jaxops

Yes, that was us. Great photo Southpaw. Thank you!

NOBODY ASKED ME EITHER..... but here you go: I liked parking on the grass. I thought that we were parked too closely together but it was enjoyable none the less. Yes it was a bit dusty, but for all of you AACA members that brought your "living room couches" out for judging, dust happens in the outside world. The judging was as expected, so we really didn't expect anything there especially when only one aspect of the car was pointed out. We laughed about it and pressed on with viewing the cars there. The crowds loved the car, and I really liked the drive in and out where the spectators lined the road the view the cars. That was almost parade-like and was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, many vendors had left by noon Saturday - but we found the only bottle of transmission fluid for sale that day! So all-in-all, we had a great trip. We toured the Gettysburg battlefield in the Cadillac, and saw the new monuments; visited with my brother and his 1949 Cadillac; and enjoyed the show. Again - the people enjoyed seeing the car and talking to us about it. I must add that I was so surprised at how good the food was at the banquet. A veteran of many KofC banquets where the food was "Navy-quality" I was impressed. The dinner company was also great and I enjoyed talking and bantering with the Hershey Region folks there. Bravo-Zulu Hershey Region. Your best credit is that "we had a great time."

Never mind....silence answered my questions. This is AACA afterall.

Hopefully not on top of a hill overlooking the car corral or the car show area!!!!!!!!!!! [see Cars damaged at Carlisle thread]

My brother from Mechanicsburg was there but only saw one of the damaged cars, so he thought it was a hoax. Thanks for the info. Lots of slippery slopes at Hershey too!

Tom, I saw a 1955 yesterday that had "Coupe de Ville" behind the driver's door under the rear window on the quarter panel. I had never seen that before, but I am generally unfamiliar with the other series cars in Cadillac.

Great thread Shop Rat. I guess I will remove my new license plate frame. "Original ones" don't seem to be falling from the sky. I have a single badge on the grille from a european touring club. Clearly not factory but a very fine enamel badge. Should I just take it off?

I am excited about making it up there this year. We leave Thurs night or early Fri to get over the bridges crossing Hampton Roads and stay with my brother in Mechanicsburg. The tough part is all of the traffic around DC when you don't want to press a 51 year old car passed 60mph! Pretty much we are showing our car, and walking around. The wife will be "capping spending" I am sure. We will be at the banquet as well.

Growing up: - 1960 Cadillac Limousine: "Big Black" - 1961 Pontiac Convertible: "The Chief" - My brother's 1957 Chevrolet: "The Blue Bomb" - My brother's 1960 Chevrolet: "Leftover Parts" and "Drop us of a block from church until you get a muffler" - My father's loan-a-wreck to my sister, a 1969 Cadillac: "The 3-Wheeler" - My sister's college car, 1975 Renault LeCar: "Le Garbage" - My wife's family's 1980 Chevy Citation: "Bent" and the "Crab" (folded in half and "repaired" after being T-boned it never drove straight again - My wife's family's 1974 Chevy Nova: "Blue Bomb" - My wife's brother's 1972 Ford LTD: "I can't believe you sandblasted that in my garage!" when looking at the piles of sand in and out of Mom's house Our cars: - 1970 Electra: "Pegasus" - 1983 AMC Concord Wagon: "AMC" and "Oh my Lord it's hot in here in Florida without air conditioning!" - 1989 Ford Crown Vic SW: "Blue Wagon" and the rear seat area was always referred to as "the back-back" - 1956 Cadillac: "Christene" when it was still red, and "Caddy" and "Limo" now

Probably through the Cadillac-LaSalle Club. I believe they chare $50.00 or so. Cadillac LaSalle Club

Thank you Steve. Park Drive is on the map too.

What is the entrance for show cars at Hershey? Is it Chocolate Field? I don't want to end up in the car corral on my fist visit to the show.

Would it be too difficult to put the 2008 requirements here too?

