My 57 Fleetwood restorations photos with questions.

[57flw]

David,

Thanks once again for your input.

If your 58 is similar to my 57 could you send me a couple of photo's, of the A/C set up showing where the brackets go, when you get a chance.


Ken

[David King (kz78hy)]

Ken,

Here is a reference shot of 58 Fleetwood I passed on.  I believe there is a slight change in the bracket in 58, at least the front, (Brougham's continued to use the 57 brackets), but the aft bracket shows the condition and that is what you will have.  I have spares of these and a 58 I bought by mistake.

Hope this helps.

David

[57flw]

David,

Thanks for the photo.
As I said I have not looked at the A/C brackets yet so I will keep this photo for future reference.

Do you have any idea where I could obtain a new set of head bolts from that would suit my car.

I will try and get them here in Aus first if possible.

Ken

[David King (kz78hy)]

Ken,

You can reuse the ones you have.  I have some spares, so it is a matter of figuring out what you are missing.  Those are grade 8 at a minium, so finding english sized bolts might be a little hard in OZ.  There are several fellows parting out cars, so if you watch a 57 or 58 being parted, send a note and request the engine fasteners.  John Morris does a great job and that is who I bought  a set from.

Good luck.

David

[57flw]

To give myself a break from the engine, stripped threads and engine bolts I thought I would have a change of tactics and refit the body to the chassis.

Photo 1126 shows the body on the repair frame.
Photo 1127 shows the body off the frame.
Photo 1135 Chassis is placed into position ready for the body to be lowered.

All went to plan- well almost.

Ken

[57flw]

Photo 1141 shows the body coming down with the aid of my hoist.
Photo 1172 shows where the exhaust was touching the body and stopping me from joining the two parts back together.

Oh what joy it is. Take the exhaust system off to aid the task. One step forward and two back. No wonder it takes a long time to do a rebuild.

Photo 1169 shows putting one of the rear body bolts in with a little help from our border collie.

Once the exhaust part was out of the way, the body bolt holes lined up perfectly, showing no signs of body distortion following the repairs. Quite happy with the result.

Ken

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Aren't you glad you didn't weld the exhaust all together.

Nice to see the Puppy lending loyal support.   I suppose it is a nice touch, there to remove the sweat from your brow?

Bruce.

[57flw]

Yes Bruce.

I am  glad I didn't weld the exhaust all together. That would have caused me quite a bit of extra work.

I do not like undoing the work I have done already as it is but unfortunately there is no instruction book to say, do this bit first.

If any one has any tips on procedure please do not be bashful. Pass them on.

Ken

[57flw]

David,

Just to give you an update of where I am in relation to the damaged bolts and why they are damaged is more important.

When I pulled the engine out and stripped it I took off the exhaust manifold first and then the heads.
When I put it back together I put the heads back on first then the exhaust manifolds. All good so far.

I left the two center bolts on the left hand side finger tight knowing I would need to remove them later to fit the oil filter bracket.
When I undid them they were tight all the way out and as you have seen in the photo's, they came out minus their threads.

The reason for this is the 4 inside bolts that hold the exhaust manifold in place were too long. They had been replaced with new ones before my time. These bolts caused the damage to the head bolt threads.

I cut two threads off each bolt on both manifolds and that has fixed the problem.

I will know tomorrow if I have been succesfull in obtaining a replacement for the damaged bolts. Otherwise I may need to call on you for some help.

I may only need the 2 bolts that hold the oil filter bracket on the left hand side of the head and whatever number of bolts that is required to hold the A/C bracket on the right hand side of the engine.


Ken

[David King (kz78hy)]

Ken,

I will have to check the std. Cadillac parts manual to help determine how long the bolt/s you need.  Mine does not have an oil bracket on the LH side, my oil filter is off the block (that and a few extra drilled and tapped holes) is what makes a Brougham block unique.

It seems the A/C bracket bolt is always the one shorted as it was the odd one.  Of the spares I got, I used the only one I had on my car.  As I write this, I can not remember if there were some longer, but I do not think so, as those could be cut down.

I bought some from John Morris, most were OK, but the engine he parted out must have been worked on at some point as some of the fasteners were non Caddy.   The others I picked up from a friend in Belgium who had a bad engine that he had replaced and these were his left overs, I was there on GM business and those came back in checked baggage.

