I bought Smokey in early September 1999, looking for a "winter beater", so I wouldn't have to drive my Cutlass in the ice and snow and salt. I'm starting to see that I'm not going to want to drive the Buick in the winter either (after I'm done with the "buildup").

It currently (September 2000) has just over 135,000 miles on the tranny and rear axle.  The original engine was an Oldsmobile 307, but I changed that to an Oldsmobile 403 in mid-August 2000.  The 403 has broken in nicely and is running like a clock.  To compliment the 403, I also installed a Walker 442 exhaust system on the car.  Details on that can be found on my Walker exhaust page (I have one on my Cutlass, too).

It's actually a fairly well-optioned car; check out the RPO code sheet.  I've changed out a few interior items, as compared to the picture below.  I added a T Type leather-wrapped sport wheel from a T Type Electra and a pair of electrical gauges (water temperature and oil pressure) to keep an eye on that big 403.  With a 180-degree thermostat, it runs about 190 degrees (close to 200 in traffic on a warm day) and oil pressure is about 30 psi. at hot idle (over 50 psi. at cold idle).

As for the appearance, it...well...needs work. The paint is as bad as I've ever seen on the hood. There aren't slight paint cracks, there are ~severe~ paint CANYONS! This stuff was obviously patched up in a cheap manner after a wreck or something. There is a large black "stain" on the hood -- it looks like soot, like from a fire, but it doesn't really come off and it might just be black primer paint. Either way, the hood needs paint BAD and the rest of the car could use it, too.

In other areas of the exterior, I've put some different wheels/tires on it and they make the car look 10 times better than when I originally got it. Three of the old tires were 215/70R14 Regul Sport Challenger tires and the other one was a 205/70R14 Douglas Peformance 700 tire. The car drove straight and true on the road, even though one of the front tires was a different size from the rest!  I now have 225/70 Regul Sport Challenger tires on 1981 Oldsmobile Cutlass sport aluminum wheels (seen in the top picture).

I bought the car with no door locks and no radio. The radio had been stolen with wire cutters (dumb thieves didn't think of the future owner!) and the lock cylinders didn't match because the passenger door isn't original. I installed new lock cylinders with the help of Jake Craig (thanks man!) and I then felt safe to put a radio in it! I installed a Delco equalizer/cassette radio out of an '87 Cutlass (got that for free) and a pair of Pioneer 4x10 speakers for the rear.

In all, I'm quite happy with my $525 purchase. Smokey runs great, rides very comfortably (even with the F41 suspension) and is quiet and safe. What more could you ask for for 500 bucks? Good, safe, American transportation!