My Grandpa's car has been in our family for 50 years.  All the weddings, proms, special occasions were in that car.  Low mileage (20K) body and interior mint, but Dad has let it sit. He used to start it every year and change gas and oil, but the last 8-10 years have been neglect.

it is the 98 model - 455 engine.  A beast.  Long wheelbase.   I haven't driven it in 30 years but I recall it took forever to get up to speed, but when it did, it did not even feel like you were moving.  Not a convertible so I realize not as desirable, but the goal is to keep it, not flip it and sell.

I know for certain I will likely have to replace all rubber, and possibly have to clean out gas tank, replace battery.  I assume all wiring is good, but remote chance that a stray mouse might have spent a winter in their, I just don't know.  At this point the engine might have to be rebuilt since it has set. I would tackle something like that because I am fearless but seems like a huge leap.  I am not a "car guy" and have only worked on motorcycles, bicycles and small engines so this would be a stretch.

I don't have any friends that work on cars in my area. My one buddy who is a car guy lives out of state. He is warning me not to start unless I want to spend a year or longer on it.  LOL  He rebuilt a 69 Camaro that was supposed to be an easy job and it took forever and more $$ than planned, so he is a bit superstitious about 1969.

Is it worth it?  We have had a few people offer to buy it but frankly it is a sentimental thing with me so I have asked Dad to hold off.   It's mine if I want it.

Any input on where to begin on such a thing or is it too big of a job for someone who is learning as they go?  I don't want to take it to a garage. I am sure it will be an insane bill to do all that is necessary and frankly like the idea of a challenge.

Sorry I can’t help but I will bump the thread. Would love to see a photo of it.

If your question about whether it’s worth it is about the economic value, the answer is definitely “no”, unless it’s already in good condition and just needs a little reconditioning. If you’re not doing the actual work, you’ll spend more to restore it than it will be worth. If you just want a little reconditioning to get it running decent and it already looks good enough on paint and interior, you might be able to make that work.

The bigger question is whether you want to sink good money into it for the sentimental value and enjoyment. Unless you’re going to drive it regularly, I would get it running and let it go.

Next time I visit I will take some. I have a few from 1969 when Grandpa first bought it, but you can't see much of the car. People were standing in front of it for a photo.

Paint and interior are mint. No rust anywhere.  It is just a question of getting it running and replacing any parts that have deteriorated with storage.  My biggest concern is old gas sitting in tank, carburetor and engine.  If I restored it, it would get classic plates and be driven on weekends, special occasions, etc. It would not be a daily driver.

Oldsmobile club of America on Facebook is a good place to start.
A 1969 455 should scoot if it’s running right, even when. A barge like that.
I had a 1971 olds 98 in the 1980s. It destroyed new IROC camaros of the day even with a motor detuned from 1970-71

If you don't have to deal with body/paintwork, or the interior, everything else is a piece of cake if you have tools and some mechanical ability.

I've pulled the 400 from a '68 GTO.....replaced a holed piston, and the clutch in a (long) day.....

If you're going to get it running , do just that.....don't fart around and turn a 2 day job into a 2 month long project, with parts laying around / getting lost, and losing motivation/interest ..... It helps if the car is your daily driver and you can't get anywhere till it's fixed

A year to take care of the mechanics on any '69 GM product is absurd......

That makes a huge difference and will take much less to make it worthwhile. You’re way ahead of the game.

If you are referring to the Camaro, it started out simple enough but turned into a ground up restoration.  

Ah... the Olds 98.  The car of the upper crust.

The 88 was for the middle class families

The Urine8 was for the peons.  

If the paint, interior and frame are good and no rust, it’s worth saving with the sentimental value.  Most dumps will take old gas, if the tank isn’t good, get a replacement.

Take the time and do it right.  Look at places like Rock Auto for common parts.

I would replace the fuel tank, pull and clean the carb, replace fuel lines, drain coolant and flush system, change the oil and filter and replace the battery. If there has been oil in there the whole time, I doubt a full rebuild is needed, unless there was a problem to begin with. Brake fluid and power steering fluid (if it has that) should be flushed and changed as well. This should get the car running and see if there are any other problems. After that get it fully detailed and enjoy the car!

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/nal-19370416

subbed. I have a 1975 olds delta 88 convertible I bought off the showroom floor in 2001. It was a dealer's parade car so was stored inside and used little. It became my daily driver through high school and nice weather car in college, and I have it still. It's survived 3 cross country moves.

The good thing about the older cars like this is that it takes little to get them going. I pull the battery and charge it, add some gas, dump gas right in the carb and fire it up. more often than not that's enough to get it going after a while sitting.

