restoration Q's

[fleetwooded]

recently i got a 1965 fleetwood for $900. very good body, blown head gaskets, and so far an exelent interior. no tears rips or cracks. just the int is not the colr i wanted. i want to fix the car back up to a perfect cond. and i was considering doing a complete color change in side and out... has anyone had any experience doing this? any recomendations? and what does anybody think this might worth??

[BluEyes]

Sweet car! I love the old caddies. American luxury at its best. Just be sure to keep premium in there, and add lead substitute. When you have the heads off to do the gaskets, you might consider having a shop rebuild them with hardened exhaust valve seats for unleaded gas.

A complete interior color change though?!? That sounds expensive. Any of the cloth/leather/vinyl can just be reupholstered the new color, but the molded vinyl parts like the dash and door panels might be hard to find, and expensive when you do.
I know they make paint that is supposed to re-dye vinyl, but I have no idea how well it works...

[davesdeville]

I suppose you could have the other parts covered in fabric or vinyl in the color of your choice but that would bring the price up even more and it already starts out high.

[fleetwooded]

Ya none of this sounds cheap, i will do what you recomend for the valve seats, but i have get two new heads they were both cracked, so now is the time to do the valves and seats.
And i still am undecided about the int. and to do leather is gonna be costly.
right now the ext. is gray primer and the int. is sea foam green.
i would love to a complete tear down on the car and start over. with a crate 502 and new paint and int. well see.

[davesdeville]

If you put a Chevy 502 instead of a Cadillac 500 in there I will be very disappointed in you young man.

[fleetwooded]

why so diappointed? it seems to be bigger power, cheaper and easier

[N0DIH]

The Caddy 500 would be far more rewarding! And much much cheaper. 550-575 lb ft torque out of the factory.

If you are dead set on a "new" engine, go with a 496, not a 502. The 502 is for HP, a big bore 454, the 496 is the stroker 454, has tons of torque.

[fleetwooded]

well i dont want to have to build the 500 with a crate 502 its a done deal. why would the 500 be more rewarding. here is the thing i dont want to spend a ton of cash or time, i am not totaly against the 500. i think something simple is nice. i would like to keep it a cadillac all the way through.

[davesdeville]

Realistically, how much power do you want? There are companies that will build you a 500 and send it out to you via truck freight. Most of the time it's cheaper to use a 500 even if you have someone build it for you until you hit the 600hp or so range.

[RiskIt]

You don't want to spend a ton of cash or time???? And your thinking of putting in a 502 or anything for that matter.... how much do you think it'll cost before your driving to the gas station for the first time...?? Honestly, what do you think something like this project will cost??