Might be going to look at a 1916 Cadillac what to expect?

[C Carl]

This "sandwich" is an early V8 Cadillac multi plate clutchpak , and the hole it came out of. There is always drag through this device , it never COMPLETELY disengages. Even less so on inclines , up or down , where gravity will settle the stack towards the down end. You have to be very careful where and when you shift into neutral when you stop. Factors which enter into the decision to , or not to shift into neutral , rather than waiting in first or a higher gear , include engine idle speed , should be around 300 , clutch condition and adjustment , transmission oil viscosities - 250 gear oil with some V.I. improver (STP and the like) , or a high impact grease (such as formulated for heavy mining equipment) , added per shifting needs. It is extremely important for you not to get discouraged , thinking that these ancient cars are a real pain to drive. They are not. I have taught several people some of the tricks , and believe me , once they start to get the hang of it , they really can't get enough of it. Timing and technique just take a bit of time , and a good relationship with an unforgiving instructor. You need to have someone who is a bit of a nagging perfectionist , someone who patiently "learns you up". I have one student who wants a very old Cadillac. He says it has to be 1928 or older. He doesn't want synchromesh. Once you get the hang of it , you may agree with him ! I need to sign off now , but I will be back with specific tutorial info , designed to help you become a smooth , easy chauffeur of crashbox cars. Did/will you see the car ? Please get more pics , inside and out , and including engine , perhaps undercarriage too. Later ,   - Carl

 

[auburnseeker]

I haven't been able to go see it yet.  Waiting on the owner.  I'm suppose to get more photos on Monday.  I just heard back from him this morning.  It's suppose to rain real hard here on Monday so that might get bumped to Tuesday if he wants to get them outside. 

I know for some reason my 36 Chrysler had to be shifted lazily from 1st to 2nd.  No matter what you did you couldn't go fast or even double clutch it.  Nice and easy with a hang out in neutral for a few seconds and it slid right in.  

[8E45E]

On ‎15‎/‎06‎/‎2017 at 0:39 PM, auburnseeker said:

Oh I don't know,  once they find the port for the scanner,  I'm sure they will be a big help. 

The 20 year old will spend ALL DAY looking for it.

The 40 year old might get resourceful and go downstairs and look through the old microfiches and see if it goes back that far.

The 60 year old will tell you to go to Hillcrest Cadillac or some other Cadillac agency that's been around for 100 years.

The 80 year old who has not retired yet might remember seeing the a part hanging on the wall of his garage at home because his dad once owned one.

 

Craig

[C Carl]

80 year old. Mmmmmmm. When I got my '24 Cad almost 30 years ago , there were still guys out and about who had learned to drive on a car like this. Dad , or Uncle Fred had one , etc. I had a couple of these gentlemen drive my car , and watched their technique. Very smooth , very confident, as natural as riding a bicycle. Pick the present owner's brain , watch while he explains as you ride with him before taking the wheel yourself. You'll have fun catching on. The point is , that unless you have spent a lot of time , say , driving trucks without synchromesh , since you have not driven pre-synchro old car , there will be a learning curve. And , during your learning period , the occasional experienced copilot can get you over the hump easier. I went for a ride with a guy once who was learning to drive his crashbox on his own. He was giving the throttle a quick little jab , rather than getting off it , in neutral as he double clutched up. I explained that is what you do on a DOWNSHIFT  , but shifting up , you want to SLOW the countershaft to mesh properly. And so on. Generally on these cars , starting out in first on level ground , you do not give it gas at all. To defeat your instinct to give it a little gas and feather the clutch (that might result in unnecessary large scale chatter) , you may just rest your foot on the peg to the right of the gas button until you are rolling. The low gears on these cars , and the 5 1/8 stroke results in very good low rpm performance. For example , once in motion on level streets , up shift earlier than you are used to. 1st to 2nd , maybe 4mph or so. 2nd to 3rd , maybe 15mph. This is just a peep through the keyhole , designed to encourage you to buy and enjoy this rare , perhaps unique opportunity. You will learn quickly , and then further refine your skills as with anything else. As you know , these are extremely well built , well engineered vehicles. Many cars throughout the 120+ years of their development , have had flaws , or vulnerabilities which must be re-engineered to retrofit , if you are lucky , or require frequent fixes , or a large parts pile , or more money and time than you have at your disposal now. Early V8 Cadillacs do not overheat , snap axles , throw rods , crack blocks or heads , or anything else. That is why they were chosen for military use. That is why they were selected by the Nairn Brothers out of New Zealand for the more than extreme duty they required. "Those Cadillacs made us" , they declared after putting hundreds of thousands of miles on some of their fleet of '24s. Overloaded , sometimes with 3000 pounds of passengers and freight , these "light trucks" ran a service through the roughest off-road (no road) , conditions imaginable. Beirut - Damascus - Baghded , and sometimes on to Tehran (Oh ! What different times 90 years ago!). And YOUR light truck already IS one ! Once you become skilled at driving such vehicles , you will be able to trade drives with other Brass and Nickle guys/gals. And as the hundreds , and later thousands of miles start to accumulate, you will be transported into history. Mechanical engineering now applied to various modes of conveyance , land , air , and sea , produced some very fine products 100 years ago. And in California, on Mt.Wilson above Pasadena , the brand new 100" telescope was about to make a discovery which confirmed the scale of the universe as we presently conceive it to be. Hubble , upon the shoulders of Slipher in Arizona , who had done the "heavy lifting". That was the scene 100 years ago , when your Cadillac was new , and carried it's smiling , proud owner on road and off. He might well have been a Civil War Veteran ! He would be able to travel farther in an hour than the horse drawn contraptions of most of his life could go in an entire day. 2 days under less than ideal conditions ! In an hour ! Good enough for him , good enough for me. Hopefully , you too ! 

