Wheeler Dealers USA Episode 4: 1973 Cadillac Coupe DeVille

Javelin wrote: The 472 runs great! I have purchased oil and a filter, a fuel filter, and a set of plugs for it. I really don't think the car is going to need anything else besides some cleaning/polishing and fiddling with the wipers. Looks lost in there!

It takes a HUUUUUUUUUGE engine bay to make a 472 look small!!

Looks like you have a set of tubs in the front!

wearymicrobe wrote:

Adrian_Thompson wrote: Jav, that's awesome. I'm still jealous of the Saab 900 Turbo you bought with the 'blown' headgasket that wasn't. Excellent score. How did you find this and was it as good a steal as the Saab. Keep up the good work, you seem to have a knack for finding nice projects.

wearymicrobe wrote: 5 Gallons of matt black plasti dip and some airbags with york compressor.

Please expel yourself from the community.

This is flip this car not make it GRM acceptable. Flat black sells cars, period at this price point, same with easy bags from a kit with a york. You can turn a POS in to cash with this formula. As my list of previous cars will show you this is not what I would call my cup of tea.

This is why I suck at business. I keep overestimating the intelligence of the populace.

Adrian_Thompson wrote: Berkeley me. You guys are getting raped on gas out there! $3.52!!!!! That's race gas money here and Michigan ain't cheap.

This is our one and only completely ethanol-free gas station. Worth the premium in older cars like the Caddy and Javelin (plus the mower). The two modern, EFI-equipped DD's get 87 E10 swill from whatever qwik-e-mart we happen to be passing for under $3/gallon.

A 1973 Cadillac should have lower compression and hardened valve seats, so the 87 octane will work fine. GM lowered compression across the board in 1971.

It took about 20 minutes to change all 8 plugs on the Caddy today. Only tools you need are the actual plug socket and the ratchet. The Autolite's in there were a bit old, a little wide on gap, but not bad at all. I also reset the timing to factory spec, changed the PCV valve, and changed the oil and filter (Valvoline VR1 Racing Oil 10W30 and a NAPA Gold filter). Air filter is already new less than 2K ago, the wires, rotor, and cap are all under 10K miles, and nothing else needed to be touched. It starts right up, idles don correctly, and purrs like a kitten. Very smooth. Only other thing to do now is fiddle with the wiper motor and polish it up.

In reply to Javelin:

I know it's become a Fast N Loud cliche, but dropping it and throwing some Supremes with wide whites would be SO pimp on that thing. Leave the stock color alone. Too much charm to change that.

This was the last era of truly grand Caddys. That interior is amazingly preserved, too.

I installed the wreath and crest (it uses a metal wire and a captured spring so it can bend flat without breaking off):

I also spent hours and hours on the paint with the polisher.

The original paint picked up a lot of depth and glow. With any luck I'll be able to finish the detailing soon and get it up on eBay in a week or so.

Dang this thing is awesome

Damn, the paint looks GREAT!!!

So hows the progress of this one coming along?

Well it looks like my time with the Cadillac is coming to a close. All of the drivability bugs have been worked out, the automatic climate control is functioning correctly, and I even got the power antenna to work perfect. There's still a few small bugs that could be tackled (wonky wipers, a rattling high beam, and an alignment) but I think I'm going to stop here because I fear I'll jump down the rabbit hole and do something dumb like have the hood and trunk repainted.

I'm working on the eBay listing right now.

Budget: 1973 Cadillac Coupe DeVille - $1500.00
Tune-Up parts and oil change - $53.20
Detailing supplies - $48.78
Tank of gas - $75.00
eBay fees - $17.00 (+$125 for selling)
Total: $1818.98

And add $17 so far for the eBay ad, #171649391471. I set the Reserve at $3,500.

The eBay auction ends in a few hours. Over 1,000 views, 55 watchers, and 18 bids have it at $4,000 right now, meeting reserve. The GRM article on successful eBay selling was very useful! I've been selling on eBay since 1999, but this was my first running car, so it was all very new to me. Hopefully whoever ends up being high bidder follows through.

Good luck! A more than 100% profit sounds like it should pay for some Jav parts and a nice night out with the wife.

Cool, it's ended at $4K. Congratulations.

Wow dude! That's awesome. Who would have guessed that a $2k '73 Caddy would sell for the same amount as my $2k '01 BMW. Good to know if I run across one in my future searches, and looks like your's was a lot less time and work to prep and sell also so your actual returns if you count labor are far more than mine.

Wow! Nice job!

Well, it was inevitable. Speedbump. The high bidder is a flake who claimed he "lost his job" this morning and can't pay for the car. The second highest bidder is a 132 feedback by the name of "Mr.Cadillac", so I sent him a second chance offer. Fingers crossed...

Second Chance Offer was not accepted. Damn.

Now what? Relist it on eBay right away, fix more stuff, or???

Javelin wrote: Well, it was inevitable. Speedbump. The high bidder is a flake who claimed he "lost his job" this morning and can't pay for the car. The second highest bidder is a 132 feedback by the name of "Mr.Cadillac", so I sent him a second chance offer. Fingers crossed...

I swear the whole "bid on something with full knowledge that you have zero intent of buying" thing is full-on sociopathic behavior. Why in the HELL would someone do that?! I like that car a lot, but I have no intention of bidding on it.

id try a few local paper publications, that type of car may attract an "analog" audience

Javelin wrote: Well, it was inevitable. Speedbump. The high bidder is a flake who claimed he "lost his job" this morning and can't pay for the car. The second highest bidder is a 132 feedback by the name of "Mr.Cadillac", so I sent him a second chance offer. Fingers crossed...

berkeley people. Craigslist?

Give negative feedback and report the winning bidder to eBay. Relist right away, change nothing.

I'm going on a family vacation for 3 days, I'll deal with it after the Super Bowl. Sellers can't leave negative feedback anymore and all eBay will do is an "Unpaid Item" report. Berkeyling sucks.

Man, it's been a while since I eBayed, you can't leave negative feedback as a seller anymore? Wow.