Hi all! Thought you would like to see a few pics of the latest addition to my collection: a 1981 Fleetwood Brougham D'Elegance coupe. It has the original paint, no rust, the interior is mint. All the electrics/electronics work, and the AC too! I have been looking for a Fleet coupe for about a year, and I was willing to import one from Florida or Texas. I was pretty suprised to find this one in my own city!


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WELCOME ABOARD!

She's real pretty!:thumbsup:

Cool, with just a little cleaning up, she'll be gorgeous. I wish my '83 Coupe Deville was a Fleetwood.

one word and one word only............SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!!!!!!!

Now post some engine and interior pics! does the V864 work?

864 is disconnected. Not sure if the wire from the trans to the ECM is unplugged/cut, or if the the ECM is the service part that eliminates that. I will get to it eventually.

Interior pics will have to wait until it is at least vaccuumed! It is nice, though, being a D'Elegance. It has the velour, not leather. Two things I wanted were leather and the Astroroof, and this has neither, but it was far too nice to pass up. I am kind of starting to like the velour...

I need to do an idler and pitman arm (can't seem to find the pitman arm listed anywhere), a power steering hose, the high beam dimmer switch and the rear shocks. The level ride works perfectly, but the shocks themselves are blown. The Delco replacements are dirt cheap at Rockauto!

I have found a set of factory wire wheels for it, but I need the center caps to go on them. Anyone have any leads?

Jason.

What a prize. There is something divinely spectacular about the early '80s Fleetwood coupes. Does it have the eight track w/ CB radio? Thanks for the pics, too!

What a prize. There is something divinely spectacular about the early '80s Fleetwood coupes. Does it have the eight track w/ CB radio? Thanks for the pics, too!
my coupe deville does!

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Nice car. Looks pretty clean.

The pitman arm is not a service part. If you have slop at that joint then the center link needs replacement. There are 2 types of center link. One has an extra hole for the steering stabilizer (which Fleetwoods generally have) and one does not. The cheap one works if you want to remove the stabilizer unit which looks and acts like a shock absorber hitched between the frame and the steering.

I really, really like the '80-'85 Fleetwood Coupe, especially the D'Elegance! Yours is a beaut! I like the solid white exterior, that's not something you see often! Plus, yours has the velour D'Elegance interior, which is really really rare, and personally I'd rather have the velour interior!

my coupe deville does!
I would be remiss if I failed to mention the early '80s Coupe DeVilles, too. They are real treasures. Love that early eighties CB/ eight track combo - many still work!

I really, really like the '80-'85 Fleetwood Coupe, especially the D'Elegance! Yours is a beaut! I like the solid white exterior, that's not something you see often! Plus, yours has the velour D'Elegance interior, which is really really rare, and personally I'd rather have the velour interior!


It's funny - I wanted anything BUT the white/blue combo because that is what my mother's 84 FWB 4 dr has. I was hoping for black/red or red/white. I have to say, the white/blue velour is really growing on me.

How rare is the D'Elegance with velour? Anyone have production numbers on this year/combo?

BTW, I just received the 1981 Fisher body service manual. Helm has them NOS for 20 bucks:)

My '79 and '83 both came with original CB/8-tracks. But the one in the '83 didn't work, so like a dumbass, I took it out and put in a Kenwood CD player... turns out it was just a blown fuse.

Atleast the '79 still has one, and it works.

Cool, my 78 Coupe had the CB 8-Track. Pretty nice option for the day.

I don't get why you would want to keep the 8-track. It's useless, obsolete technology. I mean, where are you gonna get an 8-track cassette that isn't broken?

lol... I have a whole box of 8 tracks in my basement that I picked up at a garage sale. Mine has the AM/FM casette, though. Also, the cool exterior thermometer!

Also, the cool exterior thermometer!

Does yours have it on the driver's door mirror or in the electronic climate control?

I don't get why you would want to keep the 8-track. It's useless, obsolete technology. I mean, where are you gonna get an 8-track cassette that isn't broken?

Because it's cool, and you can't get anymore '70s than a 8-track player in a copper Cadillac lol. Mine has the original Cadillac 8 track, and I got some old George Harrison, Rolling Stones, Pink floyd, and Jimi Hendrix for cruising. Very unique feeling. And yes it gets very annoying trying to mess around with "programs", but you take the good with the bad.

Oh, and in '81 the thermometer was still on the door :)

Well, took the car out to storage yesterday. About a 45 minute drive. The car drives soooo nice. I will miss it over the winter. Can't wait to get it cleaned up in the spring. I will collect up the few maintenance parts that it needs over the winter. I forgot to look - will this car have the steering damper? I am going to replace the idler arm and center link, and I need to know which one to order.

The only thing that is bothering me is that it has a few broken exhaust manifold bolts. A pretty good leak when it is started, and it quiets down as it heats up. I have done headers on my 95 Impala SS, so this will be familiar territory, but it is never a fun job. What is the bolt access like on the 368? Are they easiest to get at from below? Hopefully once I get the manifolds off, there is a stub left to grab onto. Drilling a broken bolt and extracting is a pain...

You'll be drilling, I can just about guarantee. I'd live with it or just stick the motor on a stand and work on it there. (Of course if I had a 368 on a stand, it wouldn't be going back in the car unless I couldn't find or afford a 500/472/425.)

Any guesses on the steering damper? Looks like I am driving back out to the storage spot...:confused: