New Member 1980 Seville

[jed]

Hello,

I am new to your forums. I have had several Cadillacs in the past and I recently purchased one of my dream cars, the 1980 Seville. To me, it is the last piece of adventurous styling to come out of GM. It is kind of spiritual successor to the Eldorado Brougham, as the 80 Seville was GM's flagship, it was basically a four door Eldorado and it has many of the features the Brougham pioneered in 57, such as memory seat, power opening and closing trunk and air suspension.  I bought the car from the owner of a local chain of paint stores in the Westchester/Putnam County, NY area, where I reside.

It is the second 80 Seville I have owned and it has the 368 engine. So far, I have compounded the original paint, replaced some cracked filler panels, replaced the tires, the rear air ride shocks and now I have been detailing the engine compartment.

I was wondering if anyone has pictures of a detailed 368 engine bay. I can see that there were originally labels on and around the engine, because of the glue that was left behind, but I am not sure what they were for.

If there are any other people out there with the 80 Seville or Eldorado who could post pictures of their engine bays, I would appreciate it.

Thanks,

Jed

[Bill Hedge CLC 14424]

Welcome to the club and the forum.  Your car looks nice, and it sounds like you have been busy working on it.  I hope that it gives you many pleasurable moments and memories. 

[Rich S]

Welcome to the CLC Club! I saw your car advertised on e-bay a few months ago, and I , too, admired it. It looks like a well-maintained example of my favorite year of the 1980 through 1985 Sevilles--in my opinion, the most collectible version. I like the rather timeless color combination and the other ad photos showed what appeared to be all the parts present, and if my recollection is correct, even mentioned that it was driven by an elderly female! It is great when one owner takes pride to preserve a nice car for many years. Good luck with the car, as I am certain it will be a beauty when it is refurbished, and many of us are eager to see pictures! 

[Johnny]

Hello,

It is kind of spiritual successor to the Eldorado Brougham, as the 80 Seville was GM's flagship, it was basically a four door Eldorado and it has many of the features the Brougham pioneered in 57, such as memory seat, power opening and closing trunk and air suspension. 

......or was the Eldorado basically a two door Seville?   

[jed]

I appreciate the nice comments. I think that 1980 is the best year for the bustle back, because it has a more unique grille, it came standard with the aluminum wheels and it was the only year that the Seville could come with two good engines. I love the 368 for its power and incredible smoothness. If you have ever driven a 368 in a smaller body like the Seville or Eldo, the power is similar to the 500 in the larger cars. The true holy grail of 1980 is the California Seville with the 350. This engine has port fuel injection and puts out 180 hp. I have driven a 1980 Eldorado with it and it is a rocket. If you got the 350, the MPG Sentinel was replaced by the green/yellow light system like in the earlier cars, located on the right side of the "Information Center."

I did purchase the car off of ebay. The original owner was an 94 year old woman who had replaced her Seville with a new Buick. The Seville was an anniversary gift from her late husband and was serviced by the same Cadillac trained mechanic since new. She never drove the car in the winter because she vacationed in Arizona. It was only stored outside for a few months before being transferred to my garage.

Her son, who sold it to me was also into Cadillacs. He has a 1979 with 10k miles and the San Remo and Milan Convertibles in his personal collection. I like the first generation and I know that they were groundbreaking in style and size, but they are plain to me compared with the bustle back. He was extremely reputable, even going out of his way to change a bad drive axle before selling the car to me. Not like most ebay car sellers. the key to buying on ebay is making sure the car is local.

The only thing its missing is the front floor mat. If anyone knows the whereabouts of one in Saddle with good rubber backing, I would certainly be interested. I don't care about the condition of the carpeting, I could always replace it. The original was thrown out only a month before I got it.

And while I would love to agree with you on the Eldo being based off the Seville, it did come out one year later. I usually stay away from FWD, but these older Cadillacs with the longitudially mounted engine handle just like a good RWD car.

[hudsont]

Welcome Jed Nice to read your thoughts on a true American Peice of Art that travels the highway!