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Thinking about getting this classic caddy


95SevilleSLS

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http://www.minotads.com/getListing.php?tca...=1&a=105063

Not sure if I want to do this or not. I can't really tell by the picture if it's a convertible or not, but I asked the guy. 110,000 on a 4.1 scares me, but intake gaskets aren't that difficult to replace are they? It's hard to tell by that crappy picture, but it looks pretty good. What do you guys think?

-Dusty-

- 02 Seville STS, white diamond

- 93 Sixty Special, Tan with vinyl top

- 79 Coupe DeVille, Tan with Tan top

- 06 GMC Sierra Z71, Black

- 92 Silverado C1500, black and grey

- 83 Chevy K10 Silverado, Black and Grey

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Car looks nice.... I love that body style....

That is a lotta miles on an HT4100... not the proudest moment in Cadillac History, to be sure....

It's not just the headgasket, either.... back in the day, a friend of mine had the head gaskets done, car ran great for a couple thousand miles, and then ka-pow, the bottom end let go.... So, be careful.

I would look carefully into remanufactured engines with warranties, and the exact costs involved, before I took this plunge...

Love the car though. If it wasn't for the 4100, I'd still be driving one of those....

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Classic cars are a great hobby if you can do all the repair and maintenance work yourself, or if you have a great mechanic. If neither of these are true, your fun hobby car might turn into that thing under the cover in the back yard that won't start.

Bruce

2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing

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Personally, I'd probably fix your current Cadillac before buying another (and MUCH older) one. If you don't like working on your car NOW because of the cold, that old Eldorado will sit in your driveway for months.

Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond)

"When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?"

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That is a lotta miles on an HT4100... not the proudest moment in Cadillac History, to be sure....

It's not just the headgasket, either.... back in the day, a friend of mine had the head gaskets done, car ran great for a couple thousand miles, and then ka-pow, the bottom end let go.... So, be careful.

I would look carefully into remanufactured engines with warranties, and the exact costs involved, before I took this plunge...

Love the car though. If it wasn't for the 4100, I'd still be driving one of those....

It all depends on how the car was maintained. 110,000 miles on an '85 is less than 5000 miles per year. My Dad had an '85 Fleetwood Brougham that he sold with 191,000 miles on it. That HT-4100 was still running fine. A buddy of mine had an '84 Coupe DeVille and he had 172,000 miles on it when he sold it.

I will agree that the HT-4100 is not the most overly robust engine but properly maintained (Coolant changes every 2 years with the cooling system sealant supplement), they would last.

Kevin
'93 Fleetwood Brougham
'05 Deville
'04 Deville
2013 Silverado Z71

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nice!! ;)

With your user name being what it is I'd have to be hard pressed. I, however, do find it entertaining.

The definition of an enthusiast is "a person filled with enthusiasm" or " one who is ardently attached to a cause, object, or pursuit." Then there is my personal favorite "one who tends to become ardently absorbed in an interest." I would call the last one fanatic, bordering on unhealthy. I think I'd rather be an enthusiast as opposed to a fanatic.

CADS RULE DUDES! Alright Alright Alright...

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I had an '84 Fleetwood Brougham de'Elegance from 1984 till 2002. Had about 160,000 on it when I sold it. Never had the valve covers off. Still ran good and used no oil. Broke a water hose once and it got hot and I think blew a head gasket. Used a couple of quarts of water glass in it. Ran it several more years till I sold it.

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Classic cars are a great hobby if you can do all the repair and maintenance work yourself, or if you have a great mechanic. If neither of these are true, your fun hobby car might turn into that thing under the cover in the back yard that won't start.

:lol:

The saddest thing in life is wasted talent

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I had an '84 Eldorado - and it was one of the loveliest, most comfortable cars I've ever owned.

That said, it was definitely underpowered. Therefore, the trans had to work real hard, and went out at 70k miles.

Somewhere around that mileage, it lost power - and after spending alot of dough on diagnosis, someone said - use Marvel Mystery Oil - which I did, and it fixed it. Seems the valves get carboned or something - all I know is it worked.

I drove the car for many years, and other than the trans, I don't think I spent alot of dough maintaining it.

But, the lack of power was tedious.

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Ill say 135 HP at 4400 RPM and 200 ft lbs of torque at 2200 RPM

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I had a 1983 Fleetwood Brougham de Elegance from 1983 to 1995 it had 75,000 miles when

I traded it for this 94 Concours I have now. I kept the engine coolant and oil changed

at the proper intervals and I never had any trouble with the motor. The dealer sold it to a

funeral home and when I was in there about 4 months ago they told me that it was still

running and the funeral home is still using it. It was a really roomy comfortable car and in

my opinion a lot better looking that this car I have now.

