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69 Sedan de Ville official restoration thread

52K views 278 replies 28 participants last post by  CADforce69 
#1 · (Edited)
It´s time to open an “official restoration thread” for my ‘69 SDV, as someday it may help to someone who have similar car / similar problems. First I´m gathering up most pictures posted in different threads along the forum.

I bought the car from a man who seemed to be a compulsive collector of classic cars. He had a piece of land and a warehouse where he stored about 20 classics, Mercedes, Bentley, Cadillac, Lamborghini, Ford, Lincoln… In the past he had about 100 vehicles in this land, some inside and others outside the building. Now he needed some money and had to sell some of the cars. This one started easily, engine run very well, transmission worked apparently well (afterwords I discovered relevant trans fluid leakage) and brakes were apparently well, just some humming in transmission that did not worried me at first. The price was cheap and we made a deal. The car title was not very clear as he confessed but he bound himself to get everything solved so I was inscribed as the car´s owner and the car was ready to run legally. I advanced part of the money and the rest would be paid when I picked up the car. Doing the paperwork would take 1-2 months (Finally it turned to be 3 so I had to wait what it seemed to be an eternity for me).

Finally, on December 29 2010 I went to pick up the caddy, that was about 280 miles from home, with some paper still not ready but which I received some days later. The travel was a hell as I could check steering was very loose and front tires about 40 years old (and warped). The result was a horrendous trembling every time the car speed was over 25 mph and the road had any slight unevenness. Then I discovered that if I drove at more than 45 mph such effect did not take place. Later on, when I changed front tires the problem disappeared. I also changed tie rod ends, idler arm and drag link and since then, the car drove like heaven. Distributor timing was too advanced so when engine was hot at idle the car stalled when I turned the wheels to top right or left. Apart from that there was no incident (except for the red brakes light on but braking was good enough) and I managed to park it in my underground parking space not without some effort. It stick out near one meter, what aroused some complain.
A pic of the night travel:


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Some weeks later I took it to mi girl´s mum country house. It has no garage but I bought a good exterior car cover that is preserving it perfectly. Before that 55 mile travel I changed engine oil, oil filter, gas filter, air filter, sparks, spark wires, distributor cap and rotor. We tried to change points but with new points the car wouldn´t start. When I took the car to an experienced mechanic, he realized that there was not a good ground contact with new points installed. He solved the problem just with a file touch.
First pics of the engine: Dirt everywhere


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Distributor cap off and very worn tie rod ends:


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This plate is the original one. Registered in Madrid (Spain) on july 31 1969




I know: What are those lights doing in the rear bumper? Requirements to adapt the car to the european car light regulations. I´m planning taking that out, changing back up lights for turn lights (just an orange bulb and wire change) and looking for the original moldings (not very easy to find)



Rear view is spectacular. I love it! Original trunk lock emblem and "V" were broken. They were changed thanks to the help of Sven914



Rear fenders "Sedan de Ville" and trunk "Cadillac" badges were missing but later I got them back to its place.





There was a lot of work to do with chrome but I´m making it shine... These headlights were not OEM but an adaptation that former owner screwed on the headlight frame. New OEM type headlights would be installed later on. Left turn light would be also changed for another one in better condition the seller gave me with the car… Cracked but not broken.
 
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#175 ·
Thanks. I´m waiting for good weather to change patchy taillights in bumper for '70 moldings. I´ve got the moldings after cleaning, polishing and painting them and the back up lights ready to be used as turn signals:



I´ve made a bracket set to stick them to the interior of bumper as original '70 bumper had a fold where they were screwed down.

After that, I would like to fix lower front fenders and at the same time changing the front coil springs, that are sagging lowering front end.

A/C compressor, as soon as it arrives home and torque converter as soon as the mechanic is in the mood to do it. :p

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That's awesome! Where did Santa get that radio?! I need one fo rmy 69 or I'll have to put in a modern radio.
This is where Santa bought it :shhh: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1969-69-Cad...In_Dash_Receivers&vxp=mtr&hash=item1c1ffb3137 This seller has 100% positive feedback.

There is also available a cheaper one with 200 W: http://www.ebay.com/itm/69-70-71-72...t=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr but Santa sent a message to this seller to ask some questions but he never answered (What a lack of respect :lol:) :noidea:

Though this radio is more expensive than many modern ones this adds a lot of value to the car IMO :)
 
#178 ·
Thanx for the tip! Maybe it can be done without taking the dash apart. I´ll have a look at it. ;)

I´m really happy with the radio. Seller feedback was not wrong. It has even a selector for American or European frequencies on one side (European selected).

