1971 Deville Saved From Crusher (Long).

Maxwellvon · #1 (**permalink**) 08-08-08, 03:50 PM

Hello,

Well this is my first post here and I hope some of you folks can give me some advice on my most recent acquisition. I saw a 1971 DeVille on Craigslist for $750. I called the owner who was a young guy that drove the car while in H.S. and took it off the road in 2003. His Grandfather bought it new in 1971 and gave it to him when his health declined. Long story short the car doesn't run but did run okay when he parked it 5 years ago. I've been working on cars all my life for a hobby so I figured I'd check it out as it was only 4 miles from my house. It was as described, complete and not running. It's very musty smelling and the trunk has rotted through on the drivers side under the mat. The floors are very solid as is the frame. Minor rust at the rear of the front fenders and the fender skirts are missing. The interior is rough but no tears in the leather and the headliner is very good. The engine compartment is dirty but all the vacuum lines and harnesses are intact and it doesn't appear to be tampered with. I offered him $200 and he said he could get $350 from the scrap yard. I left and later that day he emailed and we agreed on $250.
I had it towed home and dove in. I removed the spark plugs and sprayed some Marvel Mystery Oil in to each cylinder and let it sit overnight. I installed a battery and spun the engine over on the starter. It turned easily so I installed new plugs and added new fuel to the tank. To my surprise it fired right up!
I let it run for a few seconds then checked for leaks and fired it up again. It runs great! I got it warm and did a compression test. Here are the results.
#1) 145 #5) 165
#2) 170 #6) 150
#3) 135 #7) 150
#4) 155 #8) 155

My experience has told me that they should all be within 15% or so of each other. So it's a little soft on #3 or maybe all the way around?

It idles well and takes throttle smoothly. I have to adjust the ign. timing.
I has an exhaust manifold leak on the passenger side at the rear in the middle of the manifold (not at the head).
The "Brake" light is on in the dash module as is the "Gen" lamp ( fluid in BMC is full) (Alternator is putting out 12.75V at idle and 13.0V off idle).
Transmission leak at output seal rear.
So here is the question. Is this car worth fixing up or should I take out the battery and let the scrap yard take it away for $250? I really don't want to get into any major mechanical work but it seems all that this needs is a little TLC. I can do the body work myself and have a friend who can weld the trunk floor in. It's gonna need brakes and exhaust too. I've been looking for a winter project but I'm concerned with the availability of parts (body,trim, interior etc). I'd like to have a decent driver for next spring.
I'd appreciate any honest opinions.
Thanks,
Max

BIG ERN · #2 (**permalink**) 08-08-08, 04:27 PM

looks good to me, and the price was right

arnauts · #3 (**permalink**) 08-08-08, 09:19 PM

Gorgeous car. You got it for an absolutle steal. A car like that would probably go for 2k up here, just because they're so rare. The only ones for $250 are the ones with very little floor/frame left.

cadillac_al · #4 (**permalink**) 08-08-08, 09:46 PM

That is a very nice looking car. I'm a sucker for black. I think it is well worth fixing. I hope it doesn't go to the scrap yard. If you were close to me I would buy it and I already have way too many cars but that is definitely a sharp car. It doesn't even look bad without the skirts. I say you got a good deal.

My_favorite_Brougham · #5 (**permalink**) 08-08-08, 11:47 PM

That car is wayyyy too nice to go to the scrapper. The interior looks excellent! Great leather, great dash, great everything like door panels and steering wheel too! It would be a darn shame to junk that, even to part it out. If you made it run and it's in that shape, I bet you could get $1500 at a bare minimum in the market place. The motor alone is worth triple what you paid. And everything else looks doable.

Aron9000 · #6 (**permalink**) 08-09-08, 04:50 AM

That looks like an easily restorable car IMO. Nice interior, straight body, not a whole lot of rust(from the pics). That would be a fun car to cram a built 500cu Caddy motor into, don't have to worry about emissions testing.

Maxwellvon · #7 (**permalink**) 08-09-08, 08:01 AM

Thanks guys!
I'll have to agree with your observations. It really isn't all that bad for a 37 year old Cadillac and the damn thing just is fun to look at, not to mention drive around the driveway. Talk about torque!!!!. I jacked up the read end to inspect the trunk floor and was blown away by the shear mass of this thing. Also I believe it has a positraction rear end. If you spin one wheel the other one spins in the same direction(at least with Porsches and other makes that indicates a limited slip diff.) Did Cadillac offer the positraction on the DeVille? I'm going to push forward and clean her up today. I'll post some pictures later on. Turns out the exhaust leak at the manifold is at the head so that should be an easy fix.
Now I just have to remind myself to take my time and not go over board. Half the fun is the journey, right?
Thanks again for your comments.
Max

