Update on the new Cadirat v.2

So I finally had some time to work on it for a couple hours today... It's a LOT cleaner underneath than I was expecting! I mean, it's no southern car, it's just a little scaly, but very solid. Floors, rockers, frame, everything. Too cool.

So I started by taking off the driver's exhaust manifold. Took it and the cat off in one piece. Took the water pump and opti off next. Came apart pretty easy. But man, I really had to use my rubber mallet to get that water pump off!!!! I hadn't had to do that before!

Anyways, I think I might have found the opti problem...










Yeah, you saw that right. Bare ends of the plug wires just pushed into the opti. 2 of the ports were broken on it, too! Inside, it didn't look too bad though. And it still had the stock plugs in it at 169k! Oofah.

And wouldn't you know it, my whizzer wheel accidentally went through the air pump tubing and then that stuff all fell out. Oh well. Guess I won't be putting that back.

I also noticed some disconcerting things on the passenger's side. Apparently that side got RED HOT and melted all kinds of stuff over there. It melted the alternator plug to the alternator, so I had to break it to get it off. Also melted the wiring harness that goes down behind the alternator for the PS, AC, coolant tank sensor, and whatever else is in there. Looks like the wire loom took the worst of that and the wiring looks ok. Gonna try it anyways. Also melted the vacuum lines that run past the alternator. Shit got HOT over there! The valvecover is all burnt up the side too from where the gaskets blew out so it could breathe. Yikes!

So here's a weird thing... When I separated the passenger cat from the manifold and tipped it over, a whole bunch of gold/silver sandy stuff came out of it. I'd never seen that before... Hope it's not metal from inside the engine! Here's a couple shots of the dust on the floor...




Very odd. Any ideas what that stuff is? I don't see any in the exhaust ports... *shrug?*

Thanks to Billy Mac, I have a good distributor to put together and throw back in it. My spare broke all 4 bolts when I tried to take it apart. He send me all but a cap and rotor, which I have from Accell. Thanks Billy! I will probably do that tomorrow. Alson with new Autolite platinums and a set of Summit F wires. I also need to finish reinstalling the passenger manifold. Haven't started on the driver's side yet. Then I need to decide on what to do with the cats. Hollow out my old ones? Or try a spare set I have? Both look to have the stock o2's in them, one set has 150K and the other has 169K. I have a used pair with like 5K on them, but who knows if I'll be able to get them out???

Anyways, making progress. Will go back in the garage tomorrow if I have time.

And go figure... I'm already 100 bucks into my "free" fix that I had all the parts for. Oofah. I had cats and wires and cap and rotor kit... Plugs and gaskets are expensive now! Coolant too! Oye! And I grabbed a new thermostat. And I will need to replace the water pump too, cuz this one's bearing is toast. Guess nothing is free, eh?

Maybe all those flakes were evidence of the cats getting so hot, they started to fail and collapse inside. it could be the cooled metals from the catalyst as a result of that. i hope the valves and all that are still ok

Do a compression check, but I'm betting it's the cats crap When it got hot.

Damn them wires were a mess! I have a set of some taylors I will let go cheap. Just missing 1 wire.

WAIT! Did I miss s-thin? Cadirat v2? I'll be back in a minute.

Holy shnikey! That looks like shit! Still looks like fun though.

I also had an air pump accident on the 9c1. Could not find it while putting everything back together. So I grabed one of those get out of jail free stickers and installed it on my upper radiator mount. All is well now.

Updated. "94 Fleetwood Medium Garnet Red Metallic with purple guts." Got it!

Tomz9C1 wrote:

Updated. "94 Fleetwood Medium Garnet Red Metallic with purple guts." Got it!

Try to stay with us Tom. That is what you get for being on the left coast.

Edit: Just noticed the #1 wire used for a coil wire.

Hi Tom!!!! So what'd you miss?

One of those 02s.I beleive the drivers side. Which ever side is easiest to change LOL has less than a couple of thousand miles on it.
I have a spare good used waterpump shipping might be cost prohibitive.

damn!! looks like ur in need of some brake clean and a opti. i have my old opti if ur looking 2 save some money.. theres nothin wrong with it

Billy Mac stopped by this afternoon and got a bit more done. We got the manifolds on, the opti swapped (pieced together a good one and put my accell cap and rotor on it), a NEW water pump on, and new plugs and wires. Ended up firing it up open manifolds with no MAF and it ran awesome. We just ran out of day to continue. So if I can find time tomorrow or tuesday, hopefully I can get the cats on it and then fill it up with coolant and put the rest of the front of the motor stuff on and TAKE IT FOR A RIDE!!!!!

Thanks for the help, Billy!

No problem.
I saw this on my way to Bill's

IMPALADAKID wrote:

Tomz9C1 wrote:

Updated. "94 Fleetwood Medium Garnet Red Metallic with purple guts." Got it!

