If you have $20K to drop into your FWB what would you do???
Me?
Get a 502 BBC, TPI intake off of a 96-05 454/496 Truck and run it injected with a 4L80E trans (probably have to use a truck ECM, not sure..) and keep it looking stock as possible, and blow the doors off of anything out there. 3in duals, cats, etc. Maybe an Accel DFI 7 if the GM computer isn't tuneable enough. Reverse cool the 502.
Keep my 3.42 gears and get a tight posi for it. Or consider upgrading to a Dana 60 to allow it to survive. 92 Trans AM WS6 steerng box. Herb Adams front and rear sway bars. Stock springs for now.
Some Impala SS wheels with Cadillac center caps (hey, it isn't my idea, but it is classy!) and the widest meat I can stick under it!
Oh, and a final tough, add a set of 8.2 Litre emblems from a 70's Eldo.... Silent but deadly....
I've been salivating about a 502 as well. I'd like to stroke it to something in the 530's, just so I could call it "the elephant killer." I want the EFI/TBI conversion kit from Edelbrock, with some Trick Flow heads. Basically, I just want a torque monster. I'd also go with the 4L80E, and a 2500 stall converter. Of course everything has it's appropriate cooler and what not. I'd replace the side molding on my 90. While I think the molding on the 90-92 is absolutely gorgeous to begin with, I want to get it in chrome someday. I'd also make it a lowrider, and give it spinners. Inside, I want the headliner to have an enormous Cadillac crest on it, and the B pillar plastic molding on the inside would have Cadillac written on it. As for the body, I'd go with a Navy / Pearl. But by now, I'm up well past $20,000.00, ooops. Well, fun to dream.
-One of the latest GM "normal" engines, like an LS2 or one of the truck engines like the Denali's 6.0L connected to a 4-spd auto
-COMPLETELY stock exterior, except for "new" Caddy badges and larger wheels that are flashy, but closely match the look of the car
-Removal of vinyl top, fresh paint all over, and re-chromed or replaced bumpers
-Full Panoramic power sunroof (made by Webasto)
-Fully redone suspension, with all the BEST performance add-ons akin to an Impala SS
-Revised interior, with additional support and padding added to all the seats, plus perforated center sections and the best aftermarket heating, cooling, and massaging elements
-Modified front seat with new center console and shifter
-ENTIRELY new sound system with a mostly stock look (no BIG stupid sub in the trunk), including Navigation and the best audio equipment
-Xenon headlights
Now, just need the $$$$ and I would do all this IN A SECOND! Guess I'm different because I wouldn't drop some huge drag engine in it, but rather focus on refining several bits of the car and taking it up several notches in the luxury department--without going over the top or "tacky" like so many, um, "Pimped" rides today.
6 speed manual and 6.0 litre engine from the 05 GTO
Front clip from the 91 Fleet Bro
Dash Center console and front seats from a 2002 DTS , hurst shifter with cue ball stick out of console ...Made to look like a automatic but is really a stick....
XLR Wheels
Gutted stock tailamps with LED setup from DTS inside
6 speed manual and 6.0 litre engine from the 05 GTO
Front clip from the 91 Fleet Bro
Dash Center console and front seats from a 2002 DTS , hurst shifter with cue ball stick out of console ...Made to look like a automatic but is really a stick....
XLR Wheels
Gutted stock tailamps with LED setup from DTS inside
I'm gonna use my 75 Deville instead of my dead Fleetwood. I'll take a twin turbo, liquid propane injected 4.5"x4.5" Cadillac engine with forged crank, pistons, and rods, along with the all out version Potters aluminum heads and something around .850 lift cam. Built in car computer to control and tune the LP injection and to play videos and music over the SQ sound system. Interior redone in velour. Candy paint. Just for the hell of it since I'd have some cash to burn I'd put it on 20" spinners and bag it. I've always wanted to see a spinner burnout, that would be awesome.
Oh wait, maybe I'll try to put one of these 572s and a TH425 FWD tranny in the front and one in the back too, that would be even better. It would weigh 3 tons and have a good 3000hp, along with being a total pimpmobile. OK so I went a little overboard on my $20k limit but oh well.
I'd love to install a rack and pinion steering setup, replace the crappy belt moldings with real metal ones that don't delaminate and krinkle. I'd like to do better headlamps, and install a console and floor shifter.
BUT......
The chances of me EVER being dumb enough to dump that kind of money into a Cadillac Fleetwood is LESS than zero!
I've built so many cars over the years, that I know how it goes. Spend $30K on a car and you're lucky if you can get $15-$20K out of it. This kind of thing is a TERRIBLE investment. I think The Ape Man probably has the best idea.
