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11K views 39 replies 8 participants last post by  Night Wolf 
#1 ·
Well, after completing the 1,400 mile road trip from NY-FL in 2 days with my friend Chris in the '79 DeVille, I have a new love for the 425.

This car, nearly stock/origanal with 93k miles on it never missed a single beat at all...nothing.

This is also THE BEST highway car I have ever been in. I drove the whole way, simply because I never felt tired or anything.... after driving 12+ hours a day, when we got to the destination, I was like... did I just drive over 700 miles? It simply did not feel like it at all... not fatigued, uncomfortable, tired, stressed....nothing.

Even Chris, who was a passenger the whole time, simply did not feel the effects of being in a car that long, he was like, wow, it feels like we just got up and went to the store..... as we went into town to pick some things up after driving 600 miles the 2nd day.

I had the cruise set between 65-85 the whole time, I started off with saving gas in mind and got 17mpg, once we hit Georiga and North FL, I was like what the hell and kicked it up to 85....MPG went down to 15. The car is much more stable at 70/75+ then 60 or 65... dunno why, but it just feels better.... it also dosn't like to be drafting alongside or behind large trucks... I guess it needs the downforce/air resistance.

I knew gas mileage was gonna be bad... I was getting about 320 miles to a tank, and it would take about 19 gallons to fill it... all in all I spent about $240 or so on gas.... eh, whatta ya gonna do?

Chris slept alot durring the trip.... we had my iRiver MP3 player and Chris' iPod going thru the cassette deck, didn't use the FM or XM at all. Stock sound system except for Kenwood 2-way 4x6 in the front, it sound really good.

at 70, the RPM is right at 2,000...the torque peak... at 85 it was around 2,400.... out of the efficent range for the engine, and well over low drag rating for the chassis, yet there wasn't a single issue at all.

I still can't believe how amazing of a highway car it is.... I often rag on the '79 and 425 in general... but no more. Sure the '79 isn't massive like '76 and before, but I have learned to like it... just as much if not more. IMO the interior is superior then the eailer years, and on the highway, that is what counts. The 425, sure it isn't a mega-power, fast drag racer or anything, but it more then gets the job done. 28 years old, 93k miles..... a 1,400 mile trip and *NO* oil consumption at all... it was full when I left and full when I got here...amazing! and I don't drive it easy either... hell the night before we left I did a huge burnout in the Wendys parking lot... sure it was raining, but that was the point... it kinda stayed at redline for a few seconds with my foot to the floor.... that didn't bother it either.... nor did the donuts in the snow last month when I went up to NY....nor jumping it over that one hill back in NY, or taking it to the drag strip, accelerating hard, burrying the speedo in 2nd gear, crusing near 100 for about 30mins stright.... or anything else.

This car simply dosn't care... I do not beat on it though, I take great care of all my stuff, it has a full tune up and gets regular oil changes, I don't do stupid stuff either..... but for whatever reason I don't really treat the '79 as a classic, as I would say a '59 Caddy... I treat it as a sweet daily driver... I am not afraid to use it... probably because I get more enjoyment from the car when I am actually driving it and using it, then I would with it sitting in a garage somewhere.

It isn't without its faults of course... the front end needs some work, mostly the A-arm bushings are shot and need to be replaced, so I will replace everything on the front end when that time comes around. The climate control is tempermental, though the AC is now working (recharged) but I may have to clean the contacts. The new (used) washer motor is starting to be a pain with the washers not working etc.... then stuff out of my control, scratches in the paint, rips in the vinyl top, some hazey chrome, fadded interior etc....

But none of that really bothers me.... hard to explain the bond between this car and me, Actually the bond I have with each of my 3 cars are vastly different from each other.

So in closing, I will say I have a new love for the '79 and the 425, no more will I ever dog on either of them.... they serve an amazing purpose and there is great potential to be had.
 
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#27 ·
I~LUV~Caddys8792 said:
Actually IIRC, the '75 Town Coupes were like .5 second quicker in the 1/4 mile than the '75 Coupe deVilles! :shocked2: I think its a 4bbl 460 running like 208hp and 357 lb/ft of torque.
If you use the stock shift points, maybe. The 460 gives up 23ft.lbs. for 18hp. His car has NO chance in hell against mine though I guarantee. His 2bbl carb has been replaced at some point, and he thinks it was replaced with one that's too small. So before I race him I'll allow him to swap his 4bbl manifold and Edelbrock carb. I'll still stomp him.

Oh, and 3.73s or 3.42s with a 4L80E would just kick ass.
 
#28 ·
Night Wolf said:
From what I know, it was optional.
There is a '79 Fleetwood at the junkyard right now with the rear disc brakes also.
My 1979 service manual shows how the brake mounts are different on the Fleetwoods and Devilles. And my book shows disc brakes as not being an option in 1979. Limited slip was, but I guess disc brakes weren't!
I used to have a 1978 Fleetwood, and that had disc brakes as well. And a rear anti-roll bar, both of which my Deville does not.
One cool thing it did have was the aluminum hood! That bad boy is now on my 79 Deville, and is so much lighter! :eek:
 
#29 ·
Wait... '79 Fleetwood has rear sway bar and DeVille dosn't?

Can this sway bar be installed on the stock 2.28 DeVille rear end?

I know, the aluminum hood is sweet! The '79 Fleetwood at the junkyard has it, but the damn thing has some dents and stuff... I dunno man, it is only $35, so I should just get it....
 
