Janice's 1974 Persian Lime Firemist Eldo Convertible

[35-709]

or this ---

https://www.xtremediesel.com/ford-motorcraft-rtv-silicone-sealant-ta-31?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8p6wt4z54QIVGNlkCh14oAyxEAAYASAAEgL99PD_BwE

[MaR]

I definitely have it in the wrong place.  2 of my studs are correct.  The one by cylinder #2 to hold the bracket for the throttle return spring, idle solenoid and kickdown switch.  The one by cylinder #7 which secures the engine wiring harness snaking up from the firewall.  But, where does the third stud go?  That's my mystery.  I've been scouring photos on the internet with nothing definitive so far.  Usually, these things are obvious.

I assume your car has 3 studs too?

The service manual says two, mine only has one in the front position for the return spring bracket.

[hornetball]

The service manual says two, mine only has one in the front position for the return spring bracket.

Ahhh . . . 70s quality control . . . .  Kind of like how my car never had a vacuum cannister.  I guess I have your missing stud.  LOL.  I'll re-review the service manual.

[hornetball]

Does anyone have a source for these spring steel splash shield clips?  I've found lots of plastic clips and the MOPAR steel wire clips, but haven't been able to find these.  Pretty surprising as I would have expected most GM muscle cars to use them.

[hornetball]

Had a good weekend with the car.  Got all oil leaks sealed up and coolant flushed with Thermocure.  Wipers are fixed and working perfectly.  As part of the Thermocure process, drove it to work and we took it out for an ice cream run!


Time to start working on interior systems and cosmetics.  Also, paint estimates.

[MaR]

Nice!

[MaR]

I was looking through your pictures again and I think your engine has been changed. Your pistons look like the rectangular dished pistons from a 71-73 car. A 74 500ci souls have a small round recess in the piston.

[hornetball]

I was looking through your pictures again and I think your engine has been changed. Your pistons look like the rectangular dished pistons from a 71-73 car. A 74 500ci souls have a small round recess in the piston.

Hadn't noticed that, but I think you're right.  https://www.cad500parts.com/tech/EngineIDPages.pdf

Time to start looking at part numbers to see exactly what I have.

[MaR]

Hadn't noticed that, but I think you're right.  https://www.cad500parts.com/tech/EngineIDPages.pdf

Time to start looking at part numbers to see exactly what I have.

I think the only way you can tell for sure is to look at the crank or measure the stroke. When you took the heads off, how many different lengths of head bolts did you have?

[hornetball]

I think the only way you can tell for sure is to look at the crank or measure the stroke. When you took the heads off, how many different lengths of head bolts did you have?

I had exactly the head bolts specified in the SM for an Eldorado (i.e, did NOT have a bolt/stud).

What I wanted to check was the casting number of the cylinder heads for chamber volume to make sure it matches the soapdish piston.

Hadn't even considered it might be a 472.  Can check stroke easily enough through a spark plug hole.

[hornetball]

Just for fun, here's the body plate.


What I've deciphered so far:
1974 Eldorado Convertible Coupe Fleetwood Assembly Plant (Detroit) #007042
Trim:  White Leather/Med Lime Carpet
Paint: Persian Lime Firemist, White Accent Stripe and Top
Production Date:  4th Week of June

[MaR]

I had exactly the head bolts specified in the SM for an Eldorado (i.e, did NOT have a bolt/stud).

What I wanted to check was the casting number of the cylinder heads for chamber volume to make sure it matches the soapdish piston.

Hadn't even considered it might be a 472.  Can check stroke easily enough through a spark plug hole.

If it it's an earlier engine, that could explain the extra stud you have on the intake.

[hornetball]

Just for fun, here's the body plate.


