1957 Cadillac sixty special fleetwood on Bring a Trailer

[chrisntam]

Davis Automotive in Richardson works on R12 systems, they worked on mine in the past, generally happy with their work. 

Glad you're getting the car back!

[James Landi]

So good to know that the seller refunded some of your money--- that can certainly ease some of the disappointment, and help keep you from being cynical about humanity!  Regarding brakes, cars of this era have horrible braking... when you're going 75 mph and try to stop, you realize just how inadequate they are.  Adjust your expectations, drive carefully, and don't push on the running gear (i.e. fast accelerations). Regarding the a/c, there was a claim in the BAT ad that the compressor had been rebuilt... so, if true, you're off to a good start.  The rest of the components could be "tested" to determine if they will hold compressed gases very easily--- and if they do, you may be looking at some creative and relatively inexpensive ducting, assuming, of course that the blower is operational.  This a/c challenge may not be a huge hurdle, if you can find some tech who;s creative and is not charging you 100.00 an hour .  Perhaps a CLC club member knows of someone in your area who will get your a/c going-- there must be someone.   James
 

[Desi]

Davis Automotive in Richardson works on R12 systems, they worked on mine in the past, generally happy with their work. 

Glad you're getting the car back!

Thx Chris. Will def check out this shop in Richardson!

[keithb]

A lot of us appreciate you sharing your experience with online bidding. It's good to know that the seller refunded your money. My brother bought a Pontiac last year off of Ebay--sight unseen. The seller posted beautiful pictures of what had to have been a completely different car. The seller claimed that the engine and drive train had been freshly rebuilt. The car that was delivered was a rust bucket with a worn out engine and tranny. The seller disappeared with the money.  Ebay was no help. I figure that I can't see it in the steel then I'm not buying. Also, I've decided to by ONLY from a member of the Cadillac LaSalle Club.

[Desi]

I only got a small % of sale refunded because the car was leaking oil as soon as it arrived. I still own this car and just got it back from the mechanic after 4 months.

Car again dropping oil from the front. Mechanic thinks it’s gearbox. He feels so bad that it is leaking again after 4 months in the shop that he is coming over the house to see if something needs tightening.

Also taking it over to these guys tomorrow for AC

https://www.wilsonauto.com/

Mechanic says compressor not coming on. This was converted to R134 and the high side adapter looks normal but the low side looks like some custom part. Mechanic thinks maybe it’s the compressor clutch. Will keep everyone posted.

[James Landi]

Mr. Wilson seems to be a very good person, and you must be, as well. A mechanic performing "house calls," and wanting to make "things right" that is encouraging...  Seems as though you're likely at a positive inflection point now that you have a recommendation on air conditioning repairs.  On the issue of old Cadillacs leaking various oils, it's truly uncommon to have one that does NOT drip motor oil and transmission and to a lesser degree, power steering fluid.  It's truly a matter of concern, but you need to deal with this in relative terms, viz: how much does it drip.  It's also important to note here, that quite often, if you don't use the car for weeks at a time, it will drip more, and conversely, using it regularly will lessen the leaks.   Clearly, leaking coolant can never be overlooked, as well as brake fluid (you only have ONE master cylinder, so low brake fluid can cause a catastrophe). Try to stay clear of the "might as wells"--- where one gets into a major rebuilding project that yields very little joy and return on investment.  You deserve to have fun! I certainly concur with your list of priorities, vis-a-vis getting the a/c working.  You and your family need to take a comfortable ride--- hoping it all comes together soon.  James

[Aandfsoccr04]

Thanks for the update. I would love to see some updated photos now that you have it back in your possession. Sounds like you had to drop another couple of thousand over the last few months to get it where you want it but hopefully what you got back in the purchase transaction will cover most all what you needed to spend to fix what was wrong with it. Such a beautiful car and can't wait till you have it on the road for joy rides!

[wrench]

Thanks for the update and the persistence with getting the car back on the road where she wants to be!

Good luck with the car...

[Desi]

Update....

The next day after the car came home I wanted to take it to the other shop to get the AC looked at. Noticed it had dropped some transmission oil on the garage floor. On the way over, got on the highway....doing about 65 to 70 I noticed that it wasn’t shifting to the top gear or going beyond 70 miles an hour. I got off the highway and noticed That the engine was making a funny sound I stopped at the first traffic light and as soon as I did that the engine stalled and shut off I tried to start it again but the engine would not turn. Somebody help me push the car off the middle of the street and had to get towed truck and get it towed to the original mechanics shop where they got it already spent the previous four months.

The diagnosis was that maybe the engine was just too tight and that at higher Rpm probably not able to move freely as needed to plus there’s a new noise was also perplexing. They tried to take all the fluid out of the engine and using STP, Marvel mystery and Lucas oil to see if they can make the engine turn better and have that noise go away that that nothing worked and basically the entire engine needs to be taken apart and rebuilt. Some other options offered were perhaps just taking the entire engine out and swapping it with an LS1 or something But the problem with that approach is that I did not buy this car to make it a restomod because if that would’ve been the case then out of probably bought something at a much cheaper price point. Also the motor is supposedly numbers matching so perhaps it makes sense to preserve it and we will the engine the problem you’re having in the Dallas area is that we cannot find any shop that is able to get this work done. One person the quoted $15,000 on it with a 2 year wait.

Looking for some advice on this forum as to how to proceed next.If somebody has recommendations for an engine rebuilder in the Dallas area I would love to take them.

I’ve had this car for four months now and since I got it it is only spent one night in the house and the rest of the time at the mechanic.

[chrisntam]

Sorry to hear of your troubles.

Suggest to start a new thread up top to begin the discussion. It’s in the for sale section now.

Send a pm to mark, he’s in Dallas, he’s getting his 365 rebuilt now. Not sure who’s doing it or how it’s going.

His screen name is my57cdv.  Do a search for members.

I can’t understand why it had been running and now the engine is too tight. That makes no sense.

[Desi]

Moved thread to a General discussion

http://forums.cadillaclasalleclub.org/index.php?topic=161789.0

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

The thread has been locked as the original one was about the car being for sale, and as the car now has been sold, it is no longer relevant in the For Sale Forum.

Bruce.