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1974 Fleetwood died on me

Started by ithaca1230, June 02, 2017, 11:18:17 AM

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ithaca1230

Drove her around a bit this weekend and she runs fine now. The only thing to change is the points. Going to drop it off with a mechanic that is up to speed on these cars and appreciates them and have him change the points adjust timing and the idle if needed. Thanks for all the help gives me stuff to look at.

m-mman

Quote from: ithaca1230 on June 12, 2017, 09:12:47 AM
Going to drop it off with a mechanic that is up to speed on these cars and appreciates them and have him change the points adjust timing and the idle if needed.

Welcome to the world of old cars. Something that is VERY DIFFERENT between old and new cars is that old cars CAN be fixed by yourself in your own driveway. Once you learn how . . . .

2017 Benz or Tesla? Drop it off and get it fixed.
1974 Cad with a points type ignition? Dont just drop it off. Instead hang around and try to get the mechanic to show you how the ignition works. Watch him swap and adjust the points. It is so simple and basic that it will surprise you.

Back in the old days everyone knew how to repair and troubleshoot their cars, you went to a mechanic only if you did not have the time to fix it yourself.

LEARN, learn, learn about how your car works!! Mechanics are great but I think the #1 reason (younger?) people want to modify their car to 'maintenance free' components is because they dont want to be embarrassed to admit that they dont know the basics.

Any club members in your area? I would love to teach an interested (entry level) person how their old car works!
The more you learn, the more confident you become, and the more attached you will be to your car.
1929 341B Town Sedan
1971 Miller-Meteor Lifeliner ambulance
Other non-Cadillac cars
Near Los Angeles, California

CLC #29634

ithaca1230

Thanks m-mman. I am not familiar with these points. I was told you would need a dwell meter to set them correctly. I also think she is idling a little high. I was gonna hang around and have him show me how to set the points. I figured he can set them check the timing and the carb and get her set. I love to play with the old cars but not very experienced. I dont want to do something and then have to ask someone else to fix my mistake. I am located in Ithaca NY. I will let you know how it turns out. Thanks!!

Billy Epthimiatos

dochawk

So you need about $20 of new tools.

The downside, of course, is you only end up with $20 of new tools . . .

One of these https://www.harborfreight.com/fuel-pump-and-vacuum-tester-62637.html for $15 and one of these and a tachometer/dwell-meter, and you're good to go.

OK, $15 for the first, and more like $40 for the second.
1972 Eldorado convertible,  1997 Eldorado ETC (now awaiting parts swap from '95 donor), 1993 Fleetwood but no 1926 (yet)