Just got my first car.

Well. My grandfather just bought me my first car. A 1989 Chevy Caprice. I absolutely love this car. Anyway.

I don't have the info with me. And I'm not running out to the car to get the papers and what not. But It has been owned by the same old guy for its entire existence. Which means its in real good shape. There is probably a grand total of 3 square inches of rust on the entire thing. The interior is all original. Damn near mint condition. So as you can see i'm really happy.

Anyway. There are a few thing's I would like to do with it some are cosmetic and others are possibly drastic changes. First off a new coat of paint. As well as some body work. To get out the few dents that it has acquired in its lifetime. (They are very minor.) I'm hoping I could do that repair myself it looks like I might just need pop-a-dent on one and some slightly more serious work on the other.

I would like to replace the engine soon. I forget the miles on it. But right now It runs superb. Aside from I need a new spark plug. I really want a nice fuel effeciant engine with power. Probably a bit much to hope for but oh well.

I really want to replace a few things on the car mainly to say that I did it. I'm just hoping there not to serious.

Anyway Hopefully you guys can help in the coming months.

Welcome to AF!. This is THE place to come to for help in troubleshooting problems you may encounter with your vehicle. There are many members that have many years of experience to help solve issues. Sounds like you got a god deal with the car. I don't see too many of those cars in my area anymore:frown: due to them prematurely rusting out due to salt usage on the roads in the winter. Usually when I do see them they are either 1)ready for the scrap heap with rust galore and things held on by baling wire and smoke pouring out the back, or 2)in mint condition, usually driven by a man or woman over the age of 70, there seems to be no happy medium:lol:. Enjoy your car!

Welcome aboard!
In terms of the engine, the seemingly most fuel efficient setup is the 305 CID 5.0 Liter V8. It can move the car without struggling, but isn't quite the most powerful motor in the world. The 4.3 Liter V6 actually can use more fuel because of having to give more throttle just to keep up with traffic, the Caprice is a big and heavy car as you probably noticed. I recently upgraded my Caprice from a 305, to a 5.7L 350. I've noticed a huge difference in power, but s significant decrease in fuel efficiency (from rougly 21 MPG on average now to about 18 MPG on average).

For me, the tradeoff in efficiency was well worth the price of taking a car with a lackluster power production and turning it into something that's fun to drive (my car originally had a 305). It went from a peak of about 24 to a peak of about 21-22 on the highway, from 13 to 12 in the city.

Oh by ALL MEANS was the swap worth it. I've already seen a few suprised faces as to how this "cream colored box" can move. When going on camping trips, I follow very closely behind the camper like literally keep the front end about 2 feet from the bumper of the trailer/camper, and I get an easy 27-28 MPG and can acually hear the wind noise just drop right off as you get closer. I just have to watch the tail lights of the trailer intently so I have time to hit the brakes if necesary.

Ok so. I have been driving the car around for a few days. I have noticed that the engine sounds extremely well for being 18 years old. There is not a sings clink, buzz, whine or whatever coming out of there. We actually got the Spark plugs replaced though.

Anyone have any tips to keep it running this way for hopefully another 18 years? If I can be that hopefull.


Oh and when should you replace tires?

Anyone have any tips to keep it running this way for hopefully another 18 years? If I can be that hopefull.
Oh and when should you replace tires?
Keep up the maintenance on a regular basis. This includes regular oil changes, radiator flush and replace coolant, regular tuneups,keep air filter clean/replace when needed,(pretty much follow the owner's manual for what to do and at what mileage.I follow the "severe service recommendations.) Preventative maintenance is the key.
As for the tires, inspect them for excess wear,missing pieces of tire, broken belts, etc. There are wear indicators built into the tread and will appear when the tire is near time for replacement. You could do the "Lincoln penny" trick, insert a penny face side towards you and head down. If you can see all of Lincoln's head then replace the tire. The government came out with guidelines a couple of years ago on when to replace tires. I believe they recommend that a tire be replaced when reaching 10 years of age regardless of mileage. Factors such as dry rot and UV deterioration play into that recommendation as well.

