The air conditioning compressor seized up and melted a belt, causing a call to AAA and a 45-minute wait for the tow truck the third day I had the car.
The blower for the climate control worked intermittently.
The Automatic Level Control for the air shocks was no longer working properly.
The windshield washer fluid pump didn't work.
The headliner was falling down.
I put new spark plugs, wires, distributor cap, and rotor on the car.
The headlight dimmer switch went bad.
This car was in mint condition when I purchased it. I have owned three Cadillacs, and technically it was the nicest one I've had, and it had the lowest mileage of the three.
However, I disliked it. For one thing, the color was HORRIBLE; it was Baroque Gold with buckskin cloth interior. Most people, myself included, felt the color approximated dog vomit. This might have been a great color in 1977 (in fact, a Sedan deVille in this color was shown at least three times in the sales literature that year) but it didn't translate well into the year 2001.
The car absolutely DRANK gasoline, I was spending $25-30 to fill up EVERY FOUR DAYS!! I would only get about 250 miles to the tank, which translated to about ten miles per gallon, despite my best efforts to increase the gas mileage to the factory-specified 13 to 14 mpg city and 16-17 mpg highway.
The car did have a lot of torque, so occasionally I would peel out without even intending to from a complete stop! This usually made other people look at my car with a sort of "Why is an old person's car peeling out??" I'm 23, so that wasn't exactly the image I wanted to project while driving it.
The down-sized Cadillac sedans of the 1977-79 period are really poor with regards to legroom. I had the seat the whole way back and I was still uncomfortable, as I am 6'3" tall. Also, when I had the seat that far back, my vision to the side was blocked by the poorly-placed "B" pillar of the roof. This made merging on the highway or changing lanes an exciting adventure, because I couldn't see if there was anyone to the left of me when doing so.
I love my 1977 Cadillac Sedan Deville, but you are right it is bad on gas. No matter how bad on gas it has held out great for me. The feeling of driving a car with so much power is fun. Yes I have peeled out from time to time with out meaning to, but so what its part of the fun. I am 25 and love the attention it gets me. Of course I am female so more people notice a girl driving a huge old car. I have never seen the gold version you talk of, I have the puke green color. All in all I agree it's a great collector car, or a car for riding around town in, but expect to dish out allot of cash to take a trip just about any where.
Have had my "new" '77 Coupe Deville about 10 days now. Bought it from the grandson of the woman who purchased it originally in 1977 in New Jersey.
It is baby blue, with white leather seats. No other options.
All in great condition with the following notations:
1. Crack in the drivers door armrest (repairable).
2. Some surface rust spots on the drivers side, leading edge of trunk lid and lower left (driver's side) corner (by the rear bumper) also.
3. Plastic (rubber?) fillers for the rear bumper, both sides and along the bumper, are severely deteriorated and need replacement. I've seen this on several GM products of the era.
4. Off idle "dead spot" when accelerating from a stop.
Item 1 is easily repairable and to be expected.
Items 2&3 are body work items to be done at some point. In brief Internet searches, I've found new, unpainted trim pieces (About $240.00 for the side bumper extensions and $145.00 for flat piece that runs along the top of the bumper). They have to be painted and the truck lid requires sanding, finishing and painting also. It'll get done soon.
Item 4 seems to be improving as result of fuel system cleaner, top end lubricant (in the gas) and driving. The vacuum secondaries open up pretty reliably now and it runs smoother. Time will tell if carb work is necessary.
The car runs well. I will be taking a 3000 mile trip with it in a few days. A trunk load of cash will be included. Observed gas mileage is around 10 mpg. We'll see how it does on the trip, which is largely highway miles.
The 425 has LOTS of torque. Rated at 180 horsepower and 320 Ft/lbs of torque, it moves the car competently. It can surprise a few cars with it's acceleration, but hardly a drag strip king.
The car handles and brakes well. The tires look small (225R70-15's), but that's the way they made them then.