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Yeah, these are very stylish and distinctive looking cars. They were easily identifiable as a Cadillac unlike the many new cars today that all look so similar to each other. If this Eldorado is a convertible, it is a rare car.

As far as the engine is concerned, if you wanted to stay with the 4.1, look for a 4.1 out of a 1987 or 1988 Cadillac Allante to stick in. They are not expensive on the used market and they had a lot of improvements over the standard 4.1. They had roller cams & lifters as well as more robust heads. They had all the improvements of the 4.9 which came out a few years later. I believe that Cadillac was experimenting with this car.

Another option which would give you more power would be to stick in a 403 oldsmobile. This conversion has been done before. The 403 was used in the sister car of the Eldorado, the Oldsmobile Toronado.

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As far as the engine is concerned, if you wanted to stay with the 4.1, look for a 4.1 out of a 1987 or 1988 Cadillac Allante to stick in. They are not expensive on the used market and they had a lot of improvements over the standard 4.1. They had roller cams & lifters as well as more robust heads. They had all the improvements of the 4.9 which came out a few years later. I believe that Cadillac was experimenting with this car.

The transverse FWD 4.1 engine won't work in the '85 Eldorados as the '79-'85 Eldorados were FWD cars but the engine was mounted longitudnally - as if it were a RWD car.

Kevin
'93 Fleetwood Brougham
'05 Deville
'04 Deville
2013 Silverado Z71

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The Toronado came with the same longitudinal setup through 1985 (a sister car to the Eldorado). The Olds 307 was available in that car, so the motor mounts should exist for the small block Olds engine. Then by that token, as you say Ed, you'd be able to put an Olds 307, an Olds 350, or an Olds 403 in there with NO problems.

Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond)

"When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?"

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The Toronado came with the same longitudinal setup through 1985 (a sister car to the Eldorado). The Olds 307 was available in that car, so the motor mounts should exist for the small block Olds engine. Then by that token, as you say Ed, you'd be able to put an Olds 307, an Olds 350, or an Olds 403 in there with NO problems.

Exactly...

I know of someone that did successfully put in an Olds 403.

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Personally, I'd probably fix your current Cadillac before buying another (and MUCH older) one. If you don't like working on your car NOW because of the cold, that old Eldorado will sit in your driveway for months.

Oh I wasn't saying that I was going to get rid of the Seville, no way. The only way I'm getting rid of the seville is if I get a 2005 STS and that won't happen for a quite a few more years.

I was thinking about getting this as a classic caddy project car, but sadly it is not a convertible and I'd really prefer a convertible. My dream caddy would be an Allante, but those will never be affordable enough for me. I thought Allante had the updated 4.5 with the roller cams, not the 4.1.

Thanks for all your inputs. I never knew that you could put the oldsmobile engines in them. I saw a 1981 fleetwood the other day with a 4.1L in it. It was dark brown and in PERFECT condition. I looked on the internet and most everyone said it was underpowered. I drove it and I thought it was just fine when I drove it. It had 131,000 miles and showed no sign of a bad intake gasket or any engine failure. It was a fun car to drive, but the guy was just asking too much.

I do agree that it wasn't Cadillac's proud moment with that engine, but think of the times. They were pressured because of fuel prices and they really didn't have anything that got good fuel economy. They were way ahead of their time though.

-Dusty-

- 02 Seville STS, white diamond

- 93 Sixty Special, Tan with vinyl top

- 79 Coupe DeVille, Tan with Tan top

- 06 GMC Sierra Z71, Black

- 92 Silverado C1500, black and grey

- 83 Chevy K10 Silverado, Black and Grey

b80385550.jpg

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I was thinking about getting this as a classic caddy project car, but sadly it is not a convertible and I'd really prefer a convertible. My dream caddy would be an Allante, but those will never be affordable enough for me. I thought Allante had the updated 4.5 with the roller cams, not the 4.1.

Thanks for all your inputs. I never knew that you could put the oldsmobile engines in them. I saw a 1981 fleetwood the other day with a 4.1L in it. It was dark brown and in PERFECT condition. I looked on the internet and most everyone said it was underpowered. I drove it and I thought it was just fine when I drove it. It had 131,000 miles and showed no sign of a bad intake gasket or any engine failure. It was a fun car to drive, but the guy was just asking too much.

The 1987-1988 Allante had a 4.1 / 170hp engine that had roller cams and more robust heads that gave it a redline of 5300 rpm. These 4.1's were very reliable very much like the 4.9's. From 1989-1992, they increased the displacement of the Allante engine to 4.5 which gave it 200 hp. It was the same exact engine block as the 4.1 but it had a larger bore and piston. The 1993 Allante came with the Northstar engine with 295 hp. One can buy a nice pre 1993 Allante for under $5k. If there are any problems with the brakes, body or transmission, the price drops very quickly and often they become parts cars. There are certain parts on these Allante's that are extremely expensive such as the brake master cylinder, bumper covers, headlights, taillights and hoods. I was quoted $2200 for a used hood last year and $1800 for a used bumper cover. I ended up fixing mine.

