1991 Cadillac Fleetwood Project Thread

[MikeKnight]

Modified the battery setup today so I can fit UK batteries.

Nice thick bolts and good quality thick copper core. Don't want any fires now. ?

I tested the battery to see if there was much of a drain.

Here it is fully charged overnight but not connected yet.

And here it is connected. 0.1V drop is acceptable, after all the security system does stay active and I think the boot was open at this point so there was a single bulb drawing power.

Now just to see if it drops off overnight, in which case I'll know there's a bad drain or poor ground somewhere. I hope not though, I hate tracking down that shit.

Next jobs are fixing the A/C system and reading codes so I can figure out why the minor fault (Service Vehicle Soon) dash light keeps coming on.

[PhilA]

Your meter should read at least 200mA- set it to that, shut all the doors, disconnect one battery lead, connect one meter lead to it and one to the other battery terminal.

See what the draw is. Shouldn't be more than about 70-100mA depending on radio and alarm and such.

[MikeKnight]

NO MORE BATTERY DRAIN, WOOHOO!

No more charging the fucking thing every god damn night. New battery fixed the issue and I'm so glad I swapped it to UK configuration.

However, I'm forced to put off doing the other work on this as my Rover 75, which has BRAND NEW front shocks.. is now creaking horribly on the front shocks.

[MikeKnight]

In other news, I sold the miserable fucking Rover 75. It can stress someone else out now.

In other other news, my Range Rover P38 failed its MOT spectacularly on pretty much everything regarding brakes and suspension. I'm going to scrap the worthless fucker or part it out, if anyone wants it let me know.

BUT

The reason for this post is to say I'm willing to swap this Cadillac for a decent tow vehicle of similar value (£4000-£5000) or a beavertail.

As much as I love this car I have to pool resources now that my P38 has died. A tow vehicle will allow me to generate revenue while the Caddy will just sit there looking nice.

Anyone interested just give me a poke. This thread should be all you need to know about how well the Caddy is running now. I just went to Alnwick and back in it (3hr round trip) and it was flawless.

It could do with some new tyres but that's about it. Old car + oldish tyres = flat spots so a bit of wibbling at 70mph, and they're terrifying/hilarious/fun (choose two) in the wet.

[Lankytim]

This thread is really wanting me to scratch my yank itch!

[vulgalour]

Do it do it do it.  Mike's honest to a fault with the stuff he sells.

[Lankytim]

8 minutes ago, vulgalour said:

Do it do it do it.  Mike's honest to a fault with the stuff he sells.

Oh... I've got an itch, but my back scratcher is very small. 

[MikeKnight]

2 hours ago, vulgalour said:

Do it do it do it.  Mike's honest to a fault with the stuff he sells.

A bit too honest! 😆

I'm sure it costs me some sales but I'd feel absolutely awful if I knowingly sold something broken and it caused an accident or something. I couldn't live with that.

[MikeKnight]

Man. Been a long time since I posted here.

The caddy has sat gathering dust for the last three years, but due to my Jeep pissing coolant everywhere (thanks Mercedes block dumb designs) I needed something to get me around while I fix the Jeep over the next few weeks.

So the old white whale is back on the road finally!

Surprisingly needed two more coolant flushes before the water ran clear, the knackered radiator must have done a real bad job to sludging up the block, but anyway that's done and brand new coolant popped in it. Going to Manchester in it on Monday and Birmingham on the following Friday. It'll either do fine or I'll arrive as an overheated fireball.

[vulgalour]

Whatever the outcome, at least you'll be comfy.

[Schaefft]

I completely forgot about this, makes me happy that its still receiving attention! Almost bought its 5 years older cousin, but it was a wreck and the last couple of years of this gen (like yours) are just so much better cars.

[MikeKnight]

Blimey trying to get insurance on an import is like pulling teeth.

Doesn't help that import plates rarely work on comparison sites so I've had to phone (ugh!) actual human beings and ask.

Then specialist import insurers say they're going to call you back with a quote in an hour or two then don't. Happened twice now.

[Mrs6C]

10 minutes ago, MikeKnight said:

Blimey trying to get insurance on an import is like pulling teeth.

Doesn't help that import plates rarely work on comparison sites so I've had to phone (ugh!) actual human beings and ask.

Then specialist import insurers say they're going to call you back with a quote in an hour or two then don't. Happened twice now.

Try Adrian Flux, Hagerty, Footman James etc. It's old enough to be considered a 'classic' for insurance purposes, so you might get a better reception for it by looking for a classic car policy.

