Carl 61 Fleetwood Phyllis

[Clewisiii]

Now to decide how rich I am.  Having my Radiator re-cord and looking at the radiator mount insulators.   

I have cleaned my originals.  They are still very rubbery, playable, and are complete.  They just have some staining that will not come off.   



Now to buy new they are $34 a piece.  I don't think $150 is worth replacing parts that are still good. 

 

[James Landi]

 THe price seems to me to be "a rounding error" considering all of the personal resources you've expended to date. I wonder if they're selling old new stock, in that case, the flexible parts may well be beyond their expected service life.   If it's a choice, my vote is to get that GM radiator professionally serviced--- and with a thoroughly clean coolant passages, you'll not be hounded by over heating the engine, or "damaging hot spots" in the cooling circuits.  Thank you for keep us in "your loop."  James

[Clewisiii]

Well my trans internals were rusty.  We will see what it looks like after cleaning. 

I didn't expect perfect after sitting for 45 years.   

[Clewisiii]

This was some of the rust out of the engine block when I took that apart.

[Clewisiii]

I bet these will work for my Fleetwood rear window drains.  Found in a parts catalog for Impala. 

[Cadman-iac]

  Those will work just fine for your drains. I inherited my parents 55,56,57 Chevrolet parts business when they passed, and I went through everything to see what if anything could be used on my 56 Cadillac.
Those drain hoses were just one thing that I was able to use, for both the front and back windows, but also for the AC duct drains on the fresh air intake hoses.
There are a lot of parts that cross over among the divisions of GM.
Unfortunately, there's a lot that are specific to Cadillac as well.
One thing that is universal are the screws that are used on the inside trim pieces. So I ended up with all new screws for that.
Having worked in parts for most of my career, I learned that if you just look around at the other brands, you can find many things cheaper than what is listed for a Cadillac, and even things only listed for other brands that are just the same as the one for a Cadillac but not listed or offered anywhere.
 HTH,  Rick

[Clewisiii]

Heard from the Trans rebuilder. Everything cleaned up well in the thermo cleaning.  So he is continuing with the rebuild.  He has suggested I get a new Torus shell due to pitting on the seal surface of the shaft.   No problem. 

[Clewisiii]

Does anyone have any personal Stainless Steel opinions.  Speaking of brakes, fuel coolant lines. And Gas tank.  Honestly the cost difference for all these in Stainless is minimal. And I am not worried about judging.   

I think I decided I do not want stainless exhaust due to the sound difference.  But I don't think there would be a functional difference for these other parts. 

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

I won't use Stainless Steel for Brake Lines, simply as I make my own, and I don't want to wreck my dies with hard Stainless.

Plus, Stainless work-hardens when in flex and I don't want my brake lines to crack.   When I do need Stainless Steel for Brake Lines, as in Marine use (for my boat trailer) I use Braided Brake hose and fittings.

As for Exhaust, I use Stainless Steel, but heavy wall stuff, like 2mm.   Bends without crimping, unlike the thin stuff, and not as noisy.

With regards to Gas Tanks, only if I have to construct a new one.

Bruce.

[StevenTuck]

Carl, I too have gone to other GM suppliers for parts. It seems other marques are in higher demand therefore parts are more readily available. For instance, I needed the clips that hold the radiator overflow tube. I found the exact ones used by Cadillac through a Pontiac supplier. Two clips are required and attach to the right side of the radiator. There are places on the radiator where they attach.

[Clewisiii]

Carl, I too have gone to other GM suppliers for parts. It seems other marques are in higher demand therefore parts are more readily available. For instance, I needed the clips that hold the radiator overflow tube. I found the exact ones used by Cadillac through a Pontiac supplier. Two clips are required and attach to the right side of the radiator. There are places on the radiator where they attach.

Steven that would be great if you can tell me where you got them.  I have been looking for those as well.

[StevenTuck]

I got them at YEARONE. Here is the link:

https://www.yearone.com/Product/PartSearchResult/NP101/

[Cadman-iac]

A lot of these "universal" or "standard parts", as GM refers to them, are also available through an outfit called Danchuk manufacturing. They make and sell stuff for the 55,56,57 Chevrolets.
What I've found is that generally one company will make a part, and then they sell it through several outlets, Year One, Danchuk, Old 55, Brothers Truck parts, Etc.. Just like Delco makes parts for Cadillac, they also supply Chevrolet, Buick, and GMC, and formerly Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and Saturn. You just have to do a little research.

Having worked in both aftermarket and for GM dealers, I've seen lots of examples of this.

[Clewisiii]

Do you see any issue with Flex Plate surface rust.

I don't think there are any issues with it.  But I would at least like to clean it up without causing more rust. 

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Looks perfectly good to me.

Bruce.

[James Landi]

Carl--- look very very carefully at those bolt-on "ears."  About 50 years ago, my '61 had two ears that had split and caused a vibration on accerelation.  Fortunately, I found a mechanic who spot welded the ears to the fly wheel. using the bottom bell housing entry as a easy way "in." (The car was "running on reputation" at that point, so removing the transmission or engine or both was not in the cards).   James

[Clewisiii]

So I picked up my Trans today.  He had it for 2 1/2 weeks in total. 

I paid
$1500 labor
$400 rebuild kit from Autotran.us
$80 for trans filter and a pair of better seals from Fatsco
$150 to the rebuilder for a Torus cover will a less pitted sealing surface. 

The kit from Autotrans.us was missing one clutch plate. The rebuilder said the original was fine enough to reuse.  If I did it again I would probably order the whole kit from Fatsco. 

The goal is still to start this thing in June.   I hope to have the frame powder coated at the end of April. 

Radiator is the biggest thing actually holding it back right now.  But I also might want to have a professional go through my distributor. 

[James Landi]

Carl, You likely know this well, but I'd make certain that your radiator is in excellent repair, and your cooling system is free of rust and debris.  Back in 1966, I had my '61 Cadillac convertible engine flushed with a high pressure water tool at a local service station.  I don't think any mechanic uses this approach now, but he took out the thermostat, and connected this high pressure water/compressed air device to the upper radiator hose and blasted away... I was shocked to see the junk that blew out of the top of the radiator of my 5 year old engine...I have noted that aftermarket cooling system filters are available, and one of those might serve well to capture junk before it enters a well cleaned radiator and a heater core.  Hope this helps,    James

[Lexi]

And up here I was told by a radiator shop that they had to amend how they flush rads and use less aggresive chemistry. What I have noted is that now they don't get all the crud out. The greenies strike again. Clay/Lexi

[Clewisiii]

Making room around this thing to start tearing it apart again.  I think I will call the powder coater tomorrow to get on their schedule.  He said call two the three weeks in advance. 

My dog did not like me not giving him enough attention.  Kept jumping up on me and clunked himself into the frame, fender, trans, and using a flat cardboard box as a surf board.