1957 Biarritz

[Bill Balkie 24172]

Hello Valts,
      Your car is simply beautiful and well documented . You certainly picked the right car to invest time and money . I wonder if you can answer a question for me . I have owned a 57 Seville and presently own a 57 Biarritz . Both cars are beautiful . I have been trying to get to the bottom of this mystery . My Seville had window slide locks on the vent windows  . The 57 Biarritz convertible  (99 out of 100 cars ) do NOT have slide locks on the vent windows . Can you tell me if your Biarritz has or does not have slide locks on the vent windows . No one has been able to give me a good reason for the lack of these vent window locks on all 57 Cadillac Convertibles .

  Thanks,
      Bill

[Valts]

Hi!

Thanks for the good words, altought the car is not mine, it belongs to a friend.

Thats why I dont have all the access to the parts to check these vent windows out, but I will try to find it out.

[Valts]

I wanted to assemble the water pump but one thing held me back.... When installing newshaft assembly, thrust washer and seal assy then the working surface between ceramic thrust washer (with step on in) and pump housing seal surface seems very small.

When I disassembled the pump there was an extra rubber seal put around the thrust washer, probably because of leaking.

Why is that ceramic thrust washer so narrow, it could easily have 2 times wider working surface...

I know that  seal surface on housing must be refinised and polished, picture was taken before that..



The repair kit came from cadillac parts ltd and is re-engineered, no slinger needed, they say.

[INTMD8]

I assembled mine as shown with the same part and no leaks so far

[Valts]

Thanks Jim!
I have no previous experience with older water pumps and it just seemed a bit weird- unlogical.
I will then assemble the pump as this.

[INTMD8]

I thought the same! Seemed sketchy but all is well

[Valts]

OK, real slow progress but still....

my machinist made me some "cadillac special tools" for water pump assembly. It could have been done probably without these, but as I probably have some more 57-58 caddys to restore in the future I decided to do it the right way.

Simple seal surface refinishing device:



just a tool that holds fine sandpaper and centralises it, can be rotated with cordless drill. Worked real fine.



Also bearing shaft installer tools were made and shaft was properly installed.
But then I stopped again...
The instructions that came with the repair kit says that bushing and thrust washer-seal assembly must be installed as a unit.


As soon as I pushed it a little, the bronze? bushing split:



Not really a big deal, easy to make new one but the thing that got me hooked was again in the instruction papers.
" The measurement between impeller and the seal seat surface is 0.703 in (17.86mm). To achieve this measurement use spacer if necessary."
When I compress seal unit to 17.86 mm and ad thickness of the impeller (11 mm) + 0.01 inch (0.25mm) that separates impeller vanes from backing plate surface I`m still about 2mm to short. It means that if I assemble it this way the seal unit will not be compressed as much as needed and some leaks are possible. I believe I should ad spacer+seal between the seal unit and the impeller.....Am I right?

The other thing that seems a bit odd, is that bronze bushing.....what keeps it from moving forward on the shaft, towards the bearing? Just the tension?

Maybe I`m like overthinking it but really want to be sure everything is like it should be.

I really appreciate it if someones shares his experience and knowledge about it..
Thanks.






Oh, yeah.... almost forgot...
The car is almost painted, some fresh parts are coming back. I have some safe storing room to use so I will keep the hood and fenders in my place as long as everything is ready for assembly. The body will be taken to owners garage.

The painter will assemble doors and trunklid when its painted but we just dont want to take risk and assemble front panels just for cool looks..... and then remove it for engine and other mechanical work. Hood and fenders are probably the last big pieces that go on the car.

Love the paint....

[DeVille68]

just stumbled over your thread!
Nice work.   

Keep us updated! 

Best regards,
Nicolas

[J Kjerrulf]

Really enjoy this thread Valts - please update!

[Jon S]

Just saw this thread. You asked "What color are the hood hinges."  My 1958 SDV appear to be goldish cadnium plated. See attached picture. They need a cleaning, but original:

[Paul Tesone]

 Hi Valts - Regarding the hood hinges : According to the 1957-58 authenticity manual ( unless things have changed from my 2nd edition ) , the hood hinges should be silver cadmium plated with black springs . The manual makes no differentiation between 1957 & 1958 . As long as you are trying to be accurate , you might as well white cad plate the hood latches and paint the hood release springs . The main hood release spring should be black and the safety release spring should be blue . If you don't have an authenticity manual , you should get one through the club . Keep up the good work and keep the pictures coming . Paul Tesone CLC # 6876

[Jon S]

Paul -

Were the Eldorado hinges different from my SDV?  Look at my picture - mine are untouched and are gold; not silver.

[Paul Tesone]

 Jon - I've been flipping back and forth between your picture and mine to see if I notice any difference between the hinges. Although they appear to be on opposite sides of the car , and perhaps my hinge was not attached to the hood when the picture was taken , they seem to have the same configuration . I also attached a couple of photos of my unrestored 57 Eldo . The hinges seem silver , but with all the corrosion , who knows ?? When I had my car restored, I planned on having it judged ; so I followed what the authenticity manual said - because that's what the judges go by . Paul Tesone CLC # 6876

[Jon S]

Paul -

Your picture and mine both show the driver's side hood hinge.

I have noted several errors in the Authentication Manual and have voiced them on this Forum.  I've offered to provide pictures/access of my purchased new 1958, but nobody has come forth.  It seems foolish not to take advantage of this or to "restore" something incorrectly, but that's just my opinion.

[davidwtaft 6746]

Hello everyone,
my 'input' is not related to hood springs or the like...but a request for help..I'm finishing an Elysian Green 57 Biarritz and have had a very difficult time getting the correct code 9 elysian green convertible top...I've dealt with the 'company from Portland'...and they supplied me with what was purported to be the correct color..but the color came off on your hands...I'm told it's not made anymore..If anyone of you can direct me to where I might find the top..i'd appreciate it very much !

[57eldoking]

Try contacting Remlinger Restorations in Minnesota who restored Biarritz #1 a few years ago.

Remlinger Restorations
1201 Breezy Lane
Winona, Minnesota 55987
Phone: 507 454-6964

[Paul Tesone]

I just did some searching on the internet . It seems that someone named Jim Remlinger from Winona ,MN owned and at least started the restoration . Not sure he was the one who completed it .The car was advertised with both Hollywood Wheels Palm Beach Auction and Antique Car Investments ( 630-542-0031 ) at different times . If you can't track down Remlinger , perhaps one of those companies can give you some leads . How about contacting Cadillac restorers like Hill Jenkins or Frank Nicodemus (? spelling ) . .......... Paul Tesone CLC #6876

[Paul Tesone]

Sorry for the late response . It seems that while I was searching and writing my post , 57Eldoking already posted much more specific information on Remlinger. That should get David the answer he's looking for ........... Paul Tesone CLC #6876 .

[59-in-pieces]

Valts,
The info Paul shared with you with the car pics and the authenticity manual info seems correct.
About a year ago or so I bought a 57 Biarritz (silver with black interior and top) which has about 25K original miles, and had been stored for about 27 years.
The hood hinges are silver colored - silver cadmium - with black springs - see pic.
The hood latch was silver but too much dirt and dust to tell what the latch springs colors were.
I put the car back in storage until I can get to it, so I can't confirm their colors.
Have fun,
Steve B.

[JoeKarasinski]

I need to mention that although some plated parts may appear to be silver there's no way to know for sure until you take things apart and see the areas that haven't been exposed to light. I'm finding this out with my 60 right now that most of the hardware is actually yellow zinc.