1995 Fleetwood Brougham "The Grey Ghost"

[kudims]

Don't you hate it when people shortcut and don't repair properly.

Bruce.

Don't expect anything extra from ordinary people 😁

[kudims]

Sandblasting

The frame and underbody will undergo sandblasting, providing a clean slate for exceptional future work.



50 kW compressor with the diesel engine



It was done in front of my home shop at the backyard



The car was on old tires and non-chrome rims



Totally 1.5 tons of copper slag was used



It looks terrible, I understand









Finished. In garage already

























And this is the only problem that was found



Front crossmember. Remember how it was

[kudims]

Preparing for paint job



The body was raised and the frae was lowered



To prevent bare metal from fast corrosion, a special solution on a formic acid was used.



The metal becomes dark after such treatment, and resistant for further corrosion



The corroded hole in the body was cured using aviation technologies: a piece of metal + steel rivets



+ body sealant



Final look





Another portion of hardware that goes to sandblasting and powder coating



Body sealant was used on drain plugs



The frame after one coat of black hammered enamel, which has corrosion inhibitors



Phosphoric primer



Antigravel coat











Firewall was coated up to the welding stitch



Antigravel coat







Final coat

The body on GM vehicles was painted with RAL7033 color (cement grey), and only from outside it was painted with exterior color. So, every vehicle, regardless of exterior color, has grey underbody and floor inside.

I used 2K acrylic coat



The edge will be hidden with the firewall insulation





This is the location of the front alignment pin, which is used to position body on a frame



Looks much better than before



Front suspension will go soon to the sandblasting





2K final coat is needed to cure all the pores on antigravel, as antigravel can't be the final coat



Rear alignment pin location









Bottom of the trunk





Rear frame crossmember

[Roger Zimmermann]

Impressive work. Something I'm wondering since some time: apparently, the license plates are Russian. But where did you perform the work? In Russia or the US?

[kudims]

Impressive work. Something I'm wondering since some time: apparently, the license plates are Russian. But where did you perform the work? In Russia or the US?

It was in Russia, and I had to sell this car in Russia before relocation

[kudims]

Rear axle

As I mentioned earlier, one of the axle shafts was irreparably damaged. Fortunately, along with the car came another axle shaft—scored by a bearing but without any welds or attempted repairs—which is a huge plus, saving a lot of time and some money. Here's why: in the U.S., you can buy special TIMKEN repair bearings (model TRP1563TAV) that replace the factory bearings. The trick is that they ride on the still-undamaged portion of the axle's machined surface!



Left bearing - new original



Right bearing housing



This axle will be used from the passenger side. The problem is that these axles for 93-96 Fleetwoods are IMPOSSIBLE to find new. They just do not exist



The repair bearing must be positioned 1/4" or 6mm off the housing



Tool used 



Once the bearing is in place, I double checked with a marker that needles run over undamaged part of the axle neck



Pre-assembling of the drum mechanisms



It's ridiculous how many people assemble these mechanisms not correctly, after which self-adjusters do not work





New cylinders and zinc-coated hardware



New steel tubes 3/16 with copper coat from inside and vinyl coat from outside 



New nuts



Flaring process



Double flare





New MOOG bushings



Almost ready. The brake hoses are still old, as new ones were not yet delivered







....

And, some miscellaneous items...



New fuel sender mesh and transmission pipes recieved



Now it's ready to go in tank



Positioned and tightened



Pressure regulator (for variable effort steering) on the steering pump was not oriented properly



This is how it should be



Fixed, cleaned, o-rings changed, painted



Then I started fixing all the terminals on underhood wiring



New terminals come with a 10 inches of wires, so you unwrap the braid, solder new, wrap again



Almost every connector had to be replaced



Some details of the process









All those o-rings had to be replaced





All hoses for the power steering have to be isolated, because if they are not, and if they are touching the frame, you will notice noise from steering gear





Hand brake cable - sealed



New cables for the rear drum brakes





Looks better and better

[kudims]

