How much is a gasser Caddy worth?

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

I looked at an 82 Caddy that has very little rust but it is a 1.7 gasser and the engine has low oil pressure. Strut towers are solid. How much is it worth? 

How big a job is it to convert it to a 1.6 TD and what's needed?

[bajacalal]

Any rare car over 20 years old, is really difficult value without a lot of information about it. There are a lot more variables than say, something 5 years old. It could have been kept in some old lady's garage for 20 years or it could be a complete bucket of rust. Between those examples, you have a price that ranges several orders of magnitude. There are also local conditions, like what kinds of vehicles are popular in the area and how much rust is expected. I'm sure people here would scrap something from a little body rust because we're not used to seeing it. People that know Caddys are highly sought after tend to want A LOT for even poor quality examples, people that are ignorant to this will just think they're old junk and not worth anything.

Anyway, I would pay $500 for it, at most. The gas ones are not, at least around here, very desirable as I believe it's hard to get them to pass emissions.  If they guy wants a lot of money for it, just move on, it doesn't sound like this is anything too special and it's not something you urgently need. There ARE people who have them and don't think they're worth anything, I still occasionally see really nice ones turning up in junkyards here.

As for the engine swap, it's pretty easy as far as that sort of thing goes, assuming you have a complete 1.6TD and it's related accessories like the air filter box, fuel filter parts, etc., a diesel trans and bigger radiator would be nice too but aren't necessary. The gas and diesel engines are basically the same dimensions and the same as far as what goes where. Old engine out, new engine in. I have done that part before breakfast, it's not as hard as it sounds (although I haven't done a gas to TD swap yet). Provide switched 12 volts DC (use your old ignition coil hookup) to the fuel solenoid and it will run. You will need to install the stuff for the glow plugs but that isn't too complicated. And you will possibly need to source a diesel tank or at least modify your fuel system to and remove the gas high pressure gas fuel injection pump if it has electronic fuel injection.

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

Thanks for your input bajacalal. Here are some pics the seller sent me. What do you think? What kind of fuel economy does an 82 1.7 gasser get? Does it take unleaded? Maybe I'll run it on gasoline till I find a diesel engine for it.

[nathan_b]

that things crusty.

that being said I hate CIS with a passion

THAT being said, they have plenty of power, can be fairly reliable and are capable of 30mpg.

[8v-of-fury]

We can only hope it has a close ratio trans they are very nice behind the 1.7. However, not capable of 30mpg with one of those...

[burn_your_money]

The passenger side strut tower does not look rust free to me.

I think that truck would be a fairly easy sell at $1500 around here.

[CRSMP5]

its got caddy rot.. the pass side.. axle shot.. look at the brake line mount.. there is a drain there to let the moisture out between the reinforcement and stock sheet metal.. aka what causes caddy rot.. its rotted pretty good..

next the pass shock mount by the firewall.. when dry whats it look like.. to me it looks crusty in that area.. being wet does not help..

the tank expansion (gas vapors) is mounted inside the fender in that area.. the mount for it rots away making a big hole that makes that area wet.. and makes a hole on the inside kick panel over there under the dash..

pass side pinchweld behind the door.. with both that pic and one with fuel pump in it is a HOLE waiting to be uncovered..

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

Thanks for the comments, keep-em coming! It looked better in person when I looked at it-  dry but dirty. I plan on going back and look at the rust spots mentioned more closely. Maybe wash it first if he don't mind, and check out the engine and see if it is road worthy.

Edit: The oil alarm buzzer is always on and the seller says he was told by a mechanic it has no oil pressure. When I go check it out again I will take an oil pressure reading with a gauge and see where it's at. The Caddy comes with a spare 1.7 engine but the seller does not know its condition.

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

We can only hope it has a close ratio trans they are very nice behind the 1.7. However, not capable of 30mpg with one of those...

It's an 82 with a 4 spd manual transmission. From that can you tell what kind of transmission it has? What kind of mpg is it capable of?

[8v-of-fury]

Well it says that 82 could have possibly come with two trans.. so when your looking at the rust next time quickly crawl under and look at the flat machined area on the transmission bell housing, right at the bottom, and see if the code says GY or GP.

