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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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#38 ·
I had my FSM delivered at my office, which is full of car guys. Not "real" car guys (as far as I'm concerned) since they all drive late model audis and mercs and pay people to mod their cars, but when they saw that thing arrive at my desk they took one good look and promptly sh*t their pants.. I'd been waiting for it for a week saying "I can't wait for the bible to get here", and when they saw it in all its 1000+ page splendor a couple of them promptly bowed their heads and paid respect. Literally.. It was quite the comically whimsical sight that I wished I'd caught on video.

I still randomly read mine even when the car's running right. Sitting on the coffee table as we speak although it makes its way to the bathroom more than any other book these days. GM did a good job with this stuff.. And yes, on our cars the electrical section is worth its weight in gold. And then some...
 
#39 ·
I think I'm most fascinated by the emissions system because it's the most mysterious to me. I took an electronics class in college and learned how to debug circuits, so the theory generally makes sense to me. The Caddy will be a nightmare though because my dad put an alarm system on it in the 90's, and it's caused strange behaviors in the Caddy for as long as I can remember. I also have an aftermarket stereo, so who knows what kind of work they did there. I mean, they couldn't have made that much of a strange mess, right? o_O

I love, love, love this shop manual~!!

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My cat approves.

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#41 ·
Hehe, I can definitely understand... I'm hoping that all the reading I do about it will save me from an unnecessary number of headaches. XD

Blah. I am deliriously tired and need to get some sleep so that I have lots of energy for working on the Caddy after I get off work tomorrow. :D Speaking of.... I need to find a way to measure the tension on the belts as I'm tightening them. I might need to look into getting a tool. o_O

Anyways, talk to guys later! More updates to come tomorrow. :)

Night night.
 
#42 ·
Those manuals sure do come in handy. I have ALL of mine for my 80 coupe. The service manual, advance service manual, body manual, eletrical trouble shoot manual, fold outs of wiring and vacuums, dealership albums that you would have seen at dealers, they consists of interior selection, exterior selection and merchandising guide, also have tune up charts, salesman guide (lists all options, prices and codes)
I have pratically read all of mine already. I have a lot of post its in the eletrical section, lol...
 
#46 ·
I agree that the manuals of these cars are worth their weight in gold. I learned how to disassemble my front end, which I had no idea of how to do before. (Now if only I can get someone to help me pull the hood so I can take it apart and paint my frame and lower radiator braces/ replace my power antenna/ change my drivers inner fender and passengers outer fender.)
 
#51 ·
Yep, we only buy mexican coke because I don't tolerate High Fructose Corn Syrup well. It makes my blood sugar crash and it really ruins my health. I found that out the hard way (long story). The mexican coke tastes better anyway. We buy a ton of it in one trip because Costco doesn't always have it in stock.
 
#52 ·
Ironically, I loaded the machine up this morning. The local supermarket was out of Mexicans so I had to get the smaller bottles (8 oz) US formula. At least in those I can get diet. I need to check out Sam's Club. I hear they have the Mexican Coke and Sprite.
 
#56 ·
If you dont find a tool for the tension, see how tight they are on a couple other cars, they are all about the same. They should feel pretty firm. Some say new belts should be even tighter because they will stretch out during their first heat cycle. But, the belts are going to give you problems anyway because there are so many of them and they pull from different ways on the crank pulley.
 
#59 ·
California is funny that way. Here if it sits for years you don't need registration. That is why my Cadillac came w/o title. Owner had lost it. Parked car in 86 got Cal inop certificate for ten years. He owed 15 years back registration and couldn't get a replacement title without paying it!

As to Mexican Coke, I used to buy a lot of Mexican Coke....but it was the 80's, and that is another story.....
 
#61 ·
I got the belts all tensioned, just by feel. I had two people check them for me and they said it seems okay, and that I'll be adjusting them again later anyway because they're new.

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And guess who started (FINALLY) putting the radiator back on??? MEEEEEE.

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I still have to tighten the ring clamps and the nuts on all the hoses and pipes, and connect the lower radiator hose. It looks like I somehow misplaced a ring clamp or two. o_O I'll have to get some at the auto store next time I'm there.

And omg, I realized today that my collection of screws and nuts that are left to be bolted back into place have reduced themselves to one (magnetic) bowl. This is just TOO WIERD.... It's a sign I'm getting close to finishing putting everything back together, and it's a little surreal for me...

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#63 ·
For the repairs I'm doing? Or how long since I last drove it?

I stopped driving it in 2005.

I started doing the repairs last August. So I've been working on it (on and off) for a year. It's 30 miles away from my apartment at a friends house, and with other life complications, 60 hour work weeks, it's been slow going. :/

I've been looking at the engine of this car relatively bare for the last year, so to see it with the components on the front, with the belts and the radiator in, it's all so strange. I recognize this engine compartment better when lots of things removed from it, and seeing it with it's components is foreign. lol
 
#69 ·
Well I have to at least get coolant in it, right? The car attempted to start just fine, but because the timing was all messed up before, it wouldn't actually start. Power to the car was great, and the starter motor seemed great. I had oiled the cylinders a little bit with Marvel mystery oil a while back. I can do that again too if necessary.