Some things to be done before "wedding"



Steel part of EVAP system pipe was put into self-wrapping vinyl



To prevent wear, the part that goes into the frame was protected with crimped sleeve



This is how it looks on a frame





And finally I put back in place the EVAP canister, from which the whole process has begun





Left side: new brake lines. More details about brake lines



Bender for 3/16 tube. Works good. Black mark corresponds to the center of the bended radius



I used the plastic straps to fix the tube and repeat as close as it is possible the trajectory of the original tube



Another device (right corner) was used to secure the tubes



Almost done with one pipe



The trajectory is very complex, so securing both tubes together is a must





Short tube to the right wheel



Just the same process



I mark the center, then slip the strap a bit to have more flexibility, and bend in the proper direction



Done



Simple flaring tool



Mushroom flare type. By the way, both types of flares are used on this car as well as both imperial and metric inverted nuts for the brake lines!!!



Anti-lock brake system assembly



Installed



Start wrenching the pipes



All done



Here is the vinyl protector against shortcut between the tube and ABS positive terminal. Factory solution





New line to the right wheel







Brake lines to the rear wheels



I don't know why, but this is the correct bending... Factory pipes were also not just straight along the frame



New fuel filter and wiring to the ABS sensors and suspension level



There will be a connection with rear brakes hoses



Terminal for the rear right ABS sensor



EVAP line





Almost ready to connect body with the frame



Hardware



More hardware



After powder coating



New frame bushings



Steering shaft assembly. I had two of them. there was a need to replace the boot from one to another







Ready to be installed





Cracked boot



More parts have returned from the powder coating.

[tcom2027]

Good morning,

Spectacular job. What is equally impressive is you did it outside the US. I can't imagine the difficulty you had sourcing parts.

I like your indicator mount. My mill has been idle for a couple of weeks. Time to give it some exercise.

 We had a '96 Brougham for many years. SAme color, It was fast, reliable, easy on fuel, 22-23 highway, 14-15 in town and uber comfortable. When we sold it in 2016 it had 266,000 miles on it. Very little oil consumption, a quart every 5000 miles when it got changed. No drive train problems. Normal maintenance items and few electrical glitches. We live in mountain country. Six percent grade,four people,sixty miles per hour,wanna go faster,simply press the foot feed a little harder. No drama.

My wife drove it and as we got older it became ,in her words,"difficult to dock". She drives a Northstar engined Deville now.

Congrats on a fabulous job.

tony

[kudims]

Wedding



All 16 washers for the body mounts were sandblasted



Then they were painted in correct blue original color. The picture does not represent the true shade



New bushings and powder-coated mushroom type sleeves



Here they are. All marked
The sequence is the following (one side, from front to the back): D2, D3, D1, D2, D3, D3, D3



Put them in the correct sequence





Start lifting the frame with 2 jacks. One in the front, one under the rear crossmember



Alignment pin = socket extender with 1/2" square



Another jack



And another alignment pin



Tighten to the frame @ 70Nm

Rear suspension



Two sets of lower arms. One set was enforced



Like this





Also, these arms are really weak near the bushings. We have enforced it there as well



According to the Manual, you need to flare the bushing sleeves in 3 places at 120 degrees



New coil springs and new washers



Use polyurethane glue to secure the washers



And... the car is on its wheels



Bolts for sway bar



And here we go



Take all the pieces from the shelf



And put them back on a car







Looks different from what it was



The attentive reader will notice that the coils are put with the opposite side up ))) Not a big deal to change it



Air lines connectors





Against wear and noise



Hide them inside the frame



Made extra pigtail



Airline in protective sleeve goes inside the frame



Bolts on the arms will be tightened once the car will have its full weight

[kudims]

Front fender splash shields after powder coating in correct black satin



I decided to coat them in anti-gravel + 2K clear coat from the wheel side



At the same time I wanted to keep them just matte black from the engine bay side



The part that will be invisible inside the fender was also coated



The edge of the anti-gravel is not equal to the edge of clearcoat. Clearcoat is broader



