No Spark, 56 Cadillac Ignition problem

[Otto Skorzeny]

Christopher,

Don't waste time jerking around with ebay, Call McVey's.

I was one of the first customers to purchase their '56  exhaust port assemblies when they had them made back in 2002. They are perfect, conain all the bezels, pipes, etc. and are brand new. I use my car for regular transportation and my exhaust ports still look like new with no rust, etc.

They are cheaper now than they were when they first came out. McVey's occasionally sells them on ebay and you might be able to get them for a little less than ordering from the catalog.

In any event, don't bother with some of those home made ports I've seen on ebay. They cost as much as McVey's and don't look as good.

If you need the actual bumper ends, you'll have to find decent ones that someone is parting out or bite the bullet and call "Big Ed". I'd only do that as a last resort, however.

[Otto Skorzeny]

Chris,

Where the "s" pipe connects to the exhaust pipe, I used a short length of radiator hose of the proper diameter to slip over the pipe and keep it from vibrating against the bracket, etc.. It's unseen and works great. Originally there was a little rubber gasket like piece that the pipe slipped through to act flex to keep the pipes from rattling, etc.

You'll understand what I'm talking about when you see all the pieces laid out.

[Christopher Petti]

Otto,
 Thanks for that tip, And I'll give MCveys a call in a few weeks. By chance did you see the auction from Ebay for the tips? Take a look and tell me if that's a good part. I called the people on the ad and they told me that they supply a lot of distrubutors with tips. The people selling them on ebay say that they are the producers that sell to everyone else.

Chris

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Nothing would surprise me.

I have seen lots of stuff advertised on ebay, by reputable dealers.   Maybe they are trying to get the market that isn't being supported by the Clubs.

Bruce.

[Otto Skorzeny]

Are these the ones you're talking about?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cadillac-1956-rear-bumper-exhaust-extensions_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33640QQihZ015QQitemZ250426772928QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

These don't have the two finishing pieces that go on the ends. They are definitely not made by the same company that made those for McVey's.

It's hard to tell what sort of quality these are. Obviously you would have to locate the other 4 pieces elsewhere. Thoseare the pieces that are most difficult to find. With McVey's you get the whole thing.

Be sure to purchase stainless steel nuts and bolts to assemble everything. Brass is good, too.

[Christopher Petti]

If you're looking at exhaust parts, does that mean she's running?

Yes Dan,
  My Dad and I got her running this past Saturday. You are never going to believe what the problem was. I had originally put in a new set of points that had a condenser attached to the points. That's when it died on me. So I ran up to Auto Zone and got a new set of points that were exactly like the points I had taken out of the original distributor. So my Dad told me to throw the points with the condenser back in because it ran with those. Well as my Dad was cranking the engine I noticed blue light coming from under the rotor. There were parts on the points that were too close together and were welding to each other. I yanked the points and bent them a little farther apart and what do you know. My Dad cranked the engine and we heard a piston fire. HELL YEAH!! I was so happy I could have crapped my pants. Any ways, my dad tells me to hit the carb with some carb cleaner. He turned it over and what do you know it fired right up. I used the allen wrench to get it a little closer then used the dwell meter to get it spot on. My cousin and I went on the Power Tour in his 93 Mustang and when we got to Detroit yesterday we headed over and timed the Cadillac. She is running extremely smooth. Good acceleration. Put a new vac advance tube on, the old one had a screw in the end. the engine runs better with every step. Now if my New Spark Plug wires from Kanter would get here. It's been two weeks and I'm getting impatient. So now I have to fix the power Steering this weekend along with some leaks on transmission lines and I'll be ready to hang the exhaust.  Thanks Dan, and Jose you guys helped me learn a lot about the electrical system in that car. Even though my fix was a dumb one I tested everything 5 or 6 times so I know it pretty well now. Thanks Guys and everyone that sent me suggestions.

Chris

[Christopher Petti]

Are these the ones you're talking about?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cadillac-1956-rear-bumper-exhaust-extensions_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33640QQihZ015QQitemZ250426772928QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

These don't have the two finishing pieces that go on the ends. They are definitely not made by the same company that made those for McVey's.

