Kurt Zimmerle Posted June 16, 2021 Share Posted June 16, 2021 Got the 1925 Cadillac this morning Monday June 14th Drove 100 miles to west Lafayette IN. Stopped in Danville for lunch and a pic. Then off to the Voss solar system model. Got VIP parking right out front. Have a little grease hub issue to work out in the am. Meet J’ann and her husband Lee over the car and became friends over dinner.... life is good. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Zimmerle Posted June 16, 2021 Author Share Posted June 16, 2021 Day two in the books! Today started with Scott Buckmaster and I heading at 7:30 am to a repair shop recommended by our great research person Jeff of the Cadillac LaSale club editor. So we went to check in and see if our leak on the back drivers side tire bearing was enough to stop the trip. Happy to report that by 8am we were back at the hotel waiting for Jeff Shively to run with us for part of the day. We headed East after touring town unexpectedly ,fun, got gas ( 7.6 miles per gallon? ) and headed to Peru IN. We stopped allong the way to buy out all the auto parts supply of non detergent 30 weight oil as she seems to like it. Also added fire extinguisher, assorted added tools and electrical tape. Then arriving at Peru in time for lunch with my good friend and antique man Fred Henderson goid lunch then off to the little circus museum which has a volunteer circus 🎪 in July and a cool old building to do it in. We then parted ways with Jeff and Fred and headed for Tom Hoczyk and his hearses. On the way to Tom’s house we were on many beautiful back winding roads with one particularly exciting rail road crossing of a double track that went up quite steep ( could not see road only sky) then two tracks and a even steeper down grade. I only took it at 35 but felt like a roller coaster at cedar point! We would honk our U gah horn and wave to all we met. We also started honking through intersections. Finally arrived at Toms house. Tom and I have messaged and talked hearses and it was great to meet him in person. Such a cool guy! We then did little city driving to spend the night with “ Uncle “ Lew Robie. Checked the car ate pizza and crashed for the night. One thing learned is that 6 volt cars don’t like to start since they warm up. They like cold starts which required us to wait for her to cool down before going forward on the trip. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted June 16, 2021 Share Posted June 16, 2021 I have to say I am a bit envious of your venture. Please keep us posted so us 'wannabees' can ride along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted June 16, 2021 Share Posted June 16, 2021 Great trip, and nice narration. The car should easily start hot. You need to check grounds, cables, and starter. Also do an amperage draw test on it. With effort early cars are very reliable.......not always easy to fix, but they were reliable when new. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hidden_hunter Posted June 16, 2021 Share Posted June 16, 2021 Is your preheat currently connected? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Zimmerle Posted June 16, 2021 Author Share Posted June 16, 2021 2 hours ago, hidden_hunter said: Is your preheat currently connected? Preheat ? Please tell me more ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC38dls Posted June 16, 2021 Share Posted June 16, 2021 Follow Ed’s advice he really knows what he’s doing (but don’t tell him that we don’t want his head to get any bigger). He fixed my 38 Studebaker electrical problem in about 20 minutes and the car has never run better. I’m even getting better gas mileage and it starts hot or cold in a few turns. dave s 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Kingsley Posted June 16, 2021 Share Posted June 16, 2021 Cool, fun trip! Thanks for taking us along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hidden_hunter Posted June 16, 2021 Share Posted June 16, 2021 5 hours ago, Kurt Zimmerle said: Preheat ? Please tell me more ? The intakes direct exhaust around the carb in order to assist in the combustion of 1920’s gas. Buick had a similar system and it’s reasonably common to block it off to prevent hot start problems. I’ve blocked mine off using some copper plate and it doesn’t seem to have hot start issues but I haven’t driven it enough to know one way or the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flivverking Posted June 16, 2021 Share Posted June 16, 2021 Sung to"Those Magnificent Men and Their Flying Machines" "He can drive upside down with his feet the air, He don't think of danger,he really don't care!" 😱😱😱😓 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadillac Fan Posted June 16, 2021 Share Posted June 16, 2021 Great to meet you Kurt. