C Carl

Well , well , well. Hmmmmm.........something new to learn. What fun ! I kinda wonder where the pics disappeared to and how to get them back. What about posting more ? I can't understand the cryptic symbols around here , and sadly don't have time to learn in general. Even less now. I guess I am a bit of an old idiot. Just when I figure out how to use something acceptably well , the system or software or format or something changes. I really liked the ease of what I learned to use before. I wonder if the P.M. I sent will go through ? O.K. , first I better see if this posts................. CC

Hi , all , I must indeed rest up here with Roy and Danny helping us two oldsters. Roy continues in great health , and I think he still has memories from before my Cad rolled off the assembly line !! I wanted to see if I could finally attach some pics , so without the laborious selection process I inflict on myself , here is a "grab bag". I got down the coast to Jockos. I have never seen as healthy looking restaurant patrons as here. An anorexics worst nightmare. I went surf with halibut , as red meat is no longer advisable. 1 1/2 hour wait was fun. Lots of interested folks , of course. Poor coil connection shorting to ground led to smoke , and a quick pulling of the pin on the Halotron fire extinguisher. Flashlight failed , so AAA to the rescue. Felt foolish when I realized by daylight , that a good dose of light could have allowed me to fix it PDQ. O.K. I have located a VGC made in USA Delco coil. No more sad substitutes for a while. I want to take it easy , catch up on sleep and correspondence. Thanks for your much appreciated support. More soon , CC

Dog bone dead beat tired in Santa Barbara. Cad seems to be running better than ever. Good story , but no time to tell it now. 4 hrs of sleep last night. Not much more night before. A bit late for social engagement. Can't get pics to load. Much more with explanation. Can't find my glasses to proofread , so I'll just post now. Apologies , CC

Looks like everything is in order for today. The storms which shifted to California after giving Western Washington the wettest winter on record are gone. At last this old Cad and I will be able to drive very slowly. No more trying to stay ahead of the rain , or hurrying to get to pre-planned shelter. It will be a welcome change to stop and enjoy any scenic spot I feel like. No more of the same old parking lot pics. I now have a spare Optima , and spare new coil. This will allow me to continue to analyse the problem I have with deteriorating performance as the car runs longer and warmer. Can a coil really become weaker as it warms up , only to run fine the next day when everything is cold ? Or can a coil be deteriorating gradually , the weak condition simply becoming magnified as everything under the hood heats up ? When the car misbehaves next , I will put in the new coil and see if this is the problem. - CC

Well , seems not much "MIS" to this adventure at this point. The strategy was to return the Cad to its starting condition. That meant to take almost 1000 miles of use on the spark plugs by replacing them. The old thing left Portland running a bit too cool. I brought it up some by blocking off parts of the radiator. Now , in warmer territory , to counter failing radiator shutters , I have cleared the full radiator and blocked the shutters wide open. Running well on a 50 mile test drive down and up the coast. The battery must be inferior to departure , and could not reach 75% charge , although running all day. Sounds like a dying Optima to me. New one tomorrow. You see the car wrapped in 4 strategically chosen layers. It received the luxury of staying in Mark Klein's aircraft hangar for the last wave of the series of storms to hit the coast. Tomorrow I will get it , and plan to leave Tuesday. I hope I get a chance to get some attractive pics as I wind down the coast. These pics are cool enough , but they are getting a bit stale. Motel parking lots do not exactly convey the feeling of adventure. Oh , yeah. A sharp eye will notice a change of license plate on the test drive. I am trying to correct this car being registered mistakenly as a '26. It is a blatant '27. Monterrey Police came to my rescue while I was lost on the wrong side of the road. Some of you know how confusing Monterrey / Seaside , etc. can be. They pointed out that it would be a good idea to keep the old plates on the car until the proper registration is complete. They were extremely helpful and understanding. I think that in this part of the country , they are used to old men in old cars , and have some affection for them. - CC

