manncad

Hi everyone, just to tell you some updates about the caddy. IT FINALLY RUNS GREAT. Yes, I found the right person to adjust the carburator, the points, the advance, to change a couple wires, move the coil from the engine block to the firewall. Now, the car runs smooth, doesnt smoke and doesnt smell like gas. So I'm happy. thanks again for your help and I wont forget the people who sent me parts from the US. Remember you will always be welcome here in my Chateau to taste some old Cognac. Emmanuel

Thanks Dave for all your explanation. I just took the Cad for a spin after putting my new carburator in. I didnt touch any adjusting screws. The result is simple. The car starts great, no black smoke for 5 minutes, then car starts getting hot, black smoke appears, but not much. After 15 min, I drive and its not bad but not prefect as in the past. Then after 20 min, the coil is burning hot ( can't touch it by hand ) and the car is missing a lot, quite impossible to drive actually. So, I guess I need to adjust the idle Mixture screws, also the fast idle cam, making sure the choke is closed when I do it. I also need to check if everything is properly grounded...but I'm not an electrician...maje sure the points are set right...ect..ect... The ballast resistor doesnt do any difference, so I disconnected it. At some point, I thought the firing order might have been the problem but I think it isnt. I guess it is 18436572, knowing that the 1 is on the bottom right as you are positionned in front of the car, number 2 is on the left, 3 back on the right ect.... About the vaccum, I have no idea if there is a vaccum power assist brake...There is some sort of vaccum on the distributor, and I never touch it. I did touch at the advance and maybe I should adjust that again...only by hear as I dont have a timing light. As the rest like plugs, wires, cap....it's all new. til next time I wonder if at some point, I should just ask your phone number to call you and you would guide me through the process. I'm so tired of this situation, and I have to drive a couple getting married on July 12th....oulala see ya

Al right, I got a new carbirator , put it in, and the car is still missing. Maybe a little less black smoke, maybe run better on idle, but not the perfect and smooth V8 I've known for a long time....so I'm still working on it. Later

Hi everyone, I went to anither garage here in france, and the guy simply said I needed to get a new carburator. So, if you can help me finding a CARTER Carburator for my 1949 Cadillac Model WCD 682 S I sent an email to USA PARTS SUPPLY but still waiting for an answer. Thank you Emmanuel

long time I havent answered on the forum, just to let you know I havent had time to deal with the car yet, I will do it as soon as possible to be able to drive it this spring. cheers

the coil is new and not painted. The clamp is new too. So I guess it's fine, unless it's not enough to be grounded, and maybe I need a wire to go from the engine mount, where the clamp is bolted in, to...somewhere. I'm so tired of this, probably small problem that I can't fix. I've done so much and still can't find it. Why would this car suddenly run so bad after spending so many years running great. I've done something that I don't remember and now, I can't fix it. Thanks for your help anyway

Well, I just looked at it and there is no ground at all. So what should I do to have that coil grounded ? I never told you but I changed the entire wiring system myself 6 years ago, the car was running fine but I know Im not a electrical mechanic and I probably forgot several grounds wires. I know you will all think I'm stupid and should have done it better. I took each wire out, one after another and changed them by new ones. One more news. I was in California last week for the funeral of my best friend Michael, the actual guy who owned that Cadillac for 30 years and who was supposed to come to visit in France and fix the problem. During that time, I went to pick up an old 1949 Cadillac carburator. I'm back in France now and this morning, I put the metering rods of the old carb to the one I have on the car. It didn't change anything. So, my goal is now to fix this cadillac for Michael, and drive it in his memory. If the ground is the problem, which could be, It will be the biggest laugh of all and luckly for me, Michael won't be here to laugh at me and tizz me, telling me i'm a loser. Thanks agin for your help and waiting to an answer about this ground thing. Emmanuel

