Car Collector Chronicles - THE FORUM

gecko · Veteran Member

way south

D Yaros-Forum Admin · Guru

Mike,

Thanks for the intro. Glad to have you here!

Believe it or not, I do actually know a couple of other car guys from NZ. One has a Caddy, the other an Oldsmobile.

It does sound like you are indeed acquiring a "hands on" education when it comes to American rides, and enjoying it. That is good!

One does not see to many CB (Citizen's Band) radios anymore, what with all the new fangled electronics available. Does the thing even work in NZ?

Where in NZ are you, the N or S island?

Looking forwarding to your participation, and hearing more about your "learning experinece."

gecko · Veteran Member

Hi Dave,

I am in the north island --south end ! out of wellington actually .Yeah , that is pretty unusual for one to know a caddy and an olds owner from NZ. The vehicles in thier own right are unusual here.More cadillacs than olds if I were to guess. Solely because of the CADDY reputation , if that is the word .

primelinx · Veteran Member

Mike,

Saddened to hear of your earthquake tragedy in Christ Church.   Our condolences to the people of NZ.

I can well imagine Cadillacs are a rare commodity in NZ.   I would also imagine pretty expensive to run and maintain with high petrol and parts prices.

Will the Toro engine bolt to the Caddy motor mounts and transmission?    I admire your courage in rebuilding the engine.

I once owned an '89 D'Elegance.   Nice riding car, but no power what-so ever.

Good luck with your resto.

David

D Yaros-Forum Admin · Guru

Mike,

In the first image, with the 2 cads, the one on the left looks to be in great shape. In the 2d image, the car without the doors, is that the same car that is on the riht in the 1st picture?

Out of curiosity, tell me how you happened to stumble onto CCC -THE FORUM all the way from NZ?

gecko · Veteran Member

Hi David,
tx for your condolences .Your boys have just left to go back to the LA County Fire Service.Along with the Japs, aussies , poms ,taiwanese they have all had a terrible but well done job from all accounts
Geo techs have yet to do their work but they reckon about 10,000 homes won`t be rebuilt . 000`s are repairable.Talking of new subdivisions --oh yeah she is a mess .!!
We Had a little quake at 2am ish the other morning .Makes you think .Normally, I would just turn over n carry on m y sleep. Got up n grabbed a coffee but nothing else happened.

David, the toro will bolt directly to it --at least thats the best advice I have and am sure it is correct.
You got it in one with the gas prices --$2.20 /litre x 4.5 = $heaps / gallon.Very few people would use them as daily drivers. Quite often see the big Dodge rams and ford n chev equivalents though as daily drivers but these aren`t doing many miles anyway.
mike

gecko · Veteran Member

D Yaros-Forum Admin wrote:

Mike,

In the first image, with the 2 cads, the one on the left looks to be in great shape. In the 2d image, the car without the doors, is that the same car that is on the riht in the 1st picture?

Out of curiosity, tell me how you happened to stumble onto CCC -THE FORUM all the way from NZ?

Yep The 77 is in goodish --better than average --nick Hasn`t got the leather seats but a nice velour .It is the one with the CB radio. Cell phones have dealt to them but they are still n use a bit here.I have no idea if it works here but am sure someone could sort it .Unsure who I would link to ?? Probably a bunch of nightime ufo hunters or similar.

Yes the doorless car is the 86 that will be getting the toro 425. Today, after 9mths (stored inside), I am back into the body work .Have to restrip my work ie primer cos I used some rust remover with the remaining "crowsfoot "rust and it is showing through .That stuff is junk. So, this time I am grinding out what I can find --no treating --2 coats of etch primer and then 3 coats of a 3m primer --I am learning.You can`t cheat that rust.!

I found you guys via an email invite to join

mike

primelinx · Veteran Member

Mike,

Not sure if you can get it over there....but look for POR15.    It's a bit expensive, but if you spray (or brush) this on all interior metal panels, exterior & interior floor metal etc. etc. your car will never rust.   It's good stuff.

A word of caution....mask off all painted surfaces, glass, rubber mouldings, chrome etc. really well so you don't get any over-spray where you don't want it to go.     The same is true for your garage floors and walls.   It doesn't come off.    What it will do is prevent rust on vulnerable surfaces.
See: http://www.por15.com/por-15-rust-preventive-paint/products/1/

This is not a base coat or primer for exterior painted surfaces, but for all other less seen metal surfaces.

Used it on my car and I drive it year round.   Salty roads here in winter, much like salt sea air in NZ.   At least 3 exterior coats of clear coat and several coats of wax on the exterior also helps.

Good luck with the resto.

David

gecko · Veteran Member

primelinx wrote:

Mike,

Not sure if you can get it over there....but look for POR15.    It's a bit expensive, but if you spray (or brush) this on all interior metal panels, exterior & interior floor metal etc. etc. your car will never rust.   It's good stuff.

A word of caution....mask off all painted surfaces, glass, rubber mouldings, chrome etc. really well so you don't get any over-spray where you don't want it to go.     The same is true for your garage floors and walls.   It doesn't come off.    What it will do is prevent rust on vulnerable surfaces.
See: http://www.por15.com/por-15-rust-preventive-paint/products/1/

This is not a base coat or primer for exterior painted surfaces, but for all other less seen metal surfaces.

Used it on my car and I drive it year round.   Salty roads here in winter, much like salt sea air in NZ.   At least 3 exterior coats of clear coat and several coats of wax on the exterior also helps.

