1979 - 1985 Eldorados

[lothos]

Looking at a couple of Eldorados in this year range, and doing a little research on them.

I've found two cars, one is a 1983 Eldorado that needs wheel hubs, it has had the engine and transmission replaced but I'm not sure what was put in. It's been for sale for quite a while and I bet I could get a deal on it. The other is a southern car, no rust, 1979 Eldorado, 107k miles with a gas 5.7L engine that needs a paint job.

Are these cars easier to work on than a newer northstar?

I've heard the 5.7L 350 1979 engines are pretty bulletproof, is that true?

What about the infamous ht4100? If there's a rebuilt ht4100 in that 83, will it be a decent engine after being rebuilt?

Are replacement vinyl tops available? Or do they generally hold up pretty well with some care?

[KHE]

The Olds 350 that was in the '79 Eldorado is a decent engine. Check to make sure you can still buy a coolant temperature sensor as they fail and cause all sorts of driveability issues.

You can have a new vinyl top installed - check at an auto trim shop. Keep in mind that a good paint job and vinyl top are going to cost some bucks.

If the '83 has a Goodwrench shortblock, find out when it was installed. The GM Goodwrench shortblocks incorporated all the improved gasketing technologies that were incorporated in later variants of the engine such as the 4.5 and 4.9 engine. If it is a GM Goodwrench engine that was installed in '85 or later, it should be bulletproof. Do your homework, get the engine serial number and check it out for yourself.

That said, the '79-'85 Eldorados were very nice looking cars in my opinion.

[coolnesss]

The Olds 350 that was in the '79 Eldorado is a decent engine. Check to make sure you can still buy a coolant temperature sensor as they fail and cause all sorts of driveability issues.

You can have a new vinyl top installed - check at an auto trim shop. Keep in mind that a good paint job and vinyl top are going to cost some bucks.

If the '83 has a Goodwrench shortblock, find out when it was installed. The GM Goodwrench shortblocks incorporated all the improved gasketing technologies that were incorporated in later variants of the engine such as the 4.5 and 4.9 engine. If it is a GM Goodwrench engine that was installed in '85 or later, it should be bulletproof. Do your homework, get the engine serial number and check it out for yourself.

That said, the '79-'85 Eldorados were very nice looking cars in my opinion.

I drove an 84 Eldorado about 60 thousand miles, and it was a wonderful car!

It had a 4100 engine, with not enough power, but, it's a cruiser, not a road car.

Generally, they're not hard to fix at all - there's plenty of room, and the parts are pretty available.

I'd spend some time and look for a low mileage car - there tend to be low-mileage luxury cars around that can be very very good deals - but you have to search for awhile.

[lothos]

The Olds 350 that was in the '79 Eldorado is a decent engine. Check to make sure you can still buy a coolant temperature sensor as they fail and cause all sorts of driveability issues.

You can have a new vinyl top installed - check at an auto trim shop. Keep in mind that a good paint job and vinyl top are going to cost some bucks.

If the '83 has a Goodwrench shortblock, find out when it was installed. The GM Goodwrench shortblocks incorporated all the improved gasketing technologies that were incorporated in later variants of the engine such as the 4.5 and 4.9 engine. If it is a GM Goodwrench engine that was installed in '85 or later, it should be bulletproof. Do your homework, get the engine serial number and check it out for yourself.

That said, the '79-'85 Eldorados were very nice looking cars in my opinion.

I'll ask and see when the engine was put in. The coolant temp sensor is available from rockauto.com for the 79 and the 83, I checked after reading your post.

I emailed one place on paint job pricing, he said around 1500 depending on what kind of paint and how much body work the car would need. I have a buddy that does painting, he did a nice chameleon paint job on his 77 Caprice, waiting to see how much he'd want to paint the 79 Eldo.

The 83 with the rebuilt motor and tranny might be a good deal if the paint is good, some or all of the wheel hubs need replacing and those are a little less than 200 each.

I'm a real big fan of these cars, I've wanted one for a while now :-)

Would the 350 5.7L V8 in the 1979 have more power than a HT4100?

EDIT: The 83 is the biarritz package, I think the 79 might be the base model.

[Ed Hall]

Would the 350 5.7L V8 in the 1979 have more power than a HT4100?

EDIT: The 83 is the biarritz package, I think the 79 might be the base model.

The 1979 350 had 170 hp at 4200 rpm and 270 lbs.-ft. @ 2000 rpm.

The 1983 4.1 had 135 hp at 4400 rpm and 200 lbs.-ft. @ 2200 rpm.

I would take a clean Eldorado with the 350 or 368 (1970-1981) any day over the anemic 4.1.

The easy way to tell the if it had the Biarritz package is to look at the top. The Biarritz package came with the stainless steel top.

[Ranger]

Would the 350 5.7L V8 in the 1979 have more power than a HT4100?

Everything has more power than an HT4100.

[lothos]

Would the 350 5.7L V8 in the 1979 have more power than a HT4100?

Everything has more power than an HT4100.