Diamond in the rough?

I recently came across, what I believe, is a magnificent find. My question for yall is, is it worth it? Probably so.

It's a late 80s model 'Burban with an auto 4wd tranny and a solid front end. The problem is the owner, ( a shop mechanic) has pulled out half of the carb and the distributor for parts to another vehicle, and it's been sitting for two years. It's realy not in too bad of shape.There's no excessive body rust, holes, or nothin, just some dents. The brakes work, the doors aren't stuck. The windshield is busted, the tires are bald, and the interior is ratty and smells like old folk.

Here's where it gets interesting. The guy wants $300 as is. He's lost the title so I'll have to apply for an abandoned vehicle or lost title stuff. What I'll be doing as far as getting it running is leave it there and buy a dist., the rest of the carb, and probably an Optima Yellow Top battery and work on it while it's still at his shop. Once it fires and the tires are aired up, I'll give him the cash and be on my way.

After I get it home though, it'll definitely need new tires. Here are my estimated costs:

$300 as is + 800 (max) for tires + 400(max) for battery, dist. and carb. for a total maximum cost of $1500. With a poor college guy's income, I think that's pretty good.

Shoot . . . I could take it on the Cheap Truck Challenge if it all works!!

POlease send me some feedback, tips, and suggestions about what you think I should do. Is it worth it? Are the battery, dist.  and carb probably the only things I should check for to get it running? The fluids are probably all nasty and gummy too, should I replace them prior to starting the engine?

I'll post some pics asap. I left my camera at my girlfriend's house on a recent back-home trip.

Are you sure that the engin is not worn out?

I think that you will have well over $1500.00 in it when you get it streetable. The windshield will cost about $350.00 or more. You should buy a new or rebuilt carb not try to fix the one on the rig. These rigs are not known for great gas milage when in top shape. Why do you want a Burb? What are you going to drive wile you are working on this one?

Ask the guy that is selling the rig to you if he hade the title in his name. If not you may be stuck with a rig and no title, even if you apply for a lost title does not mean that DMV will give you one. I was stuck with this once and had to sell the rig for parts.

Yes, change all of the fluids, including the gas in the tank, the fuel filters and oil filter. and clean out the gas tank it could be full of rust. Run the rig for about 15 min and change them again. You may end up changing all of the heater and radiator hoses and flushing the radiator.

If this is for a play rig I would buy it but not for a rig that I needed to drive right away and use for my only transportation.

Last question; do you know how to fix this thing your self? If not don't buy it.  Get somthing that is running even if you need to make payments for a few months. 

It sounds sort weird to me. It's easier for a mechanic to obtain a title for a vehicle than it is for an individual. A mecahnic can put a lean on a vehicle, and secure a title free and clear if the owner does not pay the repair costs after a specified time. They can also add storage fees that add up real fast if the owner wants his vehicle back. Most people just sign the vehicle over to the mechanic so as not to screw up their personal credit, and not pay the exhorbitant fees. If this guy can't get a title to it, - and be able to sell it for a lot more than $300.00, then there's something weird here. It may already have a previous lean on it which would have to be resolved ( paid in full ) before the current mechanic in possesion can obtain a title to it. It may also be stolen, or part of an unresolved estate, divorce settlement, or probate issue. Check the VIN number on the dash inside the windshield. Never buy a vehicle without a VIN, or if the VIN has been altered  any way. Check with DMV in your area to make sure this is the correct VIN for this vehicle and not one lifted from a junkyard wreck and glued on this vehicle.

If you do decide to purchase the vehicle then don't put a nickle into it until you have a clear title. As others have stated here, you may have to sell it for parts to recover some of your losses if you can't obtain a title.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

Well, the Burban idea came from a few collective past 4WOR articles. It's a dream project of minew to build it into a sort of Adventure Utility Vehicle ( as opposed to an SUV ). Eventually drop in a diesel, fit it up with a bunch of camping gear, and head out to the back country for a weekend. That's another story in and of itself though . .

I'll call the mechanic and make sure nothing is screwy with the title. If I can get a clean title, then I'd like to see myself get this running and reliable. It would be my only transportation, but also a dream come true. Gas prices aren't too bad here so I'm not worried about that at all. $2.15 and dropping.

The VIN was a funny thing though . . I seem to recall there needing to be 17 digits foir a VIN but this only had 14. I checked around it and it showed no signs of being tampered with. Unless the remaing 3 digits were those discreet lines that looked like spacers or 1's, it only had 14. Queer indeed. Thanks for the info Red, that helped me a lot. I'll make sure to talk to the mechanic.

I'm almost positive it won'tcost 1500. I only factored in $800 because I eventually want to get some 35+ BFGoodrich MTs on it. But to get it legal I could just as well settle for some 40 buck Wally Marts or even splurge on some fancy 20buck used tires. That won't matter at all to me to get it legal. The windshield shouldn't be an issue. I've seen vehicles with far worse that passed by coppers without a second look. Push come to shove, I could still find a $50 junkyard shield. A rebuilt carb also came into mind. That wouldn't bother me at all and probably wouldn't kick up my CTC budget too much either. Basically I'm not too worried about parts but thanks for reminding me about the windshield. The title is what worries me now.

As I said before, a Burb is my dream rig so it would be nothing short of fantastic for me to pull this off.

The fluids would probably cost, oh . . .$75 I think to replace tranny/oil/gas/brake/steering/coolant ( I think, probably 100).  A new K&N is only 50-75 depending on models and such. I'll have to research it more.

