Well, I've come up with a really bad idea that I need to be talked out of.

The other day I was walking through the local junkyard looking for some part or other and ran across a 1982 Chevrolet Caprice wagon with an Oldsmobile 350 diesel in it (I know, I know, they don't exactly have a good reputation, but bear with me here).

The car is trashed. The doors are all banged up, it has numerous areas where stuff has been dropped on it, it has been sitting outside for several years with all the doors open, and it even has a couple of the mythical junkyard dogs living in it. The back is filled with old tires, a refrigerator, etc.

For some strange reason I have an inexplicable desire to purchase this beast...:coolio:

The plan would be to get it running, buy a gallon of flat black paint and paint it with that (right over the dirt and rust, of course), and then stick a couple of giant pirate flags on the back... Hence, the "Piratewagon" is born... ):h :shake:

Shortly thereafter, it will be known as "THE TERROR OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD"... :eek:

Any thoughts? Somebody please talk me out of this... :smashfrea

Thanks!

If you paint it black, make sure it's flat black & buy a new broom to apply it. :ro) ):h

EDIT: I re-read that flat black is your choice. Why wouldn't it be?

It reminds me of a winter beater a friend of mine bought many years ago that he affectionately called the '****box'. It was a 55-56 chevy wagon & he installed an interior rearview mirrror on the door, painted the windows as well as the body with a broom, & used a 4" brush to label it "**** BOX" on the tailgate window. It was a sweet ride.:rolleyes: :D

Yep, flat black all the way. I'm thinking the wheels and everything (there are no hubcaps)... I might even buy one of those fancy "spray cans" and dust the windows with the stuff (poor man's tint, right?).

Good idea about the broom, though... I was going to use my old one, but I guess I should really buy a new one... ):h

My neighbors are going to kill me if I do this... We'll see if I can pull it off, though, I still have to talk price with the guy. There's no way I'd give him more than $200 for the thing (that's a little more than it's worth in scrap, which is pretty much all that it is anyway...).

I think it'd be a hilarious car...

I just came home from the junkyard. They crushed the car this morning. :bawl: Ran it over with a loader. :( :bawl:

I bought the engine and trans out of it for $150 and got the fuel filters and all the other junk for another $25, though. They are going to cut it all out and load it in my truck tomorrow.

The funny thing is that the people at the junkyard don't even think twice about crushing a diesel Caprice, yet my truck draws a crowd in the parking lot because it is a diesel... Go figure. :confuzeld

I am glad it got crushed.

For a minute there, I had visions of John Belushi dressed up as a pirate riding around in a hacked up Lincoln.

On second thought, Animal House 2 would make a nice remake.

I am glad it got crushed.

Don't celebrate yet... There are plenty of other junky station wagons around here, and now I've got the motor and tranny out of that one...

My dream of a diesel "Piratewagon" could come true. :shake:

Now if only I could find somebody who wants to give away a beat up 80's wagon with no engine, I'd be all set... That can't be too hard... ):h

For a minute there, I had visions of John Belushi dressed up as a pirate riding around in a hacked up Lincoln.

On second thought, Animal House 2 would make a nice remake.

Hey, that would make a good remake... I'll have to talk to a movie producer and see if I can swing a deal. ):h


They really trashed the car getting the motor out... I was amazed. They flipped it over with a loader, cut the frame in front of the engine and in back of the engine, pulled the engine and frame assembly out from the bottom, and cut the engine out of that... They said the whole deal took about 20 minutes.

I'll see if I can't post a picture of the engine later... It's kind of neat.

were is this junk yard at i know you live close to me and id like to go shopping some day....

It's over in Lapeer, on M-21.

i was waiting for you to start talking about putting plow on it. there are several station wagons around(farmers) still running.

I think you'd be better off shoe-horning a 6.2 into a car than using the olds 350 diesel. Those things almost ruined the future of diesel in passenger vehicles they were so bad. Only now is diesel back to the status it should have had many years ago. Thanks in part to those things most of the cool diesel cars are still only available in europe. Personally I wouldn't want the task of keeping one of those horror shows running. You know better than anyone how great the 6.2 can be. Of course if it's just for the sake of novelty I hope you have a blast doing it. I have heard that they can be turned into a great high performance gasser.

I think you'd be better off shoe-horning a 6.2 into a car than using the olds 350 diesel. Those things almost ruined the future of diesel in passenger vehicles they were so bad. Only now is diesel back to the status it should have had many years ago. Thanks in part to those things most of the cool diesel cars are still only available in europe. Personally I wouldn't want the task of keeping one of those horror shows running. You know better than anyone how great the 6.2 can be. Of course if it's just for the sake of novelty I hope you have a blast doing it. I have heard that they can be turned into a great high performance gasser.

Yep, I know they have a bad reputation and I readily agree with that. They certainly deserved it, but they didn't do any good for the diesel reputation in general... That's water under the bridge now, though.

There are people who like them and I don't blame them. If you can get it to hold together it gets great fuel economy.

I bought the engine simply to play with, really... I thought it might be kind of fun. And it is... So far, I've got it to turn 7/8 of the way around... ):h

My plan is (after I get it turning all the way around, of course) to build a stand to test run it on and see how good it runs. How well it runs will probably dictate what I put it in... If it runs real nice I'll probably find something decent to put it in. If it doesn't run very well, I'm building the Piratewagon with it (don't know where I'd get the wagon, but I'm sure i'd find one somewhere). If it doesn't run at all, I'm taking it to the recycling center. ):h

So yeah, it really is just a novelty. Should be kind of neat...

i was waiting for you to start talking about putting plow on it. there are several station wagons around(farmers) still running

Hmmm... I'll have to keep that in mind... Not a bad idea, actually, since my snow plow tractor is currently not running and winter is coming fast... ):h