Cadillac & LaSalle Club Discussion Forum

Cadillac & LaSalle Club Forums => General Discussion => Topic started by: Scot Minesinger on February 10, 2018, 10:02:59 AM

Title: Cadillac options you cannot live without
Post by: Scot Minesinger on February 10, 2018, 10:02:59 AM
State the year of Cadillac and what options you cannot live without, I will start:

1970 Cadillac

1.  Climate control, very rare to include this on that year, I would probably add it if it did not have it, as it became easier to do so in 1969.  I have all the parts and would probably have to take it apart anyway on a 1969/70 Cadillac purchase with it to restore it anyway.

2.  Tilt wheel - I always change the column if it does not have it - cruise is a pain to do this with.

3.  Twilight Sentinal - easy to add if it did not come with it.

4.  Trunk release - again easy to add if it did not come with it.

5.  Passenger side mirror - also easy to add, just got to find a correct one, but would even settle for a wrong one because they are all close and look awesome.

These are the basic, must have options for me on a 1970 Cadillac.

Other options that are nice but not essential are leather interior (will change it to that if cloth is shot - need to change to wood panels too if you do it), cruise control and dual comfort seats.  Not interested in posi (possible sign of a Northern salt area car).  Cruise I can take or leave - have two 1970 Cadillacs with it and they work nice.

Enjoy your Cadillac,

Scot
Title: Re: Cadillac options you cannot live without
Post by: 67_Eldo on February 10, 2018, 10:26:32 AM
1967 Eldorado (or any other, for that matter)

1. Cruise control. These things are built for cruising down the Interstate. If you've got all that interior room but are pinned to one position because you need to keep your right foot on the throttle, that's a tragic waste of space. Also, there's less fatigue when using cruise. I added a Rostra cruise to mine and after a bit of fiddling it works great.

2. Disc brakes (at least in front). Back in the day, maybe the brakes could be marginal. Not anymore. There are too many cars & crazies & phone-obsessives now. The 67 - 68 disc brakes are not popular but mine work extremely well.

3. Air conditioning. I don't care whether or not it is of the automatic variety. I just know it is necessary when cruising very long distances (see #1).
Title: Re: Cadillac options you cannot live without
Post by: Eldorado James on February 10, 2018, 10:59:17 AM
I'm going to sit back and wait for somebody to say "Weather Band Radio" or Toaster Seats (errrrr...heated seats).

Actually Cruise Control is one of my favorites, seems essential when flying down the interstate with the top down.   The split power seats with the recliners are always appreciated for comfort.  Illuminated entry was a nice touch so you could see your door lock in dark alleys at night....and be sure that nobody was lurking in the back seat of your Fleetwood.  :)
Title: Re: Cadillac options you cannot live without
Post by: 76Caddy on February 10, 2018, 11:43:35 AM
Tilt & telescopic, auto dimming, twilight sentinel, power door locks, delay wipers, rear defroster, trunk release w/pull down, automatic climate control.  Not having these on years they were available are deal breakers for me.  I did however relent on 1 option on the '67 Eldo, no rear defroster (which if I can find one, will add it during restoration). 

As a side note in regards to options: I've gone to look at at Cads that were advertised as being "fully loaded" only to find it bare bones.  When confronting the seller on this, he says "it's got pwr steering and brakes, pwr windows and seat.  Some think these standard features make it "loaded".

Tim
Title: Re: Cadillac options you cannot live without
Post by: Bob Kielar on February 10, 2018, 01:55:29 PM
1955 Fleetwood.

1. Power Steering
2. Power Brakes
3. Heater
4. Power Windows
5. Air Conditioning 

Keep Cruzin,
Bob Kielar
Title: Re: Cadillac options you cannot live without
Post by: chrisntam on February 10, 2018, 06:13:12 PM
1970 Deville

1) air conditioning
2) cruise control
3) twilight sentinel
4) trumpet horn (I'm known to just honk the horn driving down the road just so I can hear all four horns)
Title: Re: Cadillac options you cannot live without
Post by: 76eldo on February 10, 2018, 09:12:12 PM
I find it interesting that on some of my cars there are a lot of options that were not ordered on the car.

For example, my 70 convert does not have cruise, tint/tele, or the headlight options.  No power trunk however it is a 30,000 mile all original car. Has R/H door mirror

My 70 eldo does not have cruise or headlight options and has a MONO Fm radio.  Luckily is has tilt/tele. also no power trunk but has a bucket seat all leather interior and is a one owner (before me) all original car with 15,600 miles on it.  No R/H door mirror.

