Why nothing got done on the MG today.

One cloudy day, sheesh :) SLC had an inversion so it was all foggy. I’ll try to get a shot before I leave for work tomorrow. 

It's beautiful! I've always liked the idea of a vintage Cadillac like this. They were truly the standard of the world.

Knowing the  family history of a vehicle always makes it that much more interesting. Good story.

That thing looks clean!  Looking forward to seeing it roar with some headers and a cam?

No, I have loud fast cars. This one is to be a smooth cruiser. I might put a switchable exhaust cutout on it just for giggles, but I've got other things to spend my money on than trying to ruin this car :)

Car was parked in the shade and covered in frost this morning, no sunshine pics. Tomorrow.

Who is the guy in the hat behind the truck? 

Next door neighbor of the seller, I think. We borrowed his compressor.

Just insured the car. $38/year through Hagerty.

I'm looking at shocks because I suspect the originals are way gone, and Summit lists Gabriel shocks for "Cadillac, Chevy, Ford, Studebaker" for $27 each. The year range is 1949 to 1969. Man,  big ol' American cars are so cheap compared to weird low production imports.

So, anyone have any suggestions for decent shocks for the big boy? I don't need razor sharp handling, I want to preserve the Cadillac Ride.

Keith Tanner said:

Just insured the car. $38/year through Hagerty.

Wow! What did you set the agreed value at, if you don't mind me asking?

$8k. 1k miles/year, indoor storage, pleasure use only. It's not my only car with Hagerty.

Any car dealer can do the VIN inspection for you Keith

I know, but it will be more fun to have Cadillac do it. I think I can actually have it done at the DMV which is boring.

Still no sunshine - there's snow in the mountains, which means we're overcast. Maybe tomorrow.

But I got stuff done. Warning, so many pictures. I've missed having one of these big boys to noodle around with. The sheer scale of work required to get the green car back into "functional" mode took all the fun out of it.

First, a trip to the DMV. Let's hear it for Mesa County, folks. I showed up with an old car on a trailer, an out of state title that had been transferred twice (Grandson never titled the car) and a request to transfer the plates from my old Cadillac to the new one. I was in and out in about 30 minutes, including the VIN verification. This is not an unusual experience.

The green plates matched the old green car better than the new blue car, but the only way to get blue plates is to be a dealer and that seems excessive.

Into the garage for some work. I had to push the Mini out of the way (it could not manage sustained combustion today, the little bastard) and pulled a Miata out. This wil not be the permanent parking space for the big boy but it'll do today.

Step 1 was to transfer the fairly new (2016) tires from the green car to this one. These old tires are the sort of tires that get people killed - lots of tread and they look good, but the date stamp is in a format I don't recognize which means they're way too old to use. That's them on the right.

This swap involved breaking out the factory jack. You cannot access this without literally climbing into the trunk. It's underneath the back window. When you pull it out, you discover it's basically a High-Lift with a custom attachment on it. The owner's manual is very explicit as to where this thing goes, there are strong points under the bumper. Interestingly, it's not very verbose about how to assemble it, assuming a minimum level of mechanical ability. You know, it's quite possible that the original owners of these cars would be WWII veterans, so getting stuff done was expected.

The surface rust is indicative of a rear window that's starting to leak. Hasn't been for long based on the condition of the trunk, but it will need to be fixed.

Decision time. I have two types of hubcaps. The one on the left is more streamlined and was on my other two cars. The one on the right is - I think - for a Fleetwood and is more formal. That's what was on the new car when I got it. I decided to go with streamlined but I reserve the right to change my mind.

Now with new tires and a fluid check, it's time to go for a cruise. I'll be back!

Streamlined would've been my vote too.

That is an absolutely stunning torpedo. I'd be content just watching it saunter down the interstate.

First stop on the first drive: a gas station. 

Soooo many jokes. But seriously, the gas was at least three years old. $70 worth of high test later and we have some octane. 

Cool car congrats Keith!

Keith Tanner said:

First stop on the first drive: a gas station. 

 

Soooo many jokes. But seriously, the gas was at least three years old. $70 worth of high test later and we have some octane. 

It doesn't have that little import fuel tank, does it?  

Looks like a great buy to me!  Enjoy it.

26 gallon capacity. I only put in 20 :)

But when it’s full, it is super full! This car gives 110%.

Jeez, with 26 gallons you might be able to stretch out a.. .er... 250 mile range! 

I'm sure you'll be getting Christmas cards from BP.

Love the pics. Makes me think of a different time in America 

aside from washing and waxing it, there is not a single negative to this car 

you are almost enabling me Keith 

Knurled. said:

Jeez, with 26 gallons you might be able to stretch out a.. .er... 250 mile range! 

 

I'm sure you'll be getting Christmas cards from BP.

You’re being rude. I seem to recall 13-ish on the highway. That’s 338 miles! Better than the Tesla :D Just. 

Look at Monroe Matics for the shocks, decent ride and stronger than the OEM.

Monroe tags the Matic as the "economical" solution. I can get their premium option (OESpectrum) for under $90 for the entire freakin' car! So I've ordered a set. Pretty low risk.

