What's the best and not so best modification you've done?

Would love to hear what modifications you've done to your Caddy that you are very happy about; and those that you wished you'd never done.

Views: 486

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

It says "Modification" Tony, not a friggin full service history and what ya had for breakfast, ya fruit loop.

So far I'm very pleased with the whitewall tires and lowering it 1".  

Right now I'm in the midst of a Holley Sniper fuel injection system install.  It's been a chore and it's not running to spec yet so I'm reserving judgment on it.   Initially the start up and acceleration has been phenomenal but it's got some quirks that aren't so endearing.

Clovis up in Canada did a fuel injection fit up. He also spent a lot of time on it, but my understanding is, it worked very well once sorted. Go through the help section, bound to be a link in there on it.

Excellent question! Here's my list for my 1964 Coupe de Ville:

Mods I am Very Happy About (True Mods):
- Pertronix Ignitor III Ignition and Flamethrower III Ignition Coil
- Edelbrock Performer 1411 750 cfm carburetor and modified intake which included porting the front intake primaries to match the Edelbrock 750
- Accel 8MM SuperStock 5043K spark plug wires (black, removed yellow lettering to look stock)
- Converted clock to quartz 15+ years ago thru ClockWorks (still keeps perfect time)

Mods I am Very Happy About (Available Options for my car that I updated):
- Power Vent windows (always a crowd-pleaser & conversation item when showing car and nice convenience to throw in air from right side)
- Controlled Differential (posi, limited-slip rear end, more sure footed if ever needed and can 2 those 2 tire fish tail burnouts!)
- Changing color from factory Bahama Sand to factory Sierra Gold. (Bahama Sand is a classy color but really love that gold)
- Added optional cross-grain vinyl top. (I think it adds another touch of class and contrasts well with the gold)
- am/fm - added the factory am/fm not long after buying the car just to pick up more stuff.
- tilt steering column - easier in and out, and was a great learning experience (a lot to change)
- thicker 75 Series from anti-sway / stabilizer bar. Stays very level in corners now.

Mods I was not Very Happy About
I have to preface this by saying when 1st bought my 64 CDV I wasn't sure where I would eventually take it and was more open to trying different things.  After a few years I decided to go after a stock look, while continuing to utilize performance upgrades such as Pertronix that would  not take away from stock look. If I get into a 2nd car it will be more resto-mod and will probably run pretty wild with wiring, lighting, and performance items but for me with my 64 CDV it is about keeping a stock appearance. 
- Dual Exhaust and Flowmaster mufflers - Boy did it sound good and was happy with it at first, especially in my hot rod heart, but was not what I was after and removed after a few years and went back to a stock exhaust set-up
- Started adding some "Fleetwood bling" to my 64 CDV including steering wheel center horn cap with Fleetwood wreath, bench seat side trim with Fleetwood chromed outer bead, Fleetwood rear courtesy lights --> All of these were removed and replaced with deVille correct items.

Couldn't agree more with your post.  My interest in installing FI is to improve reliability and the overall driving experience not about nursing more power out.  With the exception of cutting a hole in the fuel tank, the install hasn't really changed the stock condition and could fairly easily be returned to stock...I've saved all the take off parts.

Looking under the hood the untrained eye wouldn't really suspect it was anything but stock.  If this experiment doesn't work out then I'm fine going back to the carb.  The way I see it, GM didn't have the advantage of 50 years of automobile development available to them when they designed this car so this is just icing on the cake.

If I can make some mods that increase the safety and reliability of this car which in turn gets me and my family out in it more often then I consider that a win!

When my car was new to me and still stock 22 years ago, I put in a first gen Pertronix and was really impressed with it. The next best thing was disc brakes. The third and something that I highly recommend is to ditch the original steering box. There are a lot of options but what I am using is a 1970 Monte Carlo SS box. It bolts right in, uses the same pitman arm etc and has 2 1/2 turns lock to lock with variable ratio. You would not believe what a difference this makes. I picked it up at NAPA and they took my old one as a core. 