From inside



Now fender assembly. Inner + outer parts



Use simple pins to position parts correctly



New protective shields



Meanwhile, power steering lines were secured at the front crossmember



Now fixing the firewall insulation. I used non-damaged piece from another insulation that I had



And covered it with a special material



New butil sealer on heater pipes



Covered by the decorative square piece



And then I put the insulation back in place



This part, which was restored, will be almost invisible after full assembly



Not new (new is impossible to find), but still much better than before



Front suspension goes to sandblasting and black powder coat



This hardware goes to the zinc shop

Now let's turn our attention to the rear end...



This is the damaged enforcement of the rear bumper



Broken pieces that need to be fixed somehow...



I used 2 pieces of MDF clamped to the enforcement, also I drilled many holes and put there 1/8" steel wires



Prepared for the epoxy cure



This channel will be filled with epoxy



Mixing



Syringe will be used for pouring



Pouring process





The remainings of the epoxy started to heat (hardening process), and rapidly the syringe had melted ))), which means that the epoxy is good



Next day view



Exactly what I wanted to have





After some sanding



Ready for paint



Painted in black matte





Hardware for the bumper assembly



Installed on a car



The enforcement looks good



Almost as new...



Right rear quarter chrome panel installed

[kudims]

Front suspension



Some parts after powder coating



Some NOS parts from 1980-s (Cadillac and Chevrolet suspensions were unchanged in 80-90-s)



Instructions



Ball joints



Installation of bushings





Installed



Ball joints have orientation







Ready to go



Lower arms bushings



Using special spacers in order not to damage the arm





Pressing in



Mount inboard





Coils are specific for Fleetwood and are different from Chevrolet





Mercedes-Benz spring compressor



New bearings and seals



Adjusted as per manual



New caps



and press it in using the tool





Brake pads - Raybestos Element3 - the best in class







These pictures do not need any comments







Shocks that are excellent for Fleetwood. Both steering and soft ride in one can



How about that?



Scroll to what it was before



Tightening torques





Correct orientation of steering links



Idler arm correct adjustment



Hello, Ukraine. That was done in January 2022



Mark all the bolts and nuts to easy monitor if they become loose











On wheels again

[James Landi]

Impressive discipline and workmanship.  As you roll out these images, it's clear that you left nothing untouched. 

[kudims]

Now start working on engine

Water pump: I had a new ACDelco "Made in China", though I decided to reuse the one that was on a car, as the pump was changed not long ago by he previous owner, and it was GM Genuine





However, the o-ring had to be replaced



New o-ring must be 2.4mm thick ~0.1"



Bolts after black plating



Ready



Throttle body was almost ok



But still needs to be inspected





Washing and cleaning process





Now it's clean inside and outside, new gaskets installed







New engine mounts installed, but the engine is not ready yet



Some stuff goes to replating



Received



Intake manifold studs in the proper order



Dirty



Start washing with high Ph chemistry



Done



The best I could do





Intake has many internal passages, which were hard to reach, but I tried



Inside view



Thread sealant for the plugs



Lower plate mounting





The top stripes were polished



Installing brackets after paint job





PCV valve



All vacuum plastic tubes were cracked. I replaced them with steel tubes and rubber fuel-resistant hoses









With fuel injector nozzles after ther were washed on ultra-sonic setup and tested for the productivity and leaks



Of course, new o-rings were used for the fuel ramp

One more component for today: Ignition



Rusted and corroded central electrode



New coil, brackets after replating



Ignition module needs good cooling, otherwise LT1 will not work



I decided to use stainless hardware instead of original steel rivets



Assembled.