Thanks Gaugeguy, you are right, I won't burn it as it is not made of steel mesh but more like a plastic mesh. The laquer thinner did take some of the durt off as it came out brown and durty liquid. I'm not sure what is a heat raiser baffle, but the exhaust system has been talked about in the this forum, and I don't know how to deal with it. The mechanic either. I do have the 1949 Cadillac shop manual and read many times section 10, Engine fuel and Exhaust section, but it didn't help. Anyway, my friend keeps telling the problem come from the metering rods inside the carburator, so he'll try to find me a new or rebuilt Carter Carburator as he comes visit in one month. Actually, if anybody here knows where I can find one....for cheap of course...I'll take it.

very interesting Ron. I called the guy who owned that car for 30 years ( my best friend now ) and he told me last night that the coil always been hot on the touch....so maybe there's nothing to do then. And about the oil bath air filter, he said soaking it in gasoline would do nothing, better soaking it in lacquer finner and then burn it...which I'll try to do this morning, whithout burning myself hopefully.... Emmanuel

Then, maybe I should check the wires from the points to the coil. The ballast resistor I got did not take care of the problem. Coil still burning hot after 10 mins ride. Also, anyone who knows where I can get an oil bath air filter for that type of car is welcome to let me know. Is there any way to put photos on this forum. I could post some here and maybe you'll find the issue. About the ohms or voltage check, I dont have the meters to do it, and I dont want to drive the car to another mechanic right now. But I will check as soon as I get one from someone. thanks again Emmanuel

here is an update, I got a resistor from RocketDude and put it on this morning....but....the coil is still getting really hot. And also, after cleaning really good the oil bath air filter, I put it on, and the car was missing a lot. So, I took it off and the car was doing much better, still missing at high speed, but more like if I was pushing the brake pedal every 3 seconds or so. And then, as I said, when I came back home after 15 mins drive, the coil was hot. I mounted it on the fire wall, with the wire of the ignition and the wire of the fuel pump on one side, the wire going to the + of the coil on the other side. So maybe I should try another coil, maybe it got too hot before, but I doubt it. The car is still smelling gas and still black smoke. I'm back at the beginning, not knowing what to do. Maybe it's a ground that need to be wired somewhere.....I have no idea. What's sure is that the filter is not good.

yes, this is an oil bath air filter, I did change the oil but there is also a filter itself and it was very durty. This filter can't be taken off the unit, it's inside. The only way to clean the filter is to let it sit several hours in gasoline and then dry it off with compressed air. I did all this, it looked pretty clean but the car runs better without the filter on.

that would be so awsome if you get me this ballast resistor. The old air filter has no number or name. They just call it Air Cleaner Filter Unit. Its quite big, with oil bath. I can't take it apart to clean the filter itself, and I dont think its papaer, it's most like a bunch of small wires. I don't know how to explain. if you give me an email, I can send you a picture. if you ever find a resistor and a filter and ship it to me, don't worry for the payment back, my friend will send you a check from california. As the mechanic worked on the car quite a long time, they want me to come back when I have the resistor and the filter to readjust the all thing, and then pay them, which is normal. You know, I do believe the problem is the coil, it was so hot after 15 min drive, unreal.

The car went to a first shop then a second one where I thought the machanic would be better. He adjusted the points, the advance and the 2 screws in front of the carburator. He told me the car was then running great, but without the air filter, which is plugged. So I went to pick up the car and realised it was not running well at all, even worse than before. Still black smoke, still missing and most of all, the coil burning hot. So I left without paying anything so far, a little pissed off. Anyway, I need to find a new and clean airfilter and a resistor ballast. So I have one question, can someone tell me what kind of resistor ballast I need for that car and where ? I will order it right away. I went online to look for it and there are a lot of different resistor. Thanks