GP (3+E from '81)           3.89   3.45   1.75   1.06   0.71   
GY (3+E 8/82-7/84)   4.17   3.45   1.75   1.06   0.71

Either way with stock sized tires, you are looking at 25-2700rpms cruising at 65mph.

[bajacalal]

I love the color. I like the interior. It's hard to find these that don't have some gaudy circus tent colored vinyl interior.

Check all the places mentioned here for rot, take a big long screwdriver with you and go under there and poke at it.

Do you guys really think you can get $1500 for one of these with a junk engine. I was under the assumption that the engine was junk and had no oil pressure. Does it have a rod knock? It won't last long if it does. Check the oil pressure for sure. I've had a hard time finding a mechanical gauge that fits the VW oil pressure sensor hole. I think it's 10x1.5 mm. I had to fabricate something by breaking an old sensor in two and brazing a brass fitting to it.

The injection system it has, they tend to have a lot of little problems. They are not easy to diagnose because there is no "check engine" light, you have to go by trial and error. They will just stop working suddenly, usually it's bad ground or bad wiring. They have a mechanically controlled fuel distribution system with an air flap that moves a valve. These get stuck and the fuel passages get clogged. The replacement parts are expensive but you can go to the junkyard and get them, there are still ones that work fine after all these years. They have hot start problems do to vapor forming in the fuel line, there is a pressure accumulator somewhere on there that is supposed to prevent this. But most of the stuff can be fixed pretty easily on these, they are very simple compared to modern cars.

[punkvideo81]

bajacalal - welcome to what is considered "clean" on the east coast That one looks clean on the outside, but like the other guys mentioned, it has a lot of crust underneath. That pass side inner fender is always rusty and mine had that hole in the kick panel area - a big mess. Good luck with it.

[Quantum TD]

its got caddy rot.. the pass side.. axle shot.. look at the brake line mount.. there is a drain there to let the moisture out between the reinforcement and stock sheet metal.. aka what causes caddy rot.. its rotted pretty good..

next the pass shock mount by the firewall.. when dry whats it look like.. to me it looks crusty in that area.. being wet does not help..

the tank expansion (gas vapors) is mounted inside the fender in that area.. the mount for it rots away making a big hole that makes that area wet.. and makes a hole on the inside kick panel over there under the dash..

Yep. You can see it starting near the brake line mount. I'm sure there's rust between the panels.

The truck looks like it spent its life in Minnesota!


Not bad though for New England standards. It can be driven as-is, but expect some rust repair down the road. 

Also, be advised the the gas tanks on those old CIS cars are notorious for rusting from the inside out. This is due to the water content in the new ethanol fuel. I'd sniff the tank. If it smells like varnish, offer him at least $200 less than you had anticipated. You'll have to pull the tank and have it flushed and lined, regardless of whether you convert it to diesel.

[mystery3]

Do you guys really think you can get $1500 for one of these with a junk engine. I was under the assumption that the engine was junk and had no oil pressure.

I believe this is the difference between the east and west coast with these things. If they've ever seen salt they're likely to be complete piles of scrap whereas in California or Arizona they rust slowly. I bought my diesel with no oil pressure and a few more dents than that one has for $800 but the strut towers and underside are pretty damn clean. That truck out here with a bad motor is probably worth $500-600. Than again if you buy a truck that looks like that out here and ship it to the northeast it'll cost what $1200+? I think the local market on these old things are highly variable and so it's difficult for us westerners to make accurate guesses as to what that truck is worth in the northeast.

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

Check the oil pressure for sure. I've had a hard time finding a mechanical gauge that fits the VW oil pressure sensor hole. I think it's 10x1.5 mm. I had to fabricate something by breaking an old sensor in two and brazing a brass fitting to it.

1/8 NPT is very close and that is what I used to T in an oil pressure gauge on mine. I did use some yellow teflon tape and have no leaks.

From all the rust spots you guys pointed out I am tending to shy away from it. I will go back to look at it again for educational purposes since the Caddy is totally unfamiliar to me and it will help me in knowing what to look out for in future Caddy purchase.

It's be great to have a small pickup that gets 40- 45 mpg!