[HMC]

13 minutes ago, MikeKnight said:

Blimey trying to get insurance on an import is like pulling teeth.

Doesn't help that import plates rarely work on comparison sites so I've had to phone (ugh!) actual human beings and ask.

Then specialist import insurers say they're going to call you back with a quote in an hour or two then don't. Happened twice now.

Might be worth trying brentacre, they sorted my Chevy pickup insurance no trouble, and was cheap, and the crown vic, although this wasn’t as cheap and a bit of a ballache re street parking. But they do specialise in American cars, apparently.

[vulgalour]

I'll throw Classic Line in the ring too, they seem totally unphased by weird old rammel.

[MikeKnight]

So glad to see your profile pic on here is still the shitpost from the caddy manual, vulgalour XD

Also thanks for the suggestions guys, I'll get on the phone in the morning and try some others.

Booked in for MOT on Friday so I've only really got tomorrow to do it.

[Schaefft]

I insure all my stuff via Admiral Multicar insurance, and no matter how obscure things are, yearly fully comp premiums always seem to hover around 180-240 quid per year.

[Zelandeth]

Hagerty would be my first go-to, every exchange I've had with them has been the absolute picture of efficiency and they've just been pleasant to deal with.  I timed it when I swapped the Cavalier for the Renault - I was on the phone for a grand total of just under seven minutes, and at least five minutes of that was them just reading out the legal stuff that they're obliged to.

Adrian Flux I refuse to ever recommend to anyone after their foul up resulted in 10+ years of my no claims discount going down the drain, and charging me over £1000 a year above the going rate on a policy they auto-renewed despite me having specifically set it not to.  Somehow the original note of expiry, reminder, renewal offer and then new policy paperwork in both paper and email form all "got lost" and that was somehow my fault.  

Given my mother had just passed away, keeping tabs on an insurance policy that was coming up for renewal was kind of a ways down my priority list at the time - it was a couple of months later when I suddenly had that moment of "Wait...why is there 1200 quid less in this bank account than there should be?" It was well out with the cooling off period by that point and they made up some cock and bull collection of made up terms, conditions and fees which meant it was essentially going to cost me about 80% of the total of what I'd already paid to cancel the policy early, so it was eventually just left to run.

The following year when I DID make sure to actually cancel the policy (which they again tried to auto-renew without contacting me), it took me over a month to get my proof of no claims out of them.  Which is when I discovered that it was showing as three years...not 15+ as it should have.  When I sold a car which was on a multi car policy with them which had my NCD on, they just left it floating rather than automatically swap it to another vehicle I had with them or you know...ask.  This was more than two years in the past by that point so it had expired in that time.  

Currently my Caddy (VW, not Cadillac!) Is currently with them because they've bloody bought out the company I originally insured it with since.  Trying to deal with them to do something so simple as increasing my annual mileage allowance was like pulling teeth from a very much awake and pissed off lion.  It took me well over an hour on the phone to them...and then when they sent out the revised documents they'd mucked it up so I had to start over.

If it wasn't so bloody hard to find anyone who will insure a wheelchair van >20 years old I'd have given them the finger there and then...but sadly my options are limited!

Sure lots of people have no issue with them, and they own such a vast chunk of the brands trading in the UK these days that they're hard to avoid, but I'd personally not touch them with several long barge poles tied together given a choice.

[LightBulbFun]

21 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

If it wasn't so bloody hard to find anyone who will insure a wheelchair van >20 years old I'd have given them the finger there and then...but sadly my options are limited!

never had any experience with this company personally but have you tried https://www.fishinsurance.co.uk/ they are a company that speclise in insuring disability/adapted vehicles etc

I know of them from my research into owning a black cab (as I really want one someday ideally an FX4 but I would not kick a TX/Metrocab out of bed either), which are a bugger to insure via the usual mainstream insurers for some reason? but I have heard the above company recommended a few times, because late FX4's and everything after are obviously all wheel-chair accessible   and I hear old black cabs are often bought specifically for when a cheap WAV is needed, hence those guys being someone who will actually insure them

so coming back around, perhaps they are worth a punt with the Caddy?

