Smokin' 57

[Kurt Wrebel]

Hi guys, After joining up and letting everyone know about myself and my 57 Coupe Deville rolling restoration, I thought I'd post an update on progress.
With new ignition leads, spark plugs, rotor arm and fuel pump she's fired up nicely. And, guess what...the wipers work. They're a bit erratic, as I was warned they would be, and when they get going they don't seem to want to stop - but nevertheless...they work. I haven't had time to get the sump off to clean it out yet, but before I got her started I did an oil and filter change and cleaned out the filter cannister.

Now the bad news. The engine smokes badly - out of the filler, through the exhausts and particularly out of some kind of breather pipe that comes down from the engine, underneath the car by the footwell of the passenger side. I'm no mechanic, but the strange thing is with this engine is that it has next to none of the usual mechanical wear noises. The tappets are even silent - no noise form the rocker covers at all. The engine doesn't seem tired either, it has a lot of torque and is very responsive on the pedal. All in all, it sounds and feels great, not even any oil spitting out anywhere. So why all the smoke?  I removed the dipstick with the engine running and no sign of oil spitting, but still a little smoke drifting up. Piston rings?
As I checked the old spark plugs, some were nice and beige but the rest looked a little black, so would this indicate valve problems too? Oh, well time to call in the mechanic. I didn't anticipate an engine rebuild, but if it has to be it has to be. But I'd appreciate any opinions and comments before work begins.

Regards to all, Kurt....

[Otto Skorzeny]

The mystery tube is a "road draft tube". That is how engines breathed before pcv systems were invented.

Take the oil filler cap off and soak it in gasoline or kerosene. swish it around until the mesh inside is nice and clean and the gas runs out nice and clean. Let it dry an then put a couple drops of clean oil in the mesh. This is the intake for the crankcase vent system.

I would clean out all the sludge as was previously recomended. After running the engine for a short time, I would change the oil and filter again. Personally I use 20w-50 in my '56. The heavier oil is harder to slip past rings, etc. and make it into the combustion chamber.

When changing the oil filter, clean out the sludge in the bottom of the filter housing.

Tighten up your leaky exhaust pipes or replace the system.

[kelly]

I brought an old beater '59 Coupe to life 15 years ago. It had sat so long it was almost siezed up. After soaking the cylinders and working the engine back and forth by hand for a week, I finally got it started. Ran like crap, but ran. Low compression. After about 5 hours of running, it quit smoking, ran well and didn't have a cylinder under 160PSI.
  These old Caddy engines are tough as a boot.  Let the thing get used to living and breathing again before you get too excited. Others have made some fine suggestions for a long term relationship with this engine, so follow them. But, again, relax and let this old horse run more before getting the itch to overhaul anything. By the way, as I recall the forementioned '59 had over 135,000 miles on it! Tough as a boot.
Kelly Martin

[CEC #20099]

CEC  #20099
I have had  2  1955 331cid engines with exactly the very heavy blowby you mention. The engines ran ok, but had terrible blowdown test results
Last one has 2 burned exhaust valves, too. Wiper Vac was disconnected.
A compressed air cylinder blowdown test will tell you the pistons & rings are shot. A good shop can do this test.
These engines are no more durable than the people that serviced them. Time to rebuild.

[Kurt Wrebel]

Hi Guys. Thanks for the feedback and valuable advice. I'm going to try running the engine as much as I can for as long as I can, letting it get hot and watch for any signs in smoke reduction as it gets used again. That's the cheapest option anyway so it has to be the first. But if there's no improvement at all after a reasonable period of time then there's no other option but to start planning the rebuild. It's not easy to get the vehicle to a shop to get the cylinders tested, but I'll check into it, maybe I can get someone to come out. Kurt...

[CEC #20099]

CEC  #20099
To do a cylinder blowdown test, you need a 4 CFM 120 psi air compressor (about 1 HP ), a blowdown tester, & someone who knows how to use it.
It will tell you the truth in a few hrs of work.  The tech is the key. he has to know what he is doing.

We have Formula Racers in Chgo, that will rebuild an engine based on a small drop in a blowdown test.

[kelly]

Not to argue with CEC, but make sure you don't jump too fast. My '57 had terrible compression after sitting 4 years. Put a little oil in the cylinders, retested, no improvement. Needed a valve job. Took advantage of the opportunity to install new SS valves and hardened seats. But only after testing to make sure it needed it. Let it run, see if it clears up. If not, start with a dry compression test (gauge is only $30 or so. If it is below spec, put a little oil in each cylinder. If compression rises a fair amout, it's a ring/piston problem. If it doesn't, you have a valve problem.
  That is real basic diagnostics. Cheap, and fairly reliable. If something is seriously wrong, then CEC is on target. But not so fast!
Kelly

[Kurt Wrebel]

Hi Kelly, You're right CEC may well be on target, but either way, I'm taking your advice right now and staying relaxed about the whole thing. I'll get a chance to let her run over the weekend and we'll see if there are any signs of improvement. Testing for compression is on the agenda too.
And at the end of the day though, I have resigned myself to a rolling restoration, but if she doesn't roll  anywhere over the winter and has to have her engine reomoved and rebuilt so what. There are a lot of advantages to that. I'll just have to bite the bullet. And any future doubts about the condition of the engine will be eliminated. These lovable old Cadillacs are worth going the whole way on. From a financial point of view, they're certainly not getting any cheaper to buy - if you can find one for sale that is - especially here in England. So, there is an investment aspect to all this of course. (I wonder how many times I'm going to be consoling myself with that one!) I'll post any progress...Kurt

Not to argue with CEC, but make sure you don't jump too fast. My '57 had terrible compression after sitting 4 years. Put a little oil in the cylinders, retested, no improvement. Needed a valve job. Took advantage of the opportunity to install new SS valves and hardened seats. But only after testing to make sure it needed it. Let it run, see if it clears up. If not, start with a dry compression test (gauge is only $30 or so. If it is below spec, put a little oil in each cylinder. If compression rises a fair amout, it's a ring/piston problem. If it doesn't, you have a valve problem.
  That is real basic diagnostics. Cheap, and fairly reliable. If something is seriously wrong, then CEC is on target. But not so fast!
Kelly