1984 Fleetwood $18k, not mine

[mgbeda]

I was walking the dog today and I saw this.  From the outside it looked perfect, except for the beginnings of a crack my the left rear bumper fin.  Texted the owner who says it has 42k original miles and he's asking 18000 for it. I can't afford it but I thought I I'd try and find it a good home. This is in Oxnard CA. Number on the sign is 805.302.4162.

-Mike Beda

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

Also it's a d'Elegance with the rare color matched wheel covers (in the vaned area) which was the standard cover on Brougham d'Elegance. These covers were even rare when new as most Brougham d'Elegances were ordered with wire wheel cover or genuine wire wheel upgrades. And the moment it landed on a used car lot, the dealer would promptly throw on a set of wire wheel covers and discard the originals.

It's also nice to see velour interior for a change instead of leather which is often cracked at this age. I noticed the elongated "V" is missing from below the "Fleetwood" script on decklid and yes, filler replacement is all but a given with these cars if they hadn't been replaced already.

CA climate should portend good things about the condition of the undercarriage and engine compartment. I had the identical twin for 12 years except it was an '83 with standard velour (not d'Elegance). The Hatteras Blue is a stunning color. Unfortunately the engine developed an issue while undergoing a repair and needed to be replaced resulting in taking a big loss on the car. After that, I've pretty much sworn off HT4100 powered Cadillacs- which is a shame because aside of the driveline, I consider this era to be the peak of refinement in C-body Cadillacs. The later 5.0 and 5.7 powered Broughams from 1986-1992 were never quite the same.

[James Landi]

"CA climate should portend good things about the condition of the undercarriage and engine compartment. I had the identical twin for 12 years except it was an '83 with standard velour (not d'Elegance). The Hatteras Blue is a stunning color. Unfortunately the engine developed an issue while undergoing a repair and needed to be replaced resulting in taking a big loss on the car. After that, I've pretty much sworn off HT4100 powered Cadillacs- which is a shame because aside of the driveline, I consider this era to be the peak of refinement in C-body Cadillacs. The later 5.0 and 5.7 powered Broughams from 1986-1992 were never quite the same."

Having owned five 4100 powered Cadillacs back in the 90's through the early 2000's, I had one that I nursed along that reached 317,000 miles. A couple of them I foolishly kept, and they both developed engine death rattles.  I never experienced needing interstate highway towing services on any car we've owned, until my buying spree with 4100 Cadillacs.  Sustained highway driving apparently placed sufficient stress on them to cause disastrous results. 

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

Once a customer stopped in with an '84 Brougham d'Elegance he had bought new. The car had KY tags which was extremely unusual for us being hundreds of miles away. Super nice guy. He was a traveling salesman and the car was original but exhibiting heavy road wear typical of vehicles that spent a lot of time being driven at highway speeds.

I was dumbstruck when he revealed the car had around 435,000 miles. I was even more astonished when he said the engine and transmission were still original to the car and never needed any major repairs, adding that "Cadillac engines last forever." I did inform him that his car deserves some kind of award as this was very atypical with this driveline which he was completely unaware of. The car was 3x Midnight Blue Firemist w/leather.

As with Northstars (especially the late '90s), I think it's just the luck of the draw.

[chrisbutnut]

I'd love to own this Fleetwood, or something similar.  I'm just extremely gun sny of the HT4100.  I owned one in an 85 Eldorado that had about 80K on it, and it had a tick in the bottom of the engine.  My mechanic, who worked exclusively on Cadillacs and was very familiar with the HT4100, said that it needed a rebuild.  I ended up dumping the car and lost a bunch of money.  I've since looked at several 84/85 RWD cars, including a Coupe De Ville that had 14,000 miles.  All of them just didn't seem to run or drive right.  I could tell there was some sort of an impending issue.  It's such a shame, because I have loved these cars since I was 10 years old, back in the early 80s.  I've also looked at a couple of later 80s Fleetwoods/Broughams with the 5.0, and agree that they just aren't the same.  For me, it's something about having a Chevrolet or Oldsmobile engine in a Cadillac...

[James Landi]

regarding your comment about having a "lesser than Cadillac" gm engine in your Cadillac, when I purchased my 85 Biarritz convertible, it had a second 4100 in it.  After 36k miles of ownership, that second engine developed a death rattle, so I retrofitted a 260 2 barrel Olds in it.  Frankly, the only noticeable difference was that it lost, on average, 1 mile per gallon, oh,  and I didn't ever have to worry about the engine failing. the 4100 in an early 80's Cadillac simply was not up to the task of pulling or pushing the car on our highways.   

[chrisbutnut]

I talked to the seller on this car.  He has it listed on FB Marketplace for $16,000.  He said he is the second owner, and has owned it for about 1.5 years.  The original owner kept it in her garage and didn't drive it much, and he said that he has a bunch of service records with it.  I've had a hard time getting straight answers out of him, which is concerning, though I am considering flying down to look at it (I live in Oregon).  He said he's in Mexico until the end of the month, so I'll have to wait.  It is a beautiful car, though. 

[35-709]

IMO, remain "extremely gun shy" of the 4100.  Most any of the survivors you come up against, that are still running, are low mileage and haven't self-destructed yet.   Been there, done that. 

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

What I find astonishing is that the 6.0 cast iron block V8-6-4 (w/THM400) gets a shellacking whenever it's brought up on social media groups while the HT4100 (w/ equally weak Metric) practically gets a pass. I just don't get it.

Cars aren't like wine, least of all those born mechanically weak to begin with. At near 40 years old, it takes more guts than I have to play 4100 roulette.

[Big Fins]

The V-8-6-4 was an easy fix, you just disconnected the solenoid leads and you had a normal engine.

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

Or just disconnect the third gear switch under the car.

[smokuspollutus]

I think that this car could be liberated for a lot less than the asking price.

Pictures are small but about the only thing that strikes me as wrong is the hood paint which looks kind of hazy/checked. Which could be because it's dirty but the trunk (thicker metal) doesn't seem to be dirty. Even if the hood needed to be painted you could get it done at the same time as the bumper fillers which probably aren't long for the world anyway.

This is probably a "lifer" California car that didn't see any regular use. So it is probably frozen in time around what you could expect to find in the wild in the late 80s as a pampered Cadillac trade in. Some light wear with no more corrosion than it rolled out of Clark street with, and no oil spray or undercoating.

These 83-84-85's still have all the Cadillac "specialness" that somehow got lost when the Brougham was reintroduced in '86. Softest riding RWD Cadillac I can think of, fuel injection with 25 gallon tank x 25 mpg that you can just sit in those velour seats and drive literally all day and not have to stop. I have taken these cars from NYC-Miami and back many times and they were the only vehicle I have ever driven that could make it to the NC-SC state line before needing gas.

It would be a real shame if this car is sitting outside in the California sun after an obviously long life indoors. Someone should save this thing and take it inside.

From the way I'm writing you'd think I'm selling it. Really I'm just a sucker for the color matched turbine vanes...seriously though someone should go save this & and it's ancient Firestones from getting baked to a crisp.

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

Really I'm just a sucker for the color matched turbine vanes...

Amen on the body color wheel covers and pretty much everything else you said. The apogee of refinement in the RWD models in every way except for that blasted driveline.

[chrisbutnut]

Here's the FB Marketplace listing link:  https://www.facebook.com/share/1H6yvw6tK5/

I agree that the hood looks faded.  And yes, I hope someone does save it.  The current owner has it sitting outside in the sun. 

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

Lacquer paints in metallic colors were famous for checking in these years. I had the twin to it except a 1983, and a wet sanding of the hood made a dramatic improvement.