Hello,

Well this is my first post here and I hope some of you folks can give me some advice on my most recent acquisition. I saw a 1971 DeVille on Craigslist for $750. I called the owner who was a young guy that drove the car while in H.S. and took it off the road in 2003. His Grandfather bought it new in 1971 and gave it to him when his health declined. Long story short the car doesn't run but did run okay when he parked it 5 years ago. I've been working on cars all my life for a hobby so I figured I'd check it out as it was only 4 miles from my house. It was as described, complete and not running. It's very musty smelling and the trunk has rotted through on the drivers side under the mat. The floors are very solid as is the frame. Minor rust at the rear of the front fenders and the fender skirts are missing. The interior is rough but no tears in the leather and the headliner is very good. The engine compartment is dirty but all the vacuum lines and harnesses are intact and it doesn't appear to be tampered with. I offered him $200 and he said he could get $350 from the scrap yard. I left and later that day he emailed and we agreed on $250.
I had it towed home and dove in. I removed the spark plugs and sprayed some Marvel Mystery Oil in to each cylinder and let it sit overnight. I installed a battery and spun the engine over on the starter. It turned easily so I installed new plugs and added new fuel to the tank. To my surprise it fired right up!
I let it run for a few seconds then checked for leaks and fired it up again. It runs great! I got it warm and did a compression test. Here are the results.
#1) 145 #5) 165
#2) 170 #6) 150
#3) 135 #7) 150
#4) 155 #8) 155

My experience has told me that they should all be within 15% or so of each other. So it's a little soft on #3 or maybe all the way around?

It idles well and takes throttle smoothly. I have to adjust the ign. timing.
I has an exhaust manifold leak on the passenger side at the rear in the middle of the manifold (not at the head).
The "Brake" light is on in the dash module as is the "Gen" lamp ( fluid in BMC is full) (Alternator is putting out 12.75V at idle and 13.0V off idle).
Transmission leak at output seal rear.
So here is the question. Is this car worth fixing up or should I take out the battery and let the scrap yard take it away for $250? I really don't want to get into any major mechanical work but it seems all that this needs is a little TLC. I can do the body work myself and have a friend who can weld the trunk floor in. It's gonna need brakes and exhaust too. I've been looking for a winter project but I'm concerned with the availability of parts (body,trim, interior etc). I'd like to have a decent driver for next spring.
I'd appreciate any honest opinions.
Thanks,
Max

looks good to me, and the price was right

Gorgeous car. You got it for an absolutle steal. A car like that would probably go for 2k up here, just because they're so rare. The only ones for $250 are the ones with very little floor/frame left.

That is a very nice looking car. I'm a sucker for black. I think it is well worth fixing. I hope it doesn't go to the scrap yard. If you were close to me I would buy it and I already have way too many cars but that is definitely a sharp car. It doesn't even look bad without the skirts. I say you got a good deal.

That car is wayyyy too nice to go to the scrapper. The interior looks excellent! Great leather, great dash, great everything like door panels and steering wheel too! It would be a darn shame to junk that, even to part it out. If you made it run and it's in that shape, I bet you could get $1500 at a bare minimum in the market place. The motor alone is worth triple what you paid. And everything else looks doable.

That looks like an easily restorable car IMO. Nice interior, straight body, not a whole lot of rust(from the pics). That would be a fun car to cram a built 500cu Caddy motor into, don't have to worry about emissions testing.

Thanks guys!
I'll have to agree with your observations. It really isn't all that bad for a 37 year old Cadillac and the damn thing just is fun to look at, not to mention drive around the driveway. Talk about torque!!!!. I jacked up the read end to inspect the trunk floor and was blown away by the shear mass of this thing. Also I believe it has a positraction rear end. If you spin one wheel the other one spins in the same direction(at least with Porsches and other makes that indicates a limited slip diff.) Did Cadillac offer the positraction on the DeVille? I'm going to push forward and clean her up today. I'll post some pictures later on. Turns out the exhaust leak at the manifold is at the head so that should be an easy fix.
Now I just have to remind myself to take my time and not go over board. Half the fun is the journey, right?
Thanks again for your comments.
Max

Max! Nice car! I have a '73 Coupe - same shape. Save it man, save it! There's nto a lot to do, it's all simple stuff that is bordering on general maintenance

best wishes, Nick

Latest update. I bought some fender skirts on Ebay. You won't believe the price...$9.87 each!!! They are black and have the correct stainless trim too!
I sourced out aftermarket ones and they were at least $225 a pair. I've replaced the alternator and voltage regulator and tuned the tired old Quadrajet as good as I can. It runs and starts fine but is running very rich (burns eyes and stinks) so I think a rebuild for the carb is next up. New rear brake lines and hoses and then off to the muffler shop for a new dual setup. I need to replace the passenger side manifold gasket. I went to a local shop that works on older GM stuff and the wrench said it could be messy as the bolts break and you have to drill out the heads and maybe remove heads etc. he's thinking at least 8 hours. Geez I think I'll try myself and see how bad it gets. Anyone tried this at home? Here's some recent pic's with the skirts on.....