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Zimmerle Posted June 17, 2021 Author Share Posted June 17, 2021 Day 3 1925 Cadillac 2021 Adventure Or America at 40 mph. Started the day saying good by to “ uncle “Lew Robie. We have a two man starting system worked out. We start by saying seatbelts, ( imagine looking for our non existent belts) check. Car in neutral, check. Fuel Pump on, check, electric on , check. Then Scott pushes the starter as it’s hard for me to reach my leg sound the gear shift. I tap the gas and she starts right up. Then Then we worked our way up back roads to Auburn IN to the Auburn, Duesenberg and Cord Museum. I had not been there for ten years ish... it was filled with more cars of all kinds. It was SO Much better then I remember. People loved my new car in the parking lot. From there we kept heading north back roads farm lands and beautiful tunnel of trees with farm field and horses, cows etc.... weather has been perfect. Occasionally I just smile and say to Scott THIS IS MY NEW CAR! We often honk the oh Ga horn through intersections and at anyone sitting on a porch. Roads smooth life good.... Michigan state line few turns in and a stretch of road of pot holes patch work quilt... speed dropped... way low, down shift to second. So both Scott E. Buckmaster and I leaning forward watching directing and dodging in a slow speed maneuver across the road both lanes. Road smooths out we sit back and relax a little. As we drive we have developed the “ hunched over leaning forward “to see the stop light change color then we return to sitting up ridding driving position. The windshield seems small when in towns. It’s in the roll up position most of the time, which means we give bugs lots of rides as they fly in and join us. We found our way to Marshall MI and had lunch at Pastrami, great sandwich roast beef with horse radish sauce so tasteful it cleared my sinuses out I was sniffing and crying while Scott laughed at me. Needless to say I bought some of the horse radish to bring home. Then off to the Marshall Magic Museum fun little place very interesting stop. Worth the visit.., discovered I am now fatter then Hudini as I could not fit in the mock up of his milk can escape. ( covid weight , more to love and snuggle ) then off to Gilmore for quick visit before they closed... Cadillac LaSalle Club has a beautiful building there full of nice Cadillacs from most of the decades of Cadillacs but not one from the 20s mmmm. We then partook of the Cruze in car show and where one of the oldest cars there. People loved her, and her V8. She is sharp looking and beautiful. Then little drive into the sunset to the hotel at Plainwell MI. Day three the most miles covered is 142 miles. Sleeping well with our Cadillac parked safely under the canopy. Tomorrow on to west coast of Michigan, Holland, grand haven, Muskegon and north..... 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne sheldon Posted June 17, 2021 Share Posted June 17, 2021 Carl would be so proud for you! 5 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
$um Fun Posted June 17, 2021 Share Posted June 17, 2021 What a beautiful car. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRA Posted June 17, 2021 Share Posted June 17, 2021 Great ride on this magnificent early V8! Congratulations! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted June 17, 2021 Share Posted June 17, 2021 Standard of the World. 👍👍👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Zimmerle Posted June 18, 2021 Author Share Posted June 18, 2021 (edited) Day Four 1925 Cadillac 2021 Adventures or Smiles per Miles ! Got up checked out fluids and headed west for a change of our east bound direction for last few days. We headed over through Holland MI and over to the shore line... up the coast to Grand Haven to an antique store I had researched out. First day we didn’t open the windshield AC option but kept it closed as it was a cooler morning. Arrived as they opened. Spent 1 1/2 hours checking out all the cool stuff and left with some new treasures. Scott E. Buckmaster got me a super cool little Cadillac pocket knife that I am using as my key chain for the one key I have for the car. Found some cool Masonic things for the Petoskey Lodge. After that we lived life on the edge and tried shooting up 31..... did you know that slowest speed now is 55 not 45 like it use to. We only drove up 10-15 miles to Muskegon on 31.... we only did 45-50 and she was working but did very well. Went to lunch and then the Muskegon Museum Art. It was a nice little stop and the Hackley Public Library it was an amazing romineque architecture. Then off to see Silver Sides WW 2 sub... wow what a machine and I felt big inside. Can’t imagine being inside for weeks at a time no windows with 75 other sailors. We then went up the coast line it was so much like the Tunnel of trees m119 north of Harbor Springs. Realizing we were not sure how much gas