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135,000 very nice paint and overall in good condition. Is it worth putting money into and holding onto? What kind of work may need to be done if i wanted to hold onto this car for another 10 years or so? I like to havea project car I just dont know if im starting with too many miles.

What kind of work do higher mileage northstars usually need?

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I hate to say it here, but you have no project car in this Caddy. At best, in pristine condition, you have a 4 or 5 grand car. The good news is that if you have a car that was properly maintained per this forum, the Northstar engine is good for 250 thousand miles easy. Read on in the forum, this engine is unique in it's requirements, but the strong link in the car, if maintained properly.

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I agree. I'll keep it for many more years to come. With the proper maintenance it is still much less than if you lease or buy a new car. Also, you do not need to worry about the tiny little scratches here and there as you would if you buy a new one. These are the great looking cars with the distinguish classic look.

1960 Sedan De Ville (sold)

1970 Coupe De Ville (sold)

1987 Mazda RX-7 (sold)

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135,000 very nice paint and overall in good condition. Is it worth putting money into and holding onto? What kind of work may need to be done if i wanted to hold onto this car for another 10 years or so? I like to havea project car I just dont know if im starting with too many miles.

What kind of work do higher mileage northstars usually need?

What TYPE of project car are you looking for? Are you looking to make something into a hot rod, or are you looking for a car to put some work in to keep pristine?

Either way, the area that will probably need the most attention will be suspension/brakes. After so long, you'll probably want to put new suspension bushings in it. I can tell I've lost some isolation on my '97 SLS...just because of the miles...I could stand to replace all of the suspension bushings probably...especially the back ones. The engine itself is bulletproof. If it's not already been Timeserted, it's a possibility that you might need to do that in the future, but that's certainly no promise. The 4T80-E transmission is also very robust. Ours has been extremely reliable...the cam covers haven't even come off the engine. It's just need some electrical things here and there, like a new alternator, new battery, new driver side window switch, new water pump, etc. But like I said, I could very easily put a thousand or two into the suspension and get the thing back to riding better than when it was new.

Myself, I don't look at resale value. I build/buy a car for ME, not to sell to someone else. So if you don't need the money from your Seville, and have enough to buy another one and use your Seville as a weekend cruiser, I say go for it.

Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond)

"When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?"

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135,000 very nice paint and overall in good condition. Is it worth putting money into and holding onto? What kind of work may need to be done if i wanted to hold onto this car for another 10 years or so? I like to havea project car I just dont know if im starting with too many miles.

What kind of work do higher mileage northstars usually need?

Dude 135,000 miles is nothing I've seen 99 STS"s for sale with over 150,000 miles on them it's not that much for a Northstar engine. As long as the oil was changed and it was properly maintained it should do you for at least another 120, 000 miles! Thats what I think anyways!!!!!!!!!! B)

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Defending Northstar perf a qtr mile at a time!!!!

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Im looking at making it a semi show car. I already have 90% of the equip i need for the sound system. Its going to be real hot. I have 3 12" Audiobahn Alum12Q woofers in a custom sealed box Audiobahn A2200HCT 1600watt amp for the subs Blaopunkt Overdrives for the interior and a Audiobahn 4ch amp for them (75x4) I forget the model number. In a month or two I will be ordering a Pioneer AVH-P6600DVD 6.5" touch screen in dash DVD player. Im going to custom enclose the subs and amps in the trunk. I plan on cleaning up the interior some here and there and I will be taking some auto body classes in the next year and would like to repaint. Beyond that I dont know what im going to need to do.

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Im looking at making it a semi show car. I already have 90% of the equip i need for the sound system. Its going to be real hot. I have 3 12" Audiobahn Alum12Q woofers in a custom sealed box Audiobahn A2200HCT 1600watt amp for the subs Blaopunkt Overdrives for the interior and a Audiobahn 4ch amp for them (75x4) I forget the model number. In a month or two I will be ordering a Pioneer AVH-P6600DVD 6.5" touch screen in dash DVD player. Im going to custom enclose the subs and amps in the trunk. I plan on cleaning up the interior some here and there and I will be taking some auto body classes in the next year and would like to repaint. Beyond that I dont know what im going to need to do.

sounds awsome!

