1965 Sedan DeVille Coming out!

[R Vander Schaaf]

Well I know I posted earlier in summer about this project and I got delayed a month after California wildfires ruined the air.  Finally the project is about to begin.  I am still making room in the garage to move it out but here are some pics to wet your whistle.

[R Vander Schaaf]

Also need help about determining if this is a hard top?  I think with the lack of B pillar it  is a hard top.

[R Vander Schaaf]

Last question before I start working again, how bad does everyone think this rust is?  The trunk holes have me a little concerned about drivability.

[R Vander Schaaf]

And last set of pics, don't worry next few days will just be a few pics at a time.

Cheers,
Reed

[cadillacmike68]

I had bigger holes in the trunk of my 1970 Fleetwood Brougham, back in college, back in MA. I drove it all year round, but I'd get them repaired if you are restoring the car. My 1970 was a poor college student's ride. It started off rusty all along the bottom and proceeded on from there. I drove it for 6 years. I used whatever was at hand to keep the road spray from going all over the trunk.

[Cadillac Fleetwood]

Congratulations on getting all of that "stuff" cleared away, and finally exposing the car! The interior combination is Antique Sandalwood Delta Cloth and Leather, one of several standard interiors for this model.

Charles Fares

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Seeing that rust would have me seriously looking at the frame condition underneath.

Any rusted area is repairable, just how much one wants to spend.

Here is a GM product from 1964 that had rust in the trunk, and the repairs were substantial.   The car came from Missouri,
and the rust was serious, to me that is.

Bruce.

[R Vander Schaaf]

Good to keep in mind the rust factor, a lot will depend if the engine turns over freely today, I definitely don't have a pile of cash to dump into this thing.

[R Vander Schaaf]

Okay it turned over fairly free, I pulled all the plugs and shot a little PB Blaster in each cylinder then after lowering on a ramp set up (see pic) about 20 times to back it out of the garage I went to the fan and gave it a little two hand motion and we had movement.  After putting all the plugs back in and reattaching the wires, and getting a fresh battery, I gave it a bump and it turned over.

Then I went to check on fuel pump and realized why the filter had been swapped for a non standard unit, the fuel pump had been swapped to an electric unit!  I rigged up temp gas can and put in fresh filter, alas it doesn't have a return line like the original/replacement but the electric pump does move gas.

Now spark, I have no spark.  I think I'll get a remote starter switch tomorrow and check all the plugs, I have a new set of wires coming in.  So with luck that will do the trick.  Thoughts?

Cheers,
Reed 

[Big Fins]

What about the points, condenser, cap, rotor, coil, etc...? They are all part of the basic ignition. Each part has a job and any breakdown in that sequence will give you a no spark result.

[R Vander Schaaf]

Replaced coil, new one was a little fat so I had to take out tightening screw, hmm should have taken pic. Also purchased condenser, replaced condensor on coil then realized there is one also inside distributor....moving on.  Rotor... hit the rusty edge with super light sandpaper (harbor freight finest 2000) Cap, meh maybe next trip.

Points.  These buggers were bad. I've only adjusted one set of points my entire life and they were on a '66 Vespa.  So I am basically a pro. No. But I put in the new set, noticed they didn't open when they should and made them gap some amount close to .02. Again I've never done this but hey if it looks wrong fix it and I did. 

Fired right up!  Ran 1 min, changed oil, diesel stuff seems to be a hit, then gave it 10 mins and some B-12 squirts.

I'll try and get link to youtube vid up here shortly.  It's not running perfect.  It's not pretty.  It's got a long way to go, but it's mine and now after 25+ years it runs again.

[James Landi]

Always seems to me incredible that after a quarter of a century of sleep, that it runs at all.  You can expect that the carburetor is full of crud!  I  suggest that you temporarily block the vacuum ports on the intake manifold, so your attempt to get the engine to run well is not challenged by various leaks in the elaborate vacuum system.  Also, check the functioning of the vacuum advance on the distributor.  A rupture in the diaphragm is more than likely and will negatively affect the engine's running smoothly. If you don[t already own one, purchase a vacuum gauge and get very familiar with all that these gauges do to provide you with an analysis of the engine's condition-- they are truly an important analytical tool--- right now and in the future.  If you find that the engine is still shaking badly, consider running a compression test-- you may have some bent push rods that are causing one or more of the cylinders to not function. And one more thing-- don't push up the rpms at this stage of the engine awake up-- you'll create more problems.  Hope this helps, James