David

[57flw]

Whist waiting for the bolts, I decided to get the heater ready to fit to the body.

I opened it up and overall it looked quite good except for the Ranco Valve. When I tested the system there was a water leak at the valve.
Hence the signs of rust. See photo.

I am now trying to find a replacement valve. Fancy that I need something else.

And also another broken part.

This is a type of clip that holds two parts together. Have a look at the photo's.
There is two of them, one is broken and the other does not look too strong.

They fit at both ends of the push rod that connects  the brake pedal to the master cylinder.

Does any one know of a supplier that I could obtain two replacements from.


Ken

[Otto Skorzeny]

Hi Ken,

Believe it or not, some of those valves are still available new from auto parts stores. If not, there are two rebuilders of Ranco, Shaw and Harrison valves on the "List".

Look for Joe Hudacek and Jim Tucker.

Of course all these solutions are a pain in the neck for someone in Australia but I suppose you're probably used to that by now.

Click the link below for contact information.

[57flw]

Hi Forrest,

Thanks for the reply.

I had already found Jim Tucker on your list and sent him an email yesterday. Waiting on an answer.

I do envy you guys in the States sometime, where you have great access to suppliers.

Do you have any idea on the broken clip?

Ken

[Otto Skorzeny]

I would try to weld it back together since it looks like a clean break. You could probably have a local machine shop make them for you. they appear to be pretty simple.

And yes, we do have a fairly easy time getting parts considering the age of the vehicles. Most mechanical parts for cars of our vintage and even older are available over the counter from local chain stores.

The internet has made it a whole lot easier to source the model specific items like sheet metal and trim. I can't imagine trying to do a full restoration on a 20s or 30s vintage car in the 1970s. You really had to beat the bushes back then I suppose to find even the simplest things.

[57flw]

When you look at things more closely you learn new things all the time.

I thought the broken part was made of bakerlite or something similar because it was so light.

I just put a magnet on it and found out it is metal. I will weld it.

As for finding a machine shop. I live in Hervey Bay which is a beautiful sea side town that is known for it's Whale watching. I don't know of anyone with a lathe let alone any other machine shop machinery.

But once again Forrest, thanks for the thought.

Ken

[Otto Skorzeny]

Well, there's your excuse to buy a new piece of shop equipment!

[57flw]

Thanks mate.

I will tell my wife it was your suggestion. I think it was a good one.

I am sure she will say I have the Caddy, Scuba Diving and Pistol club, surely that's enough.

My answer will be a guy never has enough of anything.

Ken

[57flw]

And the work continues.

All the head bolts are back in and torqued, so is the water pump, inlet manifold, power steering pump, oil and temp sender units and distributor.

I have stripped the aircon evaporator and was quite happy with the internal appearance. All looks good here. Photo 314.
Cleaned it up and flushed it out , put it back together and fitted it back into it's new home. Photo 342.

I tested the Air Con Blower and it really belts the air out. I pulled it to bits, just to be on the safe side then cleaned the surface rust off it with a wire brush and then it went straight to the spray booth for a freshen up. Photo 343.

Like I said before, it won't happen over night but it will happen.

Stay tuned.

Ken

[57flw]

Hi all,

I am still here.

Where has the time gone. Cadillac rebuild, What Cadillac rebuild.

An opportunity arose that I could make a quick Dollar or two by buying an investment house, doing a bit of work on it and selling it off at a super profit.

Well how wrong could one be.

The work needed took ALL of my spare time and the resale market is terrible.
The house hasn't sold yet but I think it is close.

The 57 Fleetwood has just gone off to the painter and I will get it back in about five weeks or so looking fabulous.
I can do the mechanical stuff myself, with a lot of help from this forum, but I have to leave the painting side to the experts.

Stay tuned.

Ken

[57flw]

A while ago I showed a photo of the Ranco Valve that sits inside the heater box.
It was leaking and had signs of it being rusty.

I sent it on a trip to Jim Tucker in CA. for overhaul.
Here is the result.

Photo 272 shows old, leaking and rusty.
Photo 431 shows it rebuilt.
Photo 482 shows it fitted in the car.

Ken