we had left ??? We have no gas gage on the car... only Gas Pressure Gage. So we headed for gas. Car would not start again so we waited for her to cool off which let us meet Josh Bush a fellow Cadillac lover of course we needed pics of our Cadillacs that are almost 100 years apart !!!!! He was our lucky charm she started right up. We then tooled up old 31 or business 31 to Pentwater MI. Rain was approaching we got in and permission to park under the canopy. Checked under the hood and discovered that the screws that hold the hood hinges on where loosing up and we had lost a couple. So we tightened what we had left under the hood..... my door handle works loose about every two days and needs to be tightened. We are learning to tighten screws and look at them all the time. She is starting up easier actually and only struggled the last time after getting gas..... tomorrow night Glen Arbor or Traverse City first night with no planned place to stay. We are getting a little travel wearing but still having a great time wait till you see our videos lol Edited June 18, 2021 by Kurt Zimmerle (see edit history) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hidden_hunter Posted June 18, 2021 Share Posted June 18, 2021 The uboat in Chicago is worth going to and shows how nuts the tight crew space was, even though they were the enemy it would have been a terrible way to go 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Zimmerle Posted June 19, 2021 Author Share Posted June 19, 2021 1925 Cadillac 2021 Adventures. Or So close but still so much fun Started the day in Pentwater Michigan after a night with thunderstorms we got a good start at 8 am then she decided to have accelerator issues.... we thought we fixed it then it happened again. So we worked hard to figure out the center of the steering wheel with the advance and retard and the extra gas idler was loose and twisting so every time I turned the wheel hard one direction it would lock the lineage and make the excelarator stick. So we disconnected it and Scott E. Buckmaster made a gold paper clip sculpture to hold it out of the way and things went great. We stopped in Marquette and ate lunch as a great taco place the lobster natchos, which were AMAZING !!! Another Antique store ahd then heading north again and joining M22 Then the Empire bluff steep hill on M22 got her all hot and bothered we barley made it to the top where there was a scenic turn out.... she was HOT!!! So we pulled in and she cooled down. We then drove, and watched her get hot again .... on the way to a church that if you drove your car past it and put it in Neutral you would roll back up hill to the church. Spoiler alert it works and is way cool. Did it twice. Anyway we stopped into the church and got 5 gal of water to put in the radiator. We then headed to Empire Mi and struggled to keep her cool. We stopped one more time for her to cool off. Scott and I were studying the temp gage so closely to it rise abd fall rise and fall. Coasted down hills into Empire and filled Katy K with Gas and two more gallons of water. She seemed to settle in as we passed Glen Lake, honking happily to all the boaters in the narrows between little and big Glen lakes. Called sister Heather and Brother in law Erik Schupbach to join us for dinner at Arts Tavern in Glen Arbor feeling our confidence returning. About two miles out from town a loud noise was suddenly heard from the front left tire as the wheel bearing decided it had enough of this travel adventure. After dinner we started it up and the noise seemed smaller so we limped it to a friends place that has extra garages and got to work on her front wheel only to discover it was to far gone and our options where few the adventure was over for now.... sigh 😌 it was awesome exciting fun funny tremendously memorable ( videos to be posted yet) time. Scott and I had a great trip so many memories. Coming into intersections a little hot and or sneaking through a 4 way stop almost stopping. Making the shh face at all we passed by. 94 miles from home so close but still a tremendous success trip. A trip I dedicate to Cadillac Carl who shared my dream of driving Cadillacs old ones long distance. Thanks to all of you for following along and cheering this adventure ! Till the next big adventure! Anyone in Northern Michigan have a trailer I can bring her north to Petoskey ahd the repair shop ? 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 On 6/17/2021 at 1:37 AM, $um Fun said: What a beautiful car. Any pre war car driving down the road is a fantastic sight to behold........ 