Hello, I stumbled into an '87 Brougham. It was going to be part of an estate sale but they could not get the car started. A friend knew that I was into cars (and especially Cadillacs) so they asked me if I may be interested in the car. I said "sure!"
So, here it is.. it was literally driven to church and the grocery store by the wife of the estate. She had the brougham and he had a Fleetwood. Nice Cadillac pair. They did sell the Fleetwood earlier though.
It took me all of 10 minutes to get it started. It had sat for 3 years and didn't move. A little bit of starter fluid, cleaning the battery cable connectors (new battery, of course) and a bit of fresh gas.. wa-la... started and idled perfectly.
The husband was a machinist and paid a great attention to detail on most things in his life. When retrieving the car I was able to see his workshop and it was evident that he was very exacting in most everything he worked on. Everything in the workshop was impeccably placed and well thought out.
In terms of the Cadillac, I have a folder of receipts that is quite heavy. The original Cadillac owners manual and other supporting docs are in the car with the original Cadillac leatherette portfolio case.
Now for the bad.. Old cars don't do so well when they are left to the UV. The rubber seals on the car are shot. The window seals are shot and the door seals are fragile and breaking apart. They kept a heat deflector in the windshield but other areas of the car suffered. You can see the plastic behind the side of the front bumper (in front of the wheel) is cracked and falling apart. Not sure GM was thinking there. Why are those plastic inserts there?
The interior is surprisingly nice and the seat pleather is still in good shape. The driver's seat has wear on it and the outer bolster is cracked. The roof is, surprisingly, still in great shape. It only has minor cracking but on the whole is 98% passable.
The radio only plays through the right channels.
My deciding factor (I think?) to sell parts or sell the car for parts is that the HVAC blower motor is seized and/or there is something wrong with the HVAC controller. Although you can adjust the electronic temp and all buttons work, the blower motor never activates. To me, it's just too much work for a car that has a little too much rot on the plastic parts.
On the bright side? The car runs and drives very very well. Just before it was parked it had new tires put on it. And, the owner was religious about tune-ups and maintenance. Various suspension parts have been replaced etc. The documentation from the maintenance is a mile long.
The motor and drivetrain is awesome. A quick tap of the gas pedal, even after the car has sat for weeks, turn the key, and the motor comes to life in less than 2 seconds of cranking. The cold high idle works perfectly. Tap the pedal once and it falls into a silent 800rpm idle. Put it in drive and the car is smooth as smooth can be. Trans and brakes are excellent.
I think my intuition is telling me to let it go. If you know of anyone who needs anything or may be interested in buying a project car, please send them my way. There are so very many nice things about this car and all of the Cadillac factory details are still intact. I just don't think it is for me at this time. Any feedback is welcome.
So, here it is.. it was literally driven to church and the grocery store by the wife of the estate. She had the brougham and he had a Fleetwood. Nice Cadillac pair. They did sell the Fleetwood earlier though.
It took me all of 10 minutes to get it started. It had sat for 3 years and didn't move. A little bit of starter fluid, cleaning the battery cable connectors (new battery, of course) and a bit of fresh gas.. wa-la... started and idled perfectly.
The husband was a machinist and paid a great attention to detail on most things in his life. When retrieving the car I was able to see his workshop and it was evident that he was very exacting in most everything he worked on. Everything in the workshop was impeccably placed and well thought out.
In terms of the Cadillac, I have a folder of receipts that is quite heavy. The original Cadillac owners manual and other supporting docs are in the car with the original Cadillac leatherette portfolio case.
Now for the bad.. Old cars don't do so well when they are left to the UV. The rubber seals on the car are shot. The window seals are shot and the door seals are fragile and breaking apart. They kept a heat deflector in the windshield but other areas of the car suffered. You can see the plastic behind the side of the front bumper (in front of the wheel) is cracked and falling apart. Not sure GM was thinking there. Why are those plastic inserts there?
The interior is surprisingly nice and the seat pleather is still in good shape. The driver's seat has wear on it and the outer bolster is cracked. The roof is, surprisingly, still in great shape. It only has minor cracking but on the whole is 98% passable.
The radio only plays through the right channels.
My deciding factor (I think?) to sell parts or sell the car for parts is that the HVAC blower motor is seized and/or there is something wrong with the HVAC controller. Although you can adjust the electronic temp and all buttons work, the blower motor never activates. To me, it's just too much work for a car that has a little too much rot on the plastic parts.
On the bright side? The car runs and drives very very well. Just before it was parked it had new tires put on it. And, the owner was religious about tune-ups and maintenance. Various suspension parts have been replaced etc. The documentation from the maintenance is a mile long.
The motor and drivetrain is awesome. A quick tap of the gas pedal, even after the car has sat for weeks, turn the key, and the motor comes to life in less than 2 seconds of cranking. The cold high idle works perfectly. Tap the pedal once and it falls into a silent 800rpm idle. Put it in drive and the car is smooth as smooth can be. Trans and brakes are excellent.
I think my intuition is telling me to let it go. If you know of anyone who needs anything or may be interested in buying a project car, please send them my way. There are so very many nice things about this car and all of the Cadillac factory details are still intact. I just don't think it is for me at this time. Any feedback is welcome.