'72 Superior bites the dust

C

Clark N. Vineyard

Well, my ’72 Superior combination has been knocked out of commission...

The day before Halloween my friend and I took her out for a picnic (jump seats are great!) and on our way back there was excessive noise coming from under the hood. I couldn’t see anything wrong so I tried to limp her over to the garage I work at. On the way over she died and wouldn’t start. After trying all sorts of fixes and tests, I realized to my horror that the motor had seized. All I can figure is the oil pump failed.

Not only did I have her committed to my friend’s house for Halloween, and a photoshoot this past Monday, but I was also planning to sell her this week to finance my ’60 S&S project. Now I’m stuck with a dead car.

So now I have 2 options: Spend more money for a used 472 from my friend and borrow a hoist to do a motor swap in the driveway, or simply sell her as-is and lose money. Yes, I know it's not all about the bottom dollar, but my budget is stretched awful thin at the moment. Why do I buy cheap projects when I always end up paying a higher price in the end!?
 
If you can get a good engine from your buddy, I would go that route. It may cost more now, but a running driving car will sell faster, and for more. A non running car scares some people (like me), because you always wonder what else is wrong with it without a test drive. :drive2:
 
Geez Clark, that is a tough break. I agree with what John said, for the most part. But, you have to consider the value as it sits versus what it will be worth running. Figure out how much an engine will cost, plus the time and effort. Truth is, if it was a turd before, it will still be a turd once you put the engine in it, only now you'll have more money in it. Sometimes you are better off taking your best offer and move on to your next project.
 
combination may or may not have the big alternator on it, but yes if it does swap everything MM related around before you drop it in. . my 68 has the small GM alternator. this it is a case of walk around and think. it's vary hard to ship one that doesn't run. but a couple days trading engines may up the antie on your sale. that is if you take the time to clean up and paint a few things. you can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear. but you can make a sows ear vary attractive. money and time for a poor boy there is never enough of either
 
I forget what year it started, but at some point in this era the standard alternator on any Cadillac commercial chassis was a Delco-Remy 100-amp. It was a little bigger in diameter than the ones on standard Cadillac, but not as big as the 130- and (later) 145-amp ambulance alternators.
 
I have a parts car and....

We hope we can sell the motor out of our parts car...it's a 472 or 500....but we don't know if we have to take anything off it yet. Another issue would be shipping from Florida. I'd say look for a motor....
Good luck
Kev
 
Well I appreciate the advice guys, this is a real tough one for me. She needs new tires, a fair amount of body/sheet metal work and new paint, so it's not a high dollar car, even though it's complete.

And, I didn't know that about the alternators - thanks for the tip! My friend's 472 came out of a '69 Limo, but I'll double check it for sure.

As a few of you pointed out, a running car is a large step up from a non-runner. Plus I would hate to see the next owner park her as a "someday" project instead of enjoying driving her. It's not the path of least resistance, but it would probably be worthwhile in the end. And to think I do this for fun!
 
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