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1969 Coupe Deville Convertible

4K views 42 replies 8 participants last post by  CADforce69 
#1 ·
Hi all, new to the site and would appreciate a little advice on buying another Cadillac, but before i do that is this a good deal?

1969 Coupe Deville Vert
55k interior all there
rotted lower fenders
nice frame, trunk, and floors
car hasn't been started in 8 years but garage kept( says needs battery and good gas)?
A little previous patch work on lower rear quarters looks professionally done
obviously paint and TLC lol is $2,000 worth it?
 
#5 ·
You´ll need a new battery, of course. As for the old gas, it would not be a problem in itself. It will just smell of thinner but it will burn practically the same. Some people unplug the gas hose from carburetor and plugs a new one through which they feed clean fresh gas using a can or a funnel to be sure dirty gas does not clog carburetor. I think filling the tank with fresh gas causes the same results. What may be dangerous is starting the engine with a minimum amount of gas in a dirty tank.

Check there is enough oil in the engine. You may also take out plugs and crank engine for 1-2 minutes to help it lubricating. Then, place plugs again and let the party started. Personally I don´t like pumping once and again accelerator as you are at risk of flooding the engine.

Plugs should be ok but a set of new ones wouldn´t do any harm. These engines don´t use to be specially difficult to start even after years stopped. You can see some videos on YouTube like this, starting a rotten 70 after 10 years of sleep: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGsa75Ph2xs
 
#6 ·
Just so you don't upset the Cadillac gods, the proper name for a convertible is simply, "DeVille". Coupe de Ville only applies to the 2-door hardtop model. If you are fortunate, the rear 1/4 panels will still have the "DeVille" emblem scripts (with upper case "D").
 
#7 ·
Ahh sorry a Deville lol I guess I'm pretty lucky the emblems are there , thanks for all the help guys , glad I joined.. I'll report back going to look at the car ( for the third time ) Sunday . Just out of curiosity are thereany other common areas on these cars I should look out for ?
 
#8 ·
Rust is the biggest bane of these cars. Lower fenders, rocker panels, trunk and floor pan, and frame. Also, be sure to look at the condition of the top well. Basic mechanicals are nearly indestructable. Check to be sure all power options are operational or at least intact, as well as all trim. If you can do some or most of the work yourself, then $2000 is reasonable for a restorable example. Otherwise, look for and buy the best example you can afford as professional restoration ain't cheap and will easily run far more than the completed car will ever be worth.
 
#11 ·
#12 ·
here is how i started my 68 deville after 10 years of storage.

Rebuilt carb (not really needed but I did it anyway)
Plugs appeared fine so I did not bother changing them,
Engine oil shows decent color and viscosity, just touch it with fingers and make sure it is a bit sticky and not too thin and discolored
Pull each plug out and spray a little bit of WD40 in each hole, put the plugs back
pull the fuel cable out from fuel pump and use a temporary bottle or something as a fuel source (not recommended to use old fuel in 8 year old tank)
Make sure you put a cap or any other method to block the fuel pump's fuel-out valve so it does not spray fuel when the engine is cranking.
Take power cable off the distributor, so the engine does not start and crank the engine for 6-8 seconds only. this will lubricate the engine at very low rpm without starting it
plug the cable back on the distributor and crank the engine.

Good luck.
 
#13 ·
I will try both suggestions, just hope the guy doesn't mind me trying to play with his car that I haven't bought yet lol.
Will post better pics so you guys can see what i might be working with, also when i looked at the car the first time the gas pedal just kinda didn't do anything(went down. had to pull up), could the throttle be stuck closed/open? Not really looking forward to a throttle cable install
Here are the ad pictures.. they dont really do justice the car is almost perfect inside

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#14 ·
Pics are very low resolution but as far as we can see, the car seems to have been kept under cover most time. It´s amazing how the steering wheel veneer is almost undamaged (probably you can play horn by pressing it). Most of them are shattered by sun. Interior seems to be in a fair condition, just needing a good cleaning. Seems promising.

As for the throttle pedal, you must check if cable is broken or maybe jammed. In that case some grease and playing with lever connected with carburetor should be enough. There is also a possibility that spring holding cable tight is broken, missing or out of place. In any case, it´s a secondary problem as finding another one should not be difficult and it won´t prevent you from starting the car.

