wave of the future. After numerous issues the two years he drove it he took it back to trade it in and go back to gas. Incredibly, the dealer would not take it on trade. Told him to sell it on his own. He went to two more Buick dealers who would trade but for very small fraction of what he paid for it. That was the last Buick dad purchased. He wouldn’t buy any other GM vehicles either. I’ve always wondered what these cars did to GM/Buick loyalty. I’m going to be curious to see if similar things happen when batteries start dying and customers face similar trade-in shock with electric cars.
“Steerings tight” says the guy who just shakes the wheel up and down about 6 inches.
ehh, that was only about 3 inches, damn good for a g body, like new i'd say
Common problem on those GM tilt steering. Need to pull steering wheel tighten screws inside column.
One of my high school teachers had one just like this brand new. I remember it well. There were actually a lot of these diesel GM's in my area, and the people who bought them drove them for a long time, as I recall. Probably had lots of service calls!
I remember those 80’s cars sounding like a truck and they had a different bolt pattern than the rest of the G bodies. Great barn find can’t wait for the next video
My boss at the time bought a new 1979 Olds 88 with the diesel. At 38,000 miles the heads warped and it had to have a complete engine replacement. At 45,000 miles he got rid of it. In 1992 a co-worker had the Olds version of the one here (a 4 door Cutlass) It had 46,000 miles on it and it just ran out of breath (poor or no compression) It went to the junkyard. Yeah---GM and their bright ideas. There were quite a few of those over the years, LOL.
Those moving dollies work wonders. I bought a set from Harbor Freight Tools some years ago and still have them.
GM kne these engine were junk, but kept marking them an additional 7 years. They were so bad that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) was unable to certify the diesel V8 for sale in 1979 and 1980 because the test cars issued to CARB broke down before the tests could be completed. Of the nine cars supplied to CARB, all suffered engine problems and seven had transmission failures.
I love that Angus is still wearing those coveralls. EDIT: Look at that precision ATF pour! EDIT 2: Cleaning the "excess" glass; how much is enough? :)
Please get your Buddy a new pair of Coveralls! Haha
@@ruwithlee1970 nah, these work so well with Angus that he is the reincarnated owner of his own truck
I had a 1985 Buick century with a 4 cyl diesel. loved that car, 40 mpg highway. got t-boned and was scraped but I still have fond memories of that car.
The 85 Century was a 4.3 V6 diesel, not a 4 cylinder
I love these old diesel cars. I was so happy to see a video like this for one of these. See if you can find a Chevette diesel or something along those lines.
My sister had one of these (gas V6) that eventually wound up in my grandmother's hands until she wrecked it... twice. That's what it took to kill that car. That said, I'm not a fan of keeping the original diesel engine in this car. Interesting car to keep around (last of the RWD Centurys), but the fact is, diesel power is one of the biggest polluters on the planet.
I see a lot of disinformed and opinionated comments here. Diesel today is not the diesel of this engine's time, either. The fuel has been reformulated a couple times since then, and back then it was pretty much a waste byproduct, which was why it was so cheap. The Clinton BTU tax probably didn't help, but that has no bearing on the price of diesel today, it is a completely different product.
Lots of comments as well about diesel being so popular in Europe, etc. due to taxation. But that's only half the story. Another fact, Europe (particularly the UK) has a high rate of respiratory diseases and related mortality, and diesel power is largely responsible for that. That's the one thing California is actually right about.
As someone who suffers from such issues (had to give up a commercial trucking career because I can't be around diesels, period), diesels should be pretty much removed from the consumer market. I understand some farm operations need diesel trucks for hauling and such, but they really should be limited to farm or commercial use only.
There are simply too many people buying diesels just to run around to the grocery store or Wal-Mart, or the Burger King drive-thru with them, and it's unnecessary. Especially with all the jerk-offs who insist on "rolling coal" on others. If this is you, you are simply showing what an a**hole you really are, and bolstering the argument for banning diesels from consumer purchase.
