Looking for love in all the wrong places

I've been looking for a daily driver Caddy for several weeks now. Ain't been having much luck with the usual places. Places like Craigslist, Ebay, and others on the web haven't been fertile hunting grounds. The town I live is not much better. But maybe I just need to be patient and give it some time. The search for a new ride continues.

Craigslist has a lot of promise for the Caddy search, but you have to keep an eye out all the time. I have seen a couple of decent deals just last a few hours or maybe a day at most. I have used www.searchtempest.com and gone out as far as 500 miles from my hometown and not found anything that really excites me. It is either too far away or too much of a project or too expensive. If you are into the 50s or early 60s models there are some decent deals out there.

Ebay is much the same. It used to be better, I found my old 74 there several years ago. But nothing close to me is exactly right. There are some really cool Cadillac cars, but they are just not what I am looking for.

I have also tried to find my new Caddy via a Google image search for a specific year. I do this for several different years. Some of the images will link back to classified sites. While I like looking, I don't feel like going a 1000 miles for a daily driver. Maybe I just need to be less picky or more patient.

This town is not a hotbed of cool Cadillacs. I know of two that might be for sale here. One is a 1971 Eldorado convertible. It has been setting for a few years and it is a convertible, neither of which makes for a great daily driver. But I do like it as a project car. The other potential is a 1975 sedan. I really would prefer a coupe or something a little older, yet it looks pretty solid.

I wish it were easier. It would be nice if I had found a 1968 or say a 1972 Coupe DeVille under my Christmas tree. However, the good things in life take time. Some take more time than others. But if you are going to go after a dream, you don't settle. At least not if you want to truly be alive. I know the right car is out there and I am going to find it.

Smoke em if you got em.

I knew I was in trouble when the basement filled with smoke. But I didn't really care because it was alive. For the first time in 20 years the Caddy was running. The big V8 loud and proudly announcing its existence to the world. I could have taken more safety precautions, you should learn from me and be more careful when you get your old Caddy running.

I put in the new fuel pump and ran a couple of flexible lines into a small gas can. One line for input and the other was for the overflow from the hard to find fuel filter. The 1968 Caddy has an external fuel filter, those will run you about 75 bucks on ebay. Luckily there was a new one with the car when I bought it. The pump and the filter were the last things I needed to add to bring my car back to life. With one turn of the keys it would be alive again.

So I hooked everything up and turned the ignition. Man it was loud. Sounded good with the huge exhaust leak just before the muffler. It rumbled mightily soothing my soul. Everybody on the block heard the big Caddy motor. Hey, what is that smoke?

I had the garage door open in my basement garage. But it wasn't enough. The motor had been setting for 20 years. There was oil in it. It produced enough smoke to fill the basement. I thought the garage door would be enough, boy was I wrong.

I was giddy with joy and maybe just a touch of smoke inhalation as I opened every window and door to the outside. You should do that before you touch off a motor that has been setting for several years to a few decades. I put fans at the doors to blow the smoke out. Probably should have done that first. Setup your ventilation first. It was funny at the time because I was OK, but exhaust fumes are nothing to play around with. Don't waste your life just because you were in a hurry to get the old girl running.

For sure I could have done it much, much better. Yet I treasure the memory of the big motor, big sound, and even the big smoke. The smoke did clear out after the motor had run for a bit. Don't worry if it smokes at first. At least it is alive.

A Caddy Manifesto.

     Jellybeans. Vanilla jellybeans. On every road in America people are driving soulless, efficient, safe jellybeans. They are driving modern cars without the soul of a big old car. They may be safe and efficient, but at what price? I question myself and ask why do I settle for a car that stirs not my soul. Why not dare to dream, to be moved as I move along the road? Why not choose a car with a big motor and plenty of room? I dare to dream of driving what I love, even if I must wait and work patiently toward that goal.

      I don't want to live like everybody else in their little jellybeans. Nor do I want to follow the same drummer down the safe and sane road. The price is too high, to deny my inner most being. Die the slow death of conformity and be less than I am meant to be. This path is not for me. I want to go with style down my own road. To follow the right path and go there with style. I want to feel the power of a big Caddy motor and know I will get there with style, comfort, and power.

      Four hundred seventy two cubic inches of Cadillac power. A big four barrel carburetor up top. None of this sterile fuel injection stuff. And not a corporate motor found in lesser cars either. Yeah those other motors may have power and be fuel efficient, but they lack the soul of the legendary 472-500 engine family. My heart and soul are moved by the big motors, the big iron. They rumble and you know when they are running. Step down on that pedal and they move you like the hand of God on your back.

      No modern car has the room or ride of an old Caddy. Huge bench seats, acres of leather or vinyl covering them. The trunks can swallow all your luggage. Heck you could probably put a Smart Car in the trunk as a spare. And even loaded down the old Caddy will still ride like a Cadillac. Soft, comfort, ease, all words that describe the ride. Modern cars are all about handling, with a ride designed for speed not comfort.

      This is not just a project journal for my 68 hardtop, it is also a love story. My first love is the 1968 to 1976 Cadillac. Then I love other year Cadillac cars. Further down the line I love other big cars of that bygone era. Wagons, coupes, and sedans that they just don't make anymore. Big steel is cool. Something just hits my soul when a big v8 rumbles near me.

      I hope my vision and love is catching. I want to share my passion with you.