21st Jan 2010, 17:12
January 21, 2010
I just inherited a 77 Coupe De Ville from my Grandpa, who was the second owner (my great-grandpa being the first.) My grandpa left it in the care of a friend who enjoys cars. This friend told me that he believed that there was a crack in the head and that coolant leaked into the cylinder. After receiving the car from him, I filled the coolant reservoir with coolant, and since have not noticed any difference in engine performance or level of coolant. Does anyone have more information on this? Is this possibly a common occurrence for this type of engine? One other thing I noticed is that it sounds like sometimes the starter solenoid will engage the starter but that the starter will not crank the engine. After shutting off the starter and waiting 10 or so seconds and trying again, the engine will usually start right up. Is this caused by missing teeth on the flywheel?
12th Jan 2011, 23:01
I had a 1977 Coupe Deville, Naples yellow with a yellow rag top when I was 16 in 2005. It was my first car and absolutely fell in love with it, even though it had no brakes and no power. I wasn't employed at the time, so money is something that was really hard to come by. I bought the car for 100 dollars. My intentions for the car were a lot, but unfortunately it never came around. The car sat on my yard for about six months, then the town code enforcement said I needed to remove it. So I did. It hurt, but there was nothing I could do. I didn't even have a title for the vehicle. Just knew it came from New Jersey, and that it was fairly rusted. I told my self that one day I would purchase it and fix it up.
Fast forward to March 2010, I came up with some cash, and after looking long and hard, I finally came across a 1977 Coupe DeVille worth buying. The color is off white with blue guts and a blue rag top, even though it looks aqua green because it's so faded. Miles are 180k and it was TAXED OUT. I paid 4.2k for it at a buy here dealership here in South Florida. The car came from Kentucky. The tag from that state was still on. It's in fair condition. It did need a lot of work though.
First couple of things I did to it was wash it real good at a car wash, and buy new Rain-X windshield wipers.
Complete tune up, oil change, all the filters, (gas, oil, air), transmission service with the new fluid, gasket and filter.
AC Delco plugs and Accel 8.5mm Yellow wires. Cap and rotor for the distributor.
All new brake system, master cylinder, booster, lines, calipers, new rear drums (painted them baby blue to match the car), pads, shoes and the rear wheel bearings and cylinders.
Did the differential service too.
Then I got four new tires (Runway) with 1.25 inch white walls. I also got 4 new shocks (KYB) and new suspension parts - Inner and outer tie rods and the sway bar links, center link and the idler arm. All Moog parts by the way.
Put all new bulbs in the back and front.
The ignition switch was messing up, so I replaced that, and the starter that had broken as a result.
I don't know why, but I thought replacing the carb would help, So threw on an Edelbrock 650 carb. It didn't help.
14th Jan 2011, 08:44
To the previous comment, where did you get your tires? I have a 1978 Lincoln Mark V, and would love to find some gangsta whites like that!
8th Dec 2011, 00:05
Sounds like you've had a major adventure with your Caddy. You mentioned 17 MPG on the highway (which is awesome). How about around town mileage? Thanks.
11th Jan 2012, 15:30
I had a 1977 Cadillac Sedan De Ville in 2006-2008, having bought it in Oct. 2006 and lost it (it was totaled in an accident where two old people in a brand-new Lincoln Zephyr ran a red light and hit me) in May, 2008. I was 23 when I bought it, and almost everything that was wrong with yours, also went wrong with mine!
I never got the heater to perfectly work, no matter what I did! As for things that I had to replace in mine (which, by the way, was the oldest car I've owned to date, but I hope to, one day soon, despite the current high cost of gasoline, get another and older car, Cadillac or not; and, in fact there's a 1967 Cadillac Fleetwood for sale in nearby New Hampshire for 1,000 dollars!), I had to replace the heater core, blower motor, starter motor, alternator, battery, air filter, radiator hose, dimmer switch.
Really, when you get right down to it, almost everything that went wrong with the car was electrical. Still, despite all that and it's orange color and very slightly torn white vinyl roof... I loved it. Just as I'm sure I'd love a 1976 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham - there's one for sale in Massachusetts for 2000 dollars!
2nd Jun 2012, 00:30
Try cleaning your battery terminal. If they are initially not making good contact, the starter will click, but the draw at the terminal will cause the battery post and terminal clamp to expand with the heat, and then there is a better contact and the car starts. This can eventually cause the battery to go dead as you drive the car, because when the terminal cools down and loses good contact, the battery will not charge as it should. Good luck.
2nd Sep 2012, 09:16
I just bought a 1977 Cadillac Sedan Deville, with only 44k on the dash, for $1700. It had one previous owner, who had purchased the car new in 1977. It's mint or winter green with a dark green top. The interior is decent, and the backseat looks like no one ever sat in it.
I've had the serpentine belts replace and some fluids added to it, and some checks for $160. It had been sitting for over a year before I bought it.
After that, the brakes locked up on me and I had to get a bunch of stuff replaced, including the proportioning valve; all this ended up costing me $716.
I know there will be more to fix and spend on this car, but so far I love the car. I've had a little trouble starting in the morning, or sometimes it shut off as soon as I take off, but once it gets going, it rides pretty good.
I've had a bunch of offers for me to sell it. I don't want to. With 44k and being in the good condition that it's in, I'd say it's worth a nice penny.
5th Mar 2008, 22:45
I actually have a 77 Coupe Deville and it's treated me great for the year and a half I've owned it.
Gorgeous Cotillion white and hip 70s burnt orange vinyl and leather.
I purchased it off an older man who traveled between New Jersey and Florida, and already had a classic. Let me tell you though, he had it held together long enough to get me to my driveway. Once I got it home, the brake lines started to leak, so I had those replaced, along with a general tune up.
Now the day I brought it home, swear on my life, the power steering died as I was driving it home. Now I was 16 at the time and I freaked cause I didn't think I had enough money to take care of the beauty. But I did okay.
Since then I replaced the catalytic converter and the alternator and the blower for the heating and whatnot. Love that V8 though, after driving with one, I can't imagine driving without that kinda power.
Gas is a real killer though sometimes, I mean here in Jersey the prices are fairly low comparatively speaking so I can go about 10 days on one tank of gas, sometimes more. Unfortunately we have to part ways, college is coming and mulah is needed.
Never the less, my friends sometimes get on my back about being so young and driving that huge car, but when it comes down to it, when we have to haul something, or need to ride in style and comfort, guess who they come to.
I don't care what anyone says though, be it 1977 or 2008 to me, Cadillac is the apex of American Luxury and I wish you all the luck with your Caddys. Interested in mine? NMessina@live.com Make it happen and own a classic with basically new everything!