I only did the FTS as a project to prove my theory to myself and some friends at Cadillac that it could be done and maybe "should've" been done. I proved my point, time to move on. There's a couple things that I'd like to do to my FTS to "finish it off 100%" but to tell the truth, I already have more into the car than I'll ever get out of it. Face it, the car is a mediocre car at best in stock trim. Dumping a lot of time and money into one just doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.
I would get the interior done. A suede headliner and matching pillar trim.. I think I would get a supercharger with heads and cam to match. Center console w/floor shifter.
I guess even building a Cadillac 500 might be a better choice for daily driving, just get a 76 EFI intake for it (75-78 right? 425/500 w FI?) and add on a modern computer.
My goal is drivability and torque. But if I stand on the gas, I wanna go low 13's if not 12's. You know, good daily driver power....
And add G Machine stuff, make it handle worthy of a daily driver....
I'd love to install a rack and pinion steering setup, replace the crappy belt moldings with real metal ones that don't delaminate and krinkle. I'd like to do better headlamps, and install a console and floor shifter.
BUT......
The chances of me EVER being dumb enough to dump that kind of money into a Cadillac Fleetwood is LESS than zero!
I've built so many cars over the years, that I know how it goes. Spend $30K on a car and you're lucky if you can get $15-$20K out of it. This kind of thing is a TERRIBLE investment. I think The Ape Man probably has the best idea.
I only did the FTS as a project to prove my theory to myself and some friends at Cadillac that it could be done and maybe "should've" been done. I proved my point, time to move on. There's a couple things that I'd like to do to my FTS to "finish it off 100%" but to tell the truth, I already have more into the car than I'll ever get out of it. Face it, the car is a mediocre car at best in stock trim. Dumping a lot of time and money into one just doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.
I agree on the steering--it's featherlight, but also HORRID when it comes to having any feel and is not even remotely precise. Makes me wonder why they engineers at GM really thought it was "good" when they were done testing.
About the moldings--every one we looked at had this issue, and so does the one we have now, with it seemingly getting a little more noticeable with time. Any idea if you can still get replacements?
And about putting a lot of money into a Fleetwood--it isn't pointless if you love the car and really want something immensely unique. Who the heck would do any mods in the first place if all they were concerned about was what kind of return they'd get from it in resale? If I had the $$$, I'd do everything I listed and more, and getting rid of the car would be the last thing on my mind--and I'd then have one of the coolest Fleetwoods ever to exist.
I agree on the steering--it's featherlight, but also HORRID when it comes to having any feel and is not even remotely precise. Makes me wonder why they engineers at GM really thought it was "good" when they were done testing.
About the moldings--every one we looked at had this issue, and so does the one we have now, with it seemingly getting a little more noticeable with time. Any idea if you can still get replacements?
And about putting a lot of money into a Fleetwood--it isn't pointless if you love the car and really want something immensely unique. Who the heck would do any mods in the first place if all they were concerned about was what kind of return they'd get from it in resale? If I had the $$$, I'd do everything I listed and more, and getting rid of the car would be the last thing on my mind--and I'd then have one of the coolest Fleetwoods ever to exist.
I agree 100% with caddycruiser I think if your interested in the resale value then modding a car is the wrong way to go but if you want uniqueness then that's why Lowriders exist.
No one can expect to get a 100% return or more because the parts are used I bet if you modded a car and NEVER used it then you could sell it for 100% value or a little more but seeing how the owner used the parts they are lowered in value.
I don't think this is subject to modding either what happens when you buy a 2005 vehicle for $50,000 and you only use it for 3 months the resale value lowers quickly per usage mostly.
same thing with modding if you use the part then you take up some of the cost of the part when you try to resell it Bottomline.
I agree on the steering--it's featherlight, but also HORRID when it comes to having any feel and is not even remotely precise. Makes me wonder why they engineers at GM really thought it was "good" when they were done testing.
About the moldings--every one we looked at had this issue, and so does the one we have now, with it seemingly getting a little more noticeable with time. Any idea if you can still get replacements?
And about putting a lot of money into a Fleetwood--it isn't pointless if you love the car and really want something immensely unique. Who the heck would do any mods in the first place if all they were concerned about was what kind of return they'd get from it in resale? If I had the $$$, I'd do everything I listed and more, and getting rid of the car would be the last thing on my mind--and I'd then have one of the coolest Fleetwoods ever to exist.
I gave up replacing my moldings. I replaced the whole set and within a few months, they started wrinkling again! I have a full set of moldings laying in my garage but refuse to install them. I was looking for someone to use my OEM moldings as a template for fabricating metal ones that would actually last but I've been unable to find a company that can do it.