Try to stay with us Tom. That is what you get for being on the left coast.

Edit: Just noticed the #1 wire used for a coil wire.

Like fur surrre man! OMG It's like 71 degrees man!

Caddy FAIL!

So Al stopped by tonight and we got it all back together and all the fluids topped off. Never thought I'd ever reinstall a home plate and first base and stock airbox ever again, but I was fresh out of PVC, SLHAI's, and hockey pucks. Got the new-to-me cats on and all that (thanks again, Mark). Fired it up and the driver's manifold is leaking somewhere and the passenger manifold seems to be cracked. Dammit! But it ran good... until the power steering pumped itself dry and all over the floor. D'oh! Pressure lined is blown right where it bolts to the crossmember and the return line appears to be melted. Drat. So we didn't run it more than 15-20 seconds, but it seemed to run good. So now I am on the lookout for a power steering line pair... Plan is to fix the power steering and drive it around with the exhaust leaks and see if it's worth putting headers and such on.

But on a brighter note, Chris showed up and started in on cleaning up the interior. Wow. He does some great work! That is cleaning up REAL nice. The carpet looks brand new again! Can't wait to spend some time in there when he finishes it!

So stay tuned. I will not be defeated!

We have faith in you. I'm sure when it's done it'll be the car everyone drools over. Just remember that every day you are one step further along then the day before.

Ill look around, see what I have for ps lines bill.

So I made some more progress last night. I didn't get to start on it til after 9pm, so I only worked on it for a couple hours...

But I did manage to get the old power steering line off. It was a bit of a battle because the abs box/controller is right on top of the steering box. So you can't just chop the line off and use a socket so it doesn't strip. I managed to break it loose but the line was stuck to the fitting and I couldn't get any cutting tools in there! But I finally got in there with the dremel most of the way through and rocked it back and forth til it snapped off. Getting the old line out was tricky, but it's out. Then I pulled a new return line through too. That's where I quit. Man, I was covered from fingertips to armpit in nasty black grease. I haven't been THAT messy in a long time!

Tonight, hopefully I can get into the garage and finish it off and take it for a ride! (starting to sound like a broken record )

this thing isnt in bad shape at all, the body is great and the guts really arent bad for being 15 years old. its gonna run the balls when your done.... and look it too!

VICTORY IS MINE!!!!!

Well, a small victory, anyways. I managed to get it all back together and take it for my first ride tonight! The check engine light only came on once, too! Well, that and the low oil light. But it was a successful round trip! Woot!!!!

I tell you what, I'd rather swap an engine on these things than change those power steering lines again. What a pain in the balls! and the cooked alternator was only putting out 11 volts, so I swapped it with a spare and spliced in a new (used) plug for it off a harness I had laying around. Still need to change the oil and swap out the snows on steelies in the back for the stockers with all seasons.

But back to the drive... It sputtered a bit and hesitated under full throttle. That's when the check engine light came on. Who knows what kind of carbon buildup is on the heads and valves at this point... And the gas is probly 9 months old. too. so I'll fill it with premium next time I drive it to try and bump up the octane a bit and see what happens.

It also leaks tranny fluid at the cooler lines. And might have a cracked tank in the radiator. And I think the primary cooling fan is toast. And the passenger seat switch has a mind of its own. And the trunk pulldown motor is fubared. And the power antenna doesn't go up all the way. but that's ok, cuz it doesn't go down all the way either sometimes. And it still has exhaust leaks in the manifoldal/cat area. And...

But it RUNS AND DRIVES! Drives nice, too! Man, I missed seeing the caddy hood ornament when driving at night! And it's so quiet inside... Drives like a boat! LOL! I think she's gonna be a nice driver. I may just leave this one alone and drive it as it is...

Sea foam it!

toomanytoyz wrote:

I may just leave this one alone and drive it as it is...

sure you will

toomanytoyz wrote:

I may just leave this one alone and drive it as it is...

i think you just set yourself up

Gesus what do you want for the price you paid a cadillac?

mean ss wrote:

toomanytoyz wrote:

I may just leave this one alone and drive it as it is...

sure you will

GasTT wrote:

toomanytoyz wrote:

I may just leave this one alone and drive it as it is...

i think you just set yourself up

Yeah, I know.

No Moa wrote:

Gesus what do you want for the price you paid a cadillac?

Hey, I'm not complaining at all! I was really excited last night. I was just fillin ya all in on what's going on is all...

Lol I know.

So I think I figured out the WOT hesitation/surge... I was thinking about it and came up that it felt like i wasn't getting fuel. The tank showed a 1/4 full, but I took it to the gas station right near my house to fill it with premium and it took - 22.5 gallons!!!! Well, that's your problem right there, sir. 22.5 gallons into a 21 gallon tank means you're out of gas, shithead. LOL. So yeah, yet another GM gas gauge not to trust! I hammered down coming out of the lot and murdered that right rear!...until the traction control kicked on. So I guess that still works.

