My 1973 Cadillac, Huggy Bear

[eddyramrod]

Well it seems the brake issue was mostly one-sided, the left side: the pads had worn so much there was only metal left and they'd damaged the disc.  On the right side the pads were ok, so Malcolm put those on the left rather than wreck my lovely new pads.  So I've ordered a pair of discs now.  Malcolm thinks the left caliper has been letting fluid escape because the piston had almost escaped too but he's managed to reassemble that.

 

More money, more work.  Hey ho.

[Mrs6C]

... because Huggy's worth it...

[Mrs6C]

We must get the AS Cadillac coupes together...

[eddyramrod]

... because Huggy's worth it...

 

 

We must get the AS Cadillac coupes together...

Couldn't agree more!  Huggy needs to see his grandchildren sometimes!

[eddyramrod]

Huggy's new discs arrived today.  He's booked in next Thursday for a fitting/bleeding day.

[Six-cylinder]

Couldn't agree more!  Huggy needs to see his grandchildren sometimes!

 

That was the plan last year at Mick's Dinner but the worn bush in the gear selector cable was preventing the starter inhibitor switch to release and I turned up in the Alfa 156.

[danthecapriman]

That was the plan last year at Mick's Dinner but the worn bush in the gear selector cable was preventing the starter inhibitor switch to release and I turned up in the Alfa 156.

That was a great day!

[eddyramrod]

Yes it was, even though Huggy's alternator was already waving the white flag.  Never mind, once these discs are on he should be fit for the summer.  I might even get to some events!

[danthecapriman]

Yes it was, even though Huggy's alternator was already waving the white flag.  Never mind, once these discs are on he should be fit for the summer.  I might even get to some events!

I think it was that same day I kept having the carb flooding issue too. Getting the Mercury to drive home was a right pain. I remember getting sunburn too!

I’ve had the Mercury out this year already, a couple of weeks back when we had that warm sunny spell. Absolutely no problems with it and it drove great, so I’m going say the carb rebuild has cured the flooding problems.

 

 

Glad your back on the road again btw Eddy! A nice long trip in Huggy should be in order once your brakes are sorted I reckon!

[eddyramrod]

They only sent the wrong discs..... buggeration.  I've re-ordered, let's see what happens.

[mk2_craig]

Pads down to the metal Eddy! Some other issue with the braking system?

[eddyramrod]

My new discs have arrived, and now that I've seen what's actually on the car, these do look much more suitable.  Need to see Malcolm now and get booked in for fitting!

[pauldoubleyou]

Dare i ask (and apologies if i have missed this) but on a normal day pootling about, how much petrol does this use?

 

Ive worked in the states and it was always cheap enough to not care (we had a v8 Ram) but id be shitting myself every time i went near a petrol station over here

[eddyramrod]

I look at it this way Paul:  I don't drink and I don't smoke, so what else am I going to do with the money?  I might as well put it in the tank!  That said, on the motorway I can average 19-20 or thereabouts, so around town if I'm getting 14 it's good enough.  I don't know what I'm getting, I haven't done round-town calculations and have no wish to.

I'm driving a Cadillac, the Standard Of The World, so really, who cares?

[eddyramrod]

Huggy's gone in today to get his new brake discs on.  I took him for a little drive first to get the engine warm because the garage is only 5 minutes walk from home.  Collection tomorrow afternoon.

[eddyramrod]

11.00 this morning there was a knock at my front door, interrupting my lovely doze.  It was only Malcolm bringing Huggy back, finished!   And he didn't charge me nearly as much as I was expecting, so overall, very pleased.

[Amishtat]

You must have gone for a celebratory waft though right?

[eddyramrod]

Of course!

[eddyramrod]

I spotted a site yesterday listed on Facebook: American Dreams.  Seems they have a nationwide database of cars that are available for filming etc.  Well that database is a bit bigger now, because Huggy's on it.

Incidentally, this Saturday is Barrow Festival of Transport, if anyone's up this way and fancies a day out.  Huggy and a load of other classics will be invading the town centre for the day.

[eddyramrod]

Huggy is in the Naughty Corner.

