VANITY, Who were the pro America protesters on hwy 49 in Auburn, Ca?

The original quadrajunk gave up the ghost. I'm tempted to send it out where they sleeve the butterfly shafts to prevent vacuum leaks. The only problem is one of the previous owners CRANKED down on the four mounting bolts so the carb actually looks bent like a banana. So I replaced it with a Holley spreadbore a friend of mine gave me and rebuilt it. I think the fact that it's s double pumper instead of having vacuum secondaries has a little to do with it.

Finally, I know the timing chain is stretched since it pulls I think around -5 pounds of vacuum at idle, normal is above 15 or so?

Since it is 100% original, I don't want to rebuild the engine, deck the block and lose the all important matching numbers. I see a warmed over crate engine soon.

My dad has a '91 Caddy and we drove it from Southern Ca and I think it got around 29mpg.

Which engine and carb setup is in the GOAT? I love GTO's, nothing like a 17 foot long car that gets it on not to mention lots of memories from a friend's '66.

I'm not losing too much sleep over the mileage, I've got a 2nd gen RX7 that gets around 15mpg but none of the performance-now that's progress.

LOL!

My old Caddie ('88) had an electric Quadrajet, worked pretty well -- that old thang got about 20 mpg on the highway, once I replaced the TPS. Of course, it was not over-torqued! Holley's are supposed to be pretty good, but you need to jet it correctly, and make sure you have the "right" power valve installed, and that it works! I have blown out several power valves with stupid backfires!

My son and I replaced the timing chain on a very worn out (150,000 ++) mile 350 Chevvy a few years ago, and it made a huge difference in performance and gas mileage -- he got an additional 75,000 miles or so out of it before it finally gave up the ghost. Burned a little oil, but, oil is cheaper than a rebuild when you are a college student! My point is you can replace the timing chain and keep on Corvetting!

Your dad's Caddy was probably one of the FWD cars -- they are smaller and lighter than mine. I.e., there are two "Fleetwood" Cadillacs -- the Fleetwood (FWD) and the Fleetwood Brougham (RWD). The Brougham is the big one -- GM "B" car chassis. Last RWD version was manufactured in 1996.

The after-market produces a lotta suspension upgrades for these cars, as they are identical to the Impala SS Chevrolet sold FRom 1994-1996. Gonna set mine up with an aftermarket SS suspension and a few other hi-po goodies, just because I can! Already have installed dual exhausts and a reprogrammed transmission.

GTO is a nice looking (been kept garaged and covered for the past 30 years) unrestored cruiser. Basically, it is a stock appearing hardtop with a 400 ci Ram Air III engine, an Iskendarian valve train, headers, 650 Holley on a high rise, Turbo 350 w/shift kit, BFGs on 14" American mags and a complete polyurethane bushed H-O Racing, Inc. suspension system(corners like a slot car!). Nothing special, except that it is a GTO. And you don't see many of them out and about these days. It always draws a crowd at the local cruise nights, even though it shows some usage. It is meant to drive, and I drive it!

Well, if I had the money, I'd hustle right out and buy one of the older turbocharged RX7s. Without a doubt, one of the most exciting cars I have ever driven, and tohell with the gas mileage!

FReegards

I actually like Quadrajets, if you have an automatic and a decent engine, flooring it gives that distinctive baaawAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! when those pop can sized secondaries kick in.

Unfortunately, I'm going to have to find a base that's flat and where the throttle shafts haven't worn enough to be a vacuum leak. The problem is I need to keep it within the correct date period for the car so it will still be a number's matching car.

Don't you just love hearing your engine backfire and then praying your power valve isn't toast? Holley sells a protection kit for them now that I think is backwards compatible.

I just hope I don't go overboard like the restorers who have to ensure everything matches. Since the C3 is notorious for cooling issues, I used a high flow aluminum water pump and the radiator and mount and overflow tank out of an '80 but of course kept the old parts for posterity. What cracks me up is when someone has an absolutely perfect Vette that everything matches, hoses, alternator, any part. The problem is that they drive like a 33 year old car which still overheats in traffic and that's just on a smallblock.

You're correct about the Caddy, it's FWD with the double overhead cam transverse V8 although I don't know if it can be classified as a Northstar although it gets up and moves.

I know it's wretched excess but I want a '59 Caddy convertible, I love those cars!!!! Speaking of Caddys, I was driving my mom's '68 Sedan deVille (472CID) many years ago and some idiot in a Fox bodied Mustang lost control and spun around and ran into me head on at about 40mph combined speed. I was so po'd I jumped out of the car, ran to the Mustang and yanked the keys out of the car since he was trying to start it to make a getaway. After I got the keys and was ready to yank him out of the car, I looked at the Caddy and busted out laughing. A piece of chrome trim on the hood was cracked-period. His car (actually his brothers) was totaled.

