My 1973 Cadillac, Huggy Bear

[eddyramrod]

I was a bit worried about Huggy yesterday.  Especially on the way home, he didn't feel as smooth as usual.  I will have to be alert over the next few trips, see if I can work out why.  So far I haven't been able to pinpoint anything.  Mind, when the next trip might be is anybody's guess!

[garbaldy]

Need some spares as you have to Wonder if these will survive the week.

[eddyramrod]

WOW!  Where did you find those?

[garbaldy]

9 hours ago, eddyramrod said:

WOW!  Where did you find those?

In Berwick yesterday being driven by a trio of hashy presenters,  

Makes me want a yank even more now.

[eddyramrod]

22 hours ago, garbaldy said:

In Berwick yesterday being driven by a trio of hashy presenters,  

Makes me want a yank even more now.

Oh-oh, that doesn't sound promising.  Every one of those is gorgeous!  I wonder why they didn't come for Huggy?  I mean, he's only £6k to them, that's nothing in their budget.....

[garbaldy]

3 hours ago, eddyramrod said:

Oh-oh, that doesn't sound promising.  Every one of those is gorgeous!  I wonder why they didn't come for Huggy?  I mean, he's only £6k to them, that's nothing in their budget.....

I also saw a 7.5 ton flat bed drive past our house with what looked a like a beige marina on its back, said car looked like it had been ratchet strapped through the middle as it was like a banana.

At a guess I would say something heavy was dropped on it.

[eddyramrod]

On 9/13/2020 at 2:22 PM, eddyramrod said:

Yep, car boot totally achieved!

I mean, seriously....

Paul had come laden with gifts too...

Yes, a 1/18 Bluesmobile!  I've been chasing these all over ebay for years, and now I've got one!  Dog with two tails, etc...

...Along with some small stuff, in remarkably good condition considering they're all at least 35 years old.

And a book by our friend @motorpunk .  I'm looking forward to that!

So then we had a lap of the boot sale; not a whole lot in the way of diecasts, although we did find the odd rummage box.

I've only ever seen small-scale 7-series Volvos in saloon form, but the 7 and 9 I owned were both estates.  I picked up the Humvee as a roof donor, so we will see how the conversion to estate goes.  If it's a success I'll got for another and make my 9-series.

Oh and... was anything ever more misnamed?

 

@paulplom it was a joy to meet you.  Thank you so much for coming over, and even more for bringing the unexpected gifts!  I'm just sorry the event you came for was cancelled.

Seriously?  Last time Huggy went out was the middle of September?  That's a disgrace, I should be ashamed of myself.  Well I am.  Poor car, it deserves better.

[bezzabsa]

That Bluesmobile is lush.....

[brownnova]

A Christmas Day run for Huggy seems like an ideal plan then... 

[Asimo]

... flat-out up the M6 to the border and back. Eddie Cochran, Frank Sinatra playing on the 8Track.

Tail down, blue haze of exhaust, someone-else's fuel card at Tebay.

And home. Happy Christmas😀

[eddyramrod]

1 hour ago, brownnova said:

A Christmas Day run for Huggy seems like an ideal plan then... 

Weather permitting, yes; no point in going outside if it's nasty though.  If today had been as sunny as yesterday I would have been out this afternoon, even just Ulverston and back would have got some warmth in the systems.

[danthecapriman]

Use it while you can Eddy. Depressingly, there’s a good chance we’re all going to end up in lockdown or whatever it’s called soon!

[eddyramrod]

Sad but true!  I really need to go somewhere.  Anywhere!

[Matty]

Do it eddy. Do it now

[eddyramrod]

I did it.  Full story to follow when I've uploaded the photos.

[Matty]

Nice one 👍

[eddyramrod]

Yesterday I impressed myself, or at least Huggy did.  He was parked tight up against my backyard wall and I needed to scrape ice off the windscreen, so I used the front bumper as a step to get up on the bonnet.  I then walked along the join of bonnet and wing so I could clear the windscreen.  Neither bonnet nor wing felt less than rock-solid at any point!