I plan on getting it back to road worthy but right now I have a 2 and 5 year old. No airbags, nothing beyond a lap belt, I'm not really willing to drive them around in it until they are a bit bigger and in forward facing car seats. So I'll just try and stay a head of it and get it to run a while and whatnot.

a lot of the tubing is cheap and easy to replace at least. My gas tank had a leak that took like $40 worth of parts to deal with, so no issue. I have you on the sentimental thing, too. I could get a few grand now or maybe 20 running well but I know that eventually I'd kick my own ass wishing I never sold it. Hell I almost traded it for a 2002 Hyundai to go to college. It would have been the "smart" move but damn I'd regret it forever.

Keep it!

If it doesn't need body work, which is what it sounds like, you're way ahead of the game. So what if you have to replace all of the rubber bits, a fuel tank, and rebuild the carb. If the transmission leaks like a sive it can be fixed in time.

It will not take a substantial amount of money or labor to get it running. There's a fair chance it will run off a gas can and a new battery.

Keep us posted!

Rebuild the brakes ,fronts are easy and rears are a little tougher. Replace the rubber brake lines.

Was it stored inside or outside?, I would recommend finding a trusted "car guy" or mechanic to look it over and give you advice

If it was stored inside and body, paint, interior are good. I would pull the fuel tank take it to a radiator shop, they can boil it and seal it. Then pull the spark plugs, put some oil in the cylinders and turn it over a few times. Then rebuild the carburetor and replace fuel pump and hoses. Then drain coolant, might want to take the radiator to the radiator shop too. Last would be brakes and tires.

What body style is it? Is it a 98? 2 door, 4 door?

This.

I would add replacing the rubber brake hoses, radiator hoses, shocks, tires, and draining the trans after driving it a bit. Might be a good idea to save the used fluid in a clean container and pour it back in if it is behaving and you don't find debris in the pan. If it is behaving after you put some miles on it a drain and fill is a good idea but not a flush. If the gas tank has some rust and/or pinholes you can salvage it with Caswell Epoxy Sealer, I have used it many times with excellent results.

Caswell Epoxy Gas Tank Sealer

A point I haven’t seen mentioned. Unleaded gas. Not sure when they transitioned from leaded to unleaded but may need to pull the heads and install hardened valve seats. Also that 455 might have high compression so likely premium only. Just a couple points to check on.

For a hobby car, I would just use additives to the fuel both for compression and lack of hardened seats. If you get it running well and want to drive it more then have the engine or heads gone through.

OP, have you bought a new battery, a few feet of rubber hose, and a Gatorade bottle of gas to get it running yet?

I love you guys!  I would buy you all a drink if you were here right now.  Thanks for the all the great advice.

I will get pics next time I go to my parents.

4 door. Dark dark green - almost metallic.

Kept in clean garage all of its's life. Never outdoors.

I have a question about tank replacement.  What is the benefit of trading my own 50 year old tank for a junk yards?  I assume there are not NOS or retrofit tanks but I could be wrong.  Isn't it better off to clean it out and have it sealed if there are leaks if the tank is otherwise sound?

Maybe a stupid question, but I think I want to make sure the cylinders are moving freely and oiled up before I even consider starting.  What do y'all use to do this?  Some penetrating oil?  I am assuming it might take a bit of convincing to move.  Ideas?  How much torque is too much and to know when to stop?

LOL.  Not yet. I don't plan on being that impulsive. No starter fluid sprayed into the carburetor either

Some sort of penetrating oil like Liquid Wrench in the cylinder, let set a few hours then put a socket and ratchet on the balancer bolt, and turn engine over 4-5 times. If you feel something stopping you, back it up a half a turn then try again.

Where do you live?

You can probably get a reproduction gas tank if you need one, but you might only have to drop the tank, dump it, clean it out, & reinstall.

Be prepared to spend more money than you would like.

If it has sentimental value get it on the road, get a Hagerty insurance policy for a couple of hundred per year, & just enjoy it until you get tired of it.

What area are you in...I'm sure someone on here with some knowledge would be willing to give it a once over for you, myself included.  Just need to know where.

A car restoration TV show would be able to make a nice story around that vehicle.

https://garagesquad.tv/submission-form/

If it were me, I'd get it running and refresh it cosmetically. And then be done.

If was running well the last time it ran, then 8 years isn't too bad. But yeah its worth checking out the gas tank.