The factory AM/FM radio and power antenna work. The antenna mast got wiped down with oil and now works MUCH more smoothly. The radio is a bit odd. Apparently not stereo. No markings for "stereo". I noticed that sound only came from the passenger rear. On inspection, there is no left (drivers) side rear speaker, nor any wiring indicating there ever was one. While I see front speaker grilles on the top of the dash, there is no sound. Can't see any speakers there. Could it be the base sound system? Should there be any other speakers? Interesting that the radio has what appears to be a balance or fader control on the right radio stalk. Anyone have an idea? There is no owners manual to check on the radio operation.
Oh, the windshield washer doesn't work. The fluid tank appears to leak. I'm wondering if it simply burned out.
Thankfully, it doesn't have the air suspension. I could always add load lever shocks. Checked and they're available.
The steering has the typical, compared to now, over assisted steering. Read that as no road road feel. Having grown up driving similar, and older, American "tanks", it does have that feeling of going back to 1975.
The rear passenger-side cylinder spark plug is blocked by the A/C unit. Not impossible to change, but a healthy challenge.
The starter initially seems to "hang", as though it might not spin the engine over. It always does.
Think this is enough initially. I will try to post again after the trip and let you know more on it.
These comments serve as a partial addendum to my comments above from 21 Aug '07...
The car now has 64,136 miles...
Since that time, I have done significant work on the car as follows:
1. Major engine work consisting of replacing a broken rocker arm stand and four pushrods. The heads were removed and cleaned. The inspection of bottom end of the engine looked good. New oil pump installed. More on all this later.
2. The carburetor was completely rebuilt. Timing reset also.
3. Front end realigned. A nearly $300.00 project, as the shims had fallen out of the passenger side and left about an inch of looseness on the inside, upper control arm. Why??? More on this, too.
In terms of what happened first, the carb was found to be in serious trouble while I had the car in for a complete BG fluid change of all the fluids, except brakes. I also found the fuel pump leaking badly and replaced it. That cured a long standing raw fuel smell.
A few weeks later, the carb was completely rebuilt by a local carb shop, reinstalled with timing reset. BIG improvement in power and gas mileage! Of course, it was $350.00, but well worth it, especially since it was never done.
The car ran well for quite some time, posting fuel mileage in excess of 17 mpg on the highway. It was very strong performer.
In mid-November, the exhaust pipe split, then within hours, developed a loud clatter that seemed like a spun bearing. Having no tools or place to do major engine work, I was faced with trying to find a reputable, and KNOWLEDGEABLE, shop here in the Miami area. I'm still looking, in case anyone knows...However, I did find a marginal one and had them diagnose and repair the problem. $1287.00 dollars later, I had the car back and running pretty well... after I moved the throttle cable from the post for the cruise control (it allowed about 30% throttle travel).
There was a clear difference in the engine idle after the repairs. As though a cylinder had been skipping before. Maybe it had.
As mentioned at the beginning, there was a broken rocker arm. After being removed from the engine, it was clear there was a stress crack that had caused the arm to break essentially in half. It may well have been cracked for a while before, allowing a change in the geometry of the arm movement and a decrease in the opening of the valve.
The car runs exceptionally smooth now. While I did change the cap & rotor, plugs and wires need their change too.
Right after the engine repair, I noticed a "clunk" in the front end, passenger side. Took it back to the shop where I had the engine work done. That's where the missing shims were found. I can't swear to it, but I have strong suspicions that they may have loosened something while trying to do the engine repairs, only to have caused the issue. They looked mighty nervous. So, I took it to the local Goodyear shop where I see the police cars get their work done. They had an exceptionally competent front end / alignment guy with a modern machine. He found that the drivers side was way off too. Now back in spec, it drives like a new car!!!
It is currently my only car. And with such an "investment" up to now, likely to remain so, despite gas prices. Driving in Miami gives you a GREAT sense of safety with this kind of sheet metal around you. Although some of today's SUV's would probably cause severe damage...
In any event, I look forward to some body repair soon as the rear plastic around the bumper continues to fade away...
More thoughts sooner, I hope!
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!
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