Good luck with the resto.

David

Tx David,
I have heard of it .Yes, expensive but good they say. There is also an eastwood product and a product called "rust bullet"I will take your advice on this stuff and I can buy it locally. All product here is expensive(except sheep!) and getting something like por15 shipped ex states would be a drama --maybe even a no no by air.You talk about salt spray, my brother once lived over the road from a wild seashore.He parked his old nissan 4wd on the sea side of the road. The panels fell off in 18 mths so he sold the engine, trans, n diffs/axles.Just an aside
mike

couple of pics of what is going on

primelinx · Veteran Member

I believe the 425ci (7L) Toronado engine was the biggest clock olds engine of the day, turning out 385hp and 475 ft·lb of torque.     It should have enough power to give your Caddy plenty of zip. However, rebuilding can be an expensive proposition.

I was a bit lucky with my Olds Starfire 394 (6.5L/345hp) engine.   It was never abused, but never looked after either. Tan plenty of kerosene through it to clean out the moisture and junk, replaced the wiring, valve seals, gaskets, and gave it a good cleaning.    Runs great with 4 qts. of 15-W40 motor oil and one quart of Lucas.

Lots of restoration to do on the car. As someone restoring a Caddillac you may be interested.   These videos are time consuming to watch as there was a lot of work to do.

#1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHEfub6BWAU

#2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdKdueGjXSM

#3

primelinx · Veteran Member

Accidentally sent message before including 3rd resto video.

#3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgMxdBsVuTs

As with any classic car the work never ends. Good luck with your restoration.

David

gecko · Veteran Member

David,
That 62 is BEUUUTIFULL. Congrats on the best in show . I am ,even as a novice , able to appreciate a little of the effort that has gone into it.

How was the steering wheel repaired?

What colour is the paint ?? I am looking at REDFIRE MET. It looks similar ?

Is the embossing of starfire to the mats expensive? readily available ?

I don`t intend on "showing" the car but if I am able to get 50% of the finish /attention to detail that you have I would be extremely happy.

Now , back to your other videos !!
cheers
mike

D Yaros-Forum Admin · Guru

Back in the day, I did a little time in a body shop. How far back in the day? Well let's say that paint was either enamel or lacquer. Metal flake was cutting edge. Never heard of base coat/clear coat!

I did enjoy being an instrument of restoration/transformation, even though it was, and still is, dirty work.

primelinx · Veteran Member

Mike & Dave,

There's nothing dirtier than body work. Metal filings get under your skin, clothes are ruined, lungs are filled with junk and the list goes on.    For my nickle I'd rather have someone else do it.   It always seems like a backyard bodywork job, looks like a back yard body work job.   Dave is far more accomplished at knowing about classic cars than I am.      He's really the guy to speak to about technical details.

The steering wheel was sent out to be done locally. They expaded the sun cracks and filled them with a non-cracking filler.   Then sanded smooth and painted.

The paint on my '62 Olds Starfire is not the original colour, but Madiera Maroon (a '64 Chevelle and Corvair colour.)   Not very common.

Each embossing with the Starfire name cost a whopping $15 (Canadian.)   The embossed patches are held onto the mats with sewn in Velcro backings. Embossing places are common here.

I've found there are no bargains in car restoration, if you want it done right.   I have about $55K (Canadian) tied up in the restoration in my car. (About the same as a medium priced Lexus.)   Others have a lot more invested in restorations.....but hey, it's a personal choice.    If you love your classic car and intend to keep it long term invest the money...   If you want a new Honda, or Toyota it will cost you a lot less.   We all derive our motoring enjoyment in different ways.

Good luck.

David

D Yaros-Forum Admin · Guru

Mike,

Knowing both David and his car (and what it was like when he acquired it) I am able to attest that he got a whole lot of bang for the bucks he has invested in it.

The key is: it is his daily driver, but you would never know it to look at it! The car gets a bath after each & every time it is taken out on wet roads. It also goes into the body shop for touch up annually.

All that effort pays off, and shows.

gecko · Veteran Member

D Yaros-Forum Admin wrote:

Back in the day, I did a little time in a body shop. How far back in the day? Well let's say that paint was either enamel or lacquer. Metal flake was cutting edge. Never heard of base coat/clear coat!

I did enjoy being an instrument of restoration/transformation, even though it was, and still is, dirty work.

Neither had I until 6 mths ago !!!!!Just been out doing my first primer job on the caddy --and here`s a chuckle for you guys .Didn`t have the lid on hard on the pot n well was a bloody mess .LESSON 1 .Glad I wasn`t 16 and working foir the boss !!That was 20 mins ago --must get back for coat #2 and all its lessons .whew
might have to include a pic to invite you over for the base/clear !!!--brothers boat --now back in the water 10 mins from me --how about some fishing boys ??
mike

D Yaros-Forum Admin · Guru

A mess is an understatement!

The nice thing about primer is, it is hard to make a big mistake. It can all be corrected with a little more sanding, touchup, sanding and sanding!

As for fishing, I believe it is summer where you are? That means it is winter here. I'll take a pass on any winter fishing trips!

primelinx · Veteran Member

You mean people actually fish?? I thought all fish came in cello packs in the supermarket freezer and were manufactured at a fish factory. Around here you wouldn't want to eat anything that came out of Lake Erie.

Dave's right... Primer errors are easy to correct on a car, but not so good for your clothes. Hope you weren't wearing your Sunday best at the time.

David

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