Thank all of you who have given me encouragement , and also everyone who has given me a view ! I have wanted to take such a leisurely cross country trip since I bought my '24 Cad 26 years ago. When I think of the work I have done on it over about 4000 miles , the routine becomes familiar. I should have had the opportunity to drive it quite a bit more , but life got In the way. I am very fortunate now to finally be on the road. The closed car is more suited for all day driving. As we old car lovers know , each individual car has its strengths and quirks. However , we all know that an unrestored relic will have issues that a perfectly restored car will not be so vulnerable to. But obviously cars which were simply dependent on frequent maintenance and adjustments by design of the era , must get that attention or suffer. So here we are , hood panels up , new plugs , hood down , and a 50 mile test drive. Much improved , now with engine temp quite low , however , I am grateful for modern multi-viscosity oil. Let's see what happens in the 80 degree heat we get to run in later this week. As I have posted elsewhere , it is wonderful to have this remarkable technology to share aspects of our lives together. The hardest part of old age outside of pain and ill health , is loosing ones friends. And here we have a group of people , feeling comfortable enough with one another to assume familiarity to offer not only support , but to put one another back on track when a bit off. Special thanks to Rusty who helped me understand mid teens to late '20s gasoline. This has given me a remedy to make my mid '20s Cads run better on modern gasoline. I am also indebted to Dwight who gave me an opportunity to get focused and "up and at 'em". Cort , you are always an inspiration with your strength and great attitude. I feel so lucky to still be able to drive these difficult cars. Several of you have suffered accidents or debilitating health issues which keep you out of the drivers seat. I hope I will be able to photographically take you with me if my car behaves itself as I am about to enter the most scenic part of the trip. I am posting farther down under General Motors , Cadillac & LaSalle. I will post similar but different pics there. Along with the Cadillac LaSalle Club forum under General , that will tell a bit more about recent difficulties. I have finally got past some problem I had registering on CLC. Almost bedtime , CC

I am trying to drive this to the Cadillac & LaSalle Club Grand National next month. As some of you know , it is unrestored and original. The fenders and aprons have been repainted. The pinstriping has been replaced , having been almost totally buffed off in the long distance past. I had the wheels rebuilt from a set the previous owner included. This will preserve the VGC originals for the next owner , as I intend to drive this Cadillac. The only other deviation from original is the glasspacks (!!) someone put on it (maybe the aggressive buffer ?). This has a benefit , as everyone enjoys the roar of a V8 firing up. Also , it allows me to hear whether it is firing well under way. It is , but I am having a problem which has me temporarily stopped in Monterrey , Ca. I think I can improve it enough to continue on Tuesday. You can see continuing details on Cadillac LaSalle under General Motors below. Also under General on the Cad-LaSalle forums. Weather has been a delay. Supposed to be a good dry spell starting Monday afternoon. Here you see some of the dry accommodations enjoyed for an hour in the hanger , to 3 days in Port Orford , Or. The scheduled service was expertly done by Rod Dahlgren of Napa , Cal. The kindness and hospitality of Rod and Cyndy will be a treasured memory for the rest of my days. - CC

Thank you to all who have posted on CLC Forum. Among my many insufficiencies is my primitive cyber inability. Can't quite get registered on CLC. Almost , but not quite. For some time I have been in triage mode. Planning and preparing for my last significant Cadillac cruise. Declining health of mid to late 80s internals in a 71 year old shell puts my Cad and myself in the same age bracket ! At this point I have come over 800 miles from Portland. "Somewhere near Salinas" (Monterrey) , "Lord , I" don't want this once in the rest of my lifetime drive to "slip away". I would rather literally die trying , than to sit at home wishing I had given it a go. While looking for definitive help , (I never start on of these road trips w/o my CLC directory) , I will try to get the '27 running as it had 100-200 miles out. This car and my '24 cad have the same problem. The '27 has always suffered a bit more. So I will throw in a new set of Autolite 3076 plugs (my present ones don't look all that bad), and see if I can get it down the coast where the weather will be somewhat drier. Looks like I'll have to duck and cover for a few days here as I have frequently. At the latest , it seems mid next week will have an dry period. I will not drive this beauty in the rain. I better run out for the plugs now. More later with pics. - CC