nick stratta · #8 (**permalink**) 08-09-08, 01:25 PM

Max! Nice car! I have a '73 Coupe - same shape. Save it man, save it! There's nto a lot to do, it's all simple stuff that is bordering on general maintenance

best wishes, Nick

Maxwellvon · #9 (**permalink**) 08-15-08, 08:51 PM

Latest update. I bought some fender skirts on Ebay. You won't believe the price...$9.87 each!!! They are black and have the correct stainless trim too!
I sourced out aftermarket ones and they were at least $225 a pair. I've replaced the alternator and voltage regulator and tuned the tired old Quadrajet as good as I can. It runs and starts fine but is running very rich (burns eyes and stinks) so I think a rebuild for the carb is next up. New rear brake lines and hoses and then off to the muffler shop for a new dual setup. I need to replace the passenger side manifold gasket. I went to a local shop that works on older GM stuff and the wrench said it could be messy as the bolts break and you have to drill out the heads and maybe remove heads etc. he's thinking at least 8 hours. Geez I think I'll try myself and see how bad it gets. Anyone tried this at home? Here's some recent pic's with the skirts on.....

cadillac_al · #10 (**permalink**) 08-15-08, 09:35 PM

Dude, I am falling in love with your car. I have always said the '70 was the prettiest of the Cadillacs but that 71 really is a work of art. You got a great deal on the car, an awesome deal on the skirts, it seems like you are on a lucky streak. You might just get lucky with your exhaust manifolds too. If you do, you definitely should buy some lottery tickets. I like your mechanic's honest assesment. It could get ugly and it's good to prepare the owner for the worst.

**jayoldschool** · #11 (**permalink**) 08-15-08, 10:25 PM

Your bad manifold gasket... are you sure you don't already have broken bolts? That's usually the cause for the leak. Reach in, get a light, feel and look, and count all the bolt heads. I bet you are missing at least one. When you take out the bolts, to avoid breaking them, use an impact. You will have to go through the wheelwell, and use some extensions and wobblers. It will be a pain, but an impact will spin them out instantly without breaking.

kevm14 · #12 (**permalink**) 08-18-08, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cadillac_al

Dude, I am falling in love with your car. I have always said the '70 was the prettiest of the Cadillacs but that 71 really is a work of art.

I've said this before - I think 70 was the height of just about every GM car, for styling.

Maxwellvon · #13 (**permalink**) 08-24-08, 09:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jayoldschool

Your bad manifold gasket... are you sure you don't already have broken bolts? That's usually the cause for the leak. Reach in, get a light, feel and look, and count all the bolt heads. I bet you are missing at least one. When you take out the bolts, to avoid breaking them, use an impact. You will have to go through the wheelwell, and use some extensions and wobblers. It will be a pain, but an impact will spin them out instantly without breaking.

Just a quick update.....

Yep, it's the gasket or lack of...I tried to tighten the bolts on the leaking cylinder and they took a slight twist then I chickened out for fear of snapping them. Great advice on using the impact gun. I good snapping torque is much better than a slow twist in that situation.
I've got it running and idling pretty well. Put 6 gallons of premium fuel in it and changed the oil. Replaced all the rear brake lines and flushed the system. Repaired the leaking Quadrajet fuel inlet with an aftermarket repair kit for now. I'll send out the carb for a helicoil fix if I decide to go forward.
Looks like I'll be dropping the entire exhaust system as I have a major rear main seal leak. S.O.B.! From what I have researched you have to drop the exhaust then some steering links and finally the oil pan itself. A two piece rear main???? Now I think I know why the previous owners gave up on this old girl. Well, it's only time and a few gaskets right? Any tips or short cuts? I need all the help I can get.
The other major situation is the floor of the trunk. It's bad but not terminal. I'll post some pictures later. I don't have a welder or the skills at this time so I'll get some estimates from local shops for that. I can't find any sources for Cadillac replacement panels for the trunk. Anybody have a source or know if Cadillac shared sheet metal with any other GM product in 1971 for the trunk floor?

1990CaddyBrougham · #14 (**permalink**) 08-24-08, 10:55 PM

WAY to nice for the junkyard. Glad to see your fixing it up. There are a couple ass holes around here that just part caddys out. Glad to see someone fix one up and save it from the crusher.

Triple black.... MmmmMmmMm

cadillac_al · #15 (**permalink**) 08-25-08, 08:54 AM

The trunk floor repair would depend on how fussy about originality you want to be. I would think any old trunk floor, like from an Impala or anything,would look fine if it was new and neat. My 70 Impala has a custom flat floor that looks like crap but is solid as a rock. I don't spend much time worrying about putting an original floor in there for $750. If you throw a rug over it nobody ever sees it anyway. Even at car shows people don't pick up the trunk carpet to look at the trunk floor. The 2 piece rear seal is an SOB with the engine in the car but not impossible because people do it all the time. I think you are really going to enjoy that car when you get it done.