These are always great stories. I was told that I came home in Philadelphia in a 1949 Cadillac Series 75 (that my father had gone out and bought with my mother's savings...and didn't tell her). For my father's funeral home, we shared a 1958 Cadillac hearse with the Osbourne Funeral Home until the 1970s when we got our own hearse. We had a variety of older professional cars, mostly 1964 and 1966-68 limousines. We rode around in a 1960 Cadillac limousine affectionally known to us as "Big Black" until dad sold it around 1966. Dad's first new car was a 1966 Cadillac limousine with a blue interior. He sold cars for Hess & Eisenhardt in Ohio, and we both sat in President Nixon's new limousine in the factory with the H&E president eating ice cream cones. This was the year we picked up a new hearse, and Dad slammed the side door on my arm. Not a fun trip home! The car business shifted to Lincoln Town Cars stretched into limouines when Cadillac started going plastic and eventually eliminated the Series 75. That lasted through the 1980s. Dad sold some of the first box-ambulances in the 1970s. Car sales dwindled and then stopped in the early 1990s. Mom always had Fords growing up. Dad bought her a 1961 Pontiac convertible. Great car with the chief emblem in the back...but the roof leaked water everytime it rained and the back seat flooded. Her next convertible was a 1964 Cadillac, and then a 1966. Her last was beautiful 1968 blue Cadillac convertible, which my brother trashed by pretending to shift like a race car driver. After the separation, Mom bought her first "on-her-own" car, a 1974 Maverick. It rusted to nothing, and she has had bad paint jobs with her Fords and Chrysler products. The pain seems to wear off and then the car rusts away. My brother and I used to work for Dad cleaning and delivering cars and ambulances. He would lend us some of the trade-ins. Not one of those cars had a good battery. Not one would run reliably either. My sister was given the "3-wheeler" to use.... a 1969 Cadillac Sedan in gold. On the PA Turnpike, a wheel came off and passed her. Somehow she pulled the car over and never borrowed a car from Dad again. My first car was a 1969 Buick LeSabre. It was a NJ car, and I found out the hard way that it had no floor left. After I repaired it and the rusted out quarter panel, I traded up for a 1970 Electra convertible in 1977, which I still have today. The 69 LeSabre was sold by Dad to the Pocono Manor Inn and disappeared from there. We drove the Electra as a family car until we bought a 1984 AMC Concord Station Wagon. Great little car, but not built to last. It was run-out by 1988 when we bought our 1989 Ford Crown Victoria Station Wagon (still have it). I bought a used 1987 Ford Crown Victoria Sedan until 1994 when I sold it and bought my 1990 Mercury GS Sedan (still have it). When Dad lost his garage space in Philly, we got the 1956 Cadillac which was pretty rough, and leaked from every hose like a fountain. With my daughter's 1999 Toyota Avalon, I had 6 cars. Now that she is married, I am back down to 5. Of course the younger one is wanting one, but the Ford station wagon will do for her for now.

I am a retired naval officer (surface warfare), and now I am a training and business developer for a technology company.