when i got mine a few years ago, the tires were in excelent condition... i thought
they only had 49,000 miles on them
BUT they were the original factory tires on the car.

needless to say that it didnt take too long driving at 70 mph for the tread to come flying off and scare me pretty bad.
in the end, one of the rear tires had about 3 hand sized pieces missing, and the other was almost completely without rubber.

moral of the story?
Change your tires

needless to say that it didnt take too long driving at 70 mph for the tread to come flying off and scare me pretty bad.
in the end, one of the rear tires had about 3 hand sized pieces missing, and the other was almost completely without rubber.
Was that from dry rot, or were the tires capped? It also sounds like something that could happen from the tires heating up from improper inflation.

dry rot.

the tires were over 20 years old and had not been driven on in 2 years. the car was parked.

they were inflated properly, and i had only been driving for about 10 minutes.
i had only had the car for 3 days and had only driven it to about 25 mph.

when i figured out what had happened, i was able to pull chunks of tire off with my fingernail.
i put the spare on in place of the worst one and drove at 25 to the nearest tire place.

Hey guys. I have another question. When I go to start the car. I have noticed that I need to crank it once then again to get it started. I should probably just hold it till the car starts instead of doing it twice. The car has started everytime I get in it. But I was just wondering if there was anything I could do to get it to crank without the delay.

Also I have pictures for you guys to view I just need to find the cord for my camera. I have some of the exterior and interior also in the engine. Im thinking of taking some of the undercarage to see if there is anything wrong that I cant see from just looking under.

But so far the car runs great.

greygoose Is your car lowered any? It looks like it is slightly.

Check your fuel filter - in '89, the car uses TBI and a plugged fuel filter will cause a hard starting problem. The filter is underneath the car near the fuel tank, in the hard steel line.

Would this be something I could do myself with basic tools. And some carefull work. Or should I leave this to the proffesionals? I dont doubt I could do it. Its just I would hate to try and pull something off/apart whatever and not have it go back on.

Also if it is plugged would this be something I could fix by cleaning it out? Or do I have to buy a new one if its in bad condition.

That's something you can basically do yourself. I'd replace the part, they aren't that expensive. To make it a little easier, spray the filter fittings with a little PB Blaster or WD 40 before you start. I've come across some that had a little rust on them and spraying in advance makes the fittings easier to loosen. Also make sure you install the filter in the right direction. Most filters have an arrow stamped on them and that faces the front of the vehicle towards the engine.

So if I take it off I'm not going to drop gas everywere? Great that I can do It myself. So I'm looking for rust or clogging.

You might want to put a rag underneath the fitting as you loosen it in case there is a rush of gas to protect yourself from getting sprayed and to prevent a mess/hazard from the spilled gas.

Yes, the filters hold about 4-6 ounces of gasoline, and in my experience, that will ALL wind up on you and the ground. Have a fire extinguisher nearby just in case the unexpected happens. You don't want to be under the car and on fire.

I think I'll get my brother in law to do it. Or have him supervize.

it really isnt that hard to do.
mine was pretty bad when i got it.
after my new tire incident, i was driving my sister to a swim meet that required me to go over a mountain
the fuel filter was so bad that i could only go 35-40 mph or it would go into fuel starvation mode

greygoose Is your car lowered any? It looks like it is slightly.
nope, photoshop.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g103/GreyGoose006/My%20caprice/Caprice.jpg
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g103/GreyGoose006/My%20caprice/IMAG0584.jpg

http://a706.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/46/l_6db57cf41e723d6663fc70d2e0a9cf81.jpg
http://a924.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/3/l_03f2c1dbae38157c341cb1784aa75ebb.jpg
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http://a16.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/7/l_af2461f9d6ea75fb6b19e24fc98eb387.jpg

Ok so this is the car my grandfather bought for 750 bucks. I hope the pictures do this thing justice. It looks really good for being completely stock after 18 years. If theres anything you guys would like to see of the car just ask i'll run out and take a pic. LOL. Sorry for the Sideways pic of the Radio I didnt feel like fliping it. Hopefully I can get a new Radio and some quality speakers to go with it. I'm thinking about making a console with a computer. To store all my music and such.