Sad Caddy returns from the grave

[CarlaValentine]

I'm getting my computer ready for a reformat, and while going through my pictures, I found this one and wanted to share it on here. Not so much for the picture, but for the story behind it.

This was my father's car. A 1974 Cadillac Coupe Deville with a 472 engine. My grandfather bought it brand new, and gave it to my father. He drove this car for most of my childhood. He finally retired it about 12 years ago because NY winters had taken their toll and the body had started to rot out pretty bad. He parked it behind his garage, and there it sat, for about 11 years, until last summer. When he pulled it out, it looked like this:

Now the part that killed me about this is that even after sitting in it's "grave" behind the garage for 11 years or so with no attention at all, with fresh gas and a battery, that engine still started and ran! And what a mean sounding engine it is! I believe the car had just about 200k miles on it when he retired it. My brother pulled the engine, and he is currently cleaning it up to put it in his 1957 International pickup.

There isn't really a "point" to this post at all. To me, it's just an interesting story, and I felt like sharing it.

[Bruce Nunnally]

Thanks for posting. Shame to see it rot away, but I think it is something that it started and ran.

[CarlaValentine]

It's nearly impossible to keep a car from rotting out around here unless you keep it garaged all winter long.

Considering it was driven every day from the day it was bought until it was retired, it held up pretty well. It was a very nice car back in it's day. That engine still has a lot of life left in it though. =)

[Ranger]

I had a '71 and '72 CDV. The '71 was my first Caddy. They where beasts, but very nice beasts and a smoother ride you'll not find.

[CarlaValentine]

If I could get my hands on one for a decent price in good condition, I'd be all over it. 70's Caddy's were just nice cars.

[KHE]

It's nearly impossible to keep a car from rotting out around here unless you keep it garaged all winter long.

The same is true in Michigan or anywhere road salt is used. The cars I drive in the winter get washed once per week in my garage - I hose out all the areas the salt/mud accumulates as well as the undercarriage. The inside bottoms of the doors also get washed. After washing and drying, the inside bottoms of the doors get a coating of transmission fluid to keep rust from starting in the seams.

[CarlaValentine]

It's nearly impossible to keep a car from rotting out around here unless you keep it garaged all winter long.

The same is true in Michigan or anywhere road salt is used. The cars I drive in the winter get washed once per week in my garage - I hose out all the areas the salt/mud accumulates as well as the undercarriage. The inside bottoms of the doors also get washed. After washing and drying, the inside bottoms of the doors get a coating of transmission fluid to keep rust from starting in the seams.

Transmission fluid, really? I've never heard of that before. I've heard of people using lithium grease and things like that, but that can get expensive.... I'll have to give that a try seeing how I don't have a garage to keep my car in, and I too live in the sad state of NY. I've heard they are supposed to be trying a car-safe alternative to road salt here in the near future, but it's more expensive, so who knows when that may happen. In the meantime, I want to keep mine from suffering the rust-bucket fate for as long as I can.

I wonder, is there anything you can use on brake lines and such under the car to keep them from rusting out? Would the tranny fluid work there too? I imagine it would come off pretty quickly...

[KHE]

It's nearly impossible to keep a car from rotting out around here unless you keep it garaged all winter long.

The same is true in Michigan or anywhere road salt is used. The cars I drive in the winter get washed once per week in my garage - I hose out all the areas the salt/mud accumulates as well as the undercarriage. The inside bottoms of the doors also get washed. After washing and drying, the inside bottoms of the doors get a coating of transmission fluid to keep rust from starting in the seams.

Transmission fluid, really? I've never heard of that before. I've heard of people using lithium grease and things like that, but that can get expensive.... I'll have to give that a try seeing how I don't have a garage to keep my car in, and I too live in the sad state of NY. I've heard they are supposed to be trying a car-safe alternative to road salt here in the near future, but it's more expensive, so who knows when that may happen. In the meantime, I want to keep mine from suffering the rust-bucket fate for as long as I can.

I wonder, is there anything you can use on brake lines and such under the car to keep them from rusting out? Would the tranny fluid work there too? I imagine it would come off pretty quickly...

The last time I changed the trans. fluid in one of my cars, I saved it and that's what I use. Transmission fluid will creep upward. You could also use it in a pump oiler to squirt it through the drain holes in the inside door skin. I've never used it on brake lines - seems like it would get washed off fairly quickly.

[Floatintheboat]

Here in Iowa this year I started noticing the road crews using a de-icer spray for the roads! Good news for car owners! Hopefully NY will come around soon!

[KHE]

It depends on what is in the deicer spray - most of the time, it is saltwater...

[CarlaValentine]

I've heard of an alternative to salt, but it's very expensive so barely anyone uses it. Maybe someday NY will pull itself out of debt and be able to help our poor cars. Or maybe, it's the governments way of trying to get old "junkers" off the road.....who the heck knows anymore.