(in-fact from reading their website front page how they will cover all sorts of disability things I almost wonder if they would cover an Invacar LOL)

 

 

speaking of Caddy's nice to see another Land Yatch set sail once more  always enjoy a good old barge/Yank tank  

[Zelandeth]

3 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:

never had any experience with this company personally but have you tried https://www.fishinsurance.co.uk/ they are a company that speclise in insuring disability/adapted vehicles etc

I know of them from my research into owning a black cab (as I really want one someday ideally an FX4 but I would not kick a TX/Metrocab out of bed either), which are a bugger to insure via the usual mainstream insurers for some reason? but I have heard the above company recommended a few times, because late FX4's and everything after are obviously all wheel-chair accessible!  and I hear old black cabs are often bought specifically for when a cheap WAV is needed, hence those guys being someone who will actually insure them

so coming back around, perhaps they are worth a punt with the Caddy?

(in-fact I almost wonder if they would cover an Invacar LOL)

 

 

speaking of Caddy's nice to see another Land Yatch set sail once more  always enjoy a good old barge/Yank tank  

Worth a shot when it's up for renewal if it's still under my ownership come next January.  Biggest problem I found both when I bought it and when renewing this year was that the vast majority of companies who normally deal with WAVs have a 20 year cutoff for what they will cover.  

[MikeKnight]

Oof Zel, sorry you had to go through that bullcrap. I've had problems with Adrian Flux in the past, mostly administrative problems and the deadly auto-renew, so I don't go with them anymore.

I'll be phoning around once I've had my coffee and woken up a bit, I'll let you guys know who I went with and if they're any good in terms of price.

Then the old girl's getting pulled out of the workshop and getting a wash, she's filthy.

Just hope the tires are OK, she's a very heavy car and has been sat unmoving for almost three years on the same tires. Should be OK but might be rumbly for a few miles as they reshape.

[SiC]

Another +1 on Hagerty here. Not the absolute cheapest but still competitive. Mega quick and easy to deal with over the phone. 

Only thing is be aware of is they don't cover any form of frequent commuting nor business use. 

[Matty]

Another for hagerty. Excellent to deal with

[MikeKnight]

Ended up trying Hagerty first and ultimately went with them, very smooth process and the guy on the other end of the phone is professional but it also feels like you're speaking to a mate who understands classics.

£280 for a year and included RAC breakdown cover, spot on, good price!

I only need it a few months while I fix the Jeep (which is close to £400 to insure in comparison and I'm bloody 42 too, oof) so I'll likely cancel when I don't need it anymore, there's only a £25 fee for cancelling.

Fantastic.😀

[mat777]

Just come across this thread. What an epic car! Loving the absolutely sofa-like interior too. Glad to see it going back on the road, if I hadn't just bought my own somewhat older Caddy I'd have definitely been tempted to buy this.

 

 

 

[MikeKnight]

I don't know if I mentioned it earlier in the thread, but the only real problem I have with this car rust-wise is the flying wedges at the back for the lights have rust coming through on their top surface, which I believe is coming through from just being constantly washed by the wheels as it drives along.

It does strike me as funny that it was rust free when imported in 2018 and within 5 year of being imported and very few miles it's starting to rust.

Good 'ol England.

[mat777]

52 minutes ago, MikeKnight said:

I don't know if I mentioned it earlier in the thread, but the only real problem I have with this car rust-wise is the flying wedges at the back for the lights have rust coming through on their top surface, which I believe is coming through from just being constantly washed by the wheels as it drives along.

It does strike me as funny that it was rust free when imported in 2018 and within 5 year of being imported and very few miles it's starting to rust.

Good 'ol England.

I'm willing to bet that as a Florida car it will have had little or no rust proofing from new. I believe a lot of southern or desert state cars just never get it because they don't need it, and it saves the manufacturers that few extra cents....
Definitely something to nip in the bud now though and maybe shell out for a professional proofing service

[Low ontime]

Can’t stop thinking about the film goodfellas now I’ve read this thread…

[Schaefft]

On 3/30/2023 at 11:03 AM, MikeKnight said:

I don't know if I mentioned it earlier in the thread, but the only real problem I have with this car rust-wise is the flying wedges at the back for the lights have rust coming through on their top surface, which I believe is coming through from just being constantly washed by the wheels as it drives along.

It does strike me as funny that it was rust free when imported in 2018 and within 5 year of being imported and very few miles it's starting to rust.

Good 'ol England.

I found quite a few of these in the junkyard when I was searching for parts for my DeVille, some of them seemingly pristine. Ended up getting a complete book pack for a Fleetwood like yours, the illustrations are glorious.

Just need the car to go with the manual now, let me know when you are sick of yours.