Jason's Sept 16, 2022 Ramble - Car Mileage & My Foot Pedal Fetish!

When I encounter a  63 or 64 Cadillac where the mileage is questionable I will often take a nose dive straight to the brake foot pedal and look at the wear on the rubber and trim.  The rubber pad becomes noticeably more worn on the right side and for body styles with the stainless trim (deVilles, Fleetwoods, & Eldos), it usually starts to wear thru by the 100 to 125K mile mark.

This came to mind today as I was cleaning up the brake pedal and trim rubber and trim off the latest parts car which showed 41K Miles on the clock.  This brake pad is at the top in the picture above. There were several other items on this car that was more consistent with a 41K mile car vs a 141K mile car. 

Now go back and look at the picture of the brake pedal at bottom. That came off a car that showed 38K on the clock. I would bet my bippy that car is at least 138K ... if not more. I don't know how many times over the 25 years I have been dealing with these cars I have had someone swear the car was only 20K, 30K, 40K, 50K something miles and the brake pedal was in the condition of the one at the bottom.   

While you cannot confirm 100% that a more pristine brake pedal indicates a car that has not rolled the clock over, it something you should consider when looking cars condition. And more importantly, if you see one with wear like the one on the bottom it is a very good indicator that you can add at least 100K to whatever you see on the clock.

Below are a couple of close-ups of the pedal from the last parts car showing 41K on clock with very limited wear, then the one from the car showing 38K on clock, which obviously has a lot more than 38K miles!

So the next time you see  me grab my LED headlamp and doing a deep dive toward someone's brake pedal you will know why I have such a Foot Pedal Fetish!

Views: 135

Reply to This

Photos

  • Add Photos
  • View All

Forum

Modern radio antenna …

Started by Mack in 1963/64 Cadillac Specific Discussion on Tuesday. 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 on Tuesday. 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