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hidden_hunter Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 What was the ambient temp when you had the overheating problems? My car has had the rad redone (but not the pumps) and it won’t even get to normal operating temps in a 15 mile drive under 60f - will sit idling on a hot day and not get hot might be worth doing some diagnosing on the various systems 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 1 hour ago, hidden_hunter said: What was the ambient temp when you had the overheating problems? My car has had the rad redone (but not the pumps) and it won’t even get to normal operating temps in a 15 mile drive under 60f - will sit idling on a hot day and not get hot might be worth doing some diagnosing on the various systems Cadillacs never ran hot or overheated when new. Obviously there is a problem, and on the road overheating is difficult to fix. I would do the evapo rust treatment to the car, but Cadillac blocks are notoriously difficult to clean out properly, and blocks often get damaged changing core plugs. The only proper way to clean out a early Cadillac V-8 block is pull each bank, and hot tank them. Usually Cadillac radiators are suffering from plugged passages more than other cars because of the spillover effect of have two blocks to clean that are difficult. Been there, done that.........many times over 40 years. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
playswithbrass Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 I loved “ checked the car ate pizza and crashed for the night.” Maybe that was why it started over’eating ? Erica 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Zimmerle Posted June 19, 2021 Author Share Posted June 19, 2021 On 6/17/2021 at 11:04 PM, hidden_hunter said: The uboat in Chicago is worth going to and shows how nuts the tight crew space was, even though they were the enemy it would have been a terrible way to go Yes I have toured it several times it’s cool and tiny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Zimmerle Posted June 19, 2021 Author Share Posted June 19, 2021 28 minutes ago, playswithbrass said: I loved “ checked the car ate pizza and crashed for the night.” Maybe that was why it started over’eating ? Erica I got to stop writing posts so late at night after driving a 1925 Cadillac it’s amazing how tired one gets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Zimmerle Posted June 19, 2021 Author Share Posted June 19, 2021 9 hours ago, edinmass said: Any pre war car driving down the road is a fantastic sight to behold........ It is we got so many smiles, waves, honks it was great spreading happiness. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Zimmerle Posted June 19, 2021 Author Share Posted June 19, 2021 2 hours ago, hidden_hunter said: What was the ambient temp when you had the overheating problems? My car has had the rad redone (but not the pumps) and it won’t even get to normal operating temps in a 15 mile drive under 60f - will sit idling on a hot day and not get hot might be worth doing some diagnosing on the various systems The over heating happened when I was pushing her a little hard going up and down big hills. It wasn’t bad during normal drives most days. I am so close to home I thought I could get her there to start Tim keeping more on it and. Check it out. I remember Carl saying these cars run cool so I was surprised when we would get hot. it was upper 70s when it happened on some big hills around Empire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hidden_hunter Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 10 minutes ago, Kurt Zimmerle said: it was upper 70s when it happened on some big hills around Empire. It should be able to cope just fine with that When I cleaned out the blocks, there was over 2lbs of mud and crud in them - There are inspection covers on the sides that you can open up to have a look to see if anyone has cleaned it before as well 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael J. Barnes Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 Kurt — hoping the tour ended successfully for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 Its a shame you ended up short. Looks like a fun trip none the less. Gonna play the devils advocate here- You said the wheel bearings were shot which was one of the problems that ended your journey prematurely. Just out of curiosity, did you do any preventive maintenance along the way, thorough inspection of operating systems etc.? Or was it a drive and go? