1981 Pontiac Bonneville Safari diesel

And here it is 4 years later and the price is UP to $3500.

1981 Pontiac Bonneville Safari - cars & trucks - by owner - vehicle... (craigslist.org)

 

"If we had the time it would be a collector's piece for us. The reason we are getting rid of it, is because we don't have the space or time to work on it"

I guess 4 flipping years isn't enough time!!

 

Does it still have the “properly repaired” engine with the bad head gasket?

 

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Certainly has a good body ..... I would easily pay $2000 for it and restore the original 350 diesel engine ... would be a semi-rare car at that point.

I knew a Diesel mechanic who bought lots of them cheap and "fixed" the engines and resold them with a decent warranty on his work

Forget the exact details but he told me the factory head gaskets and bolts were the issue but mostly loss of torque on the head bolts was the show stopper.

He said the factory used a thick gasket to get the correct compression ratio and the gasket would shrink a bit and lose its seal.

He said when he fixed them a few of the factory head bolts were only finger tight after a few thousand miles ..... he also said if the new cars had the head bolts re-torqued at 2000 miles and again at 5000 miles would have solved the problem.

He used "stretch bolts" which give a constant tightening "spring action" as the gasket normalized .... then had the customer return once for re-torque .... but not with a torque wrench .... he simply turned each bolt exactly another half turn ..... that is exactly what Volkswagen Diesels require on new cars after the first 1000 miles .

Not sure if I got all that exactly right but I would not be afraid to restore that car .

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When the car is stored properly, as in this case it has become an appreciating asset. I’m sure it’s gotten good care with routine maintenance and several detailing seasons over the last 4 years. I get that it’s over triple what it was 4 years ago. It’s his last piece of gold. I agree probably a $1,500-2,000 parts car.

 

Wagon is in Emmett, Idaho, just north of Boise.

Has the EXACT same interior that mine had, right down to the color, and very similar options. (This one has 4 switches above the HVAC controls. I only had 3. It must have a cable-remote right outside mirror then...) It's even got good bumper fillers on the rear. Mine were gone. I actually like the 2-one paint better than the 'wood' on these - easier to take care of.

And the viewers are correct. About $2,000 would be a reasonable price.

 

Krash, that is interesting, the "switch" on the right side almost looks like a block off plate, I wonder if it is something like a glow plug indicator light for the engine? I have never seen that before, usually it is for a power antenna switch.

 

^^^ Very well could be. When I had that bezel out on mine, there did seem to be housing stamped right in the middle, for a FIFTH switch location. Never seen one with all 5 though.