As for return on investment, while it's possible to get a pretty good return on "some" mods, overall, most are totally lost money. Personally, I think I've managed to put together a package that netted me real good performance AND since the car utilizes mostly "factory" parts, still retains as much value as possible. To be honest, I'm very confident that I'll manage to get most if not ALL my money out of the car at resale. My mods are pretty stealthy so if you're looking, you see them, but they don't jump out and slap you in the face. This makes it so virtually anybody can be attracted to the car. I get older guys loving it because it's a big, classy car (that also happens to haul ass). I get middle-aged guys loving it because they see a sleeper that the wife will drive in and they can still feel cool in too. And I get a lot of young people loving it because it's fast, sounds cool, has a great stereo, and is "different".
To be honest, I'm very confident that I'll manage to get most if not ALL my money out of the car at resale. [\QUOTE]
I think that's wishful thinking but I sincerely doubt you can ever get the retail value plus the parts that you put into the car then if you add Labor costs even if it's a do-it-yourself job it's impossible to get 100% return.
Even if you just try to sell it for the value itself plus the parts costs that you put into the car overall I am sure you would not get 100% value back.
Yet as I mentioned before if YOU NEVER used the parts then you can get 100% or even sell it for some profit overall but the profits would really only cover the labor you put into the car.
Economics no matter how stealthy or stock things look don't allow parts to retain 100% value unless you find a deaf-mute-blind man with lots of money that'll buy your car with no questions asked and would pay any money that was requested but most people have enough sense to know the value of a car.
Although overall with interest paid for my car and add-ons I've put about 20,000 into my '94 I know that at max I could only sell it for 12,000 with the car having 53,000 miles and no defects excepts for some cosmetics flaws on the body.
So you buy a 96-99 Subruban/Truck with a 454, yank the drive train, drop in the LT1 and trans, sell it for what you bought it for, drop it all in and have a BB Fleetwood for low buck!!!
A friend of mine just picked up a 96 Suburban 454 4WD 4L80E w/ 3.73's for $7600 at an auction. with only 68K miles....
To be honest, I'm very confident that I'll manage to get most if not ALL my money out of the car at resale. [\QUOTE]
I think that's wishful thinking but I sincerely doubt you can ever get the retail value plus the parts that you put into the car then if you add Labor costs even if it's a do-it-yourself job it's impossible to get 100% return.
Even if you just try to sell it for the value itself plus the parts costs that you put into the car overall I am sure you would not get 100% value back.
Yet as I mentioned before if YOU NEVER used the parts then you can get 100% or even sell it for some profit overall but the profits would really only cover the labor you put into the car.
Economics no matter how stealthy or stock things look don't allow parts to retain 100% value unless you find a deaf-mute-blind man with lots of money that'll buy your car with no questions asked and would pay any money that was requested but most people have enough sense to know the value of a car.
Although overall with interest paid for my car and add-ons I've put about 20,000 into my '94 I know that at max I could only sell it for 12,000 with the car having 53,000 miles and no defects excepts for some cosmetics flaws on the body.
You're assuming that I paid a lot for the car to begin with. Suppose I only paid $10K for the car to begin with. On top of that, I DID have a $15K offer last year for the car. So maybe it's not all that hard to believe that I "might" get most of my money out of the car. And that's not even taking into consideration that I've had the car for a few years.
As I said before, I know better than to "expect" that I'll get my money back but since I got this car relatively cheap, and really put less money into it than you might think, I "should" come out of it alright.
I guess even building a Cadillac 500 might be a better choice for daily driving, just get a 76 EFI intake for it (75-78 right? 425/500 w FI?) and add on a modern computer.
My goal is drivability and torque. But if I stand on the gas, I wanna go low 13's if not 12's. You know, good daily driver power....
And add G Machine stuff, make it handle worthy of a daily driver....
You're assuming that I paid a lot for the car to begin with. Suppose I only paid $10K for the car to begin with. On top of that, I DID have a $15K offer last year for the car. So maybe it's not all that hard to believe that I "might" get most of my money out of the car. And that's not even taking into consideration that I've had the car for a few years.
As I said before, I know better than to "expect" that I'll get my money back but since I got this car relatively cheap, and really put less money into it than you might think, I "should" come out of it alright.
OOOh I could chrome my car. That would be awesome. Replace all the chrome with gold and replace paint with chrome. Then I'd need at least 450hp in order for it to move.
I agree completely I'm all for modding and creating a unique one-of-a kind vehicle no matter if it's just slightly factory looking mods or if its an all out pimped ride they are all fine and props to anyone who chooses to undertake a task.
I love to see a car with LOTS of mods it shows the personality of the driver to begin with and it really shows the true capabilities of the mods and vehicle with a touch of personal taste.
Money comes and goes but the memories of riding in a personalized caddy will truely last forever.
It's absolutely a labor of love. To do this type of thing specifically for trying to "make" money would be crazy. I just can't help trying to minimize the financial loss and maximize the fun factor. I think with experience, this becomes easier.
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