What I've deciphered so far:
1974 Eldorado Convertible Coupe Fleetwood Assembly Plant (Detroit) #007042
Trim:  White Leather/Med Lime Carpet
Paint: Persian Lime Firemist, White Accent Stripe and Top
Production Date:  4th Week of June

More body plate fun:

A65   Front Bench Seat w/Split Back
E   Glass - Soft Ray
Y   6-Way Power Bench Seat
L   Level Control
F   Rubber Floor Mats (Missing!)
K   Climate Control
I   Rubber Trunk Mat (Missing!)
C   Cruise Control
W   Fiberglass Belted Bias Dual-Stripe Whitewall Tires
D   Door Edge Guards

The car has a lot of other options that aren't reflected on the body plate, but I guess that's normal.

I've made an appointment for paint . . . August 1st.  I need to take the car to them with trim off and interior mostly out.  Their bread-and-butter is insurance, but their passion is doing paint jobs for restorations/hot rods.  There's a Mustang, Lincoln MK4 and Stingray in line ahead of me.

[hornetball]

Some more progress.  Stripped out the trunk.  I was worried because water had been getting in due to the rain gutter being incorrectly attached (which I've corrected).  As it turns out, the trunk is still in good shape with only some light surface rust.  I need to reapply some seam sealer and spray some protective enamel.




The passenger side wheelwell shows evidence of a fender-bender repair -- probably an argument with a curb.  The repair seems to be well done, all-metal.


The trunk was originally covered in this cardboard/tar soundproofing material with carpeting on top.  This did a great job of trapping water.  The soundproofing material can't be re-used, it crumbles in my hands.  I'm not sure whether I should re-apply some sort of sound barrier or whether I should just put the carpeting back in without it.  The advantage of just laying the carpeting in is that I can easily pull the carpet out to get everything dry should water ever get in again.  Any suggestions/recommendations?


Also, de-trimming the car for the body shop.


This is the worst corrosion I've found on the car, still only surface rust.  This particular piece of trim wasn't removed during the cheapo 2015 paint job (you can see the slightly darker original paint hue).  I had to loosen the fender to get at one of the nuts holding the trim on.  It looks like the front fenders got installed with trim already applied at the factory?

[Dan LeBlanc]

You'll want some sort of underlay under the carpet, otherwise the carpet will sag into the beads rolled into the trunk floor.  It will drive you nuts to see that, trust me.

[hornetball]

You'll want some sort of underlay under the carpet, otherwise the carpet will sag into the beads rolled into the trunk floor.  It will drive you nuts to see that, trust me.

My car may have had some kind of option.  What I found in the trunk:

1.  Sound deadening.
2.  Black felt.
3.  Heavy carpeting -- lime green, same as what is inside the car.  It was this carpet that was glued to the cardboard formers on the sides and around the latch and hinges.

Most pictures I see of other cars end at the black felt.  I suspect that with the black felt followed by the heavy interior carpet, I wouldn't see the beads.

Anybody else have full trunk carpeting in this era of Caddy?  I'm wondering if it's correct.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

From what I have seen over the years, the trunk floors were covered in a tarred felt substance that went into the grooves in the metal, and then simply a layer of black felt for carpet.

I would say that the green carpet was laid in there by a less-than-fastidious previous owner.

Bruce.

[hornetball]

Researching this further, I think the OEM sound deadening material is "EVA" or "Asphaltic Mastic" as described on this website:

https://www.accmats.com/sound-deadeners/

Does that look right?

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

That looks like the stuff.

But one thing to consider is that in the original material, I wouldn't be surprised if there was not an amount of Asbestos within, as Asbestos was used everywhere in cars back then.   Not just Brakes and Clutches.

Bruce.

[MaR]

This is what I am using to replace all of the asphalt mastic in my car: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BKKZ1AM/



It's self adhesive, it cuts easily with a knife or heavy scissors and you can put on multiple layers if need be. I'm using it on the entire interior and the trunk. I already have the floorpan stripped down to the metal and after I replace the degraded seam sealer, I will POR-15 the entire floorpan and then put the Noico material on everything.