I have since gone totally off the reservation and built my version of a CTS. Too many mods to mention but maybe I will throw in one more. I made an adapter plate to allow me to use Chevy oil filters. That also allowed me to put on an aftermarket engine oil cooler which increased my oil pressure on hot days and when stuck in traffic. It really works.

Tony, she really is a keeper. When I shuffle off she will go to my daughters. I put a heck of a lot of effort in to building a car that is unique and fun to drive. Now that I have it, she stays in the family. I discovered the steering box interchange on Hemmings. I'll see if I can find it again and provide a link.

Here's the link...

https://www.hemmings.com/blog/article/saginaw-steering-boxes/

To pick the right part number I went on Rockauto.com and searched steering boxes on various cars mentioned by the Hemmings chap. I picked the 70 Monte Carlo 454 SS as it would have been the heaviest of the mid sized cars and looked at the ratios available. I picked a part number and called around town to see who had one. Turned out NAPA did so I unbolted my old one and headed over and swapped, plus some cash of course. It took about three hours all told.

That video is pretty cool. I have watched it many times and can attest to one of the talking points as being very true. They talk about the quality of steel used in the crankshaft and connecting rods. Well, I have taken several first gen 390's apart and some of them were woefully neglected. My mock up motor for example was choked with sludge and oil deposit buildup and likely never saw regular oil changes during it's later years. One of the local high performance machine shops sought me out to see if I had a crankshaft and a couple of connecting rods for a 390. I took the crank and rods out of my mock up not expecting much. They were perfect still, just needing a light polish to be put back in to use. I was amazed to say the least. 

A side note on the 331, 365 and 390, the original designer was Ed Cole who went on to design the small block Chevrolet. If you have had both apart, you will see the genealogy as there are many similarities. And now for something really obscure that I found out while trying to get a better timing chain for my car. The 331, 365 and 390 have the same distance between crankshaft and camshaft centre lines. They also have the same number of teeth per gear. What's more, the early 327 and Caddy engines share the same timing chain. Other small blocks have a narrower chain with fewer link plates. So the happy upshot is you can use an early (small journal) 327 high performance aftermarket timing chain in your first gen 390. Which is exactly what I now run in mine. If someone can tell me how many teeth and links the second gen 390 and 429 have in their chains I could probably find out if Cloyes has a chain that works for them. I went down this rabbit hole after putting an aftermarket chain in my engine that only lasted about 5 years of regular driving. My "hot rod" heads have much stiffer springs than stock so I needed a good chain. The aftermarket stuff you can find online is crap.

I need to call off the dogs, Rockauto now lists the 390/429 timing chain from Cloyes. Just for giggles, you can check Rockauto for a 1965 327 and see that it is the same part number. The number by the way is C489. 

Just been doing this for so long now. My 63 4 window series 62 sedan is a rolling test bed of improvements.

Disk brakes up front before there were kits.

electric fuel pump.

LED tail lights

electric windshield washer pump

new box style rear lower control arms

upgraded original AM/FM radio, and it has blue tooth, audio jack, flash drive plug and microphone capable.

Reworked water pump by a specialist who machined the pump to be true to the impeller.

Restored dash, steering wheel and door panels. (the most expensive job)

Power vent windows

Front seat arm rest

Adding AC to the non AC car. I used an under dash unit by Vintage Air. 

Getting rid of the manual vacuum valve on the NSS and adding in an electric vacuum valve that is controlled by a relay wired to the NSS.

What I didnt like was the electric fan I had o the car at one time. To noisy for a classic car. 

Putting an aftermarket radio in the glove box.  So glad I had an original radio redone.

Kind of like Jason, I have added options that my plain jane '63 convertible did not have originally.

