Information on 1969 Eldorado

[Shorty64cad]

Thank you, Rob. 

We do love living here.  There is nothing better than to jump in the Caddy and drive up into the hills for lunch at one of the very good restaurants or pubs that are scattered throughout.  Add in the Yarra Valley wine region just north of here and you've got it all!  Cheers,  Greg.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Went into two garages here yesterday to put some air in my rear shocks.

The first one had a 60 PSI limit on their hose, and the second one suffered a compressor break down last week, and hadn't replaced it.   The third one was good to go, and free as well.

But, half way through the trip, had a steel belt separation in the left rear, and the tread started to fall to pieces.   Lucky it wasn't on the way to Busselton though.

Bruce.

[Glen]

Getting the parts is the hard part and then making sure the compressor works OK is the next problem.  I can advise you on that part. 

The three components are compressor (with integrated regulator); level valve and shocks.  The shocks can be the Hijackers sold by Gabriel number 39122 or 49122 for the 67 â€" 70 Eldos.  But if you have shocks that work you can use them. 

It’s nice to not have to fill the shocks and have them work automatically.  I’ve been keeping mine working since 1973 when I bought the car. 

Delco also sells the Hijackers with their name on them.  I got the Delcos from Rock Auto. 

[Big Frank]

But in the end... What can you do right?

[Shorty64cad]

Thanks for the offer, Glen.  I'll probably leave it as is for the foreseeable future but I may just keep an eye out for the parts.  I like bragging about Cadillacs and ALC from the sixties is something to brag about so you never know!

[cadillacmike68]

Thanks Glen for the pic.

I'm with Mike on this one.  It drives beautifully.  I've had cars before that I've installed with air shocks and I've always liked the ride and the Eldo is no different.  It's had a valve installed just under the rear licence plate, so it is very easy to access.  To get it back to normal, I'd have to source and ship parts from the States and find someone here prepared to take the job on.  It ain't happening anytime soon!  Maybe it would be a good project for the future.

You pay for air over there?  I've never heard of that here, which makes it even easier to put air in the shocks.  Any service station will do.

If you do get the ALC replaced / installed, be mindful that as robtroxel stated above, a properly working ALC can pump up to 250PSI into the rear shocks. Most modern air shocks cant' handle more than 150-180PSI. you'll blow those shocks.

[R Schroeder]

I find these high pressures amazing.
35 - 40 pounds in my 78 and my car is up and inch.
Roy

[cadillacmike68]

I find these high pressures amazing.
35 - 40 pounds in my 78 and my car is up and inch.
Roy

Roy, the older cars' ALC systems generated much higher pressures. And they used engine vacuum of all things...

[Rob Troxel]

Thank you, Rob. 

We do love living here.  There is nothing better than to jump in the Caddy and drive up into the hills for lunch at one of the very good restaurants or pubs that are scattered throughout.  Add in the Yarra Valley wine region just north of here and you've got it all!  Cheers,  Greg.

We stayed at Yering Station a few years ago!  Love the winery and the restaurant there.  That is a worthy Cadillac destination!

[Shorty64cad]

The pressures are pretty amazing, alright.  Don't worry, if I do reinstall the system, I'll make sure that I know everything I need to know, and get it done right.  BTW, how do you generate 250 PSI pressure from vacuum?

Rob, I've sent you a PM.

Cheers,  Greg.

[Glen]

The compressor will stall at 250 PSI or so (stalling is the way it regulates its output pressure) depending on the engine vacuum.  On the compressor is a regulator that drops the pressure to 125 PSI which is acceptable for the super lift and hijacker shocks.  But that pressure won’t get to the shocks unless the car is loaded to heavy to for the shocks to lift it up to correct height.  The leveler valve shuts off the air when the body is at the correct height.  If the valve leaks and tries to pump the shocks up the exhaust valve will open and dump the air until the body comes down. 

There is little difference between the shocks originally installed by GM and what is available on the market now. 

[R Schroeder]

I see now. It creates 250 , then drops it to 125, then only lets in what is needed to raise the car.
Roy

[cadillacmike68]

My DVC levels out at b/w 70 and 125 PSI. It depends on what i have in the trunk and how many people I have in it.

[Davidrubin]

I know I am late to the party but I have to add that in 1984 I had a '69 Eldo that was originally that Wisteria color with purple leather interior!   The was repainted navy blue sometime in its life but the wisteria was under there.  The car had little life left, most likely it is a washing machine now.

Dave Rubin

[Shorty64cad]

Wow!  The purple interior couldn't have been original, could it?  It would have looked amazing.  what a shame: A) that it was repainted and B) that it is probably no longer around.  I know that the colour is one of those "love/hate" kind of things, but I am firmly on the "love" side.  I'm taking mine out to dinner tonight.  (and I'm letting my wife join us.  )