[Long]

Nice update.
Your perseverance speaks volumes for your love of the ATS.

 

[Mad*Max]

I had a v6 1997 Camaro, 200hp, 30 mpg, smooth at every speed and handled so well.... put 120,000 trouble free miles on that thing. Traded it for a lightly used '99 TransAm WS6. Enjoyed that f-body stuff, expecially the t-tops! I always expect SOME problems with mass produced stuff... but like I said before, when under warranty - how they treat you (AND their product) makes all the difference.

I had an '01 Trans Am and that thing was a blast (had the six speed manual) ! I can almost say it was the most fun car to drive out of those that I have owned...miss that car. Here is a pic:

 

[sstressfl]

Nice update.
Your perseverance speaks volumes for your love of the ATS.

When it's working right... its the most pleasing street car I've ever driven.

I had an '01 Trans Am and that thing was a blast (had the six speed manual) ! I can almost say it was the most fun car to drive out of those that I have owned...miss that car. Here is a pic:

View attachment 610357

That is so nice!!! I miss owning an fbody.... and living in sunshiny Florida where it never got dirty lol. I might have shared before, but this was my 99 WS6.

 

[Mad*Max]

That is so nice!!! I miss owning an fbody.... and living in sunshiny Florida where it never got dirty lol. I might have shared before, but this was my 99 WS6.

View attachment 610358

Beautiful, whenever I go to Florida I always say that is the place to live if you own a sports car, sorry to deflect the thread!

 

[Yank05]

Glad to hear the update - hopefully your rear diff issue is no longer present.

Anthony

 

[dbphelps]

Why did you guys get rid of your F-Bodies if you loved them?

I still own 2 of them... A 1995 Trans-Am and a 1995 Z28 convertible. Both are heavily modified and I have spent thousands of hours building them to where they are at. They are both 6-speed vehicles and are also street cars. No slicks or anything like that. The T/A is an "over-the-top" all out custom car (the only thing I didn't do myself was the stitched leather interior, which was a 10-year wedding anniversary gift from the wife) with 1000hp (not counting the nitrous), an "old-school" style stereo system with 4 amplifiers and 11 channels with 14 speakers (including a center channel that required pulling the windshield to install it), totally sound deadened to the extreme, custom subframe stiffening, custom suspension, rear air-suspension assistance to aid with launches and driving at extreme speeds and enough hidden features to make James Bond proud, outside it is all black and has a carbon fiber cowl hood with just the sides of the cowl exposed carbon fiber (added to get heat out of the engine compartment and to prevent engine compartment "lift" at extreme speeds), 5% tinted windows with the windshield at 50% with the only other "custom" touch visible being a set of one-off Boyd Coddington polished aluminum 17" wheels with 315s out back. The Z28 has a Sunoco hood, an actual "SS" rear wing and is simply that great F-Body red color with chromed 18" Z06 wheels with 305s out back. The Z28 still has the stock 10-bolt rear end totally beefed up as stiff as you can make it and it survives 800hp and Toyo R888 rear tires just fine.

I can say with all honesty that I will never get rid of either one. They also have massive sentimental value as me and the wife used to take both on cruises with our kids when they were little.

 

[sstressfl]

Why did you guys get rid of your F-Bodies if you loved them?

I still own 2 of them... A 1995 Trans-Am and a 1995 Z28 convertible. Both are heavily modified and I have spent thousands of hours building them to where they are at. They are both 6-speed vehicles and are also street cars. No slicks or anything like that. The T/A is an "over-the-top" all out custom car (the only thing I didn't do myself was the stitched leather interior, which was a 10-year wedding anniversary gift from the wife) with 1000hp (not counting the nitrous), an "old-school" style stereo system with 4 amplifiers and 11 channels with 14 speakers (including a center channel that required pulling the windshield to install it), totally sound deadened to the extreme, custom subframe stiffening, custom suspension, rear air-suspension assistance to aid with launches and driving at extreme speeds and enough hidden features to make James Bond proud, outside it is all black and has a carbon fiber cowl hood with just the sides of the cowl exposed carbon fiber (added to get heat out of the engine compartment and to prevent engine compartment "lift" at extreme speeds), 5% tinted windows with the windshield at 50% with the only other "custom" touch visible being a set of one-off Boyd Coddington polished aluminum 17" wheels with 315s out back. The Z28 has a Sunoco hood, an actual "SS" rear wing and is simply that great F-Body red color with chromed 18" Z06 wheels with 305s out back. The Z28 still has the stock 10-bolt rear end totally beefed up as stiff as you can make it and it survives 800hp and Toyo R888 rear tires just fine.

I can say with all honesty that I will never get rid of either one. They also have massive sentimental value as me and the wife used to take both on cruises with our kids when they were little.

Very awesome I moved to VT, met my wife in VT (we were married in 4 months). Long story short.... 3 kids later, my WS6 is now a minivan The Cadillac ATS is my compromise car. Had to seat 5. Needed 4 doors. And wanted awd for the Vermont winters.