#30 ·
davesdeville said:
If you use the stock shift points, maybe. The 460 gives up 23ft.lbs. for 18hp. His car has NO chance in hell against mine though I guarantee. His 2bbl carb has been replaced at some point, and he thinks it was replaced with one that's too small. So before I race him I'll allow him to swap his 4bbl manifold and Edelbrock carb. I'll still stomp him.
If you don't believe me, heres a road test from 1975. Continental V. DeVille V. Lebaron

http://www.imperialclub.com/Articles/75SilkenGiants/index.htm
 
#31 ·
Night Wolf said:
Wait... '79 Fleetwood has rear sway bar and DeVille dosn't?
Can this sway bar be installed on the stock 2.28 DeVille rear end?
I know, the aluminum hood is sweet! The '79 Fleetwood at the junkyard has it, but the damn thing has some dents and stuff... I dunno man, it is only $35, so I should just get it....
Yeah, my '79 Deville doesn't have a rear sway bar! I'm adding one with my new rear. I would think the one from the Fleetwood could be installed on the Deville with no problems. I think the holes in the lower control arms are there to mount it.
I'd grab that aluminum hood! $35 sounds like a great price, and with how some people can work thier magic on aluminum, it should be no problem to fix. That is unless it's really trashed! Be sure to grab the hood hinges and springs, they are different and the springs are weaker since the hood weighs like 60 pounds less!:D
 
#32 ·
Wow, so I'll check out that sway bar tomorrow! Is it simply bolted up and stuff? easy to come off?

The hood is in pretty nice overall shape... in fact yesterday I thought it was mint, really, I should get it.

So the hinges and springs really are that different? is it easy to unbolt from the chassis of the car to remove?

here is the big question:

*will the hood of a '79 DeVille fit into the trunk of said '79 DeVille!?!?*
 
#33 ·
Night Wolf said:
Wow, so I'll check out that sway bar tomorrow! Is it simply bolted up and stuff? easy to come off?
The hood is in pretty nice overall shape... in fact yesterday I thought it was mint, really, I should get it.
So the hinges and springs really are that different? is it easy to unbolt from the chassis of the car to remove?
here is the big question:
*will the hood of a '79 DeVille fit into the trunk of said '79 DeVille!?!?*
The sway bar is bolted to the lower control arms. They should be easy to get out from under the car. I'd definetely grab that hood! And yes, the springs for the hood are much smaller! I'm not too sure if the hinges are different, but I'd just take them anyways! The hinges are just held on by 3 bolts on each hinge, and then the 3? that hold it to the hood.
I doubt the hood will fit in your trunk, but take an old blanket and some ratcheting tie downs, and strap that sucker to the roof of your Deville!
Good luck!
 
#34 ·
Be sure to grab the pieces that fit inside the trailing arms. These are tapped out to accept the bolts and should be sprayed with WD-40 ahead of time or the threads will pull out. All the cars that I've seen came through with the holes for the swaybar mounts. Once in a while you might see one trailing arm that is turned around backwards. Mid 70's MonteCarlo and GranPrix have heavy rear bars which fit these cars too.
 
#35 ·
caddydaddy said:
The sway bar is bolted to the lower control arms. They should be easy to get out from under the car. I'd definetely grab that hood! And yes, the springs for the hood are much smaller! I'm not too sure if the hinges are different, but I'd just take them anyways! The hinges are just held on by 3 bolts on each hinge, and then the 3? that hold it to the hood.
I doubt the hood will fit in your trunk, but take an old blanket and some ratcheting tie downs, and strap that sucker to the roof of your Deville!
Good luck!
Nice, I'll definitly look at that sway bar today :)

The roof... eh...

The junkyard is about 10mins, if that, from my apartment... I was thinking kinda jamb it sideways in the trunk and bungee cord it down, I'll have to see.
 
#36 ·
The Ape Man said:
Be sure to grab the pieces that fit inside the trailing arms. These are tapped out to accept the bolts and should be sprayed with WD-40 ahead of time or the threads will pull out. All the cars that I've seen came through with the holes for the swaybar mounts. Once in a while you might see one trailing arm that is turned around backwards. Mid 70's MonteCarlo and GranPrix have heavy rear bars which fit these cars too.
How hard are those pieces to get at?

There are a handful of the 70's Monte/Prixs there too....
 
#37 ·
Rick, grab the hood ornaments off the Fleetwoods so you can have the wreath AND crest!
 
#38 ·
As long as the car is not sunk into the ground then you should be OK. Bring box wrenches to get to the bolts that might be hard to reach. No point in removing the swaybar from the mounts either. Leave those large bolts in place. The mounts are constructed like 3 sided square tubing. They are shaped like the letter E without the - .
 
#40 ·
The Ape Man said:
As long as the car is not sunk into the ground then you should be OK. Bring box wrenches to get to the bolts that might be hard to reach. No point in removing the swaybar from the mounts either. Leave those large bolts in place. The mounts are constructed like 3 sided square tubing. They are shaped like the letter E without the - .

ahhh, ok, so remove the mounts with the swab bar left intact?

I'll bring the WD-40 too....

Nope, car is pretty high off the ground actually, they have 2 steels wheels welded, 1 is flat the other is upright, about 4 of those the whole car is sitting on... yeah, it can be a little scary, but I was pushing it and it was pretty stable, the tires are rmoved and the rear end is just laying there (car is held up by body)
 
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