Hi there.. Just got it started yesterday.... it's been sitting in a garage since 1973, with a burnt wiring loom. These things really are mechanical wonders. It started almost right up.... blew a mouse nest and a wide variety of nuts out the exhaust and then began to purr at a perfect idle.... i'm stunned, absolutely lost for words! Only thing is the leaking rear main seal has to be replaced, so i guess i'll pull the engine this weekend. Could have been a lot worse though huh? My girlfriend has put together a page on her site, with some pics and "start-up" films..... enjoy! www.egeskov.net/49caddy MAN.. i love my 49 fastback!!
That's awesome! I love that car... We rescued a '56 Caddy for my buddy outta downtown Detroit, where it had been stored for over 20 some odd years... Same story as yours - a little tinkering, and that sucker fired right up! Even the old tube radio came back to life after a little while...
congrats on getting it going. i wish it was that easy for me. for cadillac parts at a great price check out coopersvintage.com
you guys don't whoop and holler to much do you? I liked all that crap puffing out of the exhaust any dead mice in there? sure sounds smooth for sitting for so long!
Great news. Im not positive but cant you just drop the pan to change the seal. May save you alot of time
that was great! the shit that came out of the exhaust was funny as hell! great car and a nice, happy ending to the story.
Thanx guys... I've worked on the Cad all winter, overhauling the brakes, radiator , waterpump and then a buddy of mine rewired the entire car. With that being done i'm gonna just lower it front and rear and leave the rest as is...... love the worn look of it ..... well... i'll propably put a blanket over the seats since they were badly damaged by the exhaust "inhabitants". Can any of you verify if it's possible to change the rear main seal by accessing through the pan? Thanx again for your replys and help Thomas
Sweet Caddy, I have always like that year and body style. I'm not an expert on that particular model year but most rear main seals of that vintage were the old "tar rope" type. I used to drop the pan and the rear main cap, loosen the other caps slightly, and let the crank droop down just a bit. Once the old seal was pushed out the new one had to be pulled around through the seal groove. There was a tool we used called a "Sneaky Pete", kinda looked like a Chinese finger cuff, that you could attach to one end of the new "rope" and then pull around through the groove. Once in place the crank was pushed up again, the rope trimmed flush, and then the rear main cap replaced. Good Luck!
Love that car, specially your fender ornament! Rocky just did a great tech post on replcing the rear seal in his 41 Poncho. ted H
Hi Ted. Gonna have to check out that tech post. You just had my girlfriend smiling there for a moment ;-)
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