I am considering purchasing and restoring a 1979 Cadillac
Fleetwood with the 425 CI motor [fuel injected].

Some questions:

Was this a good year for the Fleetwood? I'm told by various sources
that the '79 Fleetwood is a good one.

The motor only puts out 195 HP. What would you do to tune it
for greater HP? I assume the car has only comes with one exhaust and
the thought occurs to me to put in another one. I'm
also considering going to a high-performance air filter
(K&N) and injection kit, though I doubt the latter exists.
What other recommendations can anyone offer?

What grade of motor oil would be best? I'm thinking 10W40
in MobilOne Extended Performance synthetic. Maybe 10W30?
For an engine that size and age, I'd think 5W30 and 5W20 are
too thin. (Assume car has circa 100k miles).

The car originally took HR78-15 tires.
Would this correspond to P225/75R15 now? Or P235/70R15?
What did the "H" stand for -- was it a width and if so,
what would that be in millimeters?

I assume this car took UNleaded gas in 1979. Would it
need 93 octane? Does anyone have a manual or know right
off what kind of gasoline grade it required?
I plan to run Techron (2 of the big bottles) to clean out
the fuel system before the first oil change.

Lastly, what does it typically cost to reupholster all the
seating in a big car like this (all new leather)?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can offer suggestions.

BTW: This was Lefty's car in the movie 'Donnie Brasco'
Not that that's importatnt.

On Wed, 19 Jul 2006 18:32:35 -0400, "F. Baker" <baker@deslab.mit.edu>
wrote:


Replace the word "restore" with the phrase "dump a lot of money in
to". While the '79 was and is a decent car it has almost no collector
interest. You will buy it as a $900 car and spend $5k on it so that
in the end you will have a $900 car. Not that this is a bad thing,
just don't fool yourself in to believing it will be worth something
when you get done. If you want something that will give at least some
of your money back to you look for a 50's or 60's version.


Other than the miserable 425 it was ok. Mid to late 70's up to the
mid 80's is a pretty sad time for engines in all American cars due to
emissions standards.

/
I would remove said motor and sit it to the curb for the trash
collector. Replace motor with a nice pre '72 472... Bolts right in
and gives you some actual power.

I always used 10w40 in them. They aren't that picky... Just use what
ever the owners manual suggests.


No idea what it translates to. The 225's work well.



Regular ol' unleaded.

..

These are hugely expensive cars to restore and maintain in top
condition, yet they have relatively poor resale value due to low
collector interest. If you get into it, double any good initial cost
estimate and you might be close.

John

F. Baker wrote:

Do you mean restore as in restore to brand new stock condition?
Or are you planning on modifying it?

Driving it? Showing it?

Building it and selling it?

I'd say do it if you want to unless you're going to build it and sell
it, because you'll never get your money back on a 79 Cadillac.

If you're "rebuilding" it for fun, you can get 500 cubic inch Caddys
that should fit and provide a lot more power.

And whatever your budget is... double it.

Ray

ray <rollingviolation@example.com> wrote in news:JYRvg.1634$Xc7.1095
@newsfe22.lga:



Could a 500 CI engine from a '70 or '71 Eldorado
literally fit under the '79 Fleetwood's hood and
bolt in perfectly? Without complications?
You'd be going from EFI to a carb -- don't tell me there's
no dead ends involved in that.

-The Derfer

The Derfer wrote:

from Wikipedia...

425

In 1977 Cadillac introduced a new 425 in³ (7.0 L) V8, based on the
architecture of the 472, but with a smaller, 4.08 in (103.6 mm) bore and
4.06 in (103.2 mm) stroke. The new engine was also 100 lb (45.3 kg) lighter.

The 425 was offered in L33 form, with a four-barrel carburetor,
producing 180 hp (134 kW) @ 4000 rpm and 320 ft·lbf (498.6 N-m) of
torque at 2000 rpm, and L35 with electronic fuel injection for 195 hp
(145 kW); torque was the same, but peaked at 2400 rpm.

The 425 was used through 1979 on all Cadillacs except the Seville.

So, I'm no Caddy expert, but the 500 should just "drop in" and if you're
going that far and replacing the stock FI with a big old Holley, you'd
be doing some reworking anyway.

There is no such thing as "drop in" when you're talking about work of
this depth.

The OP had an interesting question, though: how much DOES it typically
cost to newly upholster the interior of a large sedan like this with new
leather, new stuffing in the seats, etc?

I have a restored fleetwood and what most of the others say is true - dont
get it for the resale - you wont get much for it - if you want it for its
smooth ride then thats fine

ive put about ten grand into mine over the past years and i probably would
only get around three or four for it maybe

a 1979 fleetwood is in the guinness book of world records as having the most
mileage with no overhaul so its a pretty good motor

i saw a website where a guy turned his 79 into a drag racer - it was
interesting

good luck


"F. Baker" <baker@deslab.mit.edu> wrote in message
news:44beb303$0$577$b45e6eb0@senator-bedfellow.mit.edu...

If anybody has an interest in a 78 coupe de'ville
drop me a line.......it's cheap ( best offer) in the Daytona ,Fla area

"noah body" <noah@noone.com> wrote in message
news:8l2Cg.36834$pu3.485411@ursa-nb00s0.nbnet.nb.ca...
most

It doesn't have anything to do about the year-model, because its simply a Cadillac. The nameplate itself is a show-stopper. F. Baker is absolutely right, you must consider doubling your budget because it'll cost you the extra bread. I got an '80 Seville, and i tried to restore it piece by piece. Luckily, i got great deals with the Cadillac AC condensers, fenders, taillights etc from my dealer. Restoring that Fleetwood is all worth the squeeze. Go for it and you'll be the bomb.