nice old car, but safety concerns?

16 years ago

I bought my mom's 1988 Olds Delta88 years ago, but allowed it to sit in her garage over many years.

After mom passed away Dec '07, I decided to get it and put it to use.

My son is the main driver and it served him well through his high school years.

However, a couple days ago the brakes went out on him. Fortunately, he felt the warning signs and parked it at a friends house.

After looking at it, I discovered a rusted brake line was leaking. All the fluid had drained from master cylinder. I currently have it in shop to be fixed now.

Anywho, my main concern now is for my family's safety. This is a good runner, but is it a death trap? This car setup about 10 years in a garage, but it's been driven regularly since Mar 08. It's beautiful old car with low mileage (~76K), but I don't want to put anyone in danger. Are there other safety areas I should be concerned about for a 20+ year old car?

Services since Mar '08:

regular fluid changes

new battery

O2 sensor

cam sensor

water pump

4 new tires

front brake rotors/pads

front sway bars

thanks,

jasper

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

gary__
16 years ago
Depends on what you call a safety issue. I believe '88 is before they put air bags in everything so that might be a safety issue to you.

You've already delt with a lot of things that go bad on a car that sets forever. Tires, water pump, brakes. Now on the brakes, the fluid draws moisture and settles in low spots like in the master cylinder, wheel cylinders, calipers. It corrodes and makes pits in those areas. That can cause fluid leaks. Doesn't have to be a safety issue really more than just something else to fix. If whoever did your brakes checked for that and flushed the system you should be ok.

Another potential concern is the condition of the coolant. Old coolant becomes corrosive and can be hard on freeze plugs and gaskets. Again, more of a reliablilty issue than a saftey issue.

Seals and gaskets often times seem to go bad in time whether a vehicle is driven or not.

Aside from what issues an '88 Olds might have had in '88, that's the major old car issues that pop into my head.

I'd say keep it and drive it a while. As far as safety goes, it's about as safe as it ever was. jmo
equinox_grow
16 years ago
If you are worried about the brake line you can have them replaced. AQnd the brake hoses. It looks like a nice old car. definatly worth putting money into and using. Only 76,000 miles!!!! That car has a lot of life left in it. Maintenence is the key. My 1981 Bonneville and 1985 Caprice have around 120,000 miles on them and I never worry if they are safe or not. I keep them maintained and if something needs doing its done. They are very safe with doing this.
Related Discussions
Older Cars and Show Cars
Q
Comments (17)
When you speak of Camaros, the 69 is usually the one folks really go for. One reason is there were more 69's made than any other year. They were in production for a year and a half while GM tooled up for the 70 and the huge body style change from 69 to 70. The 1970 is technically the 70.5 but most no one ever refers to it as such any more. There is also the mild difference in taste mentioned in the above post. The 69 is a little longer, flatter looking, than the 67 and 68 was. Someone mentioned trying to find a car from the SW as well to keep the rust issue down. That is great advice also. My 67 came from Georgia and I have a pretty decent body on mine, the body was my biggest concern. If you are looking for a driver and not a numbers matching car, then you can always pick up a crate engine and drop in. All F Bodies (Camaros and Firebirds) have some common rust areas that are more susceptiable to rust. Look carefully at the area around the back glass, lower front quarter pannels and lower portion of the rear quarter pannels. You will most likely find some metal repair, bondo or rust in those places. As for handling and stopping, many are converting Corvette disc brake systems now to put on their 1st generation F Body cars. There are also a ton of suspension upgrades you can do to make the car drive and handle much more like a modern car. On my 67 Camaro, I'm most likely going to do a brake upgrade in the future, but I personally like the raw, performance feel of the original type of suspension and handling. I can go on for hours on this subject, they others are giving good advice on this as well. Bottom line, do your home work, and make sure to fatten up your bank account because this isn't a cheap hobby by any means. It does help to find a club as well. You can get lots of advice, some education on repairs and the cars as well. Plus having a couple of buddys help with the heavy work involved is something invaluable! I'm President of a NC/SC car club that is GM only. Feel free to contact me if you have any other questions. I'm always glad to help a fellow car enthusist who is looking to learn!
...See More
BM off in the deep end...DH and I are really concerned
Q
Comments (7)
She doesn't have a "drinking problem", she's an alcoholic. Call it what it is. Imagining that there's anything you can do to get a practicing alcoholic to be a responsible parent is the problem here. Trying to appeal to her, reason with her, getting angry, or imagining that she can somehow "improve" and control her drinking is absurd. The only way an alcoholic can "improve" is if they stop drinking completely. Your husband shouldn't be indulging her drunken rants and pity trips--he should tell her to call him when she's sober and hang up the phone. Anything other than zero tolerance is enabling her to continue drinking. Alcoholics don't stop drinking on their own , and they don't do it for the sake of their children, or anyone else. An alcoholic only stops drinking when they get "sick and tired, of being sick and tired." Doesn't sound like she's anywhere near that point. You need give up on the silly notion that there's anything you can do to "help" her, and start documenting everything so you'll have a paper trail to try to get the children removed from her custody. If you really want to do something that might actually be beneficial, I highly recommend finding a local chapter of Alanon, and attending some of their meetings. Alanon is a support group for families of alcoholics that is associated with, and has adopted the principles of AA (alcoholics anonymous), in offering help and hope to those effected by alcoholics to find ways to resolve problems and obtain a better quality of life, regardless of whether the alcoholic stops drinking or not. If you can convince your husband to join you, that would be great, if not, go alone. They can offer all kinds of helpful tips, hints, and methods that have successfully worked for them and others, including advice on winning custody battles to remove children from continuing to be harmed by an alcoholic. They also have support groups for children of alcoholics, Alateen and Alatot, where your stepchildren can learn they're not alone, and provide them with a peer group to vent to and help them with the difficult challenges of dealing with the abuse and stigma of having an alcoholic parent. My husband was a practicing alcoholic, who went into rehab when he met me, and has been "clean and sober" ever since--going on 25 years now. I started attending Alanon while he was in rehab and felt it was the best therapy I ever received--and it's free! Best of luck!
...See More
Safety concerns over chemicals in pulldown faucet hoses
Q
Comments (18)
I'd be VERY surprised if there were no plastic in your water system The well casing is usually plastic, Schedule 80 or 120 PVC. The pipe run is usually polyethylene or ABS. The pressure tank bladder is most assuredly plastic. The well pump has plastic in it. The house piping is usually CPVC or PEX. Polybutylene in trailers and some older homes. All of your flex connect lines are plastic. Your drain lines will all be plastic in a leach field sitution with septic. The septic tank itself will usually be plastic. Plastic is everywhere. Eliminating it from one single dispensary fixture does nothing. It's a tiny drop in the bucket. Either focus your efforts elsewhere, or don't sweat it.
...See More
2 car vs 3 car attached garage price
Q
Comments (52)
> Friends, I really need your help. I want to buy a car. More precisely not only myself. For the whole family. Have you considered hiring an architect? An architect can design and build a car you will love. He will interview your entire family to gather the requirements and will decide the proper car orientation. Your crazy aunt Sally wants a space on both of her sides for her favorite cats - no problem, she will love our new design. Space for your pet hamster - we will provide the wheel. 60 Gallon aquarium in the center for your pet shark - what a great idea. An architect can help you avoid costly car mistakes like: closets with no window, the gas chambers, wardrobe closet at the end of a bathroom. [Sorry could not help it] -Pizdabolka
...See More
bill_h
16 years ago
yes this car is totaly unsafe! deliver to my home as soon as possable and i will take this deathtrap off your hands for 200.00 hurry please.
jasper60103
Original Author
16 years ago
guys,
thanks for the tips. I'll just keep up with the maintenance and not worry about it.

