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84 Coupe Deville Project

153K views 758 replies 45 participants last post by  jayoldschool 
#1 ·
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?
 
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#294 ·
Got it on last night. It actually lined up very well. I just jacked it up and kicked it over about a half inch after rolling it in and they all lined up. Wasnt expecting that.




The bad news. My back has been giving me problems the last few weeks which include a trip to urgent care, then er, then ortho specialists and mri. Two compressed disc. Today I ended up on the garage floor for about 30 minutes. Meds arent doing anything. Next therapy isnt till thursday. Probably wont be touching the car for a few days.
 
#296 ·
Take it easy, my friend. I am dealing with the same issues. The MRI showed three herniated discs with tearing, and the nerves going to my left leg compressed. I couldn't move my toe for three months, and my foot felt like it was asleep. After much physio, I'm doing better. Serious meds didn't help me, either. I will be working smarter in the garage this year...
 
#297 ·
Its too much for me. Its a life changer and I'm not willing to live like this. Limited movement, tingling feet, not being able to get dressed easily, doc saying it should get a little better...doesnt work for me. I was having a pretty good year on the basketball court and two of my kids are starting sports this year, I'd be devistated if I couldn't do what I've been doing. Saying "well, if you were a professional athlete, we'd do something more permanent".
 
#298 ·
Wow, sounds familiar. I was a b ball player, too, then coached high school for the past ten years. Don't worry, it WILL get better. It will take a couple of months for the discomfort to subside, though. I couldn't lie flat in bed, and I couldn't stand (try 15 second showers!). Regular chairs were a no-go. I discovered that a reclining style chair with a pillow under my knees gave me some relief. You need a good physio plan. They will show the exercises that will get your back and TA muscles strong again. I saw the best surgeon in my city. He's the team doctor for the Ottawa Senators. He told me he could go in, and trim the L5 disc to give me relief, but wanted to see how physio went. I'm glad he was patient.
 
#299 ·
Crazy stuff, we'll see.

I've almost got a complete black deville interior. Only missing rear armrests, quarter window interior trims, interior rear reading light panels and headliner. I have everything else in black in good condition with no rips including hard top interior rear window trim. Everything I dont have in black, I have in my light blue interior. The question is do I paint pieces from the complete blue interior to try to match black or do I put the blue interior in.

 
#302 ·
#303 ·
Car is looking awesome man. Tough call on the interior. Do you have the black seats still from your brougham? Are you going with the digital dash? I think black and blue interior would look pretty cool. All black would look nice on that car too. If you go all black you should 90 the dash. I know a lot of guys on LIL adapt a speed sensor in the speedometer cable but if you do go digital you should try this sensor:

http://www.painlessperformance.com/webcatalog/largeview.php?SearchField=60116

It screws onto the side of the trans then your speedo cable screws onto it. I think it just wires to the buffer line that goes into the speedo. If I go digital in my fleetwood i'll try to let you know what all I used for the dash. That car is looking badass man. Those rims go nice with it too.
 
#308 ·
So I know I have been away for a while (both from the RWD forum and from the residence of my own project) but this has progressed immensely well since last time I checked in...I mean for one thing, the car is black now. (Black > Blue any day)

Definitely a fun project to catch up on.

And definitely go black on the interior. It is one of the best colours for these (Not just because it's black, but mostly because it is black)
 
#309 ·
Thanks Dullahan. Making moves to put the black interior in.

Got the back bumper on(cortisone shot working damn good). Took two full thick shims on one side and a half thin one on the other side to line it up decently. Color matched the bumper filler black. When I opened the bumper to put the new filler in, it was rusty so I scraped the loose stuff and sprayed bedliner type stuff inside, hopefully it gives me some more time before it comes through.




Some of the interior I got with the shell. One thing that I dont have that I thought I did is the door panels. I have the armrest but no panels.

You can see the headliner for the Lincoln moonroof in the background. Seats look dirty but hopefully they clean up well.


 
#311 ·
Dye them with something other then spray paint? The guy also gave me a half dozen door panels but none in black, all leather. I'll pick the best ones.

Here is an aluminum seat rail that I got with the shell. The connections are different and it has a black box on it for something. Anybody know what the box is for?
 
#314 ·
Everything is pretty simple, just dont rush with the dashboard. The parts that are the hardest are the trim pieces around the headliner and back window. They are hard to get off without breaking the clips. Plan on needing new clips if you pull the metal trim around the back window. Bring a battery if it doesnt have one so youbcan move the seats to get to the bolts.
 
#315 ·
csbuckn said:
Everything is pretty simple, just dont rush with the dashboard. The parts that are the hardest are the trim pieces around the headliner and back window. They are hard to get off without breaking the clips. Plan on needing new clips if you pull the metal trim around the back window. Bring a battery if it doesnt have one so youbcan move the seats to get to the bolts.
This. The dashboard is a PITA. You will need to remove the hush panels and dash top then look around for screws in the corner. There are 4 screws that hold it to the firewall. Be careful taking it out (I recommend 2 people so it won't twist).
The trim around the back window will have clips break off, as will the trim that holds up the headliner above the doors (no biggee, but you will have to get new clips).
As for seats, I always unbolt them from the bases and leave the bases unless I need them.
 
#316 ·
OK GREAT THANKS GUYS FOR HEADS UP I MIGHT BE ABLE TO FIX THE ANALOG CLOCK WHILE I HAVE THE DASH OFF THE LIL THINGS MAKE IT :cloud9: EFFECT ALSO ENGINE UPGRADES I LIKE PICKING YOU GUYS BRAINS CAUSE IM ONLY 24 AND DONT KNOW VERY MUCH ABOUT THESE CAR BESIDES THEY ARE ONE OF THE ERAS OF CADDYS MADE INCLUDING THE 425 ENGINE ASIDE FROM THE HT4100 BUT IM LOOKING AT UPGRADES LIKE AN EDELBROCK CARB AND AN FLOWMASTER CAT WITH MSD IGNITION KIT WILL GIVE IT MORE HP AND BETTER MPG
 
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