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Restored 2001 Seville STS Lots Of Pics..

5K views 25 replies 11 participants last post by  mamawseldorado 
#1 ·
I have spent a lot of time and money on this "project" since last April when I picked this Cadillac up. It currently has 125k on it and is a 2001 Seville STS. To anyone looking to purchase a car like this , they are a very expensive car to repair and have lots of issues. As far as fun to drive and good looks, it's one of all time faves. I am still a little ways off from having it a 100%. So far I have put in new headliner and pillars, dyed and repaired the leather seats, brand new headlights, HID upgrade, Fresh paint on front bumper, new windshield, new emblem front, new mats, new carpet, new tires, new Valve cover Gaskets and trans pan gasket, IAC motor, tie rods, strut mounts, all engine and trans mounts, new cv axles, ESCM, replaced trans due to p0741, new secondary air pumps, new radiator hoses, new ac lines, new brakes and rotors, new tpms sensors all around, and probably a few other small things I have forgotten about along the way.

Will be installing a factory strut brace today, painting the rear bumper soon and installing a 7 in pioneer navigation. I will post the pics shortly. Let me know what you think about this car. It has every option except navigation. :yup::yup:

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/members/jborhman-albums-restored-2001-cadillac-seville-sts.html

If this link doesn't work the album is public and in my profile. This is my first time posting a thread like this.
 
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#3 ·
Yes, lots of repairs. Not all were necessary. I did a lot of them just because the time was right and knew they would become problematic down the road. I also wanted this car to be as new as possible at ONE time. I get all my parts at wholesale and tax free. I got most of the labor at a very reasonable rate as well if I did not do myself. Bank account is fine as if it were not I never would have bought a car like this, it's not my only ride..:lildevil:
 
#6 ·
The car looks great! Great job so far!

Just curious as to if you or anyone else) have tacked the refinishing of the woodwork on the dash yet... I have a segment that has considerable white hazing in it and I'm very tempted to strip it down and try to re-varnish. I would like to know before I start if it is even remotely possible to make it look right, or if I just need to bite the bullet and replace the segment outright. Just curious...

Also, what did you use on the seats? I have done a two step cleaner / protectant (Meguires I think?), but it never seems to do to well on the minor creases in the leather. Any tips or pointers would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
 
#7 ·
Replace the whole piece of woodgrain, you cant refinish plastic. I have a guy that does upholstery here in roswell. I replaced the very worn/cracked sections of leather and re dyed the rest using the factory color dye. It can get pretty costly but as you can see gives the desired result. You can dye almost everything including consoles armrests, etc..:yup::yup::yup:
 
#8 ·
SEM leather dye and restoration paint.

Damn, JB, That's a professional job and it makes my arthritic knuckles throb for joy !!!

I see that you use twilight sentinel..................for the 17" wheels - if you ever want to go to one-piece chrome lug nuts get into www.ezaccessory.com and surf to acorn bulge, through hardened, 12X1.5, chrome, 1.66". $.89 each - makes life easier. Torque to 100 ft.lb.
 
#10 ·
Those 15mm strut tower bolts get torqued to 33 ft/lb.

Get rid of that resonator - do this....................a 2" rubber pipe plug, with clamp, $2.50 at Lowe's, Home Depot or about any hardware store. I turned a tight wood plug for the inside to keep it from collapsing due to clamp pressure. Use a suitable Philips machine screw for the PCB cover tab.
 
#16 ·
If you want to attempt repair before replacement I would first remove the piece(s). Then clean very thoroughly with something like sudsy ammonia to remove any wax as it's possible that the hazing is wax buildup. If that doesn't work, then you can attempt to polish the existing lacquer using increasingly fine polishing compounds used in woodworking. If that fails then you can try additional coats of lacquer (carefully polished in between each). You'll know after the first couple of coats if this will work. Failing all of this you can then very carefully attempt to sand off most of the original finish followed by 8-10 thin coats of lacquer with increasingly fine polish between coats.
^^^ that. I'm pretty sure it is veneer (it's "Genuine Zebrano wood"). I'm glad to see someone who knows proper refinishing techniques! So many times the Mercedes folks think that Polyurethane is an appropriate fine-furniture finish :helpless:

What can I use to touch up or repaint the rough patches near that front coil pack? Any advice from out there...
Too bad you didn't do that when the cam covers gaskets were done... hindsight. I'd have the color matched in an aerosol can, pull off the front coil cassette, sand and repaint the cover.
 
#19 ·
^^^ that. I'm pretty sure it is veneer (it's "Genuine Zebrano wood"). I'm glad to see someone who knows proper refinishing techniques! So many times the Mercedes folks think that Polyurethane is an appropriate fine-furniture finish :helpless:



Too bad you didn't do that when the cam covers gaskets were done... hindsight. I'd have the color matched in an aerosol can, pull off the front coil cassette, sand and repaint the cover.
Damn, yes hindsight is wonderful LOL. I may just take off the cassette and do what I can do with it. Has to be better than what it is now, which drives me crazy.:bonkers:
 
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