 

[dbphelps]

Very awesome I moved to VT, met my wife in VT (we were married in 4 months). Long story short.... 3 kids later, my WS6 is now a minivan The Cadillac ATS is my compromise car. Had to seat 5. Needed 4 doors. And wanted awd for the Vermont winters.

Yep, I met my wife in 1996 just after owning my T/A for almost a year. We were engaged after 6 weeks, married a year later, first child 6 months after that. The T/A was the only sports car for a while, then a f-body buddy was going through a divorce, his soon to be ex demanded he sell the car and split the proceeds, so he sold it to me (knowing she really didn't like me because I called her out on being nasty years earlier) which REALLY made her mad... But he knew I would take care of it like my T/A, and I haven't let him down.

But, I concur, I have owned minivans (AWD Astro that was AWESOME in the snow), big conversion vans, and everything else that would fit the entire family (we have 5 kids). Almost all were AWD and I even bought the CTS because my middle son wouldn't fit the ATS. Honestly, I bought a MKT Town Car for the extra leg-room in back.

Living in Wisconsin, and the similar snow we get compared to VT, we have mostly AWD vehicles as well.

 

[sstressfl]

Yep, I met my wife in 1996 just after owning my T/A for almost a year. We were engaged after 6 weeks, married a year later, first child 6 months after that. The T/A was the only sports car for a while, then a f-body buddy was going through a divorce, his soon to be ex demanded he sell the car and split the proceeds, so he sold it to me (knowing she really didn't like me because I called her out on being nasty years earlier) which REALLY made her mad... But he knew I would take care of it like my T/A, and I haven't let him down.

But, I concur, I have owned minivans (AWD Astro that was AWESOME in the snow), big conversion vans, and everything else that would fit the entire family (we have 5 kids). Almost all were AWD and I even bought the CTS because my middle son wouldn't fit the ATS. Honestly, I bought a MKT Town Car for the extra leg-room in back.

Living in Wisconsin, and the similar snow we get compared to VT, we have mostly AWD vehicles as well.

5 kids is so great!!! Congratulations! I love it. Great car stories too. Thanks for sharing. You put a smile on my face

 

[Mad*Max]

Why did you guys get rid of your F-Bodies if you loved them?

Sadly a very simple explanation - if you see the picture you will see my son in the back, well two years after buying the Trans Am we were blessed with twin girls. I needed a reliable family car for five so had to trade her in for a sedan as I could not afford to keep both. Not a day goes by that I wish I still had her (no regrets because there was no choice).

 

[robertorolfo]

Beautiful, whenever I go to Florida I always say that is the place to live if you own a sports car, sorry to deflect the thread!

Florida is nice a warm, but don't they get a lot of sudden rain showers? Plus, aren't most of the roads dead straight? I think parts of California must have it beat, with the low humidity, lack of rain, and nice mountain roads.

 

[dbphelps]

Sadly a very simple explanation - if you see the picture you will see my son in the back, well two years after buying the Trans Am we were blessed with twin girls. I needed a reliable family car for five so had to trade her in for a sedan as I could not afford to keep both. Not a day goes by that I wish I still had her (no regrets because there was no choice).

Hey, I totally get it.

I probably would have ended up selling the Trans-Am due to family responsibilities before it was paid off, but, alas, I ended up putting a built engine in it with a supercharger, so with it not being "stock" or "stock enough" to get a decent price I just ended up selling the engine and supercharger setup as a package (even ended up putting it in the buyers car for him). So, with no engine I was resigned to keeping it (at least until I could afford a stock engine to drop back in it) and I ended up doing other things and in the end it worked out.

 

[Terrybill]

Love the wedding pic and the update and I know it's winter now but this (see pic) is just causing me pain

 

[sstressfl]

Love the wedding pic and the update and I know it's winter now but this (see pic) is just causing me pain
View attachment 610419

Me too and I never noticed it until I was editing the video files. I wondered why I never saw it. So when I went to go clean it, I was surprised that I could barely see it! The video makes it pop! Oh well… I’ll have to carry the shame with me.

 

[sstressfl]

The good news is, I finally figured out how to fix the THIRD failed leaking rear differential! Good bye Cadillac! Time for a new adventure. 😎💪 Praying this ownership experience is MUCH MUCH better.

 

[Long]

The good news is, I finally figured out how to fix the THIRD failed leaking rear differential! Good bye Cadillac! Time for a new adventure. 😎💪 Praying this ownership experience is MUCH MUCH better.

Good luck with your new truck!
I'll continue to enjoy your vids, Cadillac or not.

 

[sstressfl]

Good luck with your new truck!
I'll continue to enjoy your vids, Cadillac or not.

Thanks man

 

[Terrybill]

You might not miss the ATS but we'll miss you. Thanks for all you shared and good luck with the Mopar

 

[sstressfl]

You might not miss the ATS but we'll miss you. Thanks for all you shared and good luck with the Mopar

Huge thank you. Kind thing to say my friend.

 

[jeffbazell1]

I've enjoyed every video you put up here. I hope your ATS finds a good home for the next owner. I just hit 154,000 miles and never had any diff issues (knock on wood).