RWD 19xx-1984 DeVille and Fleetwood, 1985-1996 Fleetwood and Brougham ForumForum for discussions regarding the rear wheel drive Pre80s-1984 DeVille and Fleetwood, 1985-1996 Fleetwood/Brougham.
Greetings all, after months of searching and feeling like it was never going to happen I finally got myself a 1976 fleetwood brougham, just got it home from the compliance center yesterday. We drive on the left side of the road here in New Zealand but driving a left hook car didn't actually feel that different except that it was hard on the first drive to see how close the right side of the car is to the center line.
Only 46,000 miles,imported from San Jose,CA, needs only minor work, like new battery cables, some paint touchup and a new rubber drivers door seal. Also to get it complied the head lights had to be replaced because they dipped to the right, so it now has lights that dip left so as not to dazzle oncoming NZ drivers
Hoping to have a good play around with it this weekend and to get a personalised plate soon I thought about "EATCO2" but that would get unwanted attention so that option is out. Gas in NZ is around the equivalent of US$6 per gallon so the oil companies are gonna love me
Seems engine and suspension parts as well as tires are reasonably easy to come by here, but what online resources do people use to find other parts? What does everyone else use/recommend for protecting the vinyl and the chrome (as opposed to merely cleaning it)?
Also i noticed that the inside of the hood has this foamy type insulation on it if this comes loose wouldn't it be a fire risk? What have other owners done in respect to this insulation?
I don't think that stuff under the hood is a hazard. Every car has it, and it wouldn't be there if it wasn't safe. I think it's actually fire-proof material.
What a beautiful,classy land yacht! Send more pics if you can of engine & interior.
As far as finding parts for your Caddy of 32 years,they are out there to be found.I always try E-BAY first when i need hard to find parts.
I love the massive size of your Fleetwood----back in the 1970`s Cadillac showed what they could truly create when there were no restrictions on size & gas mileage.
i could of SWORN i've seen that in los gatos (outside of san jose). i remember walking down the street and just being floored by a big body fleetwood that looked exactly like that.
Thanks,
How long ago would that have been when you saw in los gatos lochenjons? The car was bought from san Jose, talk about a small world eh?
Size is one of the things i like the most about these cars, so unapologetic yet still elegant at the same time, i', hoping to learn more about the more technical "hands on" stuff as i go along.
here are some pics when it was in San Jose, rego was 4dep238
BTW, who did you get to ship it? I had a run-in with the DMV, and now have the California Title with my NZ address on it. It's now in a picture frame with the original CA plate!
