Richfield

Desperately searching for the correct settings for tightening down the cyl heads of the V 12 engine. These models have a row of 3/8 th studs about 2" long at the outer edge of the head-so for these a max of 35 lbs I figure.But running down the centre of the head is a row of 10 7/16 ths 8" long studs these are anchored into the alu crankcase and pass up through the block then the head into the rocker area. Normal torque settings for this dia stud of a typical length is 70/75 lbs ft-but for this length and the difference in the pressure between the 2 dias I fail to see that the head would be pulled down with an even pressue over the whole of the gasket area. Am situated in the South of France, so info like this hard to come by! PLease help if possible-to date all info given applies to V 8 engines that have uniform dia studs and are only half this length. Waiting hopefully as need to finish this tomorrow (easter Monday!).Paul

May have to remove right hand cylinder head from 1931 V12,any thing that I should look out for-hints-warnings?? Thanks Paul.

Am looking to replace the vacuum operated windshield wipers with 6 volt electrical units the bolt centres for the mountings allready drilled in the frame are 120m/m. Has anybody done this?where did they find the units? etc etc;Am in Europe and 6 volt units hard to come by;Any ideas gratefully recieved thanks Paul Richfield.

If you find that your car was fitted with SUs and you want to keep it original let me know if I can help.I am dealing with the main manufacturers of SUs-Burlens almost every week.Also in the UK there are many other sources!Paul Richfield

I have all ready put the question below into the general forum for technical enquiries not knowing that there was a section devoted to Cadillacs so if you dont mind I will repeat my request and see if there is any more input-thank you all -what I need to know/discuss etc is the problem of backaxle diff oil leaking onto the brake shoes,there is a felt seal held in place by a spring clip which is supposed to stop this at the outer end of each trumpet , made to seal on the inner hub of the brake drum I am at a loss to see how this really works efficiently I really want to speak(?) with someone who has hands on experience of this problem.I had removed the brake drums so that I could get the linings replaced-and found all soaked in oil! so before doing this need to cure this seal problem-many thanks for your help Paul.

Johan Sorry mistake crept in there-Email address should read: paul.richfield@cegetel.net

Thanks Johan will crawl under the back end on monday-to save time can you point me towards the location of the breather hole/pipe/?.Its quite a large chunk of metal and the previous restorer was quite free with his paint brush! Thanks again-Paul.(If you want to sketch out the emplacement my Fax number is 0033 493 91 91 28 and Email is paul.richfield@cegetel.net-not being very literate with computers I have'nt the faintest idea if you can or how to send hand sketches by mail).

Thank you all for your help and info-what has thrown me slightly off track is the work done by each seal!On a few classic English cars of the 1930's i.e Lagondas /Invictas to name a couple the axle is designed so that a small amount of oil is allowed down the axle tubes to lubricate the hub bearings any excess is funneled away from the braking system and is allowed to run off at the rear of the backplate.From what you are saying is that the oil in the differential is contained by the 2 leather seals and the grease from the bearings by the felt seals-the diff oil is not designed in anyway to help lubricate the hub/brake drum bearings???? I imagine that the leather seals have long perished as the car has been immobile for many years in a museum in Switzerland,and the restorer of the car didnt go to the lengths of checking or replacing them. If the above is correct can I at least make a temporary repair by replacing the existing open ball races in the brake drum by a modern replacement 'Sealed for life' bearing??? Then if any oil finds its way down the axle tube(trumpet) it cannot find an escape route through the bearing,through the, at the moment , non existant felt seal and onto the brake shoes !!! Feed back please. (By the way I live in the South of France and earn a living helping to maintain and repair vintage and classic cars in this area-the owner of the Cadillac has also in his stable 1939 4 1/4 litre Bentley,1964(ish)AC Cobra Mk 11,and a 1932 Low Chassis 4 1/2 litre Low Chassis Invicta).

Many thanks your reply-yes I will be replacing these seals,the ones that were leaking were not the original in quality or section.I am in the south of France so as you can imagine its not that easy to get the correct info over here!I have been told that the section required is a square section but that does not match the shape of its mounting fixture,is it a strip?,is it cut from a sheet so that it is continous?The questions are many that is why I would like to chat the problem over with someone who has carried out this operation.There is regretabely not enough room for making the modification to a modern type seal unless one was to redesign the whole seal problem-mounting these just outboard of the diff and fitting sealed for life bearings at the outer end-not a task to be taken lightely as it would entail having to machine the inboard end of the trumpets etc etc and of course if there is a problem having to drop and the strip the complete backaxle-so if I can get the correct felt etc I would rather stick with the original method!!

-what I need to know/discuss etc is the problem of backaxle diff oil leaking onto the brake shoes,there is a felt seal held in place by a spring clip which is supposed to stop this at the outer end of each trumpet , made to seal on the inner hub of the brake drum I am at a loss to see how this really works efficiently I really want to speak(?) with someone who has hands on experience of this problem.I had removed the brake drums so that I could get the linings replaced-and found all soaked in oil! so before doing this need to cure this seal problem-many thanks for your help Paul.