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I'd also put some marvel mystery oil or WD40 in the cylinders prior to turning it over.
Yep, already did that. :) I can probably add a little more since it's been a year since I did that though.
 
#66 ·
Jimmy - I hear ya, I have been putting mine off deluding myself into thinking "Windows down is good enough". No it's not. Not with the heatwave we've got right now where even the breeze at 60mph is hot and muggy. But it's frankly too hot to be spending a couple of hours under the car too, so it's on the "to do when the car comes off the road this winter" list. I'll make do with sticking to the seats for now. I hear it's not that bad if you have wobble extensions and take your time though.

Cherie - Lookin' good! Getting there :)
 
#68 ·
I hear it's not that bad if you have wobble extensions and take your time though.
I relieved what little "pressure" (read: refrigerant) was left in the system this morning. It had bled down to where the compressor wouldn't run anymore. I'll probably crawl under it later today once the sun swings away from the blacktop. A series of extensions with a universal does work, but it's such a pain in the butt. The universal flops around, extensions come apart. Oh what fun. I'm headed to the Jersey Shore this weekend and really want to take the limo, but it has to have a/c.
 
#74 ·
So I tightened down all the radiator connections and started to fill it with engine coolant. I'm going to need to get another gallon.

Strangely I feel like we got a lot of stuff done, but we really didn't. I wanted to hook everything up on the distributor, but when I checked the distributor hole before seating the distributor, there was a lot of black crap that looked like RTV laying at the bottom of the hole. I asked my husband to help me fish out the crap. It looks like someone RTV'd the distributor into the hole. o_O Is that a common practice?

I asked my husband to make me a board to sit across the top of the engine while I put the distributor and plug wires back on. Much easier to work on the top of the engine that way. Saves your back and shoulders.

Anyways, I'm super tired. Gonna get some sleep.

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#75 ·
The presence of RTV does sound odd unless the distributor and and head are different materials and someone was trying to prevent galvanic action--but then I am not an engineer nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn last night (it was the Renaissance in Nashville which was nice but has not had any, much needed, positive impact on my cognitive abilities).

Keep at it. I love threads like this where cars get a second chance thanks to determined owners who appreciate them.
 
#76 ·
The presence of RTV does sound odd unless the distributor and and head are different materials and someone was trying to prevent galvanic action. . .
I think the intake manifold and shaft of the distributor base are both made of steel. What's even more weird is that I don't remember there being any washers when I pulled it out. Apparently there is supposed to be a thrust washer? o_O

This is why I don't like other mechanics working on my car... I've found parts missing more than once..

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#77 ·
If its a metal washer, you may want to find one. Without it, the dizzy gears may not line up with the cam gear that good. I dont know if its that important but worth looking into. Might be the cause of the chain messing up in the first place if the out-of-aligned gears cause a lot of drag. Might not be nothing but maybe something.
 
#79 ·
Got a little closer today. I am really super-duper tired, so we'll see how detailed this update ends up being. z___Z

I re-hooked up the throttle linkage. For some reason that funny little plastic piston thing is not sitting straight, and I can't figure out why. o_O
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As part of the throttle linkage, I reconnected this spring...
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When I took off the valve covers a while back, I (obviously) had to take off it's little metal tab (i.e. vaccuum pipe bracket) . I accidentally put the tab on the middle valve cover screw hole, instead of the one nearest the front and put it in its proper place. I really tortured myself over this one because the spring is stretched a lot to hook it to the tab when mounted with the front valve cover screw, but there really is no way else to put it. Ah well. Unless you guys see anything blatantly wrong in the above photo, I'm calling it good.

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For the record, I fracking hate these crow's foot wrenches. They're too thick and too wide on the sides -- COMPLETELY useless!! I **WILL** MAKE MY OWN crows feet when I finally get the money and space for a machine shop of my own. -_- .. probably with a bunch of other tools I've wanted to make during this whole <strike>ridiculous</strike> project.

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Put a new rotor in the distributor because the stupid dinky old one broke where the metal tab mounts. :annoyed:
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By the end of the day, I wasn't really that much farther along. This slow-going progress thing is really getting old. I spent most of the day fishing out nuts and bolts I dropped on top of the engine in impossible to reach places.
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#80 ·
I also spent some time looking at what I could gain from taking the front of the car off for putting the Caddy in the garage (related:http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...od-1985/331018-front-rear-bumper-removal.html ), and what kinds of things need to be unfastened to do so. Yes, that's right ppl. I think I'm just going to take off the front grill and surrounding parts up to the radiator.

Bumper removal experiment will happen AFTER I get the Caddy started and BEFORE it makes its 25 mile journey to my apartment in San Jose.

Jayoldschool basically gave me permission to spam you guys with a million photos, so blame him for the spammage. ;D

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