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Thank you my friend! I will be ordering one of those after I put on 4 new tires!
Of course, safety first! :LOL:

Hard to save money for a wedding and still have money to work on these cars! haha.
Now my income is not very good and I´m using my savings to restore the caddy but it´s the project of my life... My legacy for generations to come :lol:
 
#179 ·
I´ve made no significative progress in the last months. Tried to attach '70 back-up lights to the hole behind the truck taillights on rear bumper but I discovered that it should be more square and 1" longer if I want to place moldings in the right place matching with the back-up lights -to be used as turn signals- but rear bumper is near 0.2" thick! :banghead:Maybe a friend help me to do this armored steel cutting work as he has a radial saw.

On the other side, the torque converter, front coil springs, A/C compressor and A/C receiver drier and expansion valve have arrived from their long sea trip:bouncy:, but I still have to wait until my friend, the mechanic find one day to change all this.

But in the meantime, we have made a video of me parking the caddy: When I enter the parking, after going down the ramp I go to the end of a inside street at the left, and then I go backwards to my space: The usual procedure. I added some pics to avoid cutting the soundtrack :p

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOXXsSBuKFo
 
#181 ·
That is quite the maze you navigate to tuck your baby in every night. Beautiful well kept garage and big parking space. I love the video, Rex is very menacing looking snaking through the garage. Very nice. Sorry to hear progress is slow, but moving in the right direction at least. I have still been unable to do anything to mine in spite of the fact I am feeling better.
I agree that a Dremel or moto-tool would be the best for the fine fitting work involved. You can do an awful lot with them. 30,000 RPM makes them stronger than they look!
 
#182 ·
talismandave said:
That is quite the maze you navigate to tuck your baby in every night. Beautiful well kept garage and big parking space. I love the video, Rex is very menacing looking snaking through the garage. Very nice. Sorry to hear progress is slow, but moving in the right direction at least. I have still been unable to do anything to mine in spite of the fact I am feeling better.
I agree that a Dremel or moto-tool would be the best for the fine fitting work involved. You can do an awful lot with them. 30,000 RPM makes them stronger than they look!
I agree. A dremel (or similar) is a great tool. My dremel is older than me and is still going strong. Its been a very worthwhile investment. I've used it for everything from woodworking, to cutting, to polishing chrome and plastic, to grinding down rust. The only problem with mine was the plastic shaft between the motor and the output shaft disintegrated (after 18 years of use), but a lighter and some tubing (about $1 investment) and it was better than new.
 
#185 ·
Thank you for your advice, Matt, Dave and Kevin, my friend has a radial saw with a small cut off wheel. He´s confident this tool will be able to do the work; in fact I have seen amazed how easily it made two cuts on the front bumper support of my '73 Dodge to make some room for an oil cooler we installed on her. He says it would not even be necessary taking off the caddy bumper as the cut off wheel has a 2" diameter. It´s a powerful but dangerous tool.

As for the parking, yes, I´m fortunate to have in a European capital a parking space where I could even store a 75 series for a cheap price :lol: Lightning is quite good. Floor has still grey dust but that helps to hide the oil drips :p

Restorations goes like this: Sometimes very fast and sometimes slow but I´m happy as what is left on the list does not prevent me from enjoying my caddy. Last Sunday we went to another classic car meeting. Last pics of the video are taken there :) When we had just finished lunch a thunderstorm broke out and I could check wipers are working ok now and Rex runs like a champ under strong wind while other cars were wobbling. It runs more and more powerful and smooth as it does more and more miles.

With the autumn breeze, you will push forward your project, Dave. Just wait and see :)
 
#188 ·
I´m glad my service manual´s picture helped you and that you like my cadillac restoration story :) I still have some things to fix but I have to wait until my friend, the mechanic have some time to make the next repairs.

My navigator has an automatic translator so I have been able to check this web. It´s very interesting and useful. You are lucky there is so many cadillac lovers in the Netherlands so you can help each other in your own country. Here in Spain I know a group of American cars fans I share our madness with :p

This forum is also a great help to get specific info and help. :thumbsup:

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Wow, I thought I had trouble getting my '68 in my garage with a 6' wide door and 21' depth. (I've hit the wall twice)

That is like a puzzle.