There were many different windwings for closed cars. The specific means of attachment varied somewhat, of course. - Carl

Hey Rich, go to classicaccessories.org , and under heading " WINDWINGS 1920s-1930s Open and closed cars" , you may find something similar to compare. There is a pretty good selection. Roy Lassen , now up in his 90s ( ! ) and his grandson Danny have mountains of ancient stuff in Santa Barbara , Ca. I always find some cool accessories when I visit (especially a great Taylor trunk for my 1927 Cadillac sedan). - Carl

Another useful feature of timing control is to allow extremely low speeds in top gear with full retard. You can probably slowly and very gently accelerate out of 4 or 5 mph on level ground. Downhill , just pick up a bit of sped with the clutch in in top gear , then let the clutch out at idle. Just crack the throttle , and as speed increases , advance the timing. Chauffeurs back then used these techniques to give the smoothest gentlest ride possible to their passengers. This is even easier on modern 87 octane gasoline. Drive anticipating conditions ahead , and try to avoid exercising that crashbox as much as possible. Always use the lowest octane available. I would think your car has significant exhaust heating to the intake manifold. Block that heat if practical, and reduce thermal bridging as much as you can. Gasoline is very different today from the low volatile mixture used mid-teens to late '20s. What a spectacular car ! - Carl

Hi , Joe , Looks like you have your answer drawn from years, and tens of thousands of miles of experience. Let me see if I can offer what may be an interesting perspective. Chronologically I am 71 years old (my doctors tell me I am physically about as old as your '30 Cadillac). We all know guys or gals in their 70s who buy new Cadillacs. Now consider the septuagenarian who bought a new Cad in 1930, or 1927 as in the case of my old sedan. Born before the Civil War. Could not have even seen a car until in their 40s. Lived over 1/2 their lives in horse-drawn days. Might have harnessed up a brace of stout steeds to a 4 place high-wheeled carriage. Now how far could that pair of ponys pull said conveyance loaded to max capacity over level roads in a day ? Not a horseman myself, I have been told 20-25 miles or so. Any expertise on this to verify ? Now, a new Cadillac imposes equestrian obsolescence. Every hour the Cad carries its occupants half again as far as the nags could drag 'em for the entire diurnal duration. Introduce grade, up or down, and the difference in capabilities is magnified. Uh , oh. I just got a call and have to run. This is all to suggest enjoying these old cars (neither Pierce-Arrow , Duesenberg , European exotic or other faster car), as they would have been driven by the satisfied original owner. There is certainly every reason to spare engine stress at modest cruise speed with O.D. But handling limitations in an emergency situation requires restraint in the velocity department. I just got back from pre-running my intended route , Portland , 'Frisco , L.A , 'Vegas for CLC G.N. mid April. Will you be there ? This is intended to be my last significant road adventure. Will the '27 and its ailing driver make it ? You see the humble 4 door in the background behind the '31 Packard. Next , the pinstriping has been repaired on this original unrestored relic. Next one of the hotels/motels I found with mandatory covered parking available , each 1/2 days drive apart. This , on the elegant end of the spectrum , was built in 1926. Appropriate photographic opportunity ? Nice view spot used to alleviate a hydraulic imperative. Finally , my new wheels turned out nicely. This will preserve the originals in great shape for the next owner. The paint on them is just getting a bit delicate. Tom Dessert near Vancouver , Wash respoked the spare wheels I got with the car. He can be contacted at dessertt@hotmail.com , yes , two "t's". TBC , CC

