Cadillac #8: 1970 Sedan DeVille

[XP715]

Picked her up this morning for $600 off two dorky yuppie brothers in Bow, NH. Runs, drives, shifts, and stops. Incredibly solid (have the original Florida title from 1970) except for a little bubbling at the bottoms of the front fenders. Needs cosmetic love, but is mechanically awesome. Goes down the road straight, smooth, and quiet as a Cadillac should. Has a 2 year-old rebuilt transmission with a 50,000 mile warranty that is transferrable to me. It's gonna be me and the girl's backup car/summer beater. I'm glad to have picked it up; I've been having withdrawals since I traded Sixty8 the Banana for my Suburban, but now I once again have a driver!

Edited May 23, 2008 by XP715

[balthazar]

Hardtop or sedan?

[Intrepidation]

Saw the ad today on Craigslist thinking "man I wish I had the money for that." Ya bastard, congrats!

[XP715]

Hardtop or sedan?

Hardtop, dude; only way to fly!

...... literally. I think the Fleetwoods were the only ones that had a post in '70.

[XP715]

Here's a link to the craigslist ad for a few crappy pics until Sixty8 puts up his:

http://nh.craigslist.org/car/676557735.html

[ocnblu]

Oh look, a big ol' fat banana yellow '69 Firebird parked next to it.

Nice cruiser, XP. I'll be waiting for more pictures.

[balthazar]

Fleetwood Series 60 Specials were sedans only, SdV's were offered either way.

[Sixty8panther]

Youda been krazy to say "B-pillars? yes please!"

I'll get the pics. up tomorrow if I have a chance

to upload my camera.

[XP715]

SdV's were offered either way.

Were they really? Jeez, I almost want to find one now just because I've never ever seen one!

[Sixty8panther]

Sorry for the delay Bro.

You know all the insanity I'm going through, pregnant wife,

moving AGAIN and three cars that all ask for my time & $.

I will say I'm glad I talked you into this one. You've gotten

disgustingly picky. I have never seen a person turn their

nose up at so many gorgeous classics. I guess growing up

with your old man will do that to you.

Still, I can't believe you had to ask me weather I think it

was a good deal at $600. Jeez.... I donno, a 95% rock solid

'70 Deville with B-pillar delete? Hmmmm.... Uhhh...

I think the tight whips car club has spent less on $130,000

worth of classic cars than an average person spends on a

base-model Toyota Avalon.

Anyway, without further delay:

Hardtops rule!

XP has a theory about how '70 Cadillac hood ornaments

must have used a higher quality enamel/paint than the

average year since they hold up so well 9/10 times.

The now familiar 472. The "baby" brother to the 500.

I love this feature. Classic Cadillacs spoil you.

Once you own a old Cadillac and you set the twilight

sentinel & auto high-beam switches on you'll never

need to turn the lights on/off or turn on your high

beams, or dim them for oncoming traffic... you start

to take it for granted. Why the heck do brand new

cars thirty years later still not have this standard?

And here she is at speed...

more to come soon...

Edited May 30, 2008 by Sixty8panther

[balthazar]

As you might guess- there are many older years that talk louder to me, but the '69-70 by itself is a sweet car. How about lowering it 1.5"? No? Oh well.

I haven't yet had an Autronic Eye car- I'd put an affordable setup in the B-59 if I could get my hands on one.

[Sixty8panther]

I've become a master of photography while driving...

Damn car's sooooooo long I had to be two and a half

lanes away to fit it in my Niko's lens... barely.

That's the strap from the camera flapping in the

breeeze... as I try not to sideswipe Toyotas or

get sideswiped by a KW900 or PB 379.

yes, I DID have to hold my arm 99% out the window and low down

close to my rocker panel to take this shot.*

* No Banana Boats were crashed in the making of this photograph.

[Sixty8panther]

yes, I DID have to hold my arm 99% out the window and low down

close to my rocker panel to take this shot.*

* No Banana Boats were crashed in the making of this photograph.

OOopppps, posted the wrong photo the first time.

THIS is the llow angle shot:

[knightfan26917]

NICE!!!!

Congratulations!

(Heh, my first thought when I looked at that front end ... 'LOOK! It's Boss Hogg's winter beater!' ... LOL!)

Cort:34swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve&pacemaker

WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"We go cruising to entertain ourselves" ... Tracy Chapman ... 'Fast Car'

[XP715]

Hah, yeah, it needs a little love cosmetically, but mechanically it's awesome. And the body is actually super solid and straight, save for the front fender bottoms that are junk. There's not even one speck of rust behind either of the fender skirts; I pulled them off and looked around everywhere and there was nothing to be found. Rear dog legs, center posts, rocker panels, quarter panels, and trunk floor all solid!

Since picking her up, I have done the following:

-had the front wheels rebalanced with the wheel weights on the inside so it can wear a full set of hubcaps again

-had the carburetor rebuilt

-full tune-up: plugs, wires, cap, rotor, points, condenser, PCV, air filter, fuel filter, and oil change

-all new vacuum hoses

-set the timing

All things considered, she runs pretty damn good. Next up will be a new water pump (think it's making a little noise and I say better safe than sorry) and complete coolant system flush with all the incidentals (radiator hoses, heater hoses, thermostat) and a new set of valve cover gaskets because the old ones appear to have been leaking a little bit towards the back of the motor. After that's all done, I can take it to the car wash and hit it with a little degreaser and pressure wash off all the junk that's on it.

Then it's on to the front brakes: new pads and having the rotors turned for starters. The car pulls to the left a little bit when stopping, so I might have to have the calipers rebuilt if that's not remedied with the new pads (I think they're worn a little unevenly, perhaps from a caliper that stuck in the past?).

I love having an old beater to work on

[Sixty8panther]

I think you did pretty damn well o this one, I know you're more

partial to '71s than '69/'70 but those huge "monolithic" front

fenders look awesome from head on with this gen. At once point

as a young kid I considered the '70 my FAVORITE year of

Cadillacs after being awestruck by one at a car show.

Anyway you're having your fun with the car despite $4/gallon gas

AND it always helps to WORK at an auto parts store if you're

always buying/fixing up/maintaining/selling old GM classics. Does

the G/F approve of it as much as that '69 she was smitten with?

[XP715]

I think you did pretty damn well o this one, I know you're more

partial to '71s than '69/'70 but those huge "monolithic" front

fenders look awesome from head on with this gen. At once point

as a young kid I considered the '70 my FAVORITE year of

Cadillacs after being awestruck by one at a car show.

Anyway you're having your fun with the car despite $4/gallon gas

AND it always helps to WORK at an auto parts store if you're

always buying/fixing up/maintaining/selling old GM classics. Does

the G/F approve of it as much as that '69 she was smitten with?

She loves the car but I'd sell it in half a second if it meant getting a car she fell in love with about a week ago. I'm still figuring out how to get my hands on it!

[Sixty8panther]

What now?

I hope it's a '71 boattail Riv or a '59 some-thing-or-other