The 76 Eldo convert has most options but no headlight options and no cruise.

I thought the point of buying a Cadillac was to get all of the options to show off to your friends!

Title: Re: Cadillac options you cannot live without
Post by: pmhowe on February 10, 2018, 09:54:42 PM
1935 Cadillac Town Sedan
1. Peep mirrors. The rear view visibility is awful, and backing into a parking spot is a real challenge.

Phil
Title: Re: Cadillac options you cannot live without
Post by: DaveZ on February 11, 2018, 10:31:50 AM
1932 Town Sedan
Echo Phil....If you have side mounts side mount mirrors

Quote from: pmhowe on February 10, 2018, 09:54:42 PM
1935 Cadillac Town Sedan
1. Peep mirrors. The rear view visibility is awful, and backing into a parking spot is a real challenge.

Phil
Title: Re: Cadillac options you cannot live without
Post by: Bill Balkie 24172 on February 11, 2018, 03:10:40 PM
       The one thing that was standard on all cadillac from the mid 60's  till not sure when  was  the cornering lights . When you activated your turn signal it would light up the complete corner,  and they were bright .  I always thought that was a great Standard feature . Now i am forced to live without .

  Bill

Title: Re: Cadillac options you cannot live without
Post by: Barry M Wheeler #2189 on February 11, 2018, 06:21:01 PM
One thing I love about the '91 Seville is that it has "nearly everything." I finally feel like I'm driving a Cadillac again. In Indiana one thing that really is nice to have is the rear window defroster. Just flipping a switch to clear your window is a real plus. It doesn't have heated seats, but that's the only option our ATS has. I have to flip that on right away so Gay will not complain about the cold air on her legs. What I hate about the modern cars is having cool air and warm air come out of vents that are "together" and being told that "everything is within specs."
Title: Re: Cadillac options you cannot live without
Post by: Dan LeBlanc on February 12, 2018, 07:45:31 AM
My one thing that is a deal breaker for me is air conditioning.  I would take a Cadillac completely stripped down with air conditioning before I would take one with most options without air conditioning.

Title: Re: Cadillac options you cannot live without
Post by: Jason Edge on February 13, 2018, 07:04:42 AM
1964 Cadillac Coupe de Ville
- am/fm radio - while I admire the am only wonderbar I like having access to my fm stations. Although I can just as easily throw the blue tooth boom box in the back seat and have access to almost limitless music stored and via apps off the iPhone, a car just feels like it is missing something if it does not have an fm radio to scan through and check out what's on the local airwaves.

Other than that is it either for comfort or showing off!  For showing off it is definitely the power vent windows. I go to the local car shows with the sea of other GM, Ford and Chrysler makes with their manual crank windows and while the owners are already impressed with the power seats and windows,  that have their "Wow, that's a Cadillac moment" when I show them the power vent windows... and it is nice to also be able to throw air over from the passenger side when I a cruising around with the windows down.
I also like the tilt steering I swapped into the car way back, and will probably get around to swapping in the Cruise at some point, maybe this year.
Coming from a muscle car background, I really enjoy the fact that with my optional controlled differential, I can do a 2 wheel fish tail burnout if I have the urge. Luckily, I really only had the urge right after I installed it way back. It sure felt good! Not quite the rocket ship blast my '68 Camaro provided back in the day, but still made my Hot Rod Heart jump a beat!
Title: Re: Cadillac options you cannot live without
Post by: jdemerson on February 13, 2018, 03:05:28 PM
Quote from: Bill Balkie 24172 on February 11, 2018, 03:10:40 PM
       The one thing that was standard on all cadillac from the mid 60's  till not sure when  was  the cornering lights . When you activated your turn signal it would light up the complete corner,  and they were bright .  I always thought that was a great Standard feature . Now i am forced to live without .

  Bill
Agree!
Title: Re: Cadillac options you cannot live without
Post by: David Greenburg on February 13, 2018, 08:19:52 PM
Also a fan of power vent windows. True decadence.  All of my Cads have had them, starting with the ‘59 CDV I bought when I was 13.  The more the merrier.  Why have only 2 when you can have 4?  But excluding he models on which they were standard, a surprisingly rare option when compared to Lincolns and Imperials of the era.  On the other hand, I do wish my Fleetwood had power door locks as a practical matter.  That’s a lot of real estate to cover when trying to lock all the doors.
Title: Re: Cadillac options you cannot live without
Post by: Jon S on February 13, 2018, 08:46:11 PM
Quote from: jdemerson on February 13, 2018, 03:05:28 PM
Agree!

Second that!