There's much more to tell you but I haven't uploaded the pics yet.

[eddyramrod]

OK, I've uploaded the photos now, so what really happened on Christmas Eve?

Well it was a lovely day, so I thought I'd take advantage and have an hour or so out with Huggy.  I knew petrol was low and planned a fuel stop in Ulverston.  Ulverston and back is in the region of 20 miles, so even with a stop it's a fair enough run for the car.  I've already described my windscreen-clearing fun; after that I did a check of fluid levels, then went to start it up.  Third turn of the key, so that was good enough.  I grabbed my coat and set off.

Getting to Ulverston was fine, although with the needle hovering around Empty I was beginning to twitch a bit by the time I reached the Shell station.  £40 in the tank soon sorted that.

Then I turned the key.  Lights lit up on the dash, but after that... not a sausage.  I fiddled around for a few minutes hoping it was just a loose connection, but nothing changed.  I was forced to call my insurance for recovery.

The pez shot nobody wants!  Insurance sent an AA van.  The mechanic tried a few tests, checked out the connections and pronounced them fine, and eventually diagnosed the starter solenoid, which was new with the starter three years ago or thereabouts.  With no further action when I turned the key, time after time, he was left with the only option available: a recovery truck.

This time it was a local contractor who came out.  He took me and the car home.  After unloading, he suggested I give the key one last turn; wouldn't you know it, Huggy turned over and started.  I'm beginning to think this car doesn't like me.

So, that was over four hours of Christmas Eve that I won't get back, when I only planned to be out an hour.  Wonderful.  If we get some nice weather in the New Year I'll try and get the starter off and slip it round to my local sparky.

[danthecapriman]

Liked for effort Eddy!

What a bummer! Although Huggy technically did manage a drive out for at least part of the trip so it’s not a total loss. Hopefully the starter solenoid has just been affected by a bit of damp and inaction and it can be sorted quickly and cheaply.

[Matty]

Like everything else at the moment eddy, the only way is up!!

[Zelandeth]

This doesn't use the same sort of sliding switch arrangement for the ignition/starter switch as Fords from the same era does it?  Know they're a common source of trouble on cars which don't see regular use.

They have a rod attached to the key barrel and the switch is actually buried further back along the steering column, usually on the top.

[brownnova]

Oh no!!!

Hope it is a straightforward fix and Huggy ad back bimbling round the lanes soon! 

[eddyramrod]

1 hour ago, Zelandeth said:

This doesn't use the same sort of sliding switch arrangement for the ignition/starter switch as Fords from the same era does it?  Know they're a common source of trouble on cars which don't see regular use.

They have a rod attached to the key barrel and the switch is actually buried further back along the steering column, usually on the top.

I don't know, is the short answer.  I think it's unlikely, simply because Cadillac is made by General Motors, Ford's deadly rival.  But I can also see them both buying from the same source back in the 70s.  I would have to do some digging to find out.

[Mrs6C]

Have you checked the operation of the transmission neutral safety switch that prevents the car from being started when it is (or thinks it is) in gear?

It's worth checking the plastic/rubber bushes too that connect the  various parts of the transmission selector linkage/rods/cables between the transmisison and the in-car shifter, to make sure they are all present and correct and not soft, worn or missing. If they are missing or in a poor way,  there may be too much slop in the end-to-end mechanism to give the physical extent of movement required to activate the NSS when you go into Park or Neutral after stopping. You think you are in Park or Neutral and the shifter inside the car looks like it is, but heading towards the transmission end of things, the movement hasn't been enough to activate the NSS so the car thinks it is in gear and won't start.

Guess how I know this !

[Low Horatio gearbox]

29 minutes ago, Mrs6C said:

Guess how I know this !