My 56 had a similar problem, and it turned out to be a huge vacuum leak and I had the dwell set too high. They had a wide range for dwell then so I put it at my 70 Buick's range...wrong! Anyway, something to think about. See if you can computer-search the specs on the car. There are some good sites with Caddy info out there. How Stuff Works: 1981 Cadillac "Displacing 6.0 liters (368 cubic inches) and tuned for a modest 140 horsepower, the Cadillac V-8-6-4 arrived as optional on the 1981 Cadillac Seville and was standard in the balance of the 1981 Cadillac lineup (replacing Cadillac's conventional 425-cubic-inch V-8). The heart of the V-8-6-4 was an electromechanical system, developed by the Eaton Corporation, that opened and closed the valves on two or four cylinders (hence the name) when signaled by an electronic module controlling the engine's digital fuel injection. The aim, of course, was improved economy. This was to be accomplished via the cylinders shutting down under part-throttle, low-load conditions when the car didn't need all eight, such as in medium-speed highway cruising. It was a good idea, but too complex and undependable, and Cadillac paid a big price in both image and dollars once angry consumers began suing for redress. Few mourned when the V-8-6-4 was terminated after just one year, though persisted in Cadillac limousines through 1982. (Ironically, GM revived the idea in the early 2000s -- though not for Cadillacs -- as "Active Fuel Management," which interim technical advances made utterly reliable and virtually invisible to the driver.)Fuel economy also figured in the decision to offer a V-6 engine for the 1981 Cadillac lineup. It was the first time Cadillac had offered a six since well before World War II. This one was a 125-horsepower 4.1-liter unit, basically an enlarged version of Buick's 3.8-liter overhead-valve design and supplied by that sister GM division. The V-6 was optional across the 1981 Cadillac line, limos excepted. Another new extra for the 1981 Cadillac line was an electronic "memory" power seat that assumed one of two preset positions at the touch of a button.In 1982, Cadillac introduced the smallest model in its history. Read more about this humble addition on the next page." Car Spec Directory: 1981 Cadillac Cadillac History Rochester carb Manual, 1981 Cadillac Hope this helps!

Invicta, That is a tough question. You need to go and see it. It could be a junker that looks good at 30 paces. I haven't had brakes redone since the 1980s but it was about $1500.00 back then for my 70 Electra. All of the little things may add up also: windows, convertible hydralulics, the top itself, seats, body rust, wiring.... make sure everything works. I was looking in Hemmings yesterday and there were quite a few 66 and 67 Cadillacs out there. Just make sure you know what you're getting into, and good luck!!

Oil most likely. Don't run it until you check it out thoroughly. You don't want to sieze the engine. Start with the basics: -Oil level -Leaks under the car or on the engine -Transmission level -Coolant What does the owner's manual say? If you don't have one, you can get one online Books for cars or other places like this. Chiltons also has a good repair book you can check out. My Chiltons is 1970-1977, and it shows the later Cadillac models like yours as having a lot of electronic controls like an Electronic Control Unit for metering fuel and air; and temperature and evaporation control unit; exhaust gas recirc; early fuel evaporation; etc.

Bryan, You are a brave man! That is a lot of driving! As an eastener, I am not the best for ideas on the west but here are just a few minor suggestions for your planning: Make sure that you capture sites and places of interest to the family as well. Driving east nor-east from Los Angeles pretty well locks in your line-of-march. America-west is BIG. Lots of open places before you see anything! -Never been to LA but it is big car place. Bound to be some good museums and exhibits somewhere. I have been told that leaving LA is always a good experience but I don't know for sure.... -Don't be fooled by "Wall Drug Store" (SD) and drive out of your way to see it. If it is on the way, go for it, it's worth the rest stop. -Mt. Rushmore is a great visit. Note that you can see the Crazy Horse monument from the opposite side pretty well. -They don't call the "Badlands" "Bad" because it was a nifty title! Yes, Wounded Knee and the reservation are in the middle of the Badlands. Good luck and have a safe visit!

I have to agree with Rocketdude. He talked those nice people into selling a very good condition car and then proceeded to hot-rod it, which of course is what he does. I stopped watching the show because of all of the bullying he does. One gets enough of that all week at work!

I just checked my 56 and I think that mine has a smaller angle with a very short curved piece under the light. I don't believe that your trim would fit a 56. It could jut be the photo though.

A few interior shots and one of the front in the garage.

In my 1956, I had the dash top off, and that provided more visibility to the area. I pulled the entire unit out towards the back and then out of the top of the dash. You are right, there is not a lot of room there to go back and down. If you do this, be careful of your autronic eye on the dash (I installed a connector for easier removal of the dash top) and also your older wiring and AC switch connections exposed below it which can be brittle.