It's hard to tell what sort of quality these are. Obviously you would have to locate the other 4 pieces elsewhere. Thoseare the pieces that are most difficult to find. With McVey's you get the whole thing.

Be sure to purchase stainless steel nuts and bolts to assemble everything. Brass is good, too.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1956-CADILLAC-BUMPER-INSERTS-SS-NEW_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ65Q3a12Q7c66Q3a2Q7c39Q3a1Q7c72Q3a1171Q7c240Q3a1318Q7c301Q3a0Q7c293Q3a5Q7c294Q3a50QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem3ca287bf15QQitemZ260424843029QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

This is the set up  that I was looking at on Ebay. I'm going to see if I can take out the old ones and clean them up and put them back in. I need to see if I can get nice new stainless inserts if I can't clean up the black ones that are in my bumper. The S pipes I don't have but the Stainless people that bent my exhaust bent some pipes for me to go out the bumper. We will see what happens when I get there. But if you know where to get a nice OEM stainless peice I would be interested. Don't want to have to sell a kidney to get it either. 

Chris

[Otto Skorzeny]

Those  also don't have all the parts you need. They are missing the back piece. (notice how you can see through the little star design? They look home made.

Call McVey's for some excellent quality reproductions. I've had a set on my car since they became available in 2002.

McVey's  (913) 722-0707  They are $498 for the pair.

I'd say the extra $98 is worth it to get a complete set in one shot instead of fooling around with a half-assed home-made setup that will require you to spend additional money for the missing pieces. You would likely end up spending the same or more with the ebay thing.

Sorry I don't have a better picture.

[Carl Schreiber]

Forrest is right - don't waste your time with junk! 

I've dealt with the 'love my 59' guy before - contact me off-list and I'll be happy to share my experience so you don't get burned.

Carl

[Christopher Petti]

Those  also don't have all the parts you need. They are missing the back piece. (notice how you can see through the little star design? They look home made.

Call McVey's for some excellent quality reproductions. I've had a set on my car since they became available in 2002.

McVey's  (913) 722-0707  They are $498 for the pair.

I'd say the extra $98 is worth it to get a complete set in one shot instead of fooling around with a half-assed home-made setup that will require you to spend additional money for the missing pieces. You would likely end up spending the same or more with the ebay thing.

Sorry I don't have a better picture.

I was looking at my car the other day and the cross hair peices of the exhaust are still in the bumper just covered in soot or plack paint. I can't really tell. I was thinking of taking a fine brillo pad and cleaning them up. Now the inner Exhaust peices aren't in there. The S shaped peices that are 500.00 at Mcvey's. I see there is a flat plate at the end of the s shaped peice. Does that bolt to the exhaust pipe? I noticed on my custom pipes that I had sent to the  house there was nothing that bolted to the end. no flat plate for those to bolt to. Not custom, I mean OEM but custom bent. for the cadillac. Do they  bolt to the bumper? I'll get under there again and take a look.

[Christopher Petti]

Chris,

Where the "s" pipe connects to the exhaust pipe, I used a short length of radiator hose of the proper diameter to slip over the pipe and keep it from vibrating against the bracket, etc.. It's unseen and works great. Originally there was a little rubber gasket like piece that the pipe slipped through to act flex to keep the pipes from rattling, etc.

You'll understand what I'm talking about when you see all the pieces laid out.

I'm there right now, I've actually had most of my exhaust rusted off so i don't really know what it's supposed to look like under there but I'll check out the shop manuel and look at the underbody of the car to see how it's supposed to hang especially with the S shaped peice on the end that you are talking about.

[Otto Skorzeny]

The McVey set for $500 has the "s" pipes and all the bezels and trim pieces to complete the installation to a factory appearance.

The square tab originally held a flat piece of heavy rubber grommet that acted as a hanger or support for the tailpipe. The pipe slips through the opening and sits there, loose.

The final connection there is not rigid. This keeps the pipes from rattling and allows for movement from body flex, etc. This is where I used a piece of radiator hose on each side

The drawing below is just a quick sketch and not to scale. The tailpipe and hose goes in a little further but you get the idea.