(click for new hi-res photos)
This is the big green dinosaur car that I bought to replace my wrecked
Eldorado.
It is powered by a massive Cadillac built 425" (7.0 liter) V8 engine,
which produces an obviously EPA regulated 180hp @ 4000 RPM and 320ft-lbs
of torque @ 2000 RPM. The engine transfers power through a GM TH-400 transmission
to a 10bolt rear axle. The engine's low torque peak makes it easy to spin
the tires and push the 4,200+lb car from 0-60 in around 10 seconds.
The interesting part of the story is that the car was previously a local police department's "undercover" car for drug busts & such.
The only problems I have seen so far is the A/C system was replaced with the new r134 system and it appears whoever did the installation messed up the wiring under the dash (Three 10gauge wires were squeezed together with a fuel line hose clamp and pressed into the hot side of the unused "defroster" fuse holder). A few new connections & a re-charge and everything is working fine, other then the r134 coolant barely blows cold at idle. I might need an electric fan in front of the condensor...
The luxurious olive green interior needs only steering
wheel trim and possibly reupholstered front seats. The dash clock is non-functional
and may be replaced with a digital LED clock from a 80's Toronado if I
can find one and fit it in without having to mess up the dash. I also have a factory CB radio which will be installed this summer.
The interior has four cigarette lighers and five ash trays, but no
cup-holders. There are ten "courtesy" (dome) lights, one in each door,
two above the center ash tray, two under the dash, and one on each of the rear window pillars. Also featured are the 6-way power split bench seats, automatic climate control, automatic
headlights, AM/FM radio with flip down face that turns into an 8-track
player, and a "trash recepticle" box under the right side of the dash.
To quote a magazine I read a while back: "a living room on wheels."
Other options are the full white vinyl top, "opera lights" behind the
rear quarter windows, light monitors (which tell you if a head/taillight
is out), outside temp. thermometer on the side mirror, and cool lights built-into the door handle that illuminate the area around the keyhole when you press the door handle button.
3/3/01 Purchased the car with only 77,937 miles on it for around $2,500.
3/26/01 Had new brakes put in all around ($276)
6/22/01 The car now has it's new chrome American Racing 777 Helix 15" wheels, wearing the nearly new tires left over from my wrecked Eldorado.
9/14/01 Replaced the distributor cap & rotor. The old cap I removed appeared to be the original one.
9/1x/01 Tinted the two back door windows myself. The rear window will be done later.
9/1x/01 Added a flashing LED behind the empty "security system"
light panel on the dash. The LED is hooked to a relay which turns on whenever
the ignition is off.
9/24/01 Added a remote "keyless entry" system so I can unlock the doors without using the key.
10/03/01 Got my deep transmission pan and adjustable vacuum advance kit in the mail. Will install next spring.
10/12/01 Car is now in "storage" for the winter. It wouldn't fit in the garage were it not for the "extension" my grandfather built back in the day for a Ford Torino.
12/xx/01 Got a set of armrest "caps" off of eBay for installation next spring
12/30/01 Installed a trickle charger to keep the battery charged over the winter.
2/24/02 Was around 60 degrees outside today so I installed a Crane adjustable vacuum advance kit.
3/15/02 Got my dash "cap" from eBay. It is temporarily snapped on until I can get the correct color olive green dye...
3/16/02 Finished tuning the vacuum advance kit. Does not make a whole lot of difference in power, but part throttle response is better. Hopefully the fuel economy will go up...
I have used one blue and one silver spring with the stock weights, base timing is set at around 16 (at idle) and the vaccum advance module is adjusted approx. 6 or 8 turns out. This setup runs fine on premium gas. The air-cleaner lid is also "flipped" because it sounds cooler at wide-open-throttle.
I also discovered that my car has a power trunk pull down. The switch is broken but the motor seems to work.
3/18/02 The car is no longer in "storage" and is back on the road.
3/25/02 Got a "new" side-view mirror thermometer off of eBay
3/29/02 Took a trip to the local junkyard in search of an antenna for my '89. I could not find an antenna but managed to get a power trunk pull-down ($20!!) and door pull strap from my '77s twin. Surprisingly my wrecked Eldorado was still sitting out in the yard and had not been crushed.
4/4/02 Took the car in for a front-end alignment, also had to have the steering idler arm replaced. I was hoping I could get the alignment shop to install the replacement air-shocks I got from eBay a while back but they didn't want to because they weren't the "factory correct" ones...
4/5/02 Installed the trunk pull down motor. The junkyard one was actually seized up, but I managed to swap the switching mechanism from it onto my motor. Now the trunk closes like a Caddy trunk should.
4/13/02 Installed a deep transmission pan and new filter.
5/3/02 Had a local mechanic install my air adjustable rear shocks. The ride quality is the same, but at least the rear end doesn't sag.
5/20/02 Installed an Accel high ouput ignition coil.
5/24/02 Took the ignition coil back because it produced radio interference and every time I pushed the gas pedal it would miss and then backfire... The coil actually worked fine for 10-20 miles before acting up. I put the 25 year old stock coil back in and everything is fine.
6/10/02 Dropped the car off at the body shop for a new paint job.
6/18/02 Picked the car up with it's new paint job.
The paint is a dark metallic forest green with clear coat, it looks almost black in the pictures but the metal flakes really light up when the car is in the sun.
You would have to look close to tell the difference between a $1,200 and $2,400 paint job...
All the door dings have been removed, the rear bumper fillers have been replaced with new ones from Replica Plastics
The guy who did the bodywork also dyed my dash cap and armrest caps for me.
I have also installed my stainless steel vent visors from JC Whitney, and a set of stainless steel mud flaps I got at a computer show.
6/20/02 Got my continental kit (AKA "Pimp Tire") from eBay. It needs a full restoration before I will be able to install it.
6/23/02 Installed my front armrest caps.
I got these off of eBay from some guy who said they were the last ones left in the world. They were made by a company called Nuteriors who apparantly doesn't make them anymore. They are nice because you have to remove the switches, courtesy light and related hardware before installing. This means there is no gap around the edges so they look nearly stock.
I also attempted to install one of the factory CB radios that I got off of eBay. It appears that the regular and CB radios have different wiring connectors on the back because the CB radio wouldn't plug in. Both radios were supposed to be from the same model year as mine, one would think GM would have used the same connectors on both styles to save money...
1/9/03 Replaced the small stainless steel mud flaps behind the back wheels with some larger ones that I got at a garage sale for $0.25
2/20/03 Got my E&G grille from eBay.
3/14/03 Got a set of NOS Port-A-Wall whitewall simulators from Vintage Warehouse.
It seemed like a good idea at the time, but once I realized that a tire shop would have to install them and they would likely look tackey I listed them on eBay and will be saving up for a set of Vouges this summer... maybe even a set of Cragar true spoke rims...
4/23/03 Started installation of my continental kit. Additional photos can be seen by clicking here
6/2/03 Finally finished installing the continental kit after painting the "tire" this weekend.
6/20/03 At last some real whitewalls
Still plenty of treadlife remaining too.
