It’s tough on my ego to admit it, but over 48 years of driving, I’ve bought a few stinkers – cars with some REALLY bad reputations; a 1981 Buick Skylark (X-car), a 1981 Olds Cutlass diesel, and a 1986 Ford Escort GT. For me, the 80’s were definitely the deadly decade. I bought each of these three new – and two very quickly lived up to their well-deserved reputations as rolling pieces of %&*#. But one, surprisingly, never gave me a bit of trouble.
Early 80’s Cutlass very similar to mine – without the halo vinyl roof
I won’t bore you with all the tales of woe the Skylark and the Escort gave me – suffice it to say that one almost burned to the ground from a loose carb leaking gas over the exhaust manifold and the other lost its brakes (thankfully while stationary) from a bad master cylinder – both in the first year of ownership. Those two cars were undoubtedly trying to kill me. But the one with probably the worst reputation – the Olds diesel – never gave me a problem or left me stranded in the two years I owned it.
At this point you’re probably asking; “An X-car, an Olds diesel, and an Escort – what were you thinking?” Well, back in the Jurassic Age before the Internet, if you wanted to do some research on a prospective new car, you had a couple of different options; 1) you could read the reviews in the major enthusiast magazines of the day (Motor Trend, Car and Driver, Road and Track, etc.), 2) you could stop by the library and see if they had any JD Power satisfaction surveys, and 3) you could ask someone who owned one. I always tried to do at least two of the three. All three cars had very favorable reviews in one or more of the major car magazines. Motor Trend even picked the Citation (Chevy’s X-car version) as the 1980 Car of the Year. Now forty years later, they’ve yet to live it down…
Within two months of owning the Buick Skylark, I realized it was an absolute disaster, so I started looking for something new. I didn’t care for the downsized 1978-80 model Cutlasses – I thought they looked shrunken and stunted – but the re-style in 1981 was a real improvement – hitting that fine line that made the previous A-Body Colonnade Cutlass a million seller.
So, now you’re asking; “But why the 350 diesel?” Yes, I knew they had problems, but I read a Car and Driver article that spotlighted the updates GM had made; strengthened head bolts, a fuel-water separator, a roller cam, and revised bearings, etc. At that time, diesel fuel was also still 10-20 cents cheaper than gas (though it would go up right after that). Lastly, the dealer was ready to deal, and even after the significant markdown, GM had a separate $750 rebate. So I rolled the dice and bought it.
And remarkably, all turned out well. I took several trips from upstate NY to central Ohio and back and the Cutlass never missed a beat – typically averaging over 30 MPG on the highway. In town it averaged around 22. It wasn’t fast by any means, it had only 105 hp and 205 ft lbs of torque, but the torque came in low and would give a nice push up to 35-40 mph. After that, you had to pray for a tailwind.
Yes, it was slow. But it rode well, got good mileage, looked nice, and unlike the Skylark, always started and ran. So overall, it wasn’t a bad car. I was lucky in having the Gen 2 version of the LF9 engine, which fixed most of the previous deficiencies. If only GM would have addressed all those shortfalls before it was introduced three years earlier, we’d likely have a different legacy today regarding diesels in the US. But that was the typical GM playbook of the 70s and 80s – push it out, even if it was half-baked. And as we’ve seen, it’s a lesson that US manufacturers never seem to learn, i.e., 2011-16 Ford Powershift transmission.
I went overseas in mid-1981 and put the Cutlass in storage – came back for visits a few times, pulled it out and it ran fine. I then sold it to my sister who at that time had two teenage boys – who quickly nicknamed it “The Gutless.” But can you think of a better car for a teenager? It’s not like they’re going to engage in any dangerous stoplight Grand Prix’s – unless a diesel Chevette pulls up in the next lane.
If you’re curious, yes, I still have nightmares of burning up in that Buick. And in a future COAL, I’ll tell you about the Escort and the pieces of paper napkin found clogging the A/C system – but before I attempt that, I need to renew my depression medication.
So, did you ever own a model with a terrible reputation that turned out well?
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Curbside Classic: 1978 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Diesel – In Defense of the Olds 350 Diesel V8
Well I owned several Oldsmobile LF9 diesels.
My first 1979 Delta 88 Royals, it had a Goodwrench diesel in it, installed in 1981, I then had a 1981 Pontiac Grand Prix Diesel, loved that car, it was a brougham, loaded, drove great, never had any engine problems, just had to remember to plug it in in the winter in Michigan. I then bought a 1982 Diesel Toronado, 2 tone blue, drove the life out of that car, 3 water pumps, 1 radiator, 2 A/C compressors, 2 alternators, but religiously changed oil every 3000 miles, only used Kendall SuperD3 30, and changed transmission filter and fluid every 40,000 miles and put 489,000 mikes on it. Never had any engine issues. Then I bought a used 1982 Buick Riviera diesel with 48,000 miles and broken head bolt. I studded the engine with ARP studs and I now have 120,000 miles on it and never had another engine issue.