Dude, I am falling in love with your car. I have always said the '70 was the prettiest of the Cadillacs but that 71 really is a work of art. You got a great deal on the car, an awesome deal on the skirts, it seems like you are on a lucky streak. You might just get lucky with your exhaust manifolds too. If you do, you definitely should buy some lottery tickets. I like your mechanic's honest assesment. It could get ugly and it's good to prepare the owner for the worst.

Your bad manifold gasket... are you sure you don't already have broken bolts? That's usually the cause for the leak. Reach in, get a light, feel and look, and count all the bolt heads. I bet you are missing at least one. When you take out the bolts, to avoid breaking them, use an impact. You will have to go through the wheelwell, and use some extensions and wobblers. It will be a pain, but an impact will spin them out instantly without breaking.

Dude, I am falling in love with your car. I have always said the '70 was the prettiest of the Cadillacs but that 71 really is a work of art.

I've said this before - I think 70 was the height of just about every GM car, for styling.

Your bad manifold gasket... are you sure you don't already have broken bolts? That's usually the cause for the leak. Reach in, get a light, feel and look, and count all the bolt heads. I bet you are missing at least one. When you take out the bolts, to avoid breaking them, use an impact. You will have to go through the wheelwell, and use some extensions and wobblers. It will be a pain, but an impact will spin them out instantly without breaking.
Just a quick update.....

Yep, it's the gasket or lack of...I tried to tighten the bolts on the leaking cylinder and they took a slight twist then I chickened out for fear of snapping them. Great advice on using the impact gun. I good snapping torque is much better than a slow twist in that situation.
I've got it running and idling pretty well. Put 6 gallons of premium fuel in it and changed the oil. Replaced all the rear brake lines and flushed the system. Repaired the leaking Quadrajet fuel inlet with an aftermarket repair kit for now. I'll send out the carb for a helicoil fix if I decide to go forward.
Looks like I'll be dropping the entire exhaust system as I have a major rear main seal leak. S.O.B.! From what I have researched you have to drop the exhaust then some steering links and finally the oil pan itself. A two piece rear main???? Now I think I know why the previous owners gave up on this old girl. Well, it's only time and a few gaskets right? Any tips or short cuts? I need all the help I can get.
The other major situation is the floor of the trunk. It's bad but not terminal. I'll post some pictures later. I don't have a welder or the skills at this time so I'll get some estimates from local shops for that. I can't find any sources for Cadillac replacement panels for the trunk. Anybody have a source or know if Cadillac shared sheet metal with any other GM product in 1971 for the trunk floor?

WAY to nice for the junkyard. Glad to see your fixing it up. There are a couple ass holes around here that just part caddys out. Glad to see someone fix one up and save it from the crusher.

Triple black.... MmmmMmmMm

The trunk floor repair would depend on how fussy about originality you want to be. I would think any old trunk floor, like from an Impala or anything,would look fine if it was new and neat. My 70 Impala has a custom flat floor that looks like crap but is solid as a rock. I don't spend much time worrying about putting an original floor in there for $750. If you throw a rug over it nobody ever sees it anyway. Even at car shows people don't pick up the trunk carpet to look at the trunk floor. The 2 piece rear seal is an SOB with the engine in the car but not impossible because people do it all the time. I think you are really going to enjoy that car when you get it done.

Wow, beautiful car. I turned down a '71 in about the same condition 10 years ago ($600 asking) and I have regretted it ever since.
I think the compression varience is not a problem. You may find after some driving the lower cylinders may increase a bit, as cylinder wall rust is eliminated. Even if nothing improves, it runs strong and smooth and imo anything over 100 psi is dandy.

And yes, a positraction rear end was an option on pretty much all RWD GM cars for decades, and its a quite valuable and rare option.

Thank you for saving this car from an ignominious end. She's a beaut! Don't give up on her!!!!

