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Cherie's '84 Coupe DeVille Project

47K views 369 replies 37 participants last post by  talismandave 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi there! :) My name is Cherie. You may have noticed me around the forums this week. I signed up a year ago but haven't really gotten involved on this site until now. I've been working on an '84 Coupe DeVille project since early 2012. It was my first car, and for all intents and purposes it's pretty much like a child to me -- me and my Caddy are inseparable. I've dragged it from Arizona to Utah and now to California. I couldn't work on it while I was in AZ and UT because I was in college (for engineering if that explains my lack of spare time). Now that I'm out of college, I'm finally working on it! I am more proud of this project than you will ever know.

I recently replaced the timing components and water pump among a semi-long list of other things. I HAVE to have this car running by the end of July, after which is must depart my friend's driveway, and since I don't yet have a driveway of my own, I have to have it running and registered so that I can park it at my apartment complex (registration is another hurdle I'm going to face.. more details on that dilemma later). I need all the positive energy and ambition as possible TO. GET. THIS. DONE!! :D

In order to get it running, I have to finish putting the rest of the components back onto the front of the engine (pulleys, compressor, radiator, etc), and then I have to reconnect the distributor and spark plug wires (both new), re-time everything, put new gasoline, change the oil, change the transmission fluid, and probably a handful of other things I'm forgetting right now. Since I'm waiting for my parts to come in from McMaster (I'm devising my own harmonic balancer installer), I thought that today I can go over and wash my Caddy, clean up some of the rust (Scotts Valley, CA is humid!!) and possibly sand and prime the areas that the naval jelly can't really get.

I've been occasionally updating a project website: http://1984coupedeville.wordpress.com/

But soon the project website will be moved to my own domain and server by August 2013 (so don't pay attention to this site 'til then): http://nebulosity.cc/

I'll try to post more updates on this thread as my project progresses. :)

I hope to get to know you guys, and all of your projects and posts and replies seriously keep me moving forward with energy on my own project!

Wish me luck!!! Time to work a miracle!
 

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#173 ·
LOL .... somebody noticed.

That relay is the ELC relay to stop the stupid compressor from trying to pump up the shocks when they aren't the pump-able shocks (so they're just not connected to anything). I was so tired of that stupid loud compressor. lol
 
#178 ·
nebulosity said:
Eep... let's not think those thoughts. :suspense:
Funny thing was I didn't know it was doing it. I got to the mechanics and commented to my dad how it was weird that I was doing 10 under the speed limit (because the 307 couldn't go over 25 or 30 without giving it over 50% throttle once warmed up and I didn't want to push it and risk it blowing up) and pulling away from everyone. My dad (who was following me in the van) said "didn't you notice the smoke?" I asked "what smoke?" And he said "there was a thick smoke screen rolling out from under the bumper. It looked like the car was on fire and it kept getting worse. I think that engine finally died." (I didn't notice any smoke, but I was worried about it making it to the mechanics....and it barely made it. It was making quite a racket the last couple blocks and it reeked of oil heavily, but it drove onto the lot.)
 
#181 ·
Caddy update:

They noticed the distributor wasn't bolted down securely and the timing was changing causing the power loss. Now, I know that we couldn't figure out how the distributor is supposed to be bolted down, so I'm not in the least bit surprised they found that out (although I didn't think it was the primary cause for loss of power).

Does anyone know how the distributor is supposed to be fixed in place after you set the timing? It seemed like someone had RTVd the thing in before I took the distributor base out, and I didn't RTV it back in because I didn't think that was the official way to do it.

Ideas?
 
#184 ·
There is a threaded rod with a washer and a nut UNDER the distributor base, but it's unclear to use how it does anything to keep the distributor from rotating... as far as we can see, it only keeps the distributor in the hole. There's supposed to be a clamp? When I took the caddy originally to be checked out at a place in san jose called Robbie's auto, they returned the car to me without the distributor bolted into the hole... it was just sitting in there. :(
 
#185 ·
There should be a bolt, or perhaps a nut on a stud, and a clamp to hold that distributor in place. It's engineered in a way that no human could possibly see or touch it. The engineers still giggle themselves to sleep at night. When you have the right parts, you'll need a distributor wrench (a 90-degree wrench) to get on the bolt/nut and even then you can get like 1/100" of a turn at a time out of it. It would take hours to tighten properly. Or at least that's how I recall them. YMMV.
 
#191 ·
Caddy update:

I found the funny shaped washer (i.e. clamp) that holds the distributor in place. Now I need a distributor wrench.

Because of work, I haven't been able to go get the Caddy yet, but we're definitely going down to get the caddy in the morning. I need to test drive it to make sure it'll be able to handle at least 40mph. Once we feel comfortable that the caddy is in decent shape to drive up the 17, we're going to take it to get smogged.

I have no idea what tomorrow will bring. The uncertainty makes me worry a bit. :/
 
#193 ·
I wish you luck but I would bet money a poor running car will not pass smog.

I always tell my girlfriend to wear something sexy when she takes her old clunkers in for inspection. Surprisingly it works and they always miss the medium sized rust holes that I didn't feel like fixing. I tell her to keep talking and joking with the guys while they are under the car to mess up their train of thought lol. Probably irrelevant for a smog check.
 
#195 ·
Caddy update:

Took the Caddy for a test drive and to the gas station for a little more gas (first gas station fillup in years!!). The Caddy drove quite nicely! A lot like I remember it. Not a race car obviously, but it absolutely did not struggle or backfire, even on modest hills. I got up to 45mph no problem whatsoever.

The only issue now is that it still needs a new valve cover gasket and one of the holes probably need to be re-tapped. Since I apparently screwed it up last time, Im just gonna let the guys at Larrys take care of it. They wot be able to get to it for a week or so, but theres no hurry since my moving permit is good for 60 days.

We're on our way to go replace the battery because it doesnt really hold a charge anymore. Then we go pick up the calve cover gasket at winchester auto, put in the new battery and leave the new gaskets in the Caddy.

It was throwing some codes at first: 12, 15, 23, 30, 52, but after we took out the battery (and then had to put it back in to move the car, lol) effectively clearing the codes, I was getting a 16 and a 52. I left my shop manual at home by accident, so I cant remember what all the codes are. Some are probably related to the fact that the auto shop guy played with the distributor, and I expect those codes wont stay long after we get the new battery in, Ill clear the codes, start it up and try again.

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First fillup at the gas station in years...


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....... hey, this is a loud sound. What the heck is it? A valve? o_O

 
#210 ·
Got a call from Larry's and they said the Cadillac is ready for pickup. I asked them if their tech found any broken rockers, and he said "none of the rockers are broken." I'm a bit skeptical because the last time I asked Guy something over the phone, I asked if the technician had test driven the car, and Guy said "Yes, the car drives fine." It turned out that the technician HADN'T test driven the car, and that the car was definitely NOT fine. As a result, I'm really skeptical about his response with the rocker arms. Anyways, I'll go pick up the Caddy later this week, let it warm up, and listen for the same loud sound I was hearing last time. If I still hear that sound, I'll have the mechanics listen to it again.
 
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