Just bought a 1984 Cutlass Ciera with a 4.3l diesel. Had 69,000 original miles. Garage stored, 1 owner, mint condition. However when trying to set injection timing the #1 glow plug broke and was stuck in head. So I decided to tear it down and fix it correctly. So I have replaced with OEM GM parts, 6 CAV 403 still sealed injectors, glow plugs, vacuum pump, power steering pump and both lines, rack and pinion, water pump, thermostat, 2 temp switches, glow plug controller, A/C compressor, Alternator, coolant over flow tank, EGR valve(which I didn’t think I’d find) water in fuel sender, roller lifter, pushrods, rocker arms and bridges, a FelPro MLS head gasket and repainted it Oldsmobile diesel metallic blue/gray.
I’m finishing up this week and look forward to some great road trips!!!
I want to know about all the improvements they made on the block DX after 81! as it was much improved after 1981! all of the changes on the 1981 up DX block diesel
https://www.dieselworldmag.com/diesel-engines/oldsmobile-350-v8/#:~:text=The%201981%20%E2%80%9CDX%E2%80%9D%20engine%20was,deeply%20threaded%20into%20the%20block.
It’s always water getting into the engine that causes the problem. Olds could have done a better job with a fuel water separator which they did add later. Initially there was a fuel tank sensor and method to drain the tank. On so many vehicles the penny pinchers cause all the trouble, not the engineers or the builder.
There were a lot of GM diesel passenger cars in my hometown in the 80’s. None that I know of had catastrophic engine failure that a lot of people speak of. Most of the problems revolved around supporting equipment like a starter going out, or the injectors, or an oil pump. We had a 1981 Cutlass Brougham. Made it 123k miles in less than 3 years before we traded it in. The only time I remember being stranded was one rare freezing cold Christmas morning when the car stopped because the fuel gelled up. The other thing that drove owners crazy is that these cars just would not start at times without spraying some type of starter fluid into the air filter.
I bought the 1981 Cutlass Brougham diesel new. Loved the car. Fuel about 75 cents a gallon first year. V-8 weight ate up brakes about every 12,000 mi. Used Delvac 15-40 synthetic oil every 3,000 mi. 7 qt change. Would burn a quart every 1000 mi.. Glow plugs failed at Greater Cincinnati Airport winter of 81-82. 10 degrees with 10 inches of snow. Called brother to bring a 50 ft extension cord to plug car into long term lot out building. Waited an hour; fired right up. 30 mpg highway is accurate. Loved to floor-it on I-75 if someone got too close. Dark cloud of smoke from dual exhausts would scare them off. The filter mitt in the fuel tank plugged up at 110,000 mi. Dual batteries was smart/necessary.
Guy hit me head-on in 1984 with 144,000. Totaled and Insurance gave me $1800. I was devastated. Burgundy exterior and the same cloth interior. I recall the twin front grills were spring loaded to push back from the top? Always garaged and plugged in during winter.. Great article. Memories
Yes! For one day actually!
A friend of mine from church had a 1980 Bonneville Brougham diesel that GM had replaced the first diesel engine out under warranty. Then, right after that, someone clipped the front end.
I owned an 81 Bonneville Brougham with the ever popular 265! I had found a local two door 1980 BB diesel that had a perfect body and interior, but blown head gaskets.
Ivan and I offered $250 for the donor car, and it was ours.
He was going to clip the front end, I wanted the dash gages (GM talk) and the honeycomb rims.
We were cleaning it up on my driveway the afternoon we picked it up, when some guy pulled into my driveway and asked us about it. Next thing we knew, we had $850 cash in our hands ( I did take the honeycomb rims!) which was enough for Ivan to fix his car correctly!
Last thing I knew, the diesel was pulled out of the two door we’d sold to be replaced by a Pontiac 455!!!
So yea, it worked out nice for us
I came across your article, which has the merit of changing everything we see or hear about these unloved Oldsmobile Diesels.
I own a 1979 Cutlass Cruiser Brougham with the first version of the LF9. The engine did break, but not where you’d expect. It was a bronze connecting rod bushing that failed…
I rebuilt my engine from scratch, without modifying the camshaft or pushrods, but of course I used reinforced bolts (ARP) wherever I could fit them.
The hardest part was finding spare parts for pistons, piston rings, gasket pockets, cylinder head gaskets etc. I reassembled the engine in the car in November 2023 and have been driving it every day since, putting about 7,000 miles on it. The car is really very pleasant to drive, it’s smooth and torquey, but it’s not a dragster when it comes to power, but that doesn’t matter! Fuel consumption is really reasonable and I particularly like the “offbeat” aspect. For us in Europe, an American car is necessarily a v8 and gasoline-powered, so imagine people’s faces when I’m at the gas station.
2 of my daughters are so enthusiastic about my car that my eldest, 25, is starting to look for a Cutlass Diesel to replace her 1995 fiat coupé turbo… For us, it’s hard to find a good car that’s not completely rusted out and for a reasonable price.
In short, I love my car even if it stinks from the exhaust and doesn’t even emit black smoke.
Hi! I had a 1981 5.7 diesel Cutlass Calais for 10 years. The only problems that I had were a new injection pump at 95k miles and a new brake master cylinder at 90k. It didn’t burn oil either. 350 DX block. I loved this car. It had the touring package with anti sway bars. I lived in Appleton, WI with temps in winter -40 below. Car always started after glow. I never plugged it in.