1 Attachment(s)
1979 Cadillac Opera Coupe Restoration
Introduction - So in 1979 212 of these cars were made. They start out life as a Cadillac Seville, then the car gets a channeling job removing the rear door section completely and the balance is moved forward and welded to the front door pillars. The roof gets chopped next and the Landau Top added, finally the entire front Clip is stretched quite some distance (you can't even see the radiator cap) extended cooling hoses, HVAC lines, transmission lines, etc completing the mod is a entire fiberglass front cap. I have already started the mods to bring the car back to life and over the next few weeks will catch everyone up to where I am now. It needs to be said here so the rest of the work is understood, THIS is the Biggest LEMON Cadillac Ever Made. First Fuel Injection Cadillac. The injectors were fired from micro switches in the distributor. Since the base engine is a Oldsmobile 350 there is plenty to work with within this resurrection.
2 Attachment(s)
350 Olds Engine Retrofit from Fuel Injection to Carb in progress
Theses cars are not the most attractive on the road today. "Crusin The Coast" Cruisin' The Coast | America's Largest Block Party is a real Big Deal here. A gangster ride like this you just don't see. Rust surrounds the bottom of the vinyl top, my plan is to remove the vinyl top and trim pins and after repairing the rust refinish the top only in Black Chrome. This car has only 16,000 original miles on it. I've started the engine retrofit from Fuel Injection to Carb. Here are a couple of pictures. Being a 1979 it had a Nylon Timing Gear, not chancing a "Jump Time" situation with that old gear the Timing Set was replaced right away.
Attachment 463851Attachment 463852
6 Attachment(s)
Stripping Front Extension for Radiator Access
It has been difficult to say the least working on the front of the engine with the Fan Shroud Extension, Forward Extension Brace, etc in the way. I don't want to drop the oil pan just to put the Timing Cover back on. After a little work I found the Grille rotates up allowing access to the forward Cap Extension mounting screws.
Attachment 469570Attachment 469571Attachment 469572
Check out the distance the Frontend has been extended. Also the length and size of the Fan Shroud Extension.
Attachment 469573Attachment 469574Attachment 469575
I got a bit of cleaning to do. Good news standing in front of the engine I was able to push the Timing Cover enough the bottom lip went in the oil pan like it is supposed to.
10 Attachment(s)
A Few Parts at a Time.........
Having to go to Sam's to get new tires installed for another car, go to our local HVAC Warehouse to get prices for a new 2 ton Split System for a friend and pick up money from the Manager of the HVAC place (another friend) who didn't pick up his Propeller another friend fixed for me, for him. Drive to the next town where the Prop Shop is and back, drop off the prop, pick up the tires, and get home. It just blew up my shop production today.
Yesterday, I was able to get the Timing cover on and paint the Balancer so this afternoon I was able to get the Balancer and Balancer Pulleys on, Timing Marker painted and on, Water Pump on and start making the planned conversion to electric fan cooled Radiator. The whole ride will look better under the hood without the Fan Clutch driven Fan system.
Attachment 469673Attachment 469674Attachment 469675
I use PVC fittings to install seals over shafts, it works great.
Attachment 469676Attachment 469677Attachment 469678
The balancer was rough, inside and out. I had to sit with 320 grit emery cloth and sand the rust off the Seal area then polish with 500 grit before blasting and painting.
Attachment 469684Attachment 469680Attachment 469681Attachment 469683
The speciality bolts were just nasty too like most things under the hood. I used my trusty (bought new in 1977) Harbor Freight Grinder. They used to main out these newspaper like flyers back then and the tools were good quality, at least everything I ordered. I wire wheeled the bolts then used them to install the Water Pump.
5 Attachment(s)
Crawling Along bit by Bit
Today we got the Spark Plugs installed. .060 Gap, the electrodes were very long indeed. The Valve Covers look pretty sad so I decided to clean up to paint, No Epoxy Primer Catalyst.
Attachment 469952Attachment 469953Attachment 469954Attachment 469955
Headed to the Evil PPG Refinish shop in the morning. I call it evil as I always spend more than I should. Very Cool Shop if you're a Painter, I get distracted by all the brite and shiny HVLP Spray Guns, new Sanders, Fillers, etc. Bolted the Carburetor down too, small milestone. Now plumbing the Brake Booster, Transmission, Dash supply vacuum can be done.
Attachment 469957
I can't find anyone who still makes the AC Suction Line with the Muffler anywhere. Looks like it will have to be custom made or run Hot Rod AC plumbing lines. They hurt to buy.
1 Attachment(s)
Quick Picture with 2K Urethane Painted Valve Covers
So the valve covers could have been worked a bit more with the rust pits but I just shot 3 coats of un-reduced Epoxy Primer wet on then 3 coats of PPG Refinish Shopline JAU (2 K Urethane) Topcoat wet. Works well in a pinch to fill the pits. I will paint the Air Breather cover to match while painting the body black.
Attachment 470117
4 Attachment(s)
Coolant Lines Finally Connected
I was waiting on a replacement Thermostat housing and to find a 24in long piece of 1-1/2in Radiator hose. The housing arrived today and Autozone let me pick thru their hoses till I found something I could cut to fit.
Attachment 470148Attachment 470149
If you look closely at the first image in the Upper Hose you can see a Radiator Cap within a Hose Splice. This was added for two reasons, first for a means to Burp the air out of the cooling system since it is the highest point and second for a means to add coolant since the radiator cap is in-accessible when the car is together. I will fabricate a nice looking bracket to provide support to the upper hose assembly to increase the longevity of the assembly.
Attachment 470151
Since this coolant reservoir is toast I will take the opportunity to install a smaller, better looking unit from Rock Auto.
Attachment 470152
This is when the designer should have quit for the day and returned fresh to create a better way to support the long extension lines. Just a little bile in my throat looking at this rig. I will say it won't take much for me to improve this setup.
8 Attachment(s)
Getting the Fuel Supply worked out
The Cadillac fuel system was anything but well. The older guy I got the car from is a tinkerer and terrible at it. He chopped up the trunk up as well as other stuff that now I need to repair or delete totally. The way Cadillac made these cars one electric fuel pump is in the fuel tank, another electric fuel pump, much larger pump, under the body inside the back wheel area. A crazy amount of hoses, wires, fuel connections, and filters are jammed into a tight area.
Attachment 477751Attachment 477752
I used 3 floor jacks to get the car up high enough to get under it to remove the secondary electric fuel pump and lines. I ran a hose from the fuel tank supply line directly to the pump exiting piping feeding the engine bay area. First I pulled the Fuel pickup / sending unit assembly to drain the fuel tank of the old gas it contained and make sure which line exiting the assembly was fuel supply and which was the tank vent. While there I upgraded the rubber lines to Marine Under deck grade fuel hose.
Attachment 477754Attachment 477755Attachment 477756Attachment 477753
After getting the fuel supply in the back taken care of I had to pickup a steel line, a compatible Union for the steel line fittings, and a fuel filter to complete the fuel supply under the hood. Now this work is just to get the car running, I need to move it as I have a 12,000lb HD Lift coming. Using the union I joined the new line to the existing fuel supply line after bending it to weave thru the engine area to supply fuel to the mechanical fuel pump I added to the engine and eventually the Carburetor.
Attachment 477758Attachment 477759
