News:

Due to a technical issue, some recently uploaded pictures have been lost. We are investigating why this happened but the issue has been resolved so that future uploads should be safe.  You can also Modify your post (MORE...) and re-upload the pictures in your post.

Main Menu

Eldodroptop

Started by eldodroptop, March 20, 2009, 03:42:09 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

eldodroptop

New Member, first post.

One day, about eight years ago, I was minding my own business when I had the sudden urge to buy a Ragtop.

I had the same urge once before and somehow ended up with a '76 MG Midget... British Racing Green. Lovely... Really good car by MG standards, I only had to pull off the head five times to replace burnt valves. As an added plus the Lucas electrics only caused one electrical fire in nearly four years of ownership... Ahhhh, those were the salad days indeed.

I really miss that old MG...

With a fond tear in my eye I began my search, NAY, my QUEST for the perfect Ragtop.

Then it found me.. Red and White, Long and Low, '75 Eldorado.

Thank GOD the car had faults. (I wanted a guilt free car, a car I could DRIVE)  The color had been changed from Firethorn to a stunning bright red. Nice job overall, jams, trunk, under hood. New top, with tight mechanism. Rebuilt A/C. The car ran OK. Nice original interior. Prior owner had obviously spent far more on repairs than what I payed for the car (Five Grand).

I set about to make the Caddy as good as it could be without changing its DRIVER status. She ran OK but I needed her to be a no worry, top down, 85mph, 600 mile a day road trip warrior. The powerplant was clean inside, really clean. Perfect compression and oil pressure. So all I did was replace everything that bolted on the motor, EVERYTHING. She was now perfect... Just turn the key and GO.

The only problem with the car was that more than once I left home with all four hubcaps only to return with three... At $100+ a pop that got very old, very quick. I got real lucky and found a NOS (Yes, I said NOS) set of Western Wheels mislisted on EBAY and was able to buy all four for $250. I shudder to think what that seller could have sold them for had he known what they were.

Anyway, enough of my rambling... Here is a picture of the Eldorado.

The Tassie Devil(le)

Welcome and congratulations on your purchase, and the wheels as well.

Bruce. >:D
'72 Eldorado Convertible (LHD)
'70 Ranchero Squire (RHD)
'74 Chris Craft Gull Wing (SH)
'02 VX Series II Holden Commodore SS Sedan
(Past President Modified Chapter)

Past Cars of significance - to me
1935 Ford 3 Window Coupe
1936 Ford 5 Window Coupe
1937 Chevrolet Sports Coupe
1955 Chevrolet Convertible
1959 Ford Fairlane Ranch Wagon
1960 Cadillac CDV
1972 Cadillac Eldorado Coupe

Davidinhartford

Nice story.  You are right about those Eldo hubcaps, they are easy to throw off.    Nice find on those wheels!

Chris Conklin

Welcome, very nice Eldorado and story. I can relate, '79 Triumph Spitfire and an '84 El Camino that throws hubcaps with regularity.
Chris Conklin

Hollywood

Maybe a super-silly question, but why does a vehicle have a tendancy to throw a hubcap?  I have always assumed something to do with the wheel itself (slightly out of round?)....My old man had an '80 Bonneville that wouldn't keep a right front cover for nothing!!!  I can't count the wire wheel caps we (I) went through.  ??? H'wood
Eric D. Cook
1965 Coupe deVille

The Tassie Devil(le)

Wouldn't be surprised if the wheels were fitted with ordinary Wheel Weights and not the special Cadillac CAX weights.

Bruce. >:D
'72 Eldorado Convertible (LHD)
'70 Ranchero Squire (RHD)
'74 Chris Craft Gull Wing (SH)
'02 VX Series II Holden Commodore SS Sedan
(Past President Modified Chapter)

Past Cars of significance - to me
1935 Ford 3 Window Coupe
1936 Ford 5 Window Coupe
1937 Chevrolet Sports Coupe
1955 Chevrolet Convertible
1959 Ford Fairlane Ranch Wagon
1960 Cadillac CDV
1972 Cadillac Eldorado Coupe

Otto Skorzeny

Lots of reasons a car throws hubcaps but the root is the same; the cap is not securely fastened to the wheel.
1. Inordinate flexing of the rim
2. tangs on hupcap not pulled out enough
3. hubcap put on crooked
4. hubcap has stress fractures around the edge reducing its "springi-ness" / ability to grip the rim

Bruce is right about the weights. Use those special ones or put the weights on the inside of the rim. I have the weights on all my vehicles placed on the inside of the wheel simply because it looks better and they don't interfere with the hubcap.

fward

Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for YOURSELF

HUGE VENDOR LIST CLICK HERE

Joe Manna

Welcome aboard!Figured,it sounded appropriate,after all,you are driving a "Land Yacht".

But seriously,welcome to the wonderful world of internet"Caddy Chat"

Good luck with the Eldo.

Joe
1951 Chevrolet Bel-Air-50's Style Custom
1963 Cadillac 4 Window Sedan deVille
1991 Cadillac DW69 Brougham,All original and used daily
2015 Cadillac SRX

eldodroptop

Thank you all for the warm welcome...