100% kerosene ? NO ! NO ! NO ! I am and have been traveling, and eventually will prepare a response to another topic for which I will have to strap on a bib and munch a slice of humble pie. This will help us all here. More modern distillation curves are from my old Marks Mechanical Engineers Handbook , Sixth Edition (1958). The earlier curves and fascinating info is from 3rd ed. (1930) which came to me just prior to my departure. This will explain the inordinate amount of intake preheat on cars from mid 'teens - late '20s. I expect the 2nd. Ed. (1924) I ordered will beat me home. I will include any relevant info, and also data from Merck Index. In the meantime, block off all exhaust flow preheating intake on your subject period cars. Also interrupt thermal bridging where practical. You will then run far better on modern 87 octane. Sad note to book lovers : Cliff's Books in Pasadena , Ca. was gone when I stopped by a week ago. I had hoped to pick up a Marks First Edition (1916). Might have to order that too , depending on info gleaned from 2nd. Ed. Peace be upon all of you my dear brothers and sisters. - Carl

Good morning , Andrew , I have not been to 'Vegas in years (hope to be there mid April in my '27 Cadillac for the Cadillac & LaSalle Club G.N.) , but in the past have enjoyed closer than public access to the Imperial Palace Collection. ( Is Ritchie Cline still heading up that large stable ?) Ritchie was of great help to me perhaps 20-25 years ago. Hopefully someone here has current status info. Wishing you a very enjoyable trip, and relief from U.K. damp gloom this time of year, - Carl

Hi guys , is the '24 Cad touring you are working on like this ? I have had this car for 26 years. It is original and unrestored. Even the top and headliner are original. I used Surflex as a top dressing when I first got it. Looks great still. Ray Pierce of Akron - Canton Oh. from whom I bought the car said it was repainted maybe as long ago as the '50s. Fortunately in original colors. Other than that , I finished the wheels as you see , since the original intricate pinstriping had been painted over. If you look closely at the rear 1/4 view , you can see the turn signals I found NOS at a swap meet. Engine vacuum extends the semaphore out , and it swings and lights up. Cancel , and it sucks back in. This is a period correct mid '20s accessory. It certainly looks good as mounted , but was intended for closed cars. You see the proper mounting under the visor on the '27. This pic was taken last April on a 400 mi. shakedown at The George White House in the hills above Hood River , Or. Beer and hard cider is the specialty of the house. I had pear. If you need some reference standard for the work you are doing on your '24 let me know. Bob , I have been very busy , and will send you an email soon. I am finding out some amazing things about early gasoline that may explain a problem I have been having with my old Cadillacs when they fully warm up on a hot day. My beat up old Mechanical Engineers Handbook , and postings from guys on another thread has given me an insight which I will share soon. I need a bit more research time. My M.E. Handbook is a sixth edition which rolled off the press around 50 years ago when I received my flight engineers training. The smoking gun will be in the 2nd or 3rd edition (1924 and 1930). Anyone out there have one ? Hey , Bob , I wonder how the sale is going on your roadster. That seems like a lot of true 1928 roadster for the money. Might be a good idea to post also on the general for sale. Also , low mileage and original but for the repaint , the more pics the better. I hope to drive the '27 down the coast in a month or so , and need to drive it to a CLC member in Sebastopol , Ca. How far are you from there ? It would be great fun to swap drives and compare in the unlikely event that you still have your Buick. - Carl

I just shipped 4 large heavy old tires from Seattle , WA. to Allentown , Pa. using Greyhound. Four 33x5 weighing a total of 184#. Cost only $78 ! The saving is substantial if you pack yourself , and take shipment to the bus station after doing all the "paperwork" on line. You will be sent the labels via email after completing and paying for the application. Pickup in person. Go to busfreighter.com. It took 8 or 9 days over Christmas. A few hubcaps should be cheaper. I have used "The Dog" before , and I think station to station would also mean items would be more secure and more carefully handled. - Carl