After I get the engine running, you suggested I run it for about 15 minutes. Was that witht he new fluid or old? New filters or old? Then afterwards, replace them again with new filters and fluid regardless? How should I go about cleaning the gas tank?

I don't necessarily need it right away for transportation. I'm getting by fine with bumming rides to work. Was that your concern for not wanting to buy it if it's not for play?

i don't know how to fis EVERYTHING about it myself, but my father does. He's told me he'd help me get it running and I could always enlist the help of friends and buddies in the area.

Yea, nothing meaner looking than a 4X4 Burb on Steroids!!  I love the 14-bolt rear axle on those rigs. I'd think twice about dropping a diesel in it - unless you got the bucks to blow. Diesel fuel costs more than regular gasoline these days - It's not like the good 'ol days when diesel fuel was economical.

If it was me, I'd re-work that big 454 block, put some mean exhaust on it like Flowmaster Super-40's (dual of course), bolt some decent headers, and slap a Holley 750 cfm double-pumper, or 770 cfm street avenger on it - for the icing on the cake.

If your going to dream, then dream BIG! - words to live by from the Red Beast ! 

I am a huge burban fan as well and have been considering buying one for some time now. I know that this one sounds like a deal because it is only 300 but I just found diferent ones in my area "Pittsburgh PA" for less than $800 and they were in the Trunk Trader. Both ran and I believe were inspected, a requirement around here. So if I were you I'd look for one that was running for $1500 or less and go offer the guy cash. Everyone that I know of that sells a vehicle sets thier price high and comes down, espsecialy if they sit on it for a wile. I'm having trouble myself because I think I realy want a 69' and my wife can't seem to appeciate how cool those thing are. GOOD LUCK  

Wise words indeed. I decided to go with a Duramax Heavy Duty diesel though for the plain purpose of raw torque. This will be somewhat of a camping rig and I don't expect to be bombing down any fire roads in it. Although that does sound fun . . Hrm . . Hehe. The idea of shovels and axes flying around doesn't intrigue me though. The rig I plan to make will do more crawling and low-rpm running than anything else. Thus, enter the diesel. Low RPMs, massive torque, outstanding durability.

It looked like it had a 350 but I'll have to double check. . If it is indeed a 454 then I've already got my powerplant for my OTHER dream car . . a '77 Cutlass Supreme.

Anyways, back to the Burb, I didn't want to do too much to the engine for the sake of keeping it durable and reliable but that Banks stuff does look yummy. I may have to double think it.

You should Get the old gas out of the tank if there is any in it. Remove the tank, pull the fuel guage sending unit and hoses, look inside and see if there is any rust, shake the thing and listen for funny noises, turn it with the sender unit hole down and shake it see if anything falls out. If all is good put the tank back together and reinstall it. If not put some caroseen in it and let it set for a few days, dump it out and let it dry, recheck it for loose junk. Use an inexpensive paper air filter save some bucks. You can buy 8 for the price of a K&N.

New oil and filter before you start it up. Run for about 15 min and change it again. The oil that is in it, if it has been sitting for a couple of years could be tar by now. 

   I agree, If your'e not going off-road or in the mud with it then the Diesel's the best source of tourque for you. The Banks kits do look like they'll give you loads of power with Diesels. The bigger the exhaust, the more power with diesels. I'm not really a diesel guy, but I give credit where it's due. I'm just not up with the idea of turning a big diesel truck into a race car, and the dorks you see driving them down the road like it's a sports car. Same thing with bolting a wing on a pickup truck - I just don't get it - It's basically a brick with an aerodinamic wing. Big flat front end, flat sides and a square tail - a brick.

Big Block 454 would be sweet on a '77 Cutlass. I'm sure you'll have to do some cutting to fit that bad boy in there. and some low-pro headers for a tight squeeze. It's a a big car, and about half of it's hood . I had a '76 Cutlass Supreme myself for years. - Cherry Red. I had big 'ol meats in the back and little ones up front. I would slide out of the seat sometimes when standing still, but when I nailed it at a stop light the tail would start screaming and start to go sideways before it grabbed, and I'd get nailed to the seat after that. I took it up to 126/ 128 one day on a lonely stretch of highway. ( the speedometer only went up to 120, but I took it past the peg mark some ). I thought it would start vibrating like hell at 100, but it was smooth as silk. I loved that ride.

one of my friends has a 78 cutlass supreme that had one of them diesels in it and we pulled it n dropped in a 455 olds in it and were in the process of finding headers and finishing the exaust and getting a rear driveshaft and were done  

Sounds like it'll be a sweet ride. Try to get an X-pipe on the exhaust, if you haven't already.  Good luck!

Don't forget though it's gonna be a lot of work to "drop" in a diesel. Front suspension(deisels are usually heavier), Gas tank, transmission, probably a lot of other stuff too. But it would be fun  

If you are going to put a diesel in it what ever you do don,t use a 6.5 turbo.

They are the worst pieces of ____ you can imagine. I had one in my 95 3/4 ton. I bought it with 70k and traded it with 140k over 4 years. in that time it ate 4 fuel pumps. because unfortunately those things have two seperate pumps that both suck. My boss has a 95 1 tonHD dump also with the 6.5 turbo. It only has about 55k and is on it's second or third pump. And if that is not enough reason to stay away from these peices of crap, I tried to replace the glo-plugs "good luck reaching them" and found half of the wires had rotted all the way back into the harness where I could not get to them. Just giving a heads up.