jasper
bob_k
16 years ago
jasper60103, These model cars were some of the best cars General Motors built. I had an 88 Bonneville a sister car buit on the same assembly line on the same platform. And I will have to say it was the best car I ever owned. I put 234,000 miles on it and it still run like a top when I got rid of it. With most of the parts orginial. I would love to have another one with low milage. It would last me the rest of my life. What I liked about them was the visibility you have. Go back and look at your picture. You don't have any blind spots. To me that is more important than airbags when it comes to safety. If you can see to avoid an accident you won't need an airbag. Just keep doing your regular oil changes every 3000 miles. And regular maintance and it will treat you good. Also don't forget to grease the rear suspension. You have 4 fittings in the rear

Good Luck
Bob
bonebloodyidle
16 years ago
I'm sick of a computer diagnostic light coming on every five minutes in my modern common-rail diesel and costing me a fortune every time. Modern cars may be clean in the eyes of some, but hell are they unreliable. I have had to reinstate the 1986 Toyota Corolla that the chickens have been living in for the past five years and you know what? Fitted a new battery, drop of petrol in the tank, it fired up first time. Now my 2006 Vectra 1.9cdti has been in and out of the garage with wiring issues for months now. No wonder GM are going bust.
jerry_nj
16 years ago
Yes, no airbags and no anti-lock breaks, otherwise if the breaks have been rebuilt and the steering and suspension are sound, its a car I'd have no reservations about driving.

I think I'd avoid long trips at 70+ mph, but great for around town and to the local park/lake/movie...

All three of my current vehicles have all the new safety stuff, but it wasn't until 2004 that I gave my 1990 Galant away. It didn't have any of the modern safety equipment.

I say, nay too, to all the computer stuff with the service engine "light" which must be out for a state safety inspection can cost a lot for simple stuff like a oxygen sensor... where the sensor is bad, but the car runs fine.
jasper60103
Original Author
16 years ago
yea, I hear a lot of folks liked the 3800 engine. I know GM used it for a long time.
A lot of the parts are still original on it. It also has some rust underneath, which explains the rotted brake lines. The salty winter roads here in the midwest is hard on cars. Anyway, it doesn't qualify as clunker trade-in, so I'll drive it for a while, LOL! Thanks again.

nice old car, but safety concerns?

Comments (8)

gary__

equinox_grow

Related Discussions

bill_h

jasper60103
Original Author

bob_k

bonebloodyidle

jerry_nj

jasper60103
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

nice old car, but safety concerns?

Comments (8)

gary__

equinox_grow

Related Discussions

bill_h

jasper60103Original Author

bob_k

bonebloodyidle

jerry_nj

jasper60103Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

jasper60103
Original Author

jasper60103
Original Author