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¯\_(ツ)_/¯
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ PowerDork
3/12/21 7:32 p.m.

Uh oh, there's something huge in the shop:

425 cubic inches, less than 200 horsepower, bench seats, floaty suspension, an ash tray in every door. 

Why?  Because it's our 5 year anniversary this fall and we want to do another big road trip like our somewhat disastrous RV/Penske honeymoon tour of the southwest, but further north this time and driving a rolling couch.

So I'm planning to drive it and figure out what it needs to be reliable enough for 7000 miles of highway cruising, and probably patch this hole in the floor:

For the most part it seems fine otherwise, drives great, runs happily, maybe seeps a little of a few different fluids but whatever, we don't need perfection.  I'd love to fix the air conditioning.  You know, with all that free time that I have.

stroker
stroker UberDork
3/12/21 7:46 p.m.

My dad had one of those.  I miss it. 

GCrites80s
GCrites80s HalfDork
3/12/21 7:49 p.m.

Now THAT is a Cadillac!

No offense to CTS-Vs. Except when they break.

759NRNG (Forum Partidario)
759NRNG (Forum Partidario) UberDork
3/12/21 8:00 p.m.

Chris that is so right even with the blown out rear fender extensions ....Y'all enjoy

irish44j (Forum Supporter)
irish44j (Forum Supporter) MegaDork
3/12/21 8:01 p.m.

Rallycross it to make sure it can handle the rigors of a cross country trip

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ PowerDork
3/12/21 8:03 p.m.

In reply to 759NRNG (Forum Partidario) :

It came with new ones!  I just need to figure out what this color is called so I can paint them to match.

759NRNG (Forum Partidario)
759NRNG (Forum Partidario) UberDork
3/12/21 8:07 p.m.

Uh nacho cheese? and please tell us that the floor patch will not involve self tapping sheet metal screws wink

Stampie (FS)
Stampie (FS) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
3/12/21 8:42 p.m.

YES!

Stampie (FS)
Stampie (FS) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
3/12/21 8:44 p.m.
759NRNG (Forum Partidario) said:

Uh nacho cheese? and please tell us that the floor patch will not involve self tapping sheet metal screws wink

My first thought was self tapping sheet metal screws.

stuart in mn
stuart in mn MegaDork
3/12/21 9:15 p.m.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

In reply to 759NRNG (Forum Partidario) :

It came with new ones!  I just need to figure out what this color is called so I can paint them to match.

Color chip chart for 1977 Cadillac:

https://www.autocolorlibrary.com/pages/1977-Cadillac.html#parentHorizontalTab1

https://www.autocolorlibrary.com/pages/1977-Cadillac.html#parentHorizontalTab2

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ PowerDork
3/13/21 7:26 a.m.

I -think- it's a slightly yellowed Sonora Tan?  But it might also be faded Naples Yellow.  Naturally I want it to be the one where they accidentally named luxury barge paint after a desert rally in Mexico, and I'm pretty bad at color matching things.

Stampie (FS)
Stampie (FS) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
3/13/21 7:40 a.m.

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

Is there a data plate under the hood?  Usually on the drivers side near the firewall.  We can look up the paint from that.

stuart in mn
stuart in mn MegaDork
3/13/21 7:41 a.m.

There should be a trim tag on the firewall that has a paint code, match that up to the paint chip chart.  Sonora Tan is 61 and Naples Yellow is 50.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ PowerDork
3/13/21 7:51 a.m.

There's plenty of stuff over there but I'm not seeing a plate:

Stampie (FS)
Stampie (FS) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
3/13/21 9:01 a.m.

Hmmm I can't find anything about location on a 77 except that they had them until the late 70s. 

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ PowerDork
3/13/21 9:52 a.m.

I registered it this morning.

Guy at the tag place: "Young guy paying cash for an old Cadillac?  You must not do drugs... or you sell a whole lot of 'em."

Stealthtercel
Stealthtercel Dork
3/13/21 10:23 a.m.

According to this 1977 Cadillac Service Manual (all 1259 pages of it[!]), the body identification plate is "located and mounted to the upper left cowl between the hood rear seal and the windshield."  See Figure 0A-6.

mr2s2000elise
mr2s2000elise UltraDork
3/13/21 10:35 a.m.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

I registered it this morning.

Guy at the tag place: "Young guy paying cash for an old Cadillac?  You must not do drugs... or you sell a whole lot of 'em."

My AAA lady is very curious as well, since I am down there 2-3 x a week with a new registration request - 90% out of state 

 

congrats on the new caddy! 

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ PowerDork
3/13/21 10:40 a.m.

In reply to Stealthtercel :

There it is!

I'm not used to having this many acres of sheet metal to go over.

Stealthtercel
Stealthtercel Dork
3/13/21 12:42 p.m.

Well, after all, you can't call yourself "Standard of the World" if one of your 1259 pages has a mistake on it, right?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ PowerDork
3/13/21 1:03 p.m.

I spy a goodie hiding behind the grille:

I'm sure it doesn't work but still neat.

The battery required a jump on the test drive, and even after sticking a different ancient battery in I had to jump it today.  Maybe it needs a fresh battery to crank the big engine over, maybe it's got a weak connection somewhere.  When it's running it's fine.

It's got a little vibration at speed, which I'll chalk up to tires that sat in one place all winter for now.  When I got back I snugged up the front left wheel bearing, since it felt a little loose, which meant I got to enjoy the elaborate hubcap fastening system:

Stampie (FS)
Stampie (FS) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
3/13/21 1:06 p.m.

61 looks like Sonora Tan.

Antihero (Forum Supporter)
Antihero (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand UberDork
3/13/21 1:07 p.m.

These are cool,nice work!

 

Also......I still think a Land Yacht class at the challenge would be entertaining

Patrick (Forum Supporter)
Patrick (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
3/13/21 1:34 p.m.

Sweet, i had a 78 for a while and probably should have kept it.  I put springs, sway bars, and 3.08 limited slip disc brake rear from a 96 impala ss under it and it was fun.  

Keith Tanner
Keith Tanner GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
3/13/21 1:37 p.m.
Antihero (Forum Supporter) said:

These are cool,nice work!

 

Also......I still think a Land Yacht class at the challenge would be entertaining

We may have to enlarge the autox course.

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