 

I wish I lived near enough to you to let you drive my ancient Cadillacs. Many guys and gals have had the pleasure. In your case , I will be checking here , and you may call me if you like. You may not get me the first time. Try again , and/or leave message if I can be of some assistance.  408-621-8261  - Carl

[hidden_hunter]

3 hours ago, 8E45E said:

The 20 year old will spend ALL DAY looking for it.

The 40 year old might get resourceful and go downstairs and look through the old microfiches and see if it goes back that far.

The 60 year old will tell you to go to Hillcrest Cadillac or some other Cadillac agency that's been around for 100 years.

The 80 year old who has not retired yet might remember seeing the a part hanging on the wall of his garage at home because his dad once owned one.

 

Craig

Insulting younger people getting into the hobby isn't really a great way to grow it.

[F&J]

58 minutes ago, hidden_hunter said:

Insulting younger people getting into the hobby isn't really a great way to grow it.

 

 

 

4 hours ago, 8E45E said:

The 20 year old will spend ALL DAY looking for it.

The 40 year old might get resourceful and go downstairs and look through the old microfiches and see if it goes back that far.

The 60 year old will tell you to go to Hillcrest Cadillac or some other Cadillac agency that's been around for 100 years.

The 80 year old who has not retired yet might remember seeing the a part hanging on the wall of his garage at home because his dad once owned one.

 

Craig

Hi Craig, I agree with you and for your very basic reasoning.  You are correct!!!

 

However there might be one 20 yr old that YOU AND I have taught to have those skills    Craig, "me and you" will teach more as we find the  time, My Friend     I am SURE of that!  Have a great night!

[C Carl]

Stuart , to quote my grandfather : "Don't take it so seriously. You're taking 'em too seriously , son." , in response to some heartbreak I was suffering as a teenager over some now forgotten , then young , lady. (Highly unusual for the times , twice divorced , 3 times was a charm for Joe. Angelica lasted happily for 27 years , until Joe died at the age of 90 in Chile in 1985). A fair number of us old guys are getting shorter by the minute , and cope by using humor , often self-deprecating . You can be sure humor , which often depends on exaggeration , was the object here , and in no way implies a negative value judgment. We ALL admire you for your youthful energy and unusual skills and determination in the face of having been conned by the seller(s) of your '22 Cadillac. You will REALLY admire yourself when you enjoy the pride of a job well-done , driving the open road , becoming over the decades , a world expert on 135 year old cars ! (By the way , do you have those clearances and a verdict on your center main ? You must not take anything for granted in that realm , or you may learn another - unnecessary  - , time consuming expensive lesson. 

 

Oh and thanks , my forum and Early V8 Cadillac Yahoo Group friend. You just reminded me : AUBURNSEEKER , please join our group as per earlier suggestion. Post there for more flat plane crankshaft V8 Cadillac specific info.

 

I sure hope both you guys are on the road soon !     - Carl

[JV Puleo]

3 hours ago, hidden_hunter said:

Insulting younger people getting into the hobby isn't really a great way to grow it.

 

I agree. My first old car was a '27 Cadillac, bought when I was 19. I would have resented a blanket characterization of "all" 20 year olds then and it still rankles a bit even though I'm 65 now. I went to the only car show I bother with any more this past weekend where I visited with several friends, including the son of a man I was quite close to many years ago. Tom may be in his early 30s now. As we walked across the field, he commented on how lots of his contemporaries are, or would be interested in old cars... they just can't afford them.

Edited June 20, 2017 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[auburnseeker]

I eventually lost interest in this as the seller was very slow,  weeks to get back to me or even reply.  Never did say if he even had the leaking tire fixed.  At that point they wanted I believe it was 15G for it.  I just figured it was too much for a cut down touring car that I still didn't know what shape Mechanically speaking it was in.  

Looks like it has a new owner who thinks he bought a pot of gold for the price of lead. 

Here is a current link to the Craigslist ad.  It's moved to NY state now though from VT.

 

https://newyork.craigslist.org/wch/cto/d/1916-cadillac-type-53/6246514379.html

 

1916 Cadillac Type 53

101 years old and still going strong!
In great mechanical condition. We have had this wonderful old car on several local weekend drives this past month. Engine was rebuilt sometime in the 90s and we have some of the parts receipts from the previous owner. It is the original V8 with the three speed manual transmission.
Rust free! The body was converted to a convertible pickup sometime in the 50s or 60s. It started life as either a 5 or 7 passenger tourer. 
I believe everything works with the exception of the clock. Electric wiper and directionals were added at some point but could easily be removed. It retains its original collapsible (fat man) steering wheel and air pressure fuel pump. Please note there is a period Dodge Brothers radiator cap. It's operational and does gauge the coolant temperature.
All in all a real time capsule to enjoy as is or source the rear section to convert back to a tourer and a very valuable automobile.
$32,500

[edinmass]

Cool toy, someone probably bought it to flip.........hope they like it. See post #26.............. ?

Edited August 2, 2017 by edinmass (see edit history)

[auburnseeker]

I thought of you when I kept looking at it,  but the other seller never dropped his price and I know you weren't interested in it at that,  then it finally got pulled by the seller.   I think it was for sale for over a month.   I inquired a few times.  It took forever for him to get back to me each time.  He never did let me know about the leaky tire he was getting fixed so I could come over and go for a test ride / drive.  

You lose interest fast with a slow/ uncooperative seller.  Especially since I like just about everything old with wheels.