Gen 1 Seville as a daily driver

[Always Dirty]

Hello, I just picked up a 78 Seville w/ around 22k miles on it.  Was told it’s a 1 owner, been in storage for atleast 20 years.  It appears someone took pretty good care of this thing before it got parked (it did have the fuel tank cleaned,  Intank pump replaced, and battery replaced before I got it).  Don’t see any major rust (CA car).  Engine and trans are both grimey, but nothing too awful.  Anyhow, I’ve been reading up on how rudimentary the fuel injection is on these, due to storage, replacing the injector seals is a must.  Any recommendations for fuel lines?  I’ll hopefully have this thing on the lift by this weekend.  My goal is to have a reliable summer car.  What else should I be looking at?  Never had a car this old before, but have been a closet box caddy fan for a long time.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

G'day Ryan,

Congratulations on your purchase.

I would be having the brakes and all the lines, hoses, wheel cylinders and MC either rebuilt, or replaced, plus the complete fuel lines need cleaning out as fuel sitting for that long will go BAD.

As it has been standing, I would also be very wary of the condition of the oil in the sump.

I have seen this stuff become as stiff as treacle, and contaminated, requiring the sump to be dropped and cleaned out.

Bruce.

[TMoore - NTCLC]

First and foremost are the injector seals - it is not hard to do, and does not take very long.  Once you have replaced them, have someone cycle the ignition for the 2 second fuel pulse several times while you inspect under the hood for any potential leaks - this is important.  There are several short runs of Fuel Injection hose on the fuel line - replace all of these pieces (they will be obvious once the car is on the lift).  Do not ignore the return lines - these see a good deal of pressure.  Locate a spare ECU for your car, and have it tested (Bruce Roe is your man) - and keep it in your car - it is one thing you cannot grab at AutoZone if it fails (switch the spare out every year to make sure both are properly working).  Bruce will give you several other tips to keep the injection system from self destructing.

After that, it is all the normal stuff you will do to bring a car out of slumber - refresh and inspect all brake components, fluids, hoses, belts, etc.  20 year old tires must be replaced. If you do not know for sure, it is likely that the car still has the original timing gear set, and it really should be change (nylon gears fail with time, just as much as mileage).  Chances are good the water pump will be seeping after that long period of storage, so may as well do everything at once.

I drove my 1979 Seville as an almost daily driver, and still make sure to drive it every week.  I would think it would make an ideal summer driver - AC repair might be in your future, but you can start a new topic when that time comes.

Enjoy the car - it is a great size for driving around town, and and excellent cruiser as well

[Always Dirty]

Have a source for parts or does RockAuto fit the bill?  What’s the preferred oil weight in this engine and is it 87 octane friendly?  Yeah, I’d about guarantee there’s no refrigerant, but I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.

[TMoore - NTCLC]

RockAuto has most of the off-the-shelf parts you will need (injector seals, plugs, wires, etc.) - this is a common Oldsmobile 350, so most mechanical parts will be plentiful at most auto supply places.  When you get into the F.I. system is when things become a bit more difficult to find, but most items are available.  The two temp. sending units, which are the same part, are sometimes re-produced, and if you see them, it would be a good idea to pick them up - they are crucial for cold-starts.  When you get the car on the lift, take a look at the Cat converter - if it is the original pancake style, and still has the pellets, my advice would be to replace it with a mono style - the originals will partially plug and cause engine issues that will bedevil you - do not ask how I know this.

87 Octane is fine for this car - I don't think I have ever put premium in any of mine.  I have always used 10W-X oil for mine - you will get lots of opinions on oil, but I have not had any oil related issues using the off the shelf brands.

[Always Dirty]

On the lift she went, somebodies definitely been poking around under hood, there’s a couple old  sparkplugs and a broken exhaust manifold stud stuck in the crevices.  Radiators full of rust, trans fluid very low, no air filter installed, engine oil full (and didn’t seem that old) blah blah blah.  I picked this up at a crappy time, cause I’ll be out of state for the rest of the month starting tomorrow, but atleast I’ll have some parts waiting when I get back.  Quick one for you guys, anybody here from CA??  What’s the quick and dirty on smogging these? This appears to have all emissions parts in place, and does indeed have a pancake cat installed.  I’m in CA, and will definitely have to smog for the sale... the kicker, I live in a no smog county.  Is a smog pump and cat delete worth doing or not worth the hassle.  Are these typically a tough pass or should these be easy peezy?  I’m not worried about being inspected afterwards, there’s far too many diesel dorks around these parts to hassle.

[nysdarkblue]

ROCKAUTO.COM, GMPARTSGIANT.COM, VPARSTINC.COM, PARTSVOICE.COM REARCOUNTER.COM, GMPARTSDIRECT.COM, MY LIST IS ENDLESS.....

[Always Dirty]

Finally got to this thing, broke 2 injector tips on removal (brittle as hell) anyone have a source for those??  All I can find is replacement injectors.  Found out the hard way an FJ2 is NOT a direct replacement.  Maybe if going back w/ 8 new, but not mixed. 

[bcroe]

Finally got to this thing, broke 2 injector tips on removal (brittle as hell) anyone have a source for those??  All I can find is replacement injectors.  Found out the hard way an FJ2 is NOT a direct replacement.  Maybe if going back w/ 8 new, but not mixed.   

Sounds like you missed the summer. How does it run?  Bruce(79 EFI owner)Roe

[Always Dirty]

It ran fine (well, old 87 fine) before the teardown.  Yeah, missed my mark, but it was worth it.  Hatched a plan to bail on CA, tons of loose ends on that one, so yeah, the car got pushed aside.

[Always Dirty]

So, taking it that no ones run into this before eh?  From what I’m seeing, it would be better to replace all 8 injectors w/ fj2 than try to hunt down the tips.  This would explain why there were two different types of injector seal kits.

[TMoore - NTCLC]

I have not had to replace any of my injectors.  At one time, there were several companies that did cleaning/reconditioning of the injectors, and I did have mine sent thru their service.  If I recall correctly, they sent them back with test results for each injector (spray pattern, etc.), but that was a long time ago, so I could be wrong.  At that time, new injectors were pretty pricey, but I now see re-built injectors being sold for about the price I paid to have mine cleaned.  I agree that it would probably be a good idea to switch out all 8 at the same time (most vendors will require a core if you buy the re-builts).

[Always Dirty]

I don’t think there’s really anything wrong with them, I’m just after a few of the green tips.  A couple of them broke on removal.  The fj2 will probably work if running 8 of them, but not mixed in.  They are noticeably shorter and use a different o ring in the manifold.

[Always Dirty]

Looking more and more like I’m just stuck buying new injectors.  Is there a difference between the ones that came in the 7.0 and the 350?? 

[Always Dirty]

Hopefully it’ll help someone else some time, but an auto-tune F27-006 is the direct replacement.  Rock auto has thus far been pretty worthless.