"Khalbali" (khalbali)
06/26/2016 at 01:12 • Filed to: None
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"Khalbali" (khalbali)
06/26/2016 at 01:12 • Filed to: None | 1
| 10 |
Just wanted to get some opinions on late 90's saturns, I’m looking at a ‘99 SL tomorrow for a pizza delivery mobile/winter beater. If it holds up well I’d love to run it in 24 hours of Lemons in a year or two as I’ve always liked saturns. I had a ‘93 SW1 that I bought for $700 drove for two years and sold for $400 and that was a (plastic) fantastic beater. So tell me, what does OPPO think of my choice for sub 1k beater?
Connqr
> Khalbali
06/26/2016 at 01:17 |
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My grandpa used to have one and if I remember correctly it was a good car and he liked it. And at less than 1k if you hate it you can probably most to all or maybe more than your money back if you are lucky. If you like it, Gopher it.
Logansteno: Bought a VW?
> Khalbali
06/26/2016 at 01:20 |
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My mom loved her ‘94 SC2. Teal with pop-up lights, so 90s. I’ve always thought of them as slightly more refined go-karts.
Flies With Thunderbirds
> Khalbali
06/26/2016 at 01:54 |
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SL2's are the single greatest cars ever made. I grew up in a 1991 SL2 manual, got 30 mpg and had zero issues. First car I ever drove in the driveway. The twin cam is bulletproof. My Dad sold ours for $600 in 2009 and regrets it at least once a week.
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Khalbali
> Flies With Thunderbirds
06/26/2016 at 02:53 |
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Yeah I just missed out on a ‘94 SL2 last week, this is a single cam SL but the gas mileage should be worth it for delivering. I'm planning on stripping it out too, it's going to be pretty much a dedicated pizza car and if it survives that gauntlet, lemons will be next.
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Khalbali
> Logansteno: Bought a VW?
06/26/2016 at 02:54 |
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Yeah I'd love one of those, just a little pricier and I already have a Miata so something with 4 doors might be nice. Miss my NAs pop ups though
shop-teacher
> Khalbali
06/26/2016 at 06:39 |
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Thems is good beaters.
daender
> Khalbali
06/26/2016 at 07:58 |
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Just don’t get your life wrecked by a shitty SL2...
http://jalopnik.com/5578590/my-cra…
Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
> Khalbali
06/26/2016 at 10:34 |
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Twin cam manual SL2. Great cars. Reliable, impossible to kill, get 40+mpg, and are surprisingly peppy and handle very well.
Chuckles
> Khalbali
06/26/2016 at 10:51 |
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I used a 96 SL2 to deliver pizzas (and as a DD) for years. I loved that car. Great gas mileage and zero mechanical issues right up until my brother shot it with a .45 hollow point round. A year later I was driving a 99 SC2. That car was a lot worse at pizza delivery, and it died after 3 months.
Rock Bottom
> Khalbali
06/26/2016 at 18:51 |
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YES! I had a 98 SL1 and an 01 SC1 in college and they were awesome. I eventually turbocharged the 01 and built a methanol injection system for it. Shockingly, it worked great. Turbo Tupperware and I even drove coast-to-coast once! It was my DD for 2 years until I got a real job and a “grown up” car. Knowing what I know now, I would love to do it again, righter. I had no idea what I was doing, but it ended up working out completely by accident!
As for your potential purchase, this is what I learned:
1) Don’t do burnouts. They puke the diff super easy, even with only 100 hp. There’s a rolled pin in there that hates differential wheel speeds and will make it’s own window in the trans housing. That being said, the trans is far from weak. Quite sturdy, in fact. If you avoid burnouts, there were guys back in the day on homemadeturbo.net putting 500 to the wheels on stock Saturn transmissions. They all shift a little slow, but that’s just how they are. Make sure you keep the right fluid in them (Dextron/Mercon) and they last forever.
2) Keep checking the oil. Neither of mine used any oil, but I’m pretty sure every single other S-car ever made does. Many died young because people ran them dry between changes.
3) You’ll want to swap to a twin cam head at some point... don’t. The single cam makes more power everywhere under 4,000. They’re both slow, but the single cam is a mini torque monster, and that’s important. It’s super easy to drive because of that torque.
4) Repairs are stupid easy. For example, back when there were still Saturn dealers you could buy the entire clutch hydraulic system, all in one box and sealed, already bled and full of fluid. It took about 10 minutes to install. Try that in a Honda!
5) If you ever get into autocrossing or track days, stock up on rear wheel bearings. They last forever on the street, but only a couple track days. It’s weird.
Enjoy some of my memories:
