There’s always something you can improve when it comes to classic cars. It doesn’t matter if you have a concours-grade car or a project that has yet to be started. The only difference is the length of that list and the degree of difficulty in checking off those boxes.
When we got my mother’s 1974 Cadillac Eldorado back out of my parents' garage after a decade-long dormancy, I started making a mental list. It’s only natural, right?
[Live thread: Bringing back a Cadillac that inspired a love of cars]
After 15 minutes (okay maybe longer), I stopped myself.
What am I looking to really achieve here?
That should be your first question before proceeding with any project. Everything else on your list should work toward that goal.
Are we going to concours with this Caddy? The car’s far from concours grade. Yeah, that’s too much time and money for me as of the moment.
Motorsports? A 1974 Cadillac isn’t exactly at the top of the performance heap, despite the 500-cubic-inch engine. Let’s forget that idea.
Eventually, I came to the conclusion that I’d like to preserve it, cruise with it when I’m back in town and maybe take it to local car shows. That’s it. That’s my happy spot. Yours could be different, and that’s okay. You do you. Just think it through.
Back to the Caddy, we needed to get it running to achieve my goal. Fortunately, the only things we had to do were fix a stuck left-rear brake drum and change the fluids. That’s it.
I recently took it to a highly regarded old-school mechanic who confirmed that the Caddy runs like a champ. He told me to just enjoy it.
Just enjoy it?! Is he crazy? Is that possible? Not for this overachiever!
Seriously, though, there’s some work to be done to get it a bit more presentable and roadworthy.
The convertible top is coming apart at the edges. This requires someone to guide the top as someone else–usually my brother, my father or my wife–works the electronic controls to drop it down. Annoying, but not the end of the world.
The chrome bumpers have some pitting and rust. Certainly ugly, especially up close. Pricy to fix? Most likely. Let’s wait.
Then there are the filler panels surrounding the lights that basically shattered when we moved the car out of the garage. Unsightly? Absolutely. Affects drivability? Not one bit.
Lastly, there’s a bent wheel (possibly more) from sitting on flat tires for years. This does affect how the car rides, keeps its hubcaps on and ultimately how I enjoy cruising around with it. Okay, this is next. It’s time to look for solutions.
While I do that, we’d love to hear what you got in the works for your classic sports car. Feel free to drop a comment and don’t forget photos. We love seeing your pride and joy.
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Comments
I've had 25 years of pleasure from my '99 Mustang Cobra. A terrific local paintless dent removal specialist took three parking lot dings out of the car at modest cost several years ago. A couple of years ago the mice in our garage discovered that the pressure relief air vents in the trunk had a grid behind their flaps with rectangular openings exactly the cross-sectional area of a nickel, just mouse sized. They set up shop and the car smelled like it. Fixed the source by adding 1/2" hardware cloth behind the plastic grid, halving that cross sectional area and "closing the mouse doors". The odor remained.
Other than that, the only "drivability" issue was the original seats, with wear on the driver seat leather and not enough comfort for my spouse to enjoy a drive. Thorough cleaning and liberal use of Febreeze eliminated the odor after we removed all the old carpeting. Yesterday we finished installing new carpet on top of carefully fitted Dynamat sound absorbing material throughout the interior and trunk, and reinstalling the recently purchased primo Recaro seats with heat, ventilation fans, etc. She loves the Recaros, so that was a good investment. Not long ago put 4.10 gears in it so that 6800 rpm 4-valve engine could stretch its legs without sending me to jail. Yesterday's test drive was a joy.
Now that last "list" item: those 25-year-old chassis bushings. Already have nice, just slightly firm Bilsteins, but the bushings rattle a bit and jolt a bit too. After much agonizing about durability, control and ride comfort values, settled on the street-level Maximum Motorsports selection of urethane bushings as the most comfortable (lowest durometer numbers) option other than replacing factory rubber bushings that will dry out and fail again someday. Now have to get those installed, and hoping the driver's low back and his spouse's sensitive tush will still enjoy the toy. That's my list, hoping to end it with high satisfaction soon 
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By J.A. Ackley