Seems I accidentally started an interesting discussion.

I thought about the wheel weights, I had all weights mounted inboard on the wheels to no avail. I started to pay close attention to stray hubcaps passing me and what road conditions I had incountered before hand. I noticed that the hubcaps always came off after a good bump in the road. Upon examining the caps mounted to the wheel I realised that it was likely the tires were the culprit. The very edge of the hubcap was close enough to the sidewall that any excess bulging of the sidewall could (In therory) pry the Hubcap loose.

The Tassie Devil(le)

Can't see the tyrewalls pushing the caps off.

The cap shouldn't be larger in diameter than the rim.

I would be suspecting the finger clips being too loose, and not having sufficient strength to grip the rim.

I had the same problem with my '60 CDV, and it turned out to be just that.   The clips.   Took many tries to get them right with needle-nose pliers.

Plus, I also found that the outer edge of the Cadillac rim was wider than the inside edge.

Bruce. >:D

'72 Eldorado Convertible (LHD)
'70 Ranchero Squire (RHD)
'74 Chris Craft Gull Wing (SH)
'02 VX Series II Holden Commodore SS Sedan
(Past President Modified Chapter)

Past Cars of significance - to me
1935 Ford 3 Window Coupe
1936 Ford 5 Window Coupe
1937 Chevrolet Sports Coupe
1955 Chevrolet Convertible
1959 Ford Fairlane Ranch Wagon
1960 Cadillac CDV
1972 Cadillac Eldorado Coupe

TJ Hopland

My Eldos have been pretty good for hanging on to caps.  Its only been a slight problem when I am doing stupid stuff like smoking the tires.  My 66 mustang was another story.   I ended up drilling and tapping some holes for large head screws.  Its been that way for 2 years and so far so good.  No one has ever commented on the screws, not sure if no one notices or everyone knows why they are there.  I was going to look at something similar for the Eldo's since there are areas where the cap just about touches the wheel.
StPaul/Mpls, MN USA

73 Eldo convert w/FiTech EFI
80 Eldo Diesel
90 CDV
And other assorted stuff I keep buying for some reason

Hollywood

Quote from: ottoskorzeny on March 20, 2009, 10:28:19 PM
Lots of reasons a car throws hubcaps but the root is the same; the cap is not securely fastened to the wheel.
1. Inordinate flexing of the rim
2. tangs on hupcap not pulled out enough
3. hubcap put on crooked
4. hubcap has stress fractures around the edge reducing its "springi-ness" / ability to grip the rim

Bruce is right about the weights. Use those special ones or put the weights on the inside of the rim. I have the weights on all my vehicles placed on the inside of the wheel simply because it looks better and they don't interfere with the hubcap.


I've seen the different replies to causes of losing the covers...All might have been the culprit at one time or another, but I'm going with Ottos' number 1 here....We lost (literally) 6 different wire caps off of that Bonneville....Those six caps were put on by 3 different people over time....I'll give one here or there to a bent cap or the like, but the one constant was that bleepin' wheel  >:(!  H'wood
Eric D. Cook
1965 Coupe deVille

David #19063

Great looking car!  Glad you are driving and enjoying the ride in a Cadillac!
David #19063
1996 DeVille Concours

Glen

I had a problem with losing hub caps on my 68 ELDO.  After investigation I figured out the problem was the way I installed the hubcaps.  I was using a rubber mallet to tap the caps on.  I was hitting them at an angle and outward.  The result was I bent the fingers in and they could not get a good grip on the wheel. 

The solution was to first bend the fingers out.  I did that by prying them out with a screw driver.   Second I changed the way I installed the hubcaps making sure I hit the hub cap in a direction parallel to the axle. 

Glen
Glen Houlton CLC #727 
CLCMRC benefactor #104

Sweede64

Hollywood, dident the bonneville have a bolt i the center?
I remember a -60 sdv it lost the right front cap in sharp turns.... i was suprised to see the hubcap rolling away in to the sunset....
Thomas.
Thomas Karlström

Sweede64

Oh, i forgott, nice car.
Thomas Karlström

J

#16
very nice car and welcome aboard  i too have a '75 and also lost a hubcab on the freeway once and auctully jumped over a fence to a graveyard to retreive it should of saw the looks of people passing by mine was the wheel weight problem mounted on front  although i fixed the problem maybe someday i can score a set of rims like you did.  they look great
Cadillac got me!!!

76eldo

On cars with rims designed for bias ply tires, radials put more stress and flex on the wheels, possibly causing this problem.

I have always checked the caps on my 76 Eldorado periodically by looking at them to make sure they were seated on the rim.

Really hope not to lose any!

Brian
Brian Rachlin
Huntingdon Valley, Pa
I prefer email's not PM's rachlin@comcast.net

1960 62 Series Conv with Factory Tri Power
1970 DeVille Conv
1970 Eldo
1970 Caribu (?) "The Cadmino"
1973 Eldorado Conv Pace Car
1976 Eldorado Conv
1980 Eldorado H & E Conv
1993 Allante with Hardtop (X2)
2008 DTS
2012 CTS Coupe
2017 XT
1956 Thunderbird
1966 Olds Toronado