Hi to all the Cadillac and LaSalle enthusiasts,
unfortunately my dads convertible is a victim of recent floodings that happend here in central europe. The car was parked in a big barn over the winter. Although the barns closed doors prevented the car to be filled with mud, the waterlevel still was way over the steering wheel and left lots of dirt on practically everything.
A new car would have been a write-off due to all the fancy electronic stuff. But IMHO this beauty has to be resurrected. Although it has not been a concours car to beginn with and the recent happenings would point this way, we have decided against a complete restoration but want to get the car running again so that it can be used on a good weather basis as before.
So far I have towed the car back to a dry garage, ripped out all the carpeting, seats, upholstery as well as took down the dashboard. The airfilter was up to the brim with muck water of course as well. All this was stored/dried somewhere else to let the body of the car dry in peace ;)
The next step I have planned would be to take apart the carb to get that cleaned and rebuilt, as well as take off the exhaust to get the water out. Ignition (new coil, distributor + cap, points, condenser, plugs) would probably also be a good idea to renew completely. The braking system should also be rebuilt as well as new axle bearings.
I intend to do as much as possible by myself, but as I am just starting this operation I am looking for further input on what to do/not to miss. I will add some pictures as well later on.
M. Zadra
There is a web site that I list below that will take you through the steps you must take before you attempt to start the car. Scroll all the way through this web site and you will get most of your questions answered. I think you will see that most of the steps are drain and flush the key areas of the car. My biggest concern would be the replacement of the electrics through out the car with emphasis on replacing all the wiring since probably the car still has the original wiring. Old cloth insulation does not like water.The other would be a concern that with a drain and flush of the hydramatic that you would not get all the water and dirt out of the transmission. In addition to what the web site says about bringing the cylinders to top dead center, then using compressed air through the spark plug hole,I would pull the intake manifold, valley and remove the valves as well as the heads. Then thoughly clean and flush the top half of the engine. I would also pull the pan and clean/flush the bottom half. The engine, transmission and rear end have got to be clean of dirt or you will have one problem after the other. Not a fun job but the car I would think is well worth saving. Bill
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/566637.html
Thanks for the link Bill. This does make for a good plan to work by.
Yes, still the original wiring. Sounds like a good idea to change that as well. I do also agree with your suggestion of pulling the heads.
Marcus
So far we took down the Carb (already disassembled and ultrasonic cleaned), the generator, fuel pump, starter and heads. Turning the fan by hand(s) we let the pistons push out the water from the cylinders and drenched everything in WD40.
Drained the motor oil as well as the oil from the hydramatic. The engine had about 3 gallons of water coming out first. Is there a special trick to get the oil pans down since both engine and hydramatic oil pan won't move a bit - or am I just way too gentle?
Marcus
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As you said, you are being too gentle.
Bruce. >:D
I agree with Bruce, you are too gentle. The parts book says the pan is held on by 25 bolts, the fly wheel pan by 8 bolts. If you have all the bolts off then use a putty knife and insert the putty knife between the pan and block and tap a few times. Try this around the pan to break the pan and gasket away from the engine block. It looks to me that your car did not have a lot of body rust as I see none under the rear seat. Under the rear seat and the trunk floor are prime areas in a 47 to develop rust. Bill
thanks, no more holding back then. The big double garage she sits in now needs to be emptied out until end of August due to renovations, meaning I will then have to move her to a darker and smaller place - need to get as much done as possible until then - will be April until she can move back in.
Marcus