It does need a radiator. It's leaking at the top of the tank to core seam on the driver's side. anyone got a good spare? I need a primary cooling fan, too. Figures, I got rid of both my spares this year to other guys! Shit! That's why I never sell anything. lol It needs a heater blower motor too. That thing sounds (and feels!) like a freight train running through the interior. I should see if it just has crap stock in the fan blades and basket.

Steve stopped by with my nubbies and to pick up some parts he had here a little while ago. Thanks, Steve! Now I gotta swap the tires over, too.

Ok. Back out to the yard to clean it and stuff...

Woot!

If you just need the fan motor Advance has them, under $30 the last time I got one.

I got a radiator from autoparts123.com not too long ago. I just did a search by the part number and they were the cheapest. Try coupon code "HALLOWEEN" for 10% off if you go with them.

And if you really miss working on dirty cars feel free to stop by. The Corsica needs a head gasket.

Chugging along again today. Got the tires changed out and ran it through the car wash. Looks much better with matching wheels!




Then Bella wanted to check it out. She kept saying "coooooooool."




I went around and tightened up the manifold bolts again. Also decided to get rid of the baseball field. I found the leak in the coolant tank, too. It was a small crack in the tank. So I cleaned it, sanded it, brake cleaned it and then 5 minute plastic epoxied it!

We'll see how that works out. I needed a radiator anyway, so no loss if it doesn't work.

And I had a 45 and a 90 pvc elbow, so I lopped off half the 90 and made a sewer pipe. Also found my hole saws. I like swiss cheese.


I tried the yankee candle trick, cuz I didn't have a hockey puck. Good thing I went to get one. The lid popped out on the way back from the store.




And Chris stopped by and finished the interior. Looks frikken AWESOME!!! I'm amazed.




He also wetsanded and buffed half the trunk. Wow. No pics of that though. I can't wait for him to finish that! Thanks Chris!!!!

So that's it for now. Might be taking it on a little road trip tonight. Hee hee...

Wow that's great!

toomanytoyz wrote:

Might be taking it on a little road trip tonight. Hee hee...

Oh boy!

Coming along nice Bill.

Get that stainless polished soon.

Bella looks right at home in the caddy.

EDIT: I got a chance to see this car tonight. You know, "Secret Society" quarterly meeting stuff. Anyways, the before and after are night and day.

Looking good Mr C.

Thanks guys! I really can't wait to get the outside done! Chris might kill me, but I think I am going to hit it with some Mother's cleaner wax today just so I can drive it for the week without a bag over my head. Need to hit that stainless with some steel wool and chrome polish, too. (I think I just heard Chris cringe... lol)

Yeah, I forgot that I also changed out the cooling fan yesterday, too. It figures, I've had two complete primary and secondary fan sets for like 5 years, and this year I got rid of both primary ones to a couple of you guys and now I needed it! Doh! That's why I never get rid of anything. lol. But luckily, for some reason, one of my secondary fans had the smaller motor on it, so I just swapped the good motor over to my primary bracket. Sweet.

Also did a quick TB service. I'll have to remember to NOT use that toothbrush again! lol!

The ride went good last night. I think we put about 80 miles on it. The "patch" on the radiator tank is bubbling, but hasn't let go yet after the trip, so that needs attention still. Al said he had some SEM plastic repair stuff I could try. So if that doesn't work, then I'll do a radiator... But the car drives killer. Nice and smooth and straight and floaty. Only a slight tire vibration. I'm amazed. Gotta get used to that slow steering box again. It's 4 and half turns, lock to lock! Wow! It makes the highway drive feel weird because corrections are so delayed. Gotta go back to the old school "ticklin' the wheel" when driving this one. Al noticed it on the ride back, too. So it's not just me.

Plans? Maybe I can hit 13's for under a grand? I think headers and exhaust. Then maybe 4.10's and a posi and a s10 or vette converter. That'll get me close. And nubbies with caps, rings, and whitewalls and I think I'll call it done. Might throw a set of 1.6 roller rockers on it that I have kicking around, too. With a set of drag radials, I may be knockin' on the door. But this'll just be a cruiser, that'll see some straight line racin... I'm not gonna autocross it. I think. We'll see...

Besides, I'll have the wagon when I want to go fast. (When have you ever heard ANYONE say that???? lol!)

I love this thing. I'm gonna keep it forever.

Sounds like a nice ride. Try some JB weld on that radiator. I used it to fix a coolant leak once. Worked great.

toomanytoyz wrote:

I'm gonna keep it forever.

Whatever. Dibs on it when you put it up for sale.

