Well guys my bird broke me, I couldn't afford to drive it everyday. It seemed like everytime I fixed one problem another one came up, I was constantly fixing leaks in the coolant system. So I sold the car to my Dad. I still love the car, and someday it will prolly be mine again but it's just not in the cards right now.
My hat goes off to you guys that try to use these things as daily drivers. I would go insane.
Hard to understand that sentiment. My wife and I have driving our '86 as a daily driver for 20 years. It hasn't been without an occasional problem, but it's been as reliable as about any auto I've ever had. I think it's just that so many don't get the proper maintenance and then when someone really tries to driver them all the overlooked items need attention. But I really believe you should be able to get them to a stage where they are reliable.
At least your Dad has it so maybe now you guys can wrench on it without the need to drive it or spend cash right away. It's not completely gone. With all the problems ironed out, mine was a solid daily driver for over a year until I got my beater back from a friend in need.
What Robert said; I daily drive one that I'm the second owner of with no major troubles as of yet (an 88) and my daughter's driver is also a second owner car but an 87. We've owned both for about a year and a half with only a single problem each so far (both TFI modules).
Then there's JR, my show and go car that I've owned since new (another 87). He's easily been the best, most reliable vehicle I've ever owned.
IMHO, it's all in how they're maintained.
Got to say, my other daily driver threw a thrust washer in the trans, so I had to pick up driving the TC.
I went thru it mechanically the first time, and if anything it is working better with more mileage (knocks on wood, rubs rabbit foot). There just seem to be a few quirks that not every car has (cooling being one of them). IMO the cars can be just as reliable as anything else.... as long as things are working right to begin with, there isnt much tolerance for one or two things to be out of whack. As a bonus, I'm getting better mileage with a heavier car, and once I do hit the open road (a rairity in the DC area) I can enjoy moving quickly (which is not something the 1992 Bonneville is known for...)
Mine is stock other than what is listed in my signature. I bought it two summers ago with 87,000 miles on it, and it now has over 114,000. I have still yet to invest over 4 grand into the car, including the price I bought it for ($1,200). I haven't had any major issues at all, it still even has the stock cooling system in it! Of course it needs maintenance as any 20 year old car would, but whats funny is I neglect to fix a lot of things that "need" to be done. It needs some suspension work, it has a leaking EGR valve, needs a paint job, the turbo is bad due to me using a brake line fitting to attach my braided hose (too restrictive). Even with all of these problems it still drives me from A to B without any issues. I just got back from an 800 mile round trip about 3 hours ago and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. This car has been hands down the BEST car I've ever owned and probably will be for many years to come!
I hope you find the time to fix yours up right, it probably only needs a little downtime for repair over the winter to get it right!
I agree with Joe and Robert..... these cars are in general very reliable. My 86 Tbird 5.0 that I have owned since new has never let me down or left me stranded in 21 years of ownership. The 88 TC, which I bought in around 99, has been nearly 100% reliable also. Only one time I had to pull off the road for a few minutes to make a minor repair. Neither of these cars are garage queens..... 8 months out of the year the are driven almost daily, and and both have criss-crossed the countly more times than I can count.
I didnt mean that they werent good cars. Its just tough to have a project car as a daily driver. There are so many things I need to do to mine that will take a day or so to do that its a good thing I have my pickup as a daily driver. There's nothing like trying to find a much-needed gasket at 1:00am so you can get to work the next day.