It sounds like it's in good shape, when you oil the cylinders you just pull the plugs and squirt about 1/2 a shot glass worth of oil in each cyl. With plugs out crank it 10 or 20 seconds a couple of times, and then proceed with cleaned and adjusted plugs, be aware when you start it, it will smoke a lot so best to be outdoors, if it's been started every year it's doubtful it's needed, the more important thing is to watch for overflowing carb from floats sticking, have gas tank inspected before removal you may not need to do anything, I've done many cars out of collections and museums that have sat for 20 years plus that required very little so don't overdue it, best advise is a mechanic that is trusted to handle the start up, he would check for proper ignition, fuel, and belts, hoses etc. if it was outside and not started for 10 or 20 years it would be a bigger issue, but it sounds like you will have minor problems with what you have, again don't overthink it

Pre-step 1 - HAVE A FUNCTIONING FIRE EXTINGUISHER ON HAND

1.  Pull spark plugs.
2.  Spray a product like PB Blaster, WD 40, Marvel Mystery Oil well into each cylinder through plug hole.
3.  Let sit 1 hour to overnight.
4.  2 foot breaker bar with appropriate socket on the harmonic balancer bolt - see if you can manually turn the engine.
 - If not:  repeat steps 2 and 3, and add a little transmission fluid as well.  You can jack up the car, and with it safely supported on jack stands, remove the inspection/dust cover over the torque converter.  Use a long pry bar to lever the teeth on the flex plate around.  You can have an assistant also try to turn it in the same direction with the breaker bar.  Once it starts to move, work it back and forth, and then start hand turning it through.  If you can't, pull the valve covers and check each valve to make sure one isn't stuck and binding on the cam shaft.  You check by tapping the end of the valve with a hammer and see if it moves or not.  However, if the cam is at full lift on that valve, it may not move even if not stuck.
5. Once step 4 is complete, and you have manually rotated the engine through 3 - 4 turns, drop a hot battery in, place towels or old rags over each spark plug hole, and see if the starter will spin it through.  If it does, the engine should kick out all the oil in the cylinders.
6.  Hook one plug wire to a spark plug, ground it, and have assistant spin engine.  See if you have spark.
   - If so - reinstall spark plugs and hook up wires.
             - fill carb float bowl with fresh gas
             - prime engine with a splash of gas down carb, or a spray of starting fluid or car cleaner.
             - See if you can get it to pop off
   - if not - find and repair ignition issue - look for frozen points, bad condensor, bad coil, bad wires, no power to ignition.

7. If you get it to pop off, you can temporarily hook the fuel pump to an external tank, like an outboard motor tank, and see if you can get it to run and idle.  If not, make sure the pump is moving fuel by disconnecting the fuel inlet at carb and cranking the engine - it should start pumping fuel out.  If not, replace fuel pump.

8.  Once you get it running on an external tank, you can correct or replace the tank, fuel lines, filter and work on brakes, check fluids, etc.

9.  Special note:  coolant will absolutely kill an automatic transmission, and the trans cooler is inside the radiator, so if you keep the original radiator have it pressure-tested.  Probably better just to go ahead and replace with a new unit, or have that one completely rebuilt.  Also, price a new tank and sending unit before investing too much time in the existing one.

10.  Special note - some of those cars of that line had constant velocity joints in the driveline, instead of U-joints.  If you are going to drive it routinely, and it is one of those with the CV joints, have those inspected or replaced, as they are a lot harder to find and repair than a U-joint if it fails away from home.

Pretty simple job to get this car running again. Several YouTube videos and Buick forums to refer to as guides. Take your time and tackle each job one at a time.

My 68 Chevellle sat for over 15yrs without a drivetrain in it. I had it together and running in about 3 months, and alot of the things I tackled I had never done before.

These older cars are easy to work on.

It should have a pretty warm 455(likely A heads IIRC) and a Turbo 400. The blocks got less desirable in the mid 70's.

It would make a nice setup to drop on a 64-72 Cutlass

I told Mom I was going to get the Olds running this spring and she thought it was a great idea.  

She said. "what's the worse that can happen? It won't start".

I said "no, the worse thing that could happen is I burn the pole barn down".

Before pulling the tank, start with a scope camera and just look in the tank.  I’ve seen it swing both ways from spotless to rotted out.  If good, replace all fuel lines, new pump because that diaphragm is most likely shot or will be when you start running it, and rebuild the carb.

As far as rings, I’d manually turn the engine over by hand first.  Won’t hurt to soak in Marvel a few days, but do it before oil change.  After soaking, spin over to flush out remaining oil from cylinders before reinstalling plugs.   Change oil and filter, spin engine over with starter before new plugs go in.

Gotta go through all those brakes! All rubber lines need to be swapped, flush out old fluid and honestly, it wouldn’t hurt to just install a new master cylinder.  They’re cheap enough.  Calipers and wheel cylinders probably need new rubber or replacing as well.  

After you get it running and through a few heat cycles, I’d consider a radiator and coolant flush.

Drop the trans pan, new filter and replace trans fluid, but don’t flush. Keep the old stuff in the torque converter in the system.

Check all exhaust hangers. Some have rubber hangers that rot.

Needless to say, all belts as well.

All hoses, including vacuum and windshield squirter.   A/C will need to be checked for leaks and probably replace hoses and o-rings.  May as well convert to 134, but let your shop doing the work advise you.

Before cranking the engine over I would open air cleaner and be sure that mice haven't taken home in the air filter housing or the intake manifold. Mice nests and mice themselves would f-up the engine clogging intake ports and valves.