Originally Posted By: expat
78 Chev 3/4 ton Scottsdale
Bought with very low miles in 1980.
Blisters in the paint, particularly the passenger side door.
Chronic and dangerous locking of the rear brakes, even in a normal stop in dry weather (the GM dealer said "they are all like that")
Some kind of Chrome plated plastic trim on the inside door panels started flaking off. I kept getting these mysterious Paper cuts, until I found the cause.
Heater fan was always on when the ignition was on (No off position). Soon the fan motor developed a Squeal that could not be stopped unless the fan was turned to High.
Door seal was fitted to the Door frame (not the door) and therefor soon became torn and useless. At speed the door would whistle and leak a cold draft.
Quadrajet carburetor had a huge Flat spot between the Primary and secondary chokes. On an uphill gravel slope it became impossible to pull away from a standstill. It would either Bog down, or spin the wheels.
Quadrajet also leaked Gas that filled depressions in the inlet manifold. This was due to a Foam plastic float that absorbed Gasoline. I was told by the GM dealer to fit an aftermarket Copper float.
Some kind of thermal spring Flap valve in the exhaust manifold had Two positions: Rusted Open and Rusted Closed. Both caused bad running.
Aside from that the 350 ci put out only 140HP (personally I think that was a vast exaggeration) and sucked Gas like a Pig.
To make matters worse the Gas gauge was the same size as the speedometer. I swear you could actually watch the gas level go down!
I'm sure there were more problems, but it's been 34 years now, but Man I hated that Pig!
I had a new Plymouth minivan in 1988. Took it in a month after I bought it for a grinding noise in the right rear brake when braking. Service manager gave me the "they all do that..." routine. I replied, "That means they're all defective. You can start by fixing this one." Long story short, I left the dealership that day with a minivan that got fixed.
Although I never bought a new car after that, I think that now if I was looking for one, I'd ask to see the list of things that "they all do" for the model vehicle I was considering. Obviously, if there's a history of these kind of symptoms that are known to the service department, the dealership should be able to put together a list of them.