That test drive yesterday turned into a little tour around town and a visit to NAPA. Then Janel and I took the Caddy out for dinner and I brought it to work this morning. I've got about 65 miles on it so far. Here's what I've learned.

There's a shake in the car. Feels like an out of balance wheel. The tires I swapped in had been sitting (with pressure) under my green car for about a year and a half, so I figured they'd be flat spotted but it hasn't gone away yet. I'll throw them on the balancer at work today to check. It could also be shocks, and for under $90 there's a new set on the way. The car is pretty clearly running without shocks, even by old Cadillac standards.

The steering wheel is off center. I'll take a look at that when it's on the lift for the wheels.

The car is a little cranky when cold. Well, you know what? It's an old carbureted beast! We forget that they need a bit of coddling sometimes. 

And now, some of the work I've done.

The temperature gauge didn't get to the first (of four) hash mark and the heater didn't come on during the first test drive. The fan wouldn't even come on. I decided it might be a stuck thermostat, so I picked up a replacement at NAPA. When I went to change it, one of the two bolts holding the housing on snapped off. I welded a nut on top and it came out. Chased the threads and everything's good.

I also noticed a couple of disconnected lines to a...well, if it was electrical I'd call it a solenoid...valve in the heater line. Remember when I said I'd never seen a cracked one? Well, now I have :)

Trimmed 1/2" off the ends and plugged them back in. On the next drive, the temperature gauge sat at the same place but the heater enthusiastically pumped out the BTUs. Or whatever the red-blooded American version is. I think the temperature gauge is another old car thing - it dates back from the era when overheating was a thing that happened, so most of the gauge is devoted to showing the progression. It's been too long since I drove the green car, so I forget. I'll check the owner's manual tonight. The automatic HVAC is automatically adjusting heat although it seems to read a little high - I think you have to set it for about 5F higher than you really want. We'll make friends.

While I was dinking around with the thermostat, I noticed the sediment bowl was covered in gunk. I wiped it off and thought "I should probably pull that out and look". Good thing I did.

Eww. Well, it's done the job it was built to do. I rinsed and cleaned and reassembled. I'll monitor it to see if it continues to pick up crap. There may be some fuel tank rehab in my future.

But this caused another problem. The gasket had a bit of damage. I put it back in and got a slow leak. I tried cutting another one out of rubber, I got a fast leak. I pulled out one of my spare fuel filter housings - I have a pile of these for some reason. How did I get so many? That let me cut a much better fitting gasket, which solved the problem. I picked up a new filter ($5.99) from NAPA this morning so I'll swap that in along with the included gasket.

I also found the turn indicator bulb on one side was blown, so I figured out how to disassemble the front light and replace it. Hmm, still not flashing. More investigation required, but it's fair to say that this bulb would not flash under any circumstances. The cornering light on that side is also not working, I'll dig into that later.

Divers impressions: man, I've missed these things. 

I've learned more about Firemist. It's a very specific type of metallic that was Cadillac-specific at first and was also used for guitars. I think that's what I have here. It's almost a satin color in the overcast light that persists here, and then goes deep when the sun comes out. I still need to clean off the transport grime but the way the car beads water makes me think that it's been waxed relatively recently. I am interested in learning more about this color.

This car has the original wheel in it. The plastic has cracked, and my green car has a leather wrap around the wheel for that reason. The unmodified wheel is very delicate and slim. Between that, the big loungy seat and the strong power steering, it's a car you drive with your fingertips.

The car has lights on top of the fenders showing when the turn indicators are flashing. I'll get a pic, but it's a feature I've always loved. The peaks on the top of the front fenders and the fins on the rear make it really easy to see exactly where the corners are, and the front wheels can turn at an alarming angle which means the car is actually quite easy to manouver.

You cannot stop this car without getting into a conversation. At the gas station yesterday, a guy in a new Mercedes pulled in behind just to talk and to look around at the car. He didn't need gas, the car had pulled him in. Everyone loves an old Cadillac. 

Various systems are shaking off the rust and coming online. For example, the door switch for the interior lights wasn't working on the driver side until it had been exercised a few times. The automatic headlights are now turning on and off as requested after I fiddled with the knobs for a bit, and the autodimming also works. You can set the trigger distance for that. What's funny is that it can sometimes confuse itself with a reflective road sign, and get into a loop of "bright sign, dim the lights, sign is gone, high beam, bright sign, dim the lights". And you know what? This technology has not improved, the 2019 Miata isn't much better. 

Gratuitous pic of the evening sun on the far side of the valley when I got home from my test drive. This had the potential to be a much better picture but it's a short-lived moment so I just jumped out of the car on the way down to the shop and took a pic with the ol' iPhone SE.

Keith Tanner said:

You cannot stop this car without getting in a conversation. At the gas station yesterday, a guy in a new Mercedes pulled in behind just to talk and to look around at the car. He didn't need gas, the car had pulled him in. Everyone loves an old Cadillac. 

LOL, i thought you meant getting in a conversation with the brakes.  Like, "oh please sweet little seven pound eight ounce baby Jesus, please let this car stop!"

There's nothing like a classic Cadillac. Makes me want to go buy another one.