If you test drove a 1981 fleetwood, it did not have a 4.1. Most likely, it had a 368 6.0L V-8-6-4 engine. These were reliable engines but were known to run rough in V6 mode.

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I'm positive it had the 4.1L it said it right on the side. I'm not positive on the year though, maybe it was an 83...I know it was the 4.1L because I kept talking to the guy about it and I looked right at the engine. It had HT4100 on theside or something like that. Allantes are really expensive around here. Not sure why, but you can get one with over 100,000 miles pre-93 and it's still around $13,000 probably because they are so rare.

-Dusty-

- 02 Seville STS, white diamond

- 93 Sixty Special, Tan with vinyl top

- 79 Coupe DeVille, Tan with Tan top

- 06 GMC Sierra Z71, Black

- 92 Silverado C1500, black and grey

- 83 Chevy K10 Silverado, Black and Grey

b80385550.jpg

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Oh I wasn't saying that I was going to get rid of the Seville, no way.

No, I wasn't suggesting getting rid of the Seville -- simply suggesting that I would work to correct the issues with the Seville first (like your P0741 code, the water pump, all that stuff) before investing in another project car that will likely take a LOT of time and effort and money to make really nice. What I meant by what I said was that if you didn't care to fix the water pump on your Seville right now, because of the cold, I don't think you'd be enjoying a 25 year old Eldorado either. It's likely to have a NUMBER of problems that may keep it from being truly road-worthy (like rotted and rusted brake hoses, vacuum leaks from the miles of vacuum line under the hood, etc). Those problems are certainly fixable, but will take a lot of time out in the driveway.

Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond)

"When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?"

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I get what your saying, but when a classic caddy comes around here if you don't jump on it, you won't get it. They are few and far between here. Hey Jason, could you do me a huge favor? Could you look at your rear shocks and tell me if you have an electrical connection towards the bottom of the shock with a wire going towards the undercarriage of the car? The should look like this: http://info.rockauto.com/Monroe/40030.jpg

-Dusty-

- 02 Seville STS, white diamond

- 93 Sixty Special, Tan with vinyl top

- 79 Coupe DeVille, Tan with Tan top

- 06 GMC Sierra Z71, Black

- 92 Silverado C1500, black and grey

- 83 Chevy K10 Silverado, Black and Grey

b80385550.jpg

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I believe they are there. I plan to rotate my tires this weekend, and will take a pic for you.

Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond)

"When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?"

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I'm positive it had the 4.1L it said it right on the side. I'm not positive on the year though, maybe it was an 83...I know it was the 4.1L because I kept talking to the guy about it and I looked right at the engine. It had HT4100 on theside or something like that. Allantes are really expensive around here. Not sure why, but you can get one with over 100,000 miles pre-93 and it's still around $13,000 probably because they are so rare.

If the emblem on the front fender between the wheel well and the front door read "HT-4100 Digital Fuel Injection" then the car was an '82 or an '83. Those were the only years that had the emblems on the front fenders. The '84 and '85 cars did not have the emblems. If the front fender emblems read "V8-6-4 Digital Fuel Injection", the car was an '81.

The V8-6-4 Engine was years ahead of its time in 1981. The main issue was the connectors to the ECM that tended to corrode. Today's Chevrolet 5.3 with the displacement on demand was developed by refining the technology from the 368 cu-in Cadillac V8-6-4 although the 5.3 engine has only a V8 and V4 mode.

It is easy to criticize the V8-6-4 or the HT-4100 but Cadillac had to increase the fuel economy of their cars during that period of rising fuel prices. The V8-6-4 was only intended as an intermediate step as the HT-4100 engine was not ready for production in 1981.

Kevin
'93 Fleetwood Brougham
'05 Deville
'04 Deville
2013 Silverado Z71

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Could you look at your rear shocks and tell me if you have an electrical connection towards the bottom of the shock with a wire going towards the undercarriage of the car? The should look like this: http://info.rockauto.com/Monroe/40030.jpg

Those appear to be my rear shocks exactly.

Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond)

"When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?"

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Okay, cool. Thanks for checking for me. My shocks look nothing like that. Mine look like an SLS shock except it has an electrical plug in on the very top. Does anyone else have what I have?

-Dusty-

- 02 Seville STS, white diamond

- 93 Sixty Special, Tan with vinyl top

- 79 Coupe DeVille, Tan with Tan top

- 06 GMC Sierra Z71, Black

- 92 Silverado C1500, black and grey

- 83 Chevy K10 Silverado, Black and Grey

b80385550.jpg

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