Thats so bizarre hearing those noises from a stock 80’s 4 door grandma car !!!! I like it.
DUDES! I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THAT PAINT RESTORE!!!! omg...
"if it breaks down" it's a 6.9 IDI if it breaks down that means it has no oil in it which means the owner's at fault. Seriously Kevin don't worry about that motor it's fine. if the truck breaks it'll be electrical or trans
Well you know what they say about diesels. "If there's no oil under it, there's no oil in it."
@@proehm no that's Detroits and british cars
@@CoalChrome and Cummins Diesel engines
@@wyattfollestad8872 yeah probably, diesels generally drip a little but it's not really enough to notice unless you're looking for it
@@CoalChrome yeah by the time people notice it the oil is everywhere under the truck
You now need to find a abandoned Scientology church and do a revival of a abandoned alien aircraft ;)
Your out ethics
What about lithium battery bank,wind turbines & solar, magnetic (north) pick me up too I’m coming 🕴🏿
Had a 79 Cutlas 4door sedan (slant back) that had the Olds diesel. Blown head gaskets, total junk. Bought a 73 Rocket V8 from a friend and did a swap out, keeping the starter from the Diesel engine. I basically created on hell of a sleeper! This car could get up and go. Only issue I had at the time was the fuel. A 73 engine required leaded fuel which was still available at the time but some pricks at some service station refused to fill it with leaded fuel. There was no restrictor in the fuel tank fill point and there was even a placard stating diesel fuel only. In the 80’s it was illegal to fill late 70’s cars with leaded fuel. Had to lift the hood to prove to the attendants that it had a pre ban engine in it. Luckily at the time most attendants were also mechanics and not some millennial whimps we have today. Wish I still had it today. Was a great G-Body car from GM. Kept the hydraulic brake booster on the car to avoid having to change out too many items, another item that I could not find a replacement for was the cruise control servo to work on vacuum system and the one on the car was incompatible with a vacume system. One of the last full bench front seats vehicles GM made.
My uncle had the gas version of this car. I specifically remember it had no air conditioning and came FROM THE FACTORY with rear windows that were NOT designed to go down! Vinyl seats, no AC and no rear windows.... They drove it from Boston to Prince Edward Island (17 hours one way!) and back and I never saw that car again LOL.
I love that closed captions regester diesel knock as [applause] 🤣
Love your video guys, put a window in that right side door detail it out it’s got to be one of the few still running on the planet LOL
It’s the only channel of this sort that I am subscribed to where I can see a guy in coveralls ride a bicycle
In 1980 I bought a 79 Malibu classic with a landau roof. It was a great car accept for one thing. It had a 305 V8. And in those days the compression ratio was 7.5 to 8 which made this little 305 gutless. But it was quiet and road very nice.
I had a buddy in church in the 80's his mom and dad had picked up one of these for a 3rd car for the teens to use and we used to back up to a crowd of other teens and floor it which I guess now is called rolling coal in a truck but we were doing it in a Buick Century with a diesel! I remember the rear windows did not even roll down they just had the power pivoting vent corners..plush velour interior and it was back in 1987 mint condition still...I loved that old car..we had loads of fun spewing out black clouds of smoke!
Never surprises me when tires hold air between your channel Kevin and Derek channel they always seem to air up @Junkyard Digs @ViceGripGarage
This was great. No classic rare barn find worth millions,”personally believe most of those are fake”
Just a cool, eclectic rare American Diesel sedan brought back to life. Really neat from a kid from the 80’s.
Well done
I'm a retired gear head . I worked on a lot of cars for normal reasons that you guys are doing your revivals on and the knowledge you have is fantastic and the bantering is just plain Fun 🤣
My parents had a '81 Chevrolet Caprice with the 5.7 diesel engine. Only problem was the injector pump gave out. Ran +250K miles and 7 years. Also got up to 44 mpg. Measured that twice on long trips. Always was a good car for my folks.
27:34 like a record baby right round right round