Cadillac Owners Forum banner
4K views 23 replies 9 participants last post by  74eldog 
#1 ·
I joined this forum, in may when i inherited my 74 Eldorado from my mother in law....

A little background:

The car was driven in the garage 10yrs ago, has not been out since, has not been started in 10 yrs....

I lifted the hood back in the summer and saw where the termites had chewed on spark plug wires, and also made a nest in the battery box....lol

I cleaned all of that stuff out stuck a hot battery in it and got the headlights, windows, locks, trunk, basically all the accessories to work.

After spending the summer months working on my other project. I'm ready to have it towed to my house and work on it over the winter.

I remember that the starter use to drag when the motor was hot, so I definitely need to get another, also will probably invest in a new alternator.

My plan is to pull all off the plugs out and squirt mystery oil in the cylinders and then try to rotate it by hand (yep, I know I need a crank bolt to rotate). After that is all done, I'll check the wires that are chewed and hopefully she'll fire up....

Oh yeah, I will probably pull the carb off and clean it up really good.

I know the rear wheels are locked up and need a flat bed...

Any tips, am i forgetting anything.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
rear wheels locked up? pffff.... just drag em'! with 500 cubic inches and FWD who needs rear wheels :)

Sounds like you've got a nice project... parts for these cars are cheap, so I would just get new plugs/wires while your at it, IIRC '74 was the first year for HEI, so a new cap and rotor would be good.

These engines do not like to die, so I'd bet it would fire up with little work... nice to see it get saved :)
 
#3 ·
convertible or coupe? Whats the exterior and interior like? (colors) Is it leather? Is it in good physical condition?
 
#4 ·
I~LUV~Caddys8792 said:
convertible or coupe? Whats the exterior and interior like? (colors) Is it leather? Is it in good physical condition?
The original exterior was midnight blue,,, somewhere along the line it got painted some ugly aqua green color, my father in law wanted it painted back to the original color. That's my goal.....

Interior looks like it just rolled off the frickin factory.....

It's navy blue cloth..... and it is a coupe.....
 
#5 ·
sounds cool man, its gonna look awesome in that midnight blue
 
#7 ·
terrible one said:
Good luck man. Remember it is really easy for these "small projects" to turn extremly huge! (Trust me I would know )
trust me , i know,,, i parked my elcamino in may to put a cam/lifter,in it and i just got done with complete rebuilt from carb to oil pan,,,,,taking her out on the road tomorrow for the first time in 6 months...
 
#11 ·
Yeah, but most of that luxury will be spent taking it to numerous places for numerous things once it's running and all. However, it will also be spent heating up the cold asphault with some good rubber to cement friction :)

Mine hasn't seen salt either. If it had, it would probably be gone. It was horrible enough without sodium!
 
#12 ·
Night Wolf said:
rear wheels locked up? pffff.... just drag em'! with 500 cubic inches and FWD who needs rear wheels :)

Sounds like you've got a nice project... parts for these cars are cheap, so I would just get new plugs/wires while your at it, IIRC '74 was the first year for HEI, so a new cap and rotor would be good.

These engines do not like to die, so I'd bet it would fire up with little work... nice to see it get saved :)
I finally got it home today, the driveway was so narrow, the flatbed driver called for reg. tow truck to back in the driveway, he could go back but so far and they hook the cable to the tow hooks under the frame... and pulled it about 30ft and out to the street....

the rear wheels never moved(any ideas beside BFH) ... got it home and in the garage, had to go buy two wheel dollies to get it position it in the garage....the tow driver waited at my house while i went to the store to get the dollies and helped put them together and helped me push it in the garage....lol


now the fun starts, tomorrow,, i will go out and clean the engine off really good with the shop/vac, and take some more pics tomorrow...
 
#15 ·
terrible one said:
Glad you got her home! Now the fun begins, right? :)
got that right,,, i hosed it down real good the motor doesn't look as bad as a i thought it did... makes a big difference out in the open......

Not sure which way i will go with motor yet,,, if i get it turn i will leave it in, if not, she'll be pulled out..:shhh:
 
#16 ·
74eldog said:
got that right,,, i hosed it down real good the motor doesn't look as bad as a i thought it did... makes a big difference out in the open......

Not sure which way i will go with motor yet,,, if i get it turn i will leave it in, if not, she'll be pulled out..:shhh:
I got some pics scanned but not sure how to post them....

help:confused:
 
#18 ·
As for the rear wheels, the most likely cause would be a stuck parking brake. The cables can get rusted stuck in their sheath after years of sitting.
The parking brake does release when you put it into D, right?

Caddy was also experimenting with ABS on the Eldorados starting in the early 70's. This was the first American attempt at it I believe, and on the rear wheels only. Does this car by chance have the "trackmaster" system? I have no clue how it works, but it might be able to malfunction and lock up.
 
#20 ·
BluEyes said:
As for the rear wheels, the most likely cause would be a stuck parking brake. The cables can get rusted stuck in their sheath after years of sitting.
The parking brake does release when you put it into D, right?

Caddy was also experimenting with ABS on the Eldorados starting in the early 70's. This was the first American attempt at it I believe, and on the rear wheels only. Does this car by chance have the "trackmaster" system? I have no clue how it works, but it might be able to malfunction and lock up.
i posted about my brakes in ***************"locked up....

Everything will need to be replaced.....rust have taken over....

Is putting the vehicle in 'd' the only way to release it...because i released it park....lol
 
#22 ·
Sounds like a great project. Keep us up to date. I owned a 72 coupe with the 472 I believe and what a interstate cruiser. Just floated. Like riding a couch. Now own a airboat with a 500 caddi running direct drive. These motors have alot of life to give and deliver more torque down low than my friends 502 who had to purchase a $2800 gear reduction unit to spin a prop. Nice choice.
 
#23 ·
cadillacdeville said:
If the parking brake is on when you start the car and put it in drive or reverse its got an automatic vacuum actuated release for the Parking brake.
Thanks for your comments

After i pull my heads and get my motor work started, i'm going to replace all the brakes, drums (they're rusted pretty bad), hardware and wheel cylinders.... Hopefully that will get me rollin and STOPPING pretty good...:D
 
#24 ·
skidmark said:
Sounds like a great project. Keep us up to date. I owned a 72 coupe with the 472 I believe and what a interstate cruiser. Just floated. Like riding a couch. Now own a airboat with a 500 caddi running direct drive. These motors have alot of life to give and deliver more torque down low than my friends 502 who had to purchase a $2800 gear reduction unit to spin a prop. Nice choice.
Thanks, i can't wait to get this big beast back on the road.....

Since I was able to rotate the motor by hand I'm only doing a top end rebuild....and of course, i plan to freshen up the engine bay with a coat of paint....
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top