If you are ok with the rest of the car and price, the owner should not mind you try to start it so if it works as it´s supposed to, you are going to take it... And I feel it will start :thumbsup:
 
#15 ·
Well i just talked to the guy over the phone, he said that he wouldn't want to start it due to crappy gas and oil sitting for 10 years, but assures me the car will/did run beautifully with good gas and an oil change and reminded me of the low miles, I am little iffy now but I'm going to look at it again tomorrow with a battery, jack, magnet, and a buddy/mechanic...
and of course a decent camera ;)
 
#16 ·
As for the gas, it would be no problem as you could feed the carb directly with fresh fuel. I don´t think the engine should be damaged for the old oil, as you will have it running just for 2 minutes to see if it goes ok but you may always change oil. It takes 5 quarts. with oil filter changed (4 without oil filter). The problem is that a proper oil change should be done with warm engine, so you should repeat it soon.

Another solution is at least cranking the engine to be sure it´s not seized but you won´t be able to know if there is a problem with valves, camshaft, ignition... It would be something like a bet that you have 75% probabilities to win.
 
#17 ·
Re: 1969 Coupe Deville Convertible pics

ok so went to look at the car today played with it for 2 hours (guy was doing yard work) , frame is unbelievably clean as are the floor pans, brake lines, trunk pans, etc. took a battery and played with the windows, power seats, convertible top, and blower, all okay ...clock in dash doesn't work but its whatever. Out of curiosity while the guy was distracted i cranked it once the dang thing turned over twice without hesitation. so i guess that's good, going to transfer the title Thursday pretty exited to get into it .... o and got better pics
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<-- what goes in that hole under vent
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#18 ·
In that hole should be map reader light. It´s just a bulb and a grid on it; maybe someone needing one took it. No problem; I know many vendors that could sell it to you.
It seems ok. Nothing missing -except for the above- and just right rear finder tip from other car that should be painted in the car´s color. Apart from that perhaps you won´t need doing anything with body; just deep cleaning and polishing. If your decision is already taken, go ahead. Probably the car is totally ok. At least, if something was wrong, it should be repairable. Waiting for good pix and video :D
 
#20 ·
I wouldn't start it either with the old oil. I wouldn't worry too much about the mechanicals either if the owner is so confident. I have several cars in the same condition. I would only be concerned with body and frame cancer but not so much the lower front fenders because that is so easy to fix.
 
#21 ·
Got the car !!

So I got the car last night, after an hour of trying to get the boat out of that little hole got it on the flatbed, and of course found some more body issues, nothing serious.Go it home in the garage hooked a battery up put the top down,etc... Not trying to start it yet wanna drop the tank and clean it, put some mystery oil in the cylinders. Wiped everything down with a semi clean rag interior cleaned up nice. steering wheel veneer fell apart trying to dry steer it on the flatbed. Found my Deville emblems on the floor almost swept them up lol and found the original title. anyways more pics!:bouncy:
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Video Coming Shortly!
 
#23 · (Edited)
Congrats for your "new" caddy :) Interior seems to be in a fairly good condition. Just driver seat seam needs some stitch before it gets worse. That´s great as interior is expensive to restore. Treat leather with a moisturizer; it will need it after so much time without care. Paint is not perfect (some rust on fender edges) but not as bad as to use as it is for some time until you decide painting the car. At least no dents can be seen; just right front turn signal lens seems broken but you can find one on ebay for $ 55 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1969...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3346730d30. This steering wheel is restorable. Take care of it as it´s very difficult finding a '69 one in good condition. I think 77CDV knows who can do it.

Can´t wait to see that engine running. :bouncy:
 
#24 ·
Yeah, it'll be fun :), tonight the frame gets wire brushed and interior conditioned. I'm just gonna take my time and do it right the first time. And yes I have looked everywhere for a steering wheel there about impossible to find. I think I'm gonna get fender skins because they're pretty bad. The throttle linkage was broke, snapped where the rod is welded to the part that connects to the carb (explains my gas pedal issue). Any help on finding that? did some research couldn't find much. :confused:
 
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