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Defending Northstar perf a qtr mile at a time!!!!

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I would like to do something like that If I had the money! The sound system I have now is fine. But I dont have the money for a good paint job, a custom box and a touch screen. I will probebly sell before I do anything like that anyway. What color do you plan on painting it.

IMPORT CRUSHER

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I would like to do that to an STS just not the one I have now. I want a 98 or newer and I want to put 2 15 inch subs amp and all that stuff replace all the speakers and put t.v's in the back of the headrest and a touch screen up front. It has to be black on black and I would put chrome 20-22 inch rims on it and some performance upgrades, corsa exaust system, cone air intake setup and a fast chip. But I won't be doing all this until i'm about 18 or 19 with a real full time job!!!!! I would like to get the car soon though!

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Defending Northstar perf a qtr mile at a time!!!!

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I think it is really a matter of how you plan on sinking your money into the car and what budget. I have found my '93 STS was very easy to fix, and I did all the repairs myself up until my wife flooded it at 173K miles. Because I performed the repairs myself they were relatively inexpensive. The forum is a great repository of information for understanding how to perform the specific repairs. The repairs you might expect are with labor and OEM material budgets:

transmission shift solenoids (4 hours, $60-90 parts)

blower control module (15 minutes, $ 170 parts)

waterpump cartidge replacement (2 hours, $ 150 parts)

cam sensor (1 hour, $ 27 parts)

Vehicle Speed Sensor (1 hour, $ 40 parts)

starter (1-1/2 hour, $ 250 parts)

intake plenum cleaning (2 hours)

Plugs and wires (2 hours, 200 parts)

front an rear brakes (4-6 hours, $ 200 parts)

These are the repairs I experienced. If you are not mechanically inclined you may consider trading it in for a lower mileage Caddy, I would expect you spend some bucks through a mechanic.

Now, this notion of dropping a 1600 watt power amp in the vehicle. I am not sure, but if you are talking peak power, then you are looking at, ..hmmmm.....lets see, 1600 watts divided by 12 volts equals ....WOW ....133 amps !!!! Now, if you are talking about 1600 watts RMS,.......hmmmm.....lets see, 1600 watts RMS times 2 to get peak power, divided by 12 volts equals ....WOW ....266 amps !!!!

I am not sure where you are going to fit this 200 - 350 amp alternator, but your NS is going to gasp (and go into shut-down mode), without some serious attention for electrical power repository. Where are you going to mount the extra deep cycle batteries??

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Ive had the system in my car for over a year now and yeah youre probably pretty close to the amperage that my system is drawing. I have a 200amp alternator (just crapped out on me and is being rebuilt tonight) and a deep cycle battery along with a 10 farad cap block in the trunk. Seems to get the job done just fine. BTW. I was told that 200 amps was a big as he could make it...is that right?

I plan on painting it the same color as it is now. Pearl white. But that wont be untill next year...the paint i have on there now is fine untill then. it still looks great and most of it new paint anyway.

The touch screen DVD player is also going to have to wait a month or so. All of a sudden I got slammed with bills (you know how it is). Gives me something to look 4ward to.

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Thats sounds like a good system any pics that you could post? I would like to see what it all looks like! B)

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Defending Northstar perf a qtr mile at a time!!!!

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Wish I did. Cars in the shop tonight...amps arent in anyway. The A2200HCT is in for repair....again. I keep blowing the fets on it. Thats what I get for running at 1ohm tho. I think they just keep heating up and eventually fail. Drool over this for a while..http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/391319/1

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It is nice to see someone do the things that I always wanted to do. If I had the money I probebly would do all those things. I still need to find a job for the winter. :lol: Make sure you post some pics when you are completely done. I really want to see It. :P

IMPORT CRUSHER

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