Let's see. I better be careful here. What is "low octane tractor gas" ? STOP ! STOP ! STOP ! Before reading further , Google up "kerosene". Readers will have varying degrees of petrochemical expertise , but diligent reading , perhaps the relatively straightforward britannica.com link will be rather unequivocal in its implications. Please pay attention to comparisons with gasoline , and relationship to jet fuel. Now lookka here : jet fuel is about 140 octane. Remember your flight engineers training ? I remember mine. Diesel fuel is virtually the same. Has to be VERY high octane for 22:1 compression engines. O.K. , true confessions time : anyone who reads this , raise your hand if you have ever had to run pure kerosene (or stove oil , or jet fuel , or diesel) in your old 10:1 or 11:1 high compression engine in an emergency. Tell the truth , now. Remember how lousy it ran ? But smoky , it did limp along , right ? See , the octane was way too HIGH. If you had just given it a load of very LOW octane , your engine would have suffered mortal damage. Pistons would never have forgiven you. FOR THIS REASON DO NOT TRY THE REVERSE ! DO NOT EVEN TRY TO RUN A DIESEL ON GASOLINE. THEY NEED THE VERY HIGH OCTANE KEROSENE BASED FUEL APPROPRIATE FOR THEIR HIGH COMPRESSION RATIOS ! That 92 octane will break 'em. Peace be upon you , dear brothers and sisters , I am not looking for a fight here. Not with anyone , particularly kind , generous , helpful , knowledgable 8000 posters who probabably , literally , have forgotten more than I ever will know about cars. Seriously. On the land , where rubber meets road , some degree of inaccuracy may be tolerable. Up high over Albequerque , Alberta , Antartica , or Argentina , persistent myth has no home. Ummmm , Argentina. I have an enormous amount of very high altitude driving experience in the Andes. Specific very low octane fuel is necessary to pull grades at , say , 15 , 16 , 17,000 feet of altitude. And fuel management coming back down to the Amazon jungle , or the coast must be considered. I do some of this for driving I do in the U.S.A. in the 5000 to 12,000 foot regions. Again , I mention this only to substantiate some knowledge of octane considerations. I just have to lay in a bit of groundwork before the fan driven storm about to be unleashed against me. Been through a bit of this before , so forgive my pre-emptive defensive posture. As best I can tell so far , it is possible some old cars were set up to use kerosene. This may have been driven by commodities availability at one time. This involved pre - heaters , so the cars were running on VERY HOT KEROSENE VAPORS. A bit different from just tank up and go. You simply can't blend DOWN the octane of 87 octane gasoline by adding 130 or 140 octane. O.K. , I have to do something else. I better duck and cover for coming ridicule. Gotfredson shown rests along with acres of automotive treasure belonging to Bernie Long , Burlington , Ca. That is East of L.A. , before you get to Redlands. He does advertise in Hemmings. Anyone feel free to P.M. if you want more info or pics. I hope all of you are having a good start to the new year ! - Carl

You know , my above statement , "By '26 N/A" is not entirely accurate. FWIW , probably should say "By '26 , no longer cast aluminum". Obviously access is necessary to adjust valves , though not to lube. There were a great many changes made in the now venerable (magnificently inherently balanced since 1924) , 314 cu. in. Cadillac V8 for the 1926 - '27 model years. Truly an astonishing amount of profound and subtle changes for just two years. But Cadillac still was using fork and blade rods , so this engine might be considered transitional for what was about to come. The offset (staggered) , blocks came in '28 for the 341 Cadillacs. No mo' fork. Blade neither. I think the transition time was necessary to develop the all new balanced V8 with offset blocks. The LaSalle 303 had this upon introduction in 1927. This shows the different '26 - '27 covers. - Carl

Cadillac 1918 - '25. Easily removable for frequent lubrication. By '26 N/A , as pressure lube took over. Pre - '18 Cad V8s did not have removable cyl heads , so much in the block castings would be different. I would be extremely surprised if these would be common to those '15 - '17 early V8s also. Do you have any other early V8 Cadillac parts ? - Carl