Thanks for all the encouragement guys. I've got her running pretty well and have put 50 miles on running around town. It sure is fun to drive and turns a lot of heads.
Unfortunately I think I "hit the wall" so to speak today. I have registered and insured the car but I can't drive it until I repair the floor section of the trunk either temporarily with patches or correctly with a replacement panel as fumes enter the cabin and I start turning blue. I went to a local restoration shop and the owner is very knowledgeable of 1970's GM products. He took one look at my trunk floor and pointed to the rear window, "that's your problem, they all leaked at the rear window. Not worth saving unless you have the skills or the cash. We'd charge $4000 to fix it without paint." I poked the bottom of the rear glass at the corners and flakes of rust fell below into the trunk. It was raining tonight and I could see the constant drip of water at both bottom sides of the rear window entering the trunk. I was hoping it was just a bad trunk seal. Now I'm at the cross roads. I don't want to remove the rear window only to discover terminal cancer and have to fabricate sheetmetal since nobody makes replacement sheetmetal for these cars. The car is far from perfect and I knew I'd have to put a lot into it long term but since discovering the lack of aftermarket parts for this vintage I'm getting discouraged. I guess I should take a long term approach instead of trying to get it road worthy before the snow flies.
It's just too nice to scrap. I wish I had a better skill set to tackle this (and a welder and compressor). I may have to move off of this and pass it on to somebody more qualified for a DIY restoration.

DON'T GIVE UP!

It may not be that bad. That rear window leak is SUPER common on 70s GM cars with vinyl tops. My 71 did the exact same thing since the day I got it when I was 16. I used silicone all around the mouldings on both sides, and it never helped. If it rained, the trunk would get wet. I used to park it with plastic sheeting rolled up in the windows and pulled down to the trunk.

When I finally got the body done, we took the paint down to the metal, peeled back the vinyl top, and removed the rear window. I couldn't believe my eyes. There were about three or four tiny pinholes in the bottom left side right where the glass met the vinyl. It would hold moisture, and that's where it rotted through and the water would leak. It didn't even need a patch, just a few zaps with the mig. I did my Pontiac full custom style, so I didn't put the vinyl back on. Happy to report that ten years later, the trunk is still bone dry.

Here is what to do. Go to a glass shop. Get them to pull your back window. Once it's out, you need to clean out that channel down to the metal. Hate to say it, but you will need to peel back that vinyl too. If you do it carefully, you may be able to reglue it around the window. If you destroy it, don't worry... getting a top done is only about 250 bucks. Once you find the rust holes, find a local body shop that works for cash and have them patch it up. Doesn't have to be beautiful because it will be under the vinyl. They will be very familiar with your problem and know exactly what to do to fix it (and it will only cost you a few hundred, tops). even if they have to cut some patches it is not a hard job. Just get the holes patched, sealed, primed, painted. Then, the vinyl goes back (reglue, or new), then back to the glass shop to restick that window. Put the moldings back, and enjoy your dry trunk.

To safely drive it for now until you get that window leak done, just buy a sheet of patch metal, cut some patches for your trunk, and silicone them in place. You don't need to screw them for a temp job.

Where are you? Perhaps one of our members knows a shop that can help you out. Heck for 1/8th of what those rip-off artists wanted to charge you, you could pick up some nice shears, and a mig welder and do it your self.

Thank you Jayoldschool. I went out this morning and took a better look and it is not as bad as I thought. The area right under the left corner of the rear window is crusty and porus but the rest is very solid. I'm taking your advice and having the rear glass removed this week. I'll update with pictures later on. I hope it is minor in nature. Either way I have to find out right? If I can get past this hurdle and secure a dry trunk then I can move forward and patch the trunk floor, do the rear main and then look forward to some fall foliage tours! It's really a fun car and so simple to work on. I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge and experience.
All the best,
Max

Glad to help. That is the same spot that was bad on my 71...

The car is for sale. I have lost the garage space that was available to me. My landlord has rented it out for winter storage and I can't store it outside all winter. I have placed an ad in the classifieds here.
I just want to thank everyone for all the advise and encouragement. It was a pleasure to find such a great group of helpful and knowledgable enthusiasts. Hopefully somebody will restore this car to at least weekend cruiser status and it won't end up getting crushed. That was my motivation anyway.....:thumbsup:

It will go to a good home. Hopefully, it goes to one of the forum regulars and we can keep it in the family!

Couldn't the new buyer register it as an antique and have either no inspection or limited inspection? Too bad you can't keep it. That car gave me a new appreciation for 71 Devilles

The car is sold! I had it listed on Craigslist and within 24 hours it is gone. Very nice guy 10 miles away. He is a mechanic and is a true Cadillac Man. His last one was a 1960 4 door coupe. I'm very glad it's going to a good home and someone who will enjoy it. I got to drive it to his home and he brought me back to mine. What a great car! It made me feel proud that this one didn't end up on the scrap heap. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Thanks again to all on this forum. I'll be checking in now an then.
All the best,
Max

WOW! That was fast. Glad to hear it worked out well. Did you tell him to join the forum?

Just a side note Jayoldschool...
I was born and raised in Hamilton Ontario and moved to the states in 1968. I'm still a Canadian citizen. The guy that bought the car was born in Lindsay Ontario and is still a Canadian citizen although he is 20 years my junior. It's just strange how many Canadians got involved in a left for dead 1971 Cadiallac...EH? LOL!