Just picked up a new 84 Deville De'elegance. Blue on blue with the soft cloth seats. The outside looks good as does the inside. It has 142K with a bad tranny and a motor that wont idle down. I only had it running for 10 minutes but the temp light came on. I looked under the hood and saw some melted wiring and some small mods but it all looks intacked.
Completely stock interior looks to have survived very well with the only defect being the locks not working.
Then comes the bad parts. The rust on the drivers floor board, its the only part of the floor board with rust
There is a rust hole in this fender thats hard to see. You can see the tire, just not in the pic.
Never did a floor pan though, are they a pain to deal with? I havent had it on the lift yet but the rest of the frame looks good. The plan would be to switch over the complete drivetrain from the 90 to this 84, everything except the interior mods, I like the interior as is. I would need to put some gauges somewhere though, any ideas?
Yea, I posted this issue on LIL and someone went out and measured the two different decklids(hardtop and soft top decklids), they are the same except for the studs on the soft top lid. He also noticed at a junkyard that the rear trim was smaller on a sedan. Then Mr. Lac posted that they are different. My decklid is off my 84 coupe. The side pieces are the only difference as the coupe ones are longer. Dont worry 1980coupe, the price was right and I can easily make the money back.
Made more progress. Got the headlights, motor, battery isolator and dash wired up, jute backing under the carpet, back seats and quarters pretty much done, exterior door trim on and column connected. It would be ready to start if I would have connected the gas lines.
Center stereo piece is painted with duplicolor flat black. Cant really tell the difference in the garage.
Anybody got a black rear armrest?
This is where I'm stuck at the moment. I painted interior rear quarter panels(before I found some stock black ones) and they didnt turn out good. I dont want the door panels to turn out the same but dont have the money to take them somewhere. Anybody had a good turnout without a certain interior paint?
Yea, I've been looking at SEM the last couple days. Looks like Landau Black is the way to go. I still wonder about the carpet on the door???
I got the car running...no brakes. The pedal just goes up and down with and no feedback. It doesnt even move the rod in the master cylinder. I havent looked into it but hopefully its simple. Still having issues with the starter making noise and grinding funny after months of shimming and new starters. Just not sure what to do about it anymore.
Sorry to go off topic here, but I have a question about the SS springs. I installed the impala SS stock springs all around with KYB gas adjust shocks and the 9c1 sway bars (front and back) on my 80 coupe deville...car rides really nice. My issue is that in the back, it dropped about 1.5", the front actually raised about .5". I will be honest, I don't think that my mechanic indexed the front springs (i know, a mechanic should know better). I am taking it back to him but before I do, do you think that will be the reason why the car is sitting higher in the front?
before I did the work, the front was sitting at 27.5" (ground to wheel well), the back was at 24". Not sure if my front springs were really saggy either as I don't have a reference to what the height should be if they werent saggy.
Did you use used impala springs or new? The indexing will not bring the car to sit right. I think my car did the same, lowered in the back only. Not sure what causes that.
A big block Caddy (even the 368) is heavier than an LT1. The SS also has lighter accessories (aluminum, plastic, etc). Also, the Caddy springs were likely sagging.
Whats going on with my brakes? The pedal feels soft with no action inside the master cylinder. I dont think the rod is pushing into the master cylinder. I can hear a hiss inside the car when pressing the pedal but no hissing when not on the pedal, with or without the car running. I can take the cap off the master cyl and no fluid moves when I hit the brakes.
they were used impala springs.
so I guess in my case, the front is likely not going to lower anymore. guess I shouldve gone for the eibachs to get a more lowered stance. I thought ss springs will lower the car an inch or 2. I was hoping for the stance of the champagne fleetwood I believe destroyer had....I've seen that pic posted on here somewhere.
Yea, I may go with the eibach springs also. It seems the coupes sit lower then the sedans for some reason. Impala springs lowered my 90 sedan but not so much for my 84 coupe.
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Forgot to add about the brakes, the pedal returns back to up position with no problem.
Cut 1/2 a coil off the SS springs, this will drop it about an inch/inch.5.
Hissing must mean a vacuum leak, but it may just be the vacuum release for the e brake. Check that first. No fluid moving usually means air in there...
I've used a small screwdriver to wedge in between trim and frame. You will break the clips for sure no matter how careful you are.
I've tried to pull down on trim and pull towards you to release off of clip, but again they break.
Got the seats and console in, not sure if I like it. Its nice to have the gauges, maybe it will grow on me. I'm gonna cut the seatbelt mount from the old coupe just in case I go back to original and just put a glass in the roof.
A new brake booster and I should be able to drive it. Anybody know for sure if the vacuum test above would prove a bad brake booster?
Got the seats and console in, not sure if I like it. Its nice to have the gauges, maybe it will grow on me. I'm gonna cut the seatbelt mount from the old coupe just in case I go back to original and just put a glass in the roof. http://s935.photobucket.com/user/csbuckn/media/20130608_183313.jpg.html
A new brake booster and I should be able to drive it. Anybody know for sure if the vacuum test above would prove a bad brake booster?
Sam, honestly, I do not like the console as is. I would drop the center panels down 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch and make the center panels real wood (with the grain going side to side and stained to match the dash) with chrome trim on the edges. I think it would tie the console/ seats into the car more and give it a higher quality look (having real wood in the car). As for the gauges, I would think rectangular/ square gauges would look better (although I don't think you can get rectangular/ square gauges) Aside from that, I love everything about the car so far. It's coming together great and I love the seville seats. How are they for comfort/ support?
Yea, I thibk the console will have to be re-done and maybe the seats conditioned to make them darker. The seats are supportive, they'll probably do just fine. I think you're right, it should come down and the gauges shouldn't be at such an angle. Can you match the woodgrain nicely with a stain?
Put the other brake booster on and I have brakes now. I'll put the trunk, windshield and hood on and should be able to drive it.
You'll probably be able to match the wood pretty close with poplar and a lighter color stain (you could go with beechwood or birch (don't recall what the factory light colored wood was supposed to be) and do a polyurethane on it to match, but that might be cost prohibitive).
I still say a factory console would be the best choice. you can make anything black, and you can get wood grain in that same pattern. The home made one just doesn't fit.
Maybe I can find something different or do some changes. It will have to be like this for a minute while I figure something out. I am looking for a black steering wheel, though.
I would extend the armrest section forward about 6 inches, extend it up an inch or 2 (make a bigger storage compartment and make it more practical)
I would also drop the top of the console below the ashtray and reangle the front of the console
It would also look cool if you could use a 3rd gen camaro console....(not sure how that would work fit wise though)
I'd also recommend a trofeo console
90-92 console (theres one in a yard here in burgundy)
I also particularly like the 87-89 console. I'd mount the gauges where the tape deck is
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