As for the Vette, the original owner was a LT in the military, and took great care of the car and kept every receipt and so did all the rest of the owner's down the line. In the receipt pile, are two different timing chain replacements. I'll be number three in line but I plan on using a double roller instead of the Kragen junk, plus it needs a new harmonic balancer. It looks like that during the last timing chain replacement, they gently pounded the harmonic balancer on with a sledgehammer, the timing marks aren't even close and that's taking in consideration the timing chain stretch.

If your GTO is in good condition AND unrestored, try and keep it that way. Pristine unrestored cars seem to be the new thing and a GTO will never ever lose in value. Once you restore it, you can never go back but hell it comes down to personal preference.
I used to have the tri power manifold with carbs for one I bought years ago for $150.00, I sold it for a small fortune to a guy restoring his beautiful '66 convertible.

Do the polyurethane bushings squeak at all? I need to do an entire suspension replacement, Ok, maybe not entire but hey, they have complete kits for pretty cheap and those bushings are supposed to be a great option yet I get conflicting stories on how they squeak after a while.

One great thing about GM and Ford products, Year One, Midland and a host of other catalogs sell almost enough of the parts to build the car from scratch!

The second generation TurboII RX7's are fast but getting a reliable rebuild which is usually mandatory if you drive it hard is tricky. I know someone who can build the normally aspirated 12a's and 13b's that last a long time but he can't seem to make a TurboII last. Now if you want fast, try a 3rd generation RX7, they are blinding, like the one Vin Diesel drove in the Fast and the Furious. I will never forgive them for destroying a '70 charger, fargin bastages!

Well, the electric quadrajet might have done that had it been on top of a 455 Olds. LOL! It was on top of a 305 Olds in a 4400 lb. Caddie, so I never even bothered to find out if the secondaries worked! It was a slug, so I drove it for mileage, and to the degree that I drove it for 97,027 miles over a three year span and averaged 19.6 MPG, I guess that tactic worked!

You only need to have numbers carb when you get ready to show or sell the 'Vette. I'd get a good spreadbore and gopherit in the meantime! After the timing chain is replaced, of course!

The Goat's Holley is protected -- I installed the kit as soon as it became available. No more power valve worries!

My GTO will overheat in traffic -- I need to put a '67 (or later) timing cover, an 11 bolt high flow water pump and a bigger electric fan on it. While I am in there, I'll change the timing chain, too. I'm also going to install a 200 R4 transmission to take advantage of the overdrive and lockup torque converter features the Turbo 350 lacks. The Goat is a cruiser, not a race car, so I'll be able to drive it more with the new tranny. Summer projects, don'tchaknow?

Well, I am a fan of the Chevvy powered RWD Caddies -- I'll probably drive this one for three years or so, and then buy a '96. Thing is, they usually are very well maintained, and when they are 10 years old or so, can be bought for a song.

Effectively, I am driving a $30,000 car which cost me $4,000, plus a grand or so for "improvements," (duals, a JVC CD/tape player, beefed transmission, etc.) so far. I'm gonna hang some suspension mods on it later this year -- probably an Impala SS package -- to tighten it up a bit, and I want larger sway bars for flatter cornering. And then, I'll just drive up and down the big road! (I-95. I have to drive to Florida almost once a month, a 1500 mile round trip, to attend to my 87 year old mother's "honey do" list.)

The duals and transmission mods (along with Mobil 1 synthetic oil and transmission fluid) have raised my gas mileage almost 3 MPG to the 20 - 21 MPG range on the highway at the "posted + 5 MPH speeds" I always drive. I am so impressed with the synthetic POL, that I am going to replace the rear end lube with synthetic, too.

Other than that, I just drive the big old thang -- very securely! It feels like I am driving a bank vault, compared to lesser cars. And I know it is tough: I bounced my '88 off of a guard rail late one night in PA last summer at 70 MPH; woke me up (yes, I was sound asleep), but didn't even knock the FRont end out of alignment! I didn't even stop -- since the car seemed OK, and everything was working, I kept driving til I found an all night gas station, about 50 miles down the road!

I am the luckiest man alive today, I'll tell you that. And if I had been in my previous car, an old Toyota SR 5, I'd be dead! Them big ol Caddies can take a lickin and keep on tickin.

BTW, the Ins. Co. junked it; I bought it back for $250 and gave it to my mom. She had the body fixed and the interior redone for $2,300, and is quite happy with "Granny's Caddy!" No, the FRont end still does not need to be aligned!

I took my insurance money and used it (plus a small loan FRom my FRiendly banker) to buy the '91 from a Cadillac salesman who used it as his personal car after he took it in trade FRom an elderly couple in Clearwater, FL. The RWD Caddy with the TBI 350 Chevvy engine is a good combination, give that GM doesn't produce the 472 or 500 ci Caddy any more! I like it a whole lot more than the '88s 305 Olds.

Poly bushing squeak a bit, but they sure do work! If you drive aggressively and want a well-handling car, they are the way to go. I won't put them on the Caddy, though. They are harsh (transmit noise and road irregularities) on the street, but they smooth out very nicely at FReeway speeds.

Keep me appraised of how your 'Vette project works out.

FReegards

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