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael J. Barnes Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 I see I was not reading the previous messages thoroughly. When I got my old Cadillac, the grease in the wheel bearings had turned solid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Zimmerle Posted June 23, 2021 Author Share Posted June 23, 2021 On 6/22/2021 at 9:12 AM, TAKerry said: Its a shame you ended up short. Looks like a fun trip none the less. Gonna play the devils advocate here- You said the wheel bearings were shot which was one of the problems that ended your journey prematurely. Just out of curiosity, did you do any preventive maintenance along the way, thorough inspection of operating systems etc.? Or was it a drive and go? I put new tires on and replaced all fluids and tune up. So I felt pretty good. When the tires were replaced brakes where checked. I feel like i did enough prep for the trip. Sometimes things happen even with new cars I figured we did great no regrets 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimy Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 I'm willing to wager that your overheat situation is due to your now-prolonged use of a former short-trip parade car, and all the crud in the blocks has been turned loose from repetitive heating-cooling cycles. I've been there and suffered that! Search for the panty-hose/stocking filters to catch the crud dislodged. Don't have time to give a full story at the moment. Backflushing your radiator and blocks --separately--will help, following by the pure-Evaporust-as-coolant technique for two months or so; @edinmassis the authority on that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 (edited) Yup.....evapo rust straight is the best treatment to start with. I would run it the entire summer. If it turns black, rinse with water a few times and then new evapo rust for another treatment. It may solve all your problems, but if not it's the best first step. If you need help, just PM me. Edited June 29, 2021 by edinmass (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 6 hours ago, Kurt Zimmerle said: I put new tires on and replaced all fluids and tune up. So I felt pretty good. When the tires were replaced brakes where checked. I feel like i did enough prep for the trip. Sometimes things happen even with new cars I figured we did great no regrets Certainly didnt mean any disrespect. I am envious of your trip. There should be more of us adventurous enough to take on such. I am glad you made it as far as you did and was a bit disappointed ( not as much as you im sure) that you didnt make it all the way. Hopefully the Caddy will be back on the road soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRA Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 6 hours ago, edinmass said: Yup.....evapo rust straight is the best treatment to start with. I would run it the entire summer. If it turns black, rinse with ware a few times and then new evapo rust for another treatment. It may solve all your problems, but if not it's the best first step. If you need help, just PM me. What is exactly evapo-rust? Is there a “home made alternative”? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike6024 Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 (edited) EVAPO-RUST® – SUPER SAFE RUST REMOVER Evapo-Rust® is a non-toxic rust remover dip for restoring rusty treasures. With Evapo-Rust® you can remove rust to bare metal without sanding or scrubbing. Evapo-Rust® is the best rust remover available on the market today. It is safe, simple, and easy to use. No need for mixing. The solution is ready to use. Anyone can restore their rusted antiques, camping gear, hardware, tools, cast iron, gardening tools, BBQ grill, auto parts, even firearms to like-new condition. Best of all, Evapo-Rust® is safe to use: non-toxic, non-corrosive, and contains no acids, bases, or petroleum solvents. Let Evapo-Rust® do all the work for you without having to use any gloves, masks, or protective eyewear. Check your local retailer for size availability and pricing. https://evapo-rust.com/evapo-rust/ Even Walmart has it, only $16.15 for a gallon https://www.walmart.com/ip/Evapo-Rust-The-Original-Super-Safe-Rust-Remover-Water-Based-Non-Toxic-Biodegradable-1-Gallon/48810395 Edited June 24, 2021 by mike6024 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRA Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 (edited) Unfortunately it costs above $60 per gallon here in Brazil, so I was wondering if there is any home made alternative to use to clean rust from engine water chambers and radiator. Edited June 24, 2021 by JRA (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 1 hour ago, JRA said: Unfortunately it costs above $60 per gallon here in Brazil, so I was wondering if there is any home made alternative to use to clean rust from engine water chambers and radiator. Trust me, it's cheap. And no. nothing else will work without doing damage. And you must run it without cutting it down with water. Trust me, it's cheaper than pulling the engine and radiator to clean everything. Also understand, it will NOT fix organic contaminants in the radiator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 Should be able to, you can normally get it powdered, too. Search for ascorbic acid (otherwise known as vitamin C). Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now