Happy New Year , Bob ! I am spending too much time falling in love with your beautiful Buick from the scant single pic shown. If not for my state of advanced decline, it would be mine now. I have never made a request of the owner of a car I can not buy yet. But in this case , I beg you or the soon to be lucky and proud owner : Please , more pics ! I ante up the following pics in trade. This is the repair progress on an original , unrestored 1927 Cadillac standard 5 pass. sedan. An earlier clumsy owner aggressively buffed the original paint until the pinstriping was almost totally erased. Enough remained that we could research the original presentation , and do a pretty accurate job. The wheels are new , made by Tom Dessert here in Washington State. The originals are fine , but the paint (matching the green body) , is getting delicate. I want to drive this car , so the original wheels will be carefully preserved for the next owner. Along with many of us old guys , I love mid - late '20s cars. Super fun old drivers ! Fairly powerful engines , and 4 wheel brakes. But I love their ancient styling , crashboxes , and their throwback wood artillery wheels. Man , does your car have it all ! Thanking you in advance for more pics if you can for all of us who must also have fallen in love with your roadster. - Carl

Hi , Matt , I suggest you (and/or your customer as the case may be) , join The Cadillac and LaSalle Club. From the length of time and number of views here , you have pretty well tapped out this potential source. CLC has a number of closed 30-31 V16s in the directory. Some will be unrestored original cars , which can serve as reference standards. The majority of members do not spend a lot of time online. Some would help you if contacted by snail or email. CadillacLaSalleClub.org , email cadlasalleclub@aol.com , tel. 614-478-4622. Good luck , and I look foreward to seeing this remarkable beauty at the CLC Grand National close to you in 'Vegas mid April 2016. Perhaps I will have the pleasure of meeting you. - Carl

Well , Mike , my friend , "very neglected" is a relative term. The sad twin '29 here has travelled less fortuitous roads than your beauty , by comparison pampered and spoiled and happily luxuriating in your able hands ! And what a difference a decade makes ! This '19 Cad is a farm implement last licensed in '47. Farm , yeah , but long banished from the barn and out to pasture. Anyone curious as to the asking price on this museum piece ? You have but to ask. - CC

Perhaps a glorious future as yard art awaits. (BTW , pictured headlights glow gently at night). - Carl

Oh , Cort , I am so happy for you ! My greatest admiration for your positive , cheerful postings , and attitude. I know such an outlook does not come easy. I often tear up when I see your gallant efforts under such difficult conditions at your young age. It may be of some benefit to you to know that you have helped me by your example. I am going through end of life decline. Started with a bad accident and deteriorated quickly from that point. Not expected to see 2015 , but now the docs say I might drag on for years. But I am old. 71 chronologically , about 85 physically. Compared to your ordeal , I don't have a care in the world. I am very lucky to have made old age. Many of my very best closest friends did not. You serve as a wonderful example to all of us. I hope more awareness of your strength and abilities leads to a long climb up the ladder of success. You deserve nothing less. - Carl

Good afternoon , Dave. It occurs to me that another significant variable here might be the enormous amount of heat being radiated up from the high pavement temperature in a 'Vegas summer. Might make long stops idling at lights even worse. But as Ben said earlier , it might be worthwhile really getting into that radiator before Summer rolls around again. I bought my '27 Cadillac from a guy who knew very little about old cars. It always overheated on him. He took the car to a radiator shop which had never seen a 4" thick honeycomb core radiator before. They pronounced it fine. He rebuilt the water pump. He put a real temp gauge on it , and tried to limit his driving to within limits. Still cracked the R.H. cyl head. Sold it to me. I put a new radiator in it and replaced the cyl head. It runs cool under all conditions and air temps now. Oh yeah , and I am like you. I figure I have done a lot on this car and I will drive it as much as I can. Although I am not in very good health , I hope to drive it all the way from Portland to 'Vegas by way of L.A. for the Cadillac-LaSalle Club Grand National mid April next year. In the unlikely event that I acctually pull this off , I will try to look you up. We will get a big kick out of each other's cars , and I would be very happy to get a chance to ride in the back seat of my ancient Caddy. I am sure you know how to double clutch with the very best of 'em. Yes , you know that after a couple years you don't drive them as much as before the novelty wears off. But I am hear to tell you , in some ways the more you drive them , the more you love them. That a/c in your truck is going to look even better after a couple of hot summers in the old Buick. Speaking of your truck , did you adjust your mirrors out the way I mentioned from the safe driving class that I took a couple months ago ? Once you get used to it , you see the advantages of driving without blind spots. - Carl