You spent ages adjusting it carefully.. the wrong way. Oh wait no that was me  🤦‍♂️

 

Tho my best was imperceptibly knocking my Xj's shifter from P thru N to D and  wondering why it wouldn't start at all. In fairness I'd just stripped the  interior out and was sitting on the front crossmeber 8 inches lower than normal.. contemplating why on earth I'd taken a shabby but entirely functional car to bits  and then immobilised it.🤷‍♂️

[Zelandeth]

1 hour ago, Mrs6C said:

Have you checked the operation of the transmission neutral safety switch that prevents the car from being started when it is (or thinks it is) in gear?

It's worth checking the plastic/rubber bushes too that connect the  various parts of the transmission selector linkage/rods/cables between the transmisison and the in-car shifter, to make sure they are all present and correct and not soft, worn or missing. If they are missing or in a poor way,  there may be too much slop in the end-to-end mechanism to give the physical extent of movement required to activate the NSS when you go into Park or Neutral after stopping. You think you are in Park or Neutral and the shifter inside the car looks like it is, but heading towards the transmission end of things, the movement hasn't been enough to activate the NSS so the car thinks it is in gear and won't start.

Guess how I know this !

That is actually a very good shout...

[Six-cylinder]

1 hour ago, Mrs6C said:

Have you checked the operation of the transmission neutral safety switch that prevents the car from being started when it is (or thinks it is) in gear?

It's worth checking the plastic/rubber bushes too that connect the  various parts of the transmission selector linkage/rods/cables between the transmisison and the in-car shifter, to make sure they are all present and correct and not soft, worn or missing. If they are missing or in a poor way,  there may be too much slop in the end-to-end mechanism to give the physical extent of movement required to activate the NSS when you go into Park or Neutral after stopping. You think you are in Park or Neutral and the shifter inside the car looks like it is, but heading towards the transmission end of things, the movement hasn't been enough to activate the NSS so the car thinks it is in gear and won't start.

Guess how I know this !

Mrs6C knows this only too well as her Cadillac developed this fault. It would not restart for me at a Tesco petrol pump and then when I got help to push it clear it did. I know our transverse FWD car is completely different to yours but it must have something to do the same job.

There was even a kit available in the US that someone on here helped us find to fix it.

[DSdriver]

We had a similar problem with our Saab floppytop  not starting after a short stop. The advice given , if I remember correctly, was to throw cold water at the gearbox because a solenoid was overheating. We were in the queue for customs after driving off a ferry so it caused a certain amount of hilarity to those around us.

[Out Run]

3 hours ago, Low Horatio gearbox said:

You spent ages adjusting it carefully.. the wrong way. Oh wait no that was me  🤦‍♂️

 

Tho my best was imperceptibly knocking my Xj's shifter from P thru N to D and  wondering why it wouldn't start at all. In fairness I'd just stripped the  interior out and was sitting on the front crossmeber 8 inches lower than normal.. contemplating why on earth I'd taken a shabby but entirely functional car to bits  and then immobilised it.🤷‍♂️

Nice name. Someone listens to Smith and Smith?

[eddyramrod]

On 12/27/2020 at 7:37 PM, Mrs6C said:

Have you checked the operation of the transmission neutral safety switch that prevents the car from being started when it is (or thinks it is) in gear?

It's worth checking the plastic/rubber bushes too that connect the  various parts of the transmission selector linkage/rods/cables between the transmisison and the in-car shifter, to make sure they are all present and correct and not soft, worn or missing. If they are missing or in a poor way,  there may be too much slop in the end-to-end mechanism to give the physical extent of movement required to activate the NSS when you go into Park or Neutral after stopping. You think you are in Park or Neutral and the shifter inside the car looks like it is, but heading towards the transmission end of things, the movement hasn't been enough to activate the NSS so the car thinks it is in gear and won't start.

Guess how I know this !

I had a word with my sparky this week.  He seems to think you could be on the right track there!  He said bring it round Monday or Tuesday, and if it doesn't start, he wants to come and see it intact, as-is-where-is.  So let's see what happens...