I would not want try parking there after visiting "Taberna Tempranillo" it was hard enough walking back to the hotel : )
That´s a big parking space and a friendly parking for Madrid. Believe me :)

Were you in Madrid recently? El Tempranillo is in a very lively bar area. You can end up drunk without noticing :lol: ... But when I get out to to these places I don´t take the caddy. I wouldn´t even know where to park it. Madrid is not a big car-friendly city :p
 
#189 ·
After some months waiting for my friend, the mechanic, he had some time to work with Rex and finally he changed the torque converter. It leaked oil through the central hole (0,25 quarts every week), damaged by the old stiff dried seal. New seals were placed again and now there is no leak. We have detected another leak -just some drops- in the steering box by the input shaft; in fact the Inspection station guys had pointed it out. I have ordered to Rockauto a rebuilt one for $136.00 that will come by sea to save shipping cost.

Front coil springs -sagged by weight and +15 years of weathering- were also changed. This has changed the look of the car, dignified by the correct factory height of the front end. The rear end height can be varied thanks to the air adjustable shocks through a hidden valve in the lower rear fender. One of the new springs snores slightly but let´s wait it will seat in some months. If not, we will try a nylon cap. The best result is that the clamp between the exhaust manifold and center section does not hit the ground any more when passing a pothole. In these pics you can see the present look:



Old coil springs in the new ones box (Notice the difference in length) and new springs installed:



I had to get the front end aligned again, as parameters change, and it´s good to be sure everything keeps meeting specifications, but left wheel camber could not be adjusted as the eccentric nut was jammed. Next time I take the car to my friend, he will have to ease it using a blowtorch. The aligning shop guy -an American classics fan- called my attention on the worn strut rod bushings and the stabilizer bar bushings. I included these in the steering box order.

The Air conditioning compressor, which was making a pre-gripping noise was changed by a rebuilt one -too much time with a low gas charge-, receiver-drier bottle and expansion valve too. (these two parts very cheap and adviced to change with compressor). I thought there would be no more belt squeal but it seems the alternator one keeps making some noise from time to time. My friend says it´s not alternator fault but the belt itself, so I ordered two belts of different makes (little more than $4 each) and another one for air pump (who knows). When warm weather arrives, I´ll get the A/C system charged (maybe a cleaning treatment before). On these pics you can see the new compressor installed, new expansion valve and bottle, as well as the old compressor:

 
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#194 ·
That´s interesting. I´ll give points one more chance but if I have more trouble maybe I´ll opt for HEI :)

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Coming along nicely! Im keeping track here as Im prepping to restore my 69 as well
Welcome to this thread :) Here you have a sample of most of the possible issues a 69 may have (Though not the worst). Keep up the good work with your ragtop ;)
 
#197 ·
I've got in in the garage right now for winter. I need to get the timing thing figured out. The distributor is seized in there and can not turn. I may have to take the timing cover off to free it up. Other than that the only problem is that the brake pedal will not return under it's own power. I have to pull it back up.

Hey could you look on your brake pedal and see if there's a return spring on there? It looks like there's a hole for it but I haven't been able to find a spring. Pics would help if there are :)
 
#200 ·
^Maybe that´s a better idea. To reach the distributor you have to take out water pump first and then the crankshaft pulley (not always easy). Then, you must remove front cover of the engine:



An maybe then you find something like this:



Pics taken from a '68 472.
 
#202 ·
Interestingly, I did not have a problem getting mine off.

I'm with Cadforce here on the Distributor. If it is seized and you can't get it out, removing the timing cover seems the best way to go. It also lets you get a look at what the rest of the innards look like and judge if you will be replacing them as well.
 
#205 · (Edited)
Today I went to the caddy parking space so I took some pics of the brake pedal mechanism as requested by outsider. It´s really difficult as it´s deep under the dash. This is the best I could get:



In the first and the last pic you can see the stop light switch at the pedal back (opposite to the accordion hose).

I can´t see any spring nor the shop manual seems to mention it. It seems it´s linked directly to the power head back (see the accordion hose at the pedal back) so I think it´s the power head which pushes back the pedal. Maybe someone here knows better the cause of brake pedal not going back when you press it :noidea:
 
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