I found a super clean am/fm radio in a junkyard and installed that. I installed power vent windows and bucket seats and console. That is the one I like most as it was quite a project to complete and came out great with all the wiring done correctly. Everything works as it should. I still need to find the plastic covers for the floor brackets. They are really hard to find for the bucket seats so I may have to fabricate them or adapt a bench seat set.

After a lengthy search, I found a sway bar from a hearse and put that on and like the improvement.

Pertronix ignition was an easy install and works great.

I did the front brake conversion with the '69 equipment and this is the one I'd like a do over on. I liked the idea of using GM parts but It requires spacers and I just don't like that. Stopping power is great though. I may still switch to an after market kit and sell the stuff I have now. The master cylinder can stay and I already have the proportioning valve so it will be an easy job.

Somewhere out there is a tilt steering column destined for my car.

RSS

Photos

  • Add Photos
  • View All

Forum

Modern radio antenna …

Started by Mack in 1963/64 Cadillac Specific Discussion yesterday. 0 Replies

Just replaced radios for the modern radios with Bluetooth and all the dance things and wanted to share how I went around the antenna knob… I’ve installed a regular two way GM window switch in the…Continue

BOOT

Started by John Inglesby in 1963/64 Cadillac Specific Discussion. Last reply by Marty Smith yesterday. 1 Reply

I recently purchased a new boot for my 64 convertible and was wondering how difficult it s to install. I'm not very mechanical. It looks like the chrome piece behind and at top of seats needs to be…Continue

63 Exhaust Hanger Mystery

Started by Mike Travers in 1963/64 Cadillac Specific Discussion. Last reply by Cees de Bunje on Monday. 8 Replies

I'm in the process of installing a stainless steel single exhaust from Classic Exhaust on my '63 Coupe de Ville. I'm running into a mystery regarding my middle exhaust bracket. I have the bracket…Continue

TH400 Dipstick Tube Seal

Started by Logan Robb in 1963/64 Cadillac Specific Discussion. Last reply by Logan Robb on Monday. 9 Replies

In my “rebuild” of the transmission, I ordered a dipstick tube seal. However, I’m not sure if the right one came or how to best install the seal. I am wondering if anyone has replaced this seal OR…Continue

Blog Posts

Loud air moving sound within carb with cleaner removed

Posted by Dave Fehrle on March 23, 2024 at 3:23pm 8 Comments

While checking my Carter carb with engine running, I took the air cleaner off and there was a very loud hissing sound of air. I placed a piece of paper over the carb and it didn’t move up or down, is this normal?

Vintage Air AC

Posted by Chase on March 21, 2024 at 5:55am 0 Comments

Hey everyone, has anybody done a Vintage Air AC/Heat setup in their car? I want to bypass the old vacuum setup and go with a Vintage Air Gen 2 model. Before I get started, does anyone have any experience with this? (Which model to go with, do’s and dont’s, etc.) It looks pretty involved. Any and all info/pics would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

accumulator dryer

Posted by CHRIS CARLSON on December 6, 2023 at 10:54am 0 Comments

Who rebuilds original AC  accumulator dryers for 1964 Cadillac? I have been on Classic auto air in Tampa FL wait list for over a year ,  There is one on Old air products web site that looks very similar to the original # 21-4214A but states it fits 1962 Gm cars, The one recommended for a 1964 Cadillac is half the length 21-4215A    What  is everyone using ? I would prefer to be as original as possible. Thanks

'63 Eldorado trumpet horn + 2 standard horns restoration

Posted by Les Eastling on November 15, 2023 at 10:34am 1 Comment

My son, unbeknownst to me, had all three of the horns on our 1963 Eldorado completely restored. We had recently added the Eldorado trumpet horn to the two standard horns and the sound was not very good... we had heard good ones so we knew something was not right... but there was not much we could do to get better sound from the 3 horns. 

There is a restoration service called The Horn Works who my son…

Continue

Videos

  • Add Videos
  • View All

© 2024   Created by Jason Edge.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service