Harmonic balancer

[kudims]

Underbody assembly



New brake hoses on rear axle - installed



They come in protective sleeves



Install the brake booster and connect all lines



Now ready to install the fuel tank. 1/8" rubber was used as an insulator







Looks new



Connect fuel lines to the sender unit





Ready to install heat shields



Two in the front



Two above mufflers in the center



And two in the rear protecting the fuel tank







With firewall insulation above



Some additional techno-porno



Shock and frame bushing



Left muffler hanger



Overall view



Clean inside the shop and get ready to work with the engine



Some hardware for the future posts

[kudims]

Engine LT1 350 cid @ 265 hp

I'd like to make a small disclaimer so there's no confusion about what I'm doing with the engine.

Over two seasons and roughly 500 miles of total driving, I've kept a close eye on the car. The engine has proven to be in perfectly good condition. There is no oil consumption, the exhaust pipes are free of buildup and actually show some rust inside, there are no unusual sounds, the power is excellent, and the ignition and injection systems are functioning as intended. Tearing into an engine like that for anything beyond basic gasket and seal replacement is just childish curiosity along the lines of "I wonder what's inside".



Take the engine from the "parking lot"



And start washing it



Let it dry, let it dry, let it dry





With a steel wire brush on an angle grinder, I have removed all the unconsolidated rust from the engine



Then I took special high temperature paint over rust cast iron, and made 2 coats





I rotated the crank to the vertical dead point of 6-th cylinder, and removed the balancer, marking the correct position



Bath for internal cleaning



Some deposits and sludge over the last 25 years



Different types of chemistry + brush + patience give the result





Some parts for the engine and other



Cracked flywheel





The left manifold's fasteners were converted from 3/8-inch to M10 due to a previous "hack job." The only fix was to re-tap the holes to the nearest metric size, since the closest inch thread was too far off nominal. One of the second-to-last holes in the head was so badly damaged that it needed to be tapped M11×1.5. Because ARP doesn't make M11 bolts, I bought a set of M12×1.5 bolts and turned one down to M11



But finally it was looking almost good



New gaskets



Covers after powder coating



Wash all stickers



And mount both headers on the engine





I used FelPro gasket kit, and I was pretty happy with it



Both o-rings on the oil filler extension tube and the cap were replaced



New connector



Comes to the PCV system



Oil pan with new level sensor



Clean inside, shining outside



Guides for the oil pan



Manual says that there is a need in engine polyurethane sealant in the corners



Oil pan bolts and nuts after plating



And this is how guides help to put all together



Ensure that the pan is set correctly



New seal gasket on the level sensor



Tightened



New knock sensors



Optispark seal was damaged (and I guess it happened on assembly line), but there were no leaks there



New teflon seal. No lubrication is needed!



Pressing the front hub int





New spark plugs



New AC Delco GM Genuine wires



Just for the reference



Optispark vent connections



Vent hoses for ignition, which are critical for its functionality



Air pump stainless tube after polishing



Passenger side wires



Cylinders 6 and 8



Correct routing



Driver side wires



New oil cooler lines installed



I made threads in the drainage hole from the water pump, and screwed a piece of bended stainless tube. Reason: now in case of leaks the coolant will not go straight to the Optispark



I will put a hose here and let it go somewhere underneath the engine



New air pump



Installed





Ignition module and coil



Installing intake manifold



New gaskets and polyurethane sealant



New throttle gasket



Throttle heater



Gates 90 degree hose



Just for the reference



EGR valve gasket



Nice view



New GM original rear main seal



Need to mention that I lubricated with ~1 pint of engine oil left side rockers, as they will be lacking until the pump will raise required amount of oil at the first start. Passenger side will be lubricated once you fill the engine with oil



Finally, all the torques

[James Landi]

Over two seasons and roughly 500 miles of total driving, I've kept a close eye on the car. The engine has proven to be in perfectly good condition... Tearing into an engine like that for anything beyond basic gasket and seal replacement is just childish curiosity along the lines of "I wonder what's inside".

You certainly attended to wear and service life issue though!

[kudims]

LT1 at its beauty

[kudims]

Front clip

So, the engine is in place, and now it's time to reassemble the front end so our dragster turns back into a car.