The coil is designed for 12 v operation being used on 12 v battery. The mechanic said this morning he didn't have this ballast resistor and that there was no point to have it anyway. The car stayed in the shop and he'll have a look at it. God I wish I had one of you guys right here right now to fix this all thing. But I'm not desesparate and I'll find the problem. I'll update soon

well, the coil is a 12 v and the wire comes straight on it. There is no ballast resistor. The only ballast resistor that I use is for the cigar lighter and the gas gauge ( the gauge stoppped working anyway, but that's not an issue ). So I have to try wiring the coil via the ballast resistor and see if it stops getting hot. Thanks everyone I'm supposed to take the car to a professional mechanic tuesday. I'll keep you updated. Emmanuel

yes, it is rare, but last owner, who is also my best friend in CA, keeps telling me it always been like that. Yes, this car was converted to a 12 V battery system. Also, the condenser is brand new. It used to be one on top of the coil which I don't use anymore as a mechanic told me there was already one inside the distributor, near the points. I don't know what to do anymore, I checked everything. One last chance with another mechanic next week who told me it could be the choke... I wish I would be in the US, my car would already be running for sure. Back in 2000, I took all the wiring out and replaced it one wire at the time. I wonder if I did something wrong with the wiring going to the coil. Anyway, thanks again for your infos, I'll keep you posted. Emmanuel

I'm so lucky to be on this forum. Thanks for all the infos again, you guys are real pros. What you have to know is that the coil has always been an issue for me. I've changed it 4 times and the last one comes from the US, 3 weeks ago, and it still gets really hot. When I say hot, it's actually burning, you can't touch it. That's one problem. But even when it got hot, the car would run ok. I actually installed a second one for a while and when it would get too hot, I would switch coil. Now, the black smoke is mainly at the beginning, then after 5 mins, it's not black anymore, but it smells gas all over. I also changed the points, the rotor, the condenser, the cap. Maybe the points are not adjusted correctly. And I touched at the advance too, still waiting for a timing light to adjust the all thing.Maybe that's the problem. Finally, the choke might also be the problem, even if it looks like it's working fine, I need to see a professional about that. Last infos, a friend of mine in CA is working on finding another carburator for me. Thanks You all deserve a nice glass of wine. Emmanuel

thanks for all your help but I did it all and it still doesnt run great. I don't get it. It starts perfectly fine, at idle, it's also perfect, and as soon as I accelerate, it's missing, it's not right. I don't know what to do and I can't use this beautiful car. Too bad as it is finally sunny in France... Any other suggestion would be great. Thanks again. Emmanuel

when you say Needle, do you mean the 2 metering rods ? I checked all this and it seems ok, but I will take it apart again and show it to a mechanic. Thansks

I actually forgot to say that the main problem is that when I accelerate, it's missing, like if the car had no power anymore. 1st and 2nd gear ok, and then when it's on 3rd and 4th, it doesnt run well.

yes, the black smoke is mainly when I start and for about 10 mins when the car is warming up. I actually looked at the plugs and they are really black. I just received new ones but I know if I put the new ones in, they will be black too. What pisses me off is that this car always ran well since 1999, and I probably did something wrong one time and now, I can't adjust it. I need to readjust the butterfly then. The gas odor is terrible though, very strong. I also realized that the gas mileage was very low since that problem occured. This car has been running in France since 2002 on unleaded gas without problems. So, what should I do exactly ?

I think the compression is good but how can I check it ? I am not a mechanic, more like a winemaker, but I learned a lot in the US. Here in France, we don't have big V8 and everything is now electronic, so it's hard to find a real good mechanic. Is the choke the " trapp " on top of the carburator ?

Hi, I'm a french winemaker who worked 8 years in Napa CA. Back in 1999, I bought a 1949 Cadillac, I restored it myself after getting lots of information from the right people at the right time. Now, it's back in France. It always ran very well until a few months ago when it started to smell gas, smoke black and also the ignition coil would get really hot. So I changed Distributor cap, rotor, condenser, plugs, wires plugs, points, gaz pump, and ignition coil...nothing changed. I am out of ideas. I took apart the carburator but everything looked ok. I'm ready for any suggestion. Thanks Emmanuel