The black one in Fuzzylogic's picture above is a 1967 model, I believe. The newer ones weren't as pretty but they were still very cool cars - a friend of mine had a 1976 Eldorado, and it could pull like a locomotive.
Rust was mentioned - one place those cars like to rust out is through the rear bumper. I'm not sure why, I think they were shaped so they would trap moisture and dirt thrown up from the rear wheels, so it would be a good idea to get up in there with a hose and clean it out regularly.
be aware that when you take that vinyl roof off, you might be left with an unsanded smear of body filler where the quarter panel and roof come together.. i think GM liked vinyl roofs so much because it was less labor to glue vinyl down than it was to sand the seam smooth before paint.
my mom, grandma, and a couple of my aunts worked at a company that made a lot of the oem vinyl roofs back in the 70's, so i kind of like them because they helped my parents buy food for me that wasn't mac and cheese..
as far as gas mileage goes- if you drive it right and spend a lot of time on the highway 20mpg isn't out of the question if you tune it up, rebuild the carb, advance the timing some, and put freer flowing mufflers on it-.
not sure what the gearing is in the FDR on those, but i had a 78 deville land yacht with the 425. same basic engine minus some displacement. the car came with a 2.29 rear gear, and had no problem pulling 20-21mpg on the highway cruising at 75. keeping your foot out of it is key.
ultraclyde wrote:
If that thing were any more pimp you wouldn't be able to let your daughter ride in it.
If that's not a "Say What?", nothing is.
ultraclyde wrote:
As for the vinyl, strip it, do it now. No matter what it looks like bare, once those "Landau" roofs start to go they hold water and will destroy the sheet metal underneath with rust. Even if you decide to redo it later, taking it off now and touching up and bare/rust spots will save you a ton of expensive bodywork int he long run.
Thanks, too, for your service. Nothing we can say makes getting blown up OK, all I can say is thank you. Welcome to GRM!
Ditto.
Thanks guys. The military was the best experience of my life. ;-) I got off easy, have a daughter now, and the long transition to civilian life is finally starting to settle in...it has been a few years since I've gotten out, though it feels like yesterday.
ANYWAY.
The engine runs strong. I don't hear any issues with it. It does get extremely hot, so will flush the radiator and watch that when the rain lets up in Oregon and I have a spare day. It was getting hot enough to smoke, so I don't know. Might've let my enthusiasm get ahead of me on this one. Transmission is also slipping out've and back into gear on the highway, and difficult to get into gear and keeping it in gear while driving around town.
I will yank the landau. It is cracked and peeling and surely suspect. Fingers crossed.
Talk to you all soon!
Very cool car in a land barge sort of way. I hope you get the cooling and transmission issues resolved without too much pain.
DaewooOfDeath wrote:
Cool score.
I heard that the ride frequencies on some of those old Cadillacs were so low people could get sea sick riding around. Any truth to that rumor?
< 1hz. Yeah... pretty low.
I've never really had an issue with sea sickness, but from driving the car, yeah, I can see how people could though, totally. The car can literally feel like a boat cornering, and even maneuvering around parking lots, the size and weight lend to an interesting feel. Throw some curves or uneven road in, and the wallow-feeling back and forth and rolling up and down could definitely irritate a sensitive person.
Thanks for the well wishes on the tranny stuff. Hey, it keeps me busy at least. ;-)
Hoop
SuperDork
1/3/12 4:55 p.m.
Where is the smoke coming from? Check the cap, it may be bad. I only ask, because older GMs are notorious for leaking oil out of the valve covers, which will of course make smoke and smell horrible.
Anyway, good luck with the car! Just remember, performance-wise, this car is heavy and FWD. Making it go faster may not have the desired results, so-to-speak.
Thanks from me for your service!
Before he entered his Jag period, my dad drove Eldorados. The last one he had was a 1973 silver convertible with a black top and red interior. He sold his '84 diesel version to buy the '73.
Check the vacuum modulator for the transmission. Those things will leak, the engine will vacuum fluid through them causing a mysterious fluid loss and smoking from the exhaust. Find the modulator (it should be on the right side of the transmission), trace the line to the intake, pop it off and if there's fluid in the hose there's your problem.
One of my earliest car memories is of watching the Cadillacs near us porpoise when we were on interstates with expansion joints.