First, I install the radiator support (loosely mounting it on its frame pads). There were original factory shims between the pads and the frame, so for now, I'm using the same number of shims on each side as before. Next, I set the splash shields in place, bolting them loosely to the body and the radiator support—nothing should be fully tightened yet.

After the splash shields, the assembled front fenders go on. I loosely attach them to the body, the splash shields, and the radiator support. Nothing will fully line up until the hood is in place, so everything has room to shift around.

In practice, it all looks something like this:













There were four of us to attach the hood







These will be replaced



With these...



I used new original GM bolts for these bodies



Final alignments



Gaps match









Final result





Also, attach the front bumper cover and adjust it



New original clips



Engine bay



New headlights



And new grill





New transmission cooler line



in place

[kudims]

Cruise control adjustment

Fleetwood is one of the last GM cars equipped with a mechanical throttle, so all those components like the traction control regulator (part of the traction control system) and cruise control operate differently than in more modern vehicles.

If you simply connect the gas pedal cable directly to the throttle, nothing good will come of it. That's why there are two intermediary interfaces in the "gas pedal – throttle" link. The first is the traction regulator mechanism, part of the traction control system introduced at the time. Its job is to choke the engine if excessive wheel spin occurs. The second is the cruise control module itself, which adds or reduces throttle input in place of the driver.



The gas cable runs from the cabin to the traction regulator. From the traction regulator, the cable goes to the throttle. A separate cable from the cruise control also attaches to the traction regulator. All 3 cables need adjustment.



In simple words, two cables—one from a real driver and one from a "virtual" driver (cruise)—both want to control the throttle (yes, they're quite demanding!). At the same time, the traction regulator is part of the traction control system and must cut engine power at the PCM's command.

Few manual diagrams showing each component's function.






Adjustment

Adjusting these components means synchronizing all three cables so there's no unnecessary slack, and ensuring the throttle fully opens when you floor the gas pedal.



First, adjust the cable from the throttle to the traction regulator.

Press this button (requires decent finger pressure) and pull the cable's bowden out of the regulator.



See the pic for how the cable should look in the "non-adjusted" position.



Next, insert a 3 mm drill bit all the way down through the stacked discs, then use a 1/4-inch drive tool to rotate the mechanism clockwise until it stops. Continue turning until you hear several clicks.
At this point, the accelerator cable is under tension. Check it by flooring the gas pedal: the throttle plate should fully open. If it does, the throttle cable is adjusted.


Then, adjust the cruise control cable.



Flip the latch on the cruise cable, which loosens the bowden. Loosening the bowden = loosening the cable. Once loosened, snap the latch back in place.



While holding the throttle cable and the top disc of the regulator, pull the cruise cable just enough to remove any slack.



The manual shows the same process in a diagram.



That's it for the adjustments. With the pedal floored, the throttle plate fully opens, and the cruise cable has no extra slack that would cause "lag" while cruising.

Here are a few extra photos of the car in the garage:



Since the radiators aren't installed and fluids aren't filled, the front end sits higher than normal.



Sometimes, I play chess with my youngest.





I've installed the PCM bracket and plugged in the PCM.





Also hooked up the horns—four of them (two on the left, two on the right).

[kudims]

AC and Engine cooling lines assembly



Compressor was drained from the old oil. The oil was clear



New oil



Old vs. new



Set of o-rings and seals for the HVAC



Just in case if someone will need it



New pressure gauge and evaporator nozzle



New lines were sealed



Compressor installed, 240ml of new oil was added into compressor



Attach new lines to the evaporator coil.
Note that the stitch where the firewall insulation was patched is almost invisible



New condenser installed



15ml of oil was added into it





New expansion cooler tank





New radiator



Installed



Air deflectors





Front shields





New accumulator



New labels



Installed



New accumulator needs 100ml of PAG46 oil



Fans



One motor was replaced with the new one



Installed





And here in the engine bay we have everything ready to go



Now I will do some work with transmission - just a regular maintenance, nothing serious. Follow next posts.