He's had a bit of a bass rumble going on for some weeks now, but today... the back silencer fell right off, on the road.  I went back later and picked it up, but it's rotten, I'll have to find some sort of replacement.  That said, he isn't actually very noisy, just a bit deeper-chested.  And really, having most of an exhaust, terminating in rot, isn't very good is it?  I'll have to see if I've got any exhaust sections in my lockup.

[eddyramrod]

Readers with particularly good memories may remember that I had a back-box section removed in its entirety from my Rover 800, where it didn't quite fit.  I stored it in my lockup, naturally.  Also naturally, I scrapped it a few weeks ago when it became clear I wan't going to need it.  Er, yeah....  So a bit of research using my local contacts ensued, and I eventually went to Martin's garage, where I haven't been since going off work.  I thought, if anyone will have a scrap pile, it'll be Martin.  Well the car's been in today, and now has a lovely length of stainless steel pipe between rear axle and rear bumper, just peeking out from below the latter.  Bass rumble still present, which I wanted, but absolutely not to excess.  More to the point, the fumes now exit behind the car, rather than where they can infiltrate the cabin.

So I went to drive away and got round the corner and halfway up the hill... and the engine died.  Something electrical, clearly, as there were no lights on the dash when I turned the key.  I jiggled about with the battery connections, which I thought might be the issue, and it started again.  And got half a mile up the road, stopping at the roundabout, where at least there was another lane people could use to get round me.  A very nice chap in a P4 stopped and kindly drove back down to Martin's garage to call Martin out to me, and a passing lorry driver recognised Huggy from the HubNut video!  Not the first time that's happened either :)  So Martin came out, jiggled wires until the car started, and we drove back down to the garage where he had a better look, and found the lead to the starter wasn't tight.  He tightened it up and boom, let there be power.

While there, we were having a critical look over Huggy's bodywork.  Three years outside, including 12 months of inactivity, isn't doing the bodywork any good at all.  I think I'm going to have to be quite serious about looking for suitable swops.

[gadgetgricey]

On 10/21/2019 at 7:54 PM, eddyramrod said:

  I think I'm going to have to be quite serious about looking for suitable swops.

What are classed as suitable swaps. Keep coming back to this thread thinking, go on, you only live once....

[eddyramrod]

You've probably noticed I've been working on Billy for his XJS.  That's the class of thing I'd be looking at; big, wafty, old.  It's also the baseline in terms of price (I think he wants about £4500 for it as a straight sale).

You're absolutely right, you only live once.  A man should treat himself sometimes!

 

Edited to add: nothing German!

[eddyramrod]

Further to the above, here are some suggestions.  You may take for granted that I'm interested in any American offerings!  Whatever it might be, it should be pre-1979 and if possible, automatic

.

These are just here as a guide, but you can see the kind of thing I like, as if you didn't already know.  I realise my chances of some of these are better than others. I mean, I haven't even included a PA Cresta in here because I know they don't fall into my price range any more!  I'd be a bit surprised if a V8 Pilot did too...

Obviously the incoming car needs to be a viable runner that I can take to shows and not be too ashamed of, and also simply jump in and drive the moment you've driven away in Huggy.

[eddyramrod]

I'd also be up for one of these, although I'm fully aware it could be a ticking time bomb at this end of the market!

[Noel Tidybeard]

12 hours ago, eddyramrod said:

Edited to add: nothing German!

except perhaps an Opel Bedford Blitz ?

[eddyramrod]

Perhaps!

 

Thinking about it, I could probably live with a V8 Opel Admiral or Diplomat too...

[eddyramrod]

I probably should include one of these, even though it's hardly a wafty barge.  But everyone knows how much I want one so here it is...

[eddyramrod]

On 10/23/2019 at 9:15 PM, eddyramrod said:

I haven't even included a PA Cresta in here because I know they don't fall into my price range any more!

Saying that... I've just been torturing myself on ebay with this beauty.

My perfect Cresta.  No more to say really, I just can't stop looking at it.

[eddyramrod]

Classic Car Buyer will feature the tale of Huggy's recent exhaust antics in the next couple of weeks, keep an eye on your newsstands!