hidden_hunter

My girlfriend lives in the East Doncaster area (near the Dan Murphey's) so I'll be on the look out

What do I think? I look forward to seeing your car driving around Doncaster East

Getting at the clutch isn't a particularly fun job either, we found that it worked best to have the transmission supported by the engine hoist when we removed it as it's incredibly heavy.

I was more being facetious, the ultra high end will always have a market - I suspect the area that's going to be hit the hardest will be the bottom to mid market

can't wait for a cheap duesenberg or doble I could be waiting a while...

There are certainly younger people that are interested in the hobby but like others said other stuff tends to have to come first (e.g. house) I'm under 30 and currently importing a 1922 Cadillac Coupe into Australia, so we are out there!

My cadillac manual tells you that if cadillac formula isn't available for the transmission to mix 600 WT oil with (I believe) grease - I can check the is exact composition when I get home from work but I can't imagine that it would have been too different between cad and buick

I think Bob's may even have the parts to rebuild the ignition dial from memory

28 distributor also works and is not made out of shoddy pot metal

I seem to recall some local people switching their distributor over to the ones used on the early Holden's so you might be able to get away with that

Australian car Rod?

and me, and I'm in the age group that grew up with Supra's and the fast and furious movies!

They're very common here, I really don't understand why you would pay anywhere near that - If I was looking for a modern car, supra or a brand new cadillac ats-v I know which one I would choose - each to their own I guess.

Well took your advice and have signed up for the cadillac and lasalle club (the US based one) Will keep an eye out!

One of the manuals (I think it might be the owners manual for export cars) actually tells you that you may have to hit the side of the vacuum tank to loosen any dirt that may be stuck in the valve

Yes I did - might post more details in the yahoo group in case the seller comes across this post. The more I think about it the club route makes more sense and might give a bit more flexibility around shipping. I'm pretty active on the buick forum so not planning on going anywhere any time soon The search continues! or the dealer puts a realistic reserve on it!

That is one thing that I have already found from my hunt, there are some people out there that expect way way too much - e.g. there was a late teens car here for sale (RHD) that would have needed $40k+ work on that they still wanted $25k for a non runner. Most of the Cadillac clubs here are focused on the newer models which have no appeal to me, there are a number of good generalist clubs though

I'll be sure to join up when I get home from work! Thanks for the information - obviously condition and body style would be important but what would expect to see a closed 24/25 car going for? I know once you've hit the late twenties the price goes up considerably

That pierce is a very very nice motor, but at US$35k + shipping + taxes I think it might be just out of my price range (given it's cheap there probably isn't much movement on the price) which is a shame because it's clearly in much better condition than the caddy and a higher quality. Also reading about the motor it sounds like it would offer a great driving experience. The dealer has listed the 22 cad on fleabay with a reserve, thinking I might put a cheeky bid in towards the end of the auction that would leave enough room to take a gamble and make it right. Though I wouldn't be surprised if the reserve is around what he was offering it at.

I hadn't really considered a piece arrow before, so I'll do some checking around Is it just that cad you think is over priced or the sort of car in that range is not going to be a great deal?

Hi Carl, Thanks again for all of the great information - sorry I've been a bit slower responding (work will do that!) The cars in the photo's are beautiful, is 24 or 25 the year that the dashboards got a lot more ornate? The earlier cars dashes seem more akin to what you'd see on the buick with a couple of gauges cut into a piece of timber. The dealer is talking early thirties for price and a couple of thousand to have it shipped - I don't know how much of a premium you're paying for a coupe over a full sedan (I prefer the 'sportier' look of the coupes but realise they may cost too much for a 'good' example) I did notice a few details on that car that seemed a bit off upon closer inspection, I wasn't sure with the primer cups if they still had them for all 8 cylinders or if they ever removed some of them along the way. The other thing that looks a bit suspect on it was the top of the radiator, the cap doesn't look right either. A car that's been part of the club seems like a good approach given it's more likely to be a 'known' quantity, it just adds some complexity with shipping

Thanks for all the great information Carl, those gears at the bottom of the steering wheel sound like something GM liked to put on everything around the same period (not interchangeable of course!) and are a common point of failure on Buick's as well. I'm not sure about whether we're allowed to talk price openly on the message boards here, but I do have a cost from the dealer to have it shipped here to Melbourne (excluding GST) A local car would obviously be preferable but there is quite the price premium to pay for one unfortunately (even more for different body styles as well) . Thanks for putting the word out! Is 1924 around the sweet spot for price to car ratio at the moment? I had specifically wondered if people did do that to add an oil filter, from the service manual I found before Cadillac added the filter the replacement distance was something like only 500 miles. The Buick has an oil filter that's impossible to replace, only used for about 18 months and not user serviceable - one up on the screen door filter they put with the pump Thanks again

Hi Carl and Matt, thanks for all the great information - yes the information in my profile is correct. I probably should have mentioned in my previous message that I would be looking to import into Australia mostly due to the fact that local cars are far more expensive (admittedly LHD cars are harder to sell and are cheaper in Aus). I suspect we're also in for a bit of a spike with Australian cars that have Holden bodies on them (which is most locally delivered cars is my understanding) due to Holden closing down manufacturing in Australia this year. I didn't realise how much of a difference the 2 plane crankshaft would make to the overall drivability of the car. I'm guessing that and the addition of the front wheel brakes is why there seems to be a fairly significant price jump on the cars 24 and newer - for instance there is a local (RHD)1927 7 passenger coupe that has no interior with the motor out asking US$34k. Someone has been trying to sell a LHD 1926 coupe that needs paint, full interior and a lot of "minor" things for about US$35k. The speeds that you guys are talking about should mean that it's more than able to keep up with the 1926 Buick. Would you expect the brakes to be much worse than what the Buick has or about the same (it does have front brakes though)? I assume there is also a very real possibility the brakes are still asbestos lined? Given where you've taken your car Carl, I assume they wouldn't have any real trouble with the 50f-100f we get here in Melbourne. Even though the car is 4 years older than the buick, it seems that the motor is quite a bit more advanced in design - are there any parts in particular to be wary of? e.g in the Buick they used a lot of pot metal for things like the distributor base that tended to disintegrate. When I was doing some research on the different models cadillac made that year, I came across the different variants with pictures that they built. For the life of me I can't seem to see much of a difference between the 5 passenger coupe and the 2 door victoria. Is it just the jump seat in the front that's different or is there something more to it that I'm missing? I'm certainly not wed to that particular car either, if there are others that you guys think are worth having a look at let me know. I don't mind a bit of work but unfortunately don't quite have the luxury of taking on a total basket case. I like the caddie's because there seems to be good documentation around for them and decent parts availability however are there any other marques that would offer a similar experience to the caddies that are worth considering (blasphemy on a cadillac forum I know!) You have a fantastic looking car Carl, I saw your photos on one of other pages - some amazing places you've taken your car! have to admit I haven't traveled up that side of the states very much, mostly east coast

Ha, that's the predicament I'm in at the moment!

Hi guys, Currently a 26 Buick guy but looking at getting a Cadillac and came across this 1922 Victoria Coupe. Looking for an original(ish) car - not really interested in something that has been "updated & improved" but I'm ok with minor things that aren't quite original to the car (due to availability etc) http://www.motoexotica.com/inventory/listing/1922-cadillac-victoria/ Just a couple quick questions. What are the important things to know about this year? Does this particular car look like it would be a good buy? What would a realistic cruising speed be for it?