IMPALADAKID wrote:

toomanytoyz wrote:

I'm gonna keep it forever.

Whatever. Dibs on it when you put it up for sale.

LOLz.

So I spent a little time today on the outside, jut to make it presentable. Hit it by hand with some 3M swirl/oxidation remover. There's a lot of real estate to hand rub on that car! Here's a few shots before I cleaned up the stainless...










And then here are the same shots, albeit crappier quality (damn flash messing things up!), after an hour with the chrome polish and steel wool...










It doesn't look anywhere near perfect, but at least the haze is gone (for the most part) and it's got a little bit of a shine to it... I still can't wait for Chris to attack it!

Satin Black
Gloss Black Flames
Some Bright Colored Steelies & Povery Caps
Wide Whites
Tint
Done.

LiveFreeorDieTryin wrote:

Satin Black
Gloss Black Flames
Some Bright Colored Steelies & Povery Caps
Wide Whites
Tint
Done.

Not completely outside the realm of possibilities. But I really like the red. And I'm not 100% sure that I want to kill the resale value on it just yet...

Either way, it's getting it's new shoes this week. And maybe some tint in the near future. But not sure on that yet. This is going to be the low buck/no buck mod car.

toomanytoyz wrote:

LiveFreeorDieTryin wrote:

Satin Black
Gloss Black Flames
Some Bright Colored Steelies & Povery Caps
Wide Whites
Tint
Done.

Not completely outside the realm of possibilities. But I really like the red. And I'm not 100% sure that I want to kill the resale value on it just yet...

Either way, it's getting it's new shoes this week. And maybe some tint in the near future. But not sure on that yet. This is going to be the low buck/no buck mod car.

Everyone knows your MO now
Red does look good & messing with the body should come 2nd this time of year.
When your sitting in a noreaster & the snow buries the car in 30seconds youll be better off with no exhaust leaks etc
Your almost thru the motor, you'll get to the electronics,
suspension is quick & easy, then, if you decide to you hit the body.....not that your going to touch it or anything

NICE...
cars cleaning up pretty good.

ive always been 50/50 on the fleetwoods.
they look great from some angles, and not so much from others.
cant figure out what it is that does it.

Speaking of steelies, not sure if it helps or not but there are a bunch of 2wd vans at Hollands. Im not sure if theyre all 5 or 6 lug though.

That's coming along real nice- I wouldn't repaint it, that paint would look perfect with a nice detail, it looks good already! The color is awesome.

My white car's paint looks like chalk!

yup the paint is gonna come back awesome....... whooo whoo i cant wait......

Nubbies!



Thanks to Steve's generosity, I had 3 15x6's and one 15x7... DOH! Luckily, my spare was a 15x7, so it's not a total fail. LOL!

Ordered my moon caps and trim rings yesterday. If the wheels end up looking as good dry as they did wet though, I may skip the trim rings. We'll see.

Where did u get the caps?

toomanytoyz wrote:

Nubbies!

Thanks to Steve's generosity, I had 3 15x6's and one 15x7... DOH!

WTF?
Sorry, I was in such a hurray pulling & swapping I never even checked or noticed

sdstick wrote:

toomanytoyz wrote:

Nubbies!

Thanks to Steve's generosity, I had 3 15x6's and one 15x7... DOH!

WTF?
Sorry, I was in such a hurray pulling & swapping I never even checked or noticed

You are so into the secret society now

sdstick wrote:

toomanytoyz wrote:

Nubbies!

Thanks to Steve's generosity, I had 3 15x6's and one 15x7... DOH!

WTF?
Sorry, I was in such a hurray pulling & swapping I never even checked or noticed

LOL!

No problem. Luckily, my spare matched the odd one out. So I'll have two 6's up front and two 7's out back. Staggered, yo!

So Chris and I spent the entire day on the car today. Well, Chris did anyways... I was mostly in the way. I hit the deep scratches with some touch up paint. And he wetsanded it. Compounded it with the buffer. Jim stopped by to avoid working on his stuff at some point and hung around a bit, but I couldn't convince him to try wetsanding. Then we did some more wetsanding. Some more compounding. And some more. Then some compounding with a lighter something. Then he buffed the stainless. And even hit the taillights, came out good! Then we took it to the spray wash and cleaned it all off, creases, door jambs, trunk jamb, the works. And then back to the garage for another round of some polishing with the buffer. Then a hand applied Meguire's NXT and OMG.





Wow. Just... Wow.

Daylight pics to come.

Thanks so much, Chris! I cannot believe this is the same car. It is absolutely gorgeous. I am blown away. Wow. I can't tell you how many times today I heard "Man, this is a HUGE effin car!" And it is. A TON of work went into it today. He really knows what he's doing with that buffer!

Wow.

Friggin' BLING BLING!