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1983 Fleetwood Brougham d'Elegance project

203K views 776 replies 73 participants last post by  Maximln 
#1 ·
Hi,
first of all i want to introduce myself. I am Felix from germany and i just bought an '83 FB d'Elegance Sedan, loaded and in beautiful "woodland haze" paint.
I want to say sorry to you if i make mistakes writing english. It is not perfect, but i will try as good as possible. :)

4 Years ago (when i was 18) i bought my first car: a rusty and worse custom '74 Continental Mark IV. You can see my Lincoln restoration here: Link
I restored it and now it is like new but as a daily driver (it was still my only car) it is too expensive on gas. (In germany it is something about 8$/gal)

I always loved 70s and 80s american cars. 80s Fleetwood Brougham always was one of my favourites.
So i looked for one. I had exact criteria:

- Year 80-83 (in germany there is a huge financial advantage for cars older then 30 Years, called historical license plate)
- Sedan (it is hard with these small parking spots and those huuuuge doors. I always have problems with the doors of my Lincoln.)
- Fleetwood Brougham, no Deville
- d'Elegance package with cloth seats (very important, i love these seats)
- paint shouldn't be silver or black (i don't like common colors.... today every car is silver or black)

It is hard to find a car that fits. I searched a lot worldwide but found almost nothing (and if, way too expensive)
In germany those cars are between 1.500 and 10.000€ Compared to the US-prices, they are expensive. Shipping from the US to germany is something about 2.000$.

One day i drove through a city 70 mls away and saw a '80s FB at the street side.
- Sedan :thumbsup:
- Fleetwood Brougham :thumbsup:
- d'Elegance :thumbsup:
- cloth seats :thumbsup:
- 80-83: yes, '83 :thumbsup:
- color :thumbsup:

Holy! A car like out of my dream.
Ok, it is needs TLC, but no problem.
I contact the owner, yes the car is for sale. It was inserted a while ago for 4.300€
I negotiate "a bit" and at the end i bought the car for 800€ (about 1.000$), which is a very good price here in germany for such a car.

And this is it:
(Cadillac next to my Mark IV)


rear:










Ok, and that is the condition:
- front bumper is bent, but chrome is ok
- rear bumper is straight, but chrome is worn
- broken bumper filler
- worn vinyl top
- worn tires
- missing emblems
- engine (HT4100) runs perfect
- transmission needs rebuilt. no movement in reverse
- brakes, suspension like new
- seats like new
- headliner hangs down locally
- some electrical things aren't working
- almost no rust (only surface. undercarriage is like new)
- car is 100% original (exept for stupid german conversions to the turn signals, parking lights, cornering lights, sidemarkers....)

I have a Carfax report and it seems that 30.000 Miles are original.

So far... in february i took the car with me. It drives like a cloud. Awesome!
It only is difficult to remember the missing reverse.... sometimes i had to push the car back on road.

Cadillac at arriving.




Ok. I only can put 15 images in one post so i will distribute the progress to the next posts.

Regards
Felix
 
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#238 ·
I've read this whole thread and I must say I'm astounded. You're an inspiration to DIY mechanics everywhere, Felix! :2thumbs:

I know this was a while ago, but I was wondering if you could say a little bit more about your repairs to the blower module in the HVAC housing? Did you find a new one or did you find a way to rebuild it? I've been unable to find one for a reasonable price and the protective coating that the circuitry is packed in has complicated my efforts to rebuild it.

Cheers again for the beautiful photographs and information. You've made my headliner repair job a lot easier. :D
 
#241 ·
Thank you so much. I always like to share the progress to other people.

@ Robin Banx, no I am not. :D
The only barriere for me is what I want to pay for tools and parts. I would like to restore the whole car right now but I can't afford that.

@ TurtleRanger, I replaced the power module, I haven't found a way to repair it.

I just bought a parts car right now. A '83 Coupe Deville with good engine and brand new transmission. So I will do the engine swap and overhaul soon. Be prepared.. :D

 
#246 ·
It is "Light Briar Brown" which is the same as "Woodland Haze".
But I think it is ok. Somewhen I will restore the whole car and it will get a complete new paintjob.

Today I started to uninstall a lot of parts to prepare the engine swap.


engine and transmission wiring.... what a mess.




wheel well housing is broken because the tire exploded somewhen.




progress today. almost everything is disconnected right now.


Can anyone tell me if I can take off the outer fender skin without pulling the front mask?

Felix
 
#253 ·
Thanks a lot!

Jacked the car to reach the undercarriage


removed more parts


Only have to uninstall the passenger side exhaust to manifold connection (what a hell to reach the bolts...), empty the tranmission and disconnect the power steering lines. The rest is prepared.


Felix
 
#254 ·
Now would be the time to change both of the engine frame mounts. They are not easy to change even with the engine out of the car and with the engine in the car, the job is truly diabolical. Rock Auto has them in stock (I bought 2 for my 81 car) and they are cheap ($6 - 7.00 each). Another thing I did to my car the winter before last was when I had the fender wells out for repair and the rad cradle rails out for blasting and powder coating, I bought some plastic bumper black enamel in a spray can and shot both plastic fender wells in gloss black. Now they look much better than the factory dull flat black plastic finish.

Cheers............R.
 
#255 ·
Yeah, both engine and transmission mounts will be new.

Here we go... what a mess. Never did an engine removal which was this complicated. The engine crane was too short that I had to lift the engine off the mounts with my hands while standing where the radiator support was.












look at this sh...t. The engine stand should be able to take the double of the HT weight but it is junk! I don't wanted to put the whole weight to the stand and in this pic it is still hanging at the crane... Now the engine is standing on the ground and the engine stand besides.... :rolleyes:


Tomorrow the 83 Deville parts car will arrive... I have to do the same job there again.... noooooo... :D:D:D

Regards
Felix
 
#257 ·
Hey my friend... you really shouldn't use ratchet straps for engine lifting.. They are not designed nor safe for lifting. Get yourself some chain and grade 8 bolts and washers and it will be MUCH safer. Don't want to see anything bad happen.

Been following your project and look forward to the rest of your transformation.
 
#258 ·
Hi, these are heavy duty straps with hooks at the ends which can handle 1 ton. So absolutely no problem.

I got a new set of floor mats






furthermore I took off the front clip because the engine jack needs more space when installing the new engine.




lamp monitors...




maybe I will paint the front clip too because there are a lot of chips and damages.

Regards
Felix
 
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