I like my '88 with the 4100, feels like plenty of power until a 6-cyl Mustang leaves you in the dust .. aghghghgh .. so, one learns to not get pulled into such competition, knowing you gonna lose. The 4100 has plenty to keep up with most, plenty to crack the triple digit mph, just not enough to dust many. The Northstar? May I refrain from comments on that one ? i see the N* as designed to be "untouchable" to a backyard mechanic.

I dont even mind the Cadillac badge on the tail light, or on the wheel centers, but those lines on the grill were not meant to be disturbed .. Pinifarina knew that, but GM stood firm. Nothing a screwdriver cant correct.

I dont even mind the soft top operation .. I simply dont ever use it with the exception of getting caught in the rain , as it happened a couple days ago.

I love the BOSCH III ABS on that '88 and absolutely swear by it. So I gotta change the fluid on it every other year, no big deal .. you see, I crammed a two Stangs under other cars, twice - once my fault, once not my fault, so you see, I can appreciate the value of the Bosch III stopping ability. I do drive cars to their potential. My Lincoln MK VIIs also had ABS and didnt appreciate the trumping when activated. (TO those of you that dont have a BOSCH III ABS, there is NO THUMPING, it just stops the car now). I do love the 275 hp they come with.

Now we have the monster complaints for my '88:
1. BOSE - 100 Watts on a convertible? What were they thinking? I upgraded to 200 W and still, lacking.
2. VISORS - That is it .. I damn had it .. enough with the damn potato chip clips, enough with the busted map lights, enough with getting hit on the head .. ENOUGH .. ENOGU .. ENOUGH !
3. Weak transmission even with a 4100 engine, enough of the 440 turbo hydro transmission. Enough.

So .. Phase II, 1992 .. here I come.
1. BOSE 200 Watt still lacking, but there are such thing as aftermarket systems.
2. VISORS - WOW, they work normal.
3. The 4T60E transmission - undecided and withholding a review.

I still get left in the dust by Stangs but now they are of the GT 5.0 versions, the 6-cyl I can leave in the dust, most "tuners" dont have a clue or a chance.

I get to have what I like the best .. timeless automobile style, superb luxury, Cadillac comfort, Bosch III ABS, Kaiper Recaro, excellent handling, stable chassis at 100++ mph, large truck capacity (kid's cargo), a few thousand Phase I donors at waiting, inexpensive donor engines/transmissions .. the top is back there somewhere, should I need it.

Biggest concern, there are probably under 500 cars left of the 1992 vintage, so one has to count on the early models for parts .. it helps if one can make things work.

I am moving UP to the Phase II. For raw brute power, I got the '86 Stang and it sits 4.
I believe that I will be holding at this point.

 

Today, no matter what car you own and regardless of the price there will always be another on the road that can "dust you off."

 

Zin
How do you really feel about that top? Guys the term double nickel has new meaning as Mrs. Zin just celebrated that many years with the ZINZIN yesterday. Wish her the best!

Zal,

Used Ike's wunnerful interstate system to drive 75 miles yesterday to buy a pearl white Phase 1 hardtop. Am ordering Fox's eyebolts from bosunsupplies.com. Don't know why except it was cheap ($415) and two turns away up the interstate. The hunt starts now. (Am prepared for a long hunt as wifey asked for no more than 2 toy cars in the drive-doesn't care what they are or what they cost--she's right I'd have it looking like a junkyard w/o her). Will look for either the right '92 or '93. Will take my time like you did but this is the next toy.

G.A.R.Y.

please tell me the Pa. garage (barn ) queen wasn't pearl white.

 

Barn would be correct. Pearl white incorrect. She had no top so she was my nubian nude.
Wanted to take a look at the Monzo polo green 93 for sale but decided that I will probably never own another allante.

 

We all move on after a while, but interested in why not! sell high (10.5k) buy low (5.9k).

 

Sell high buy low was the only reason I gave it any thought. However, I will be looking at newer caddy's and perhaps zr-1 or perhaps I will find the body to put the motor in I have laying around. Today going to Dania Beach marina to look at a boat. Something else I thought I would never buy again. As you can see, I have lots of stuff to play with or think about other then another allante. Remember SNL more cow bell? With me it's more HP and the allante did not satisfy in that area, although I had her for over 13 years.

 

Gary made a good point, sometimes is actually moving UP.

The Allante has been a hold point for me. There are a few reasons for that hold point, some are
private, some are public knowledge. The one you may be familiar is where I stepped DOWN, in the
interest of raising my kids .. not from a two seater, but from a two wheel world into a ragtop world.

I drool to the time where I can once again move back UP .. if that is ever possible. The day that
happens, the cave will have a new resident and the Allante will .. well, most likely, move on?

As to anyone's chasing any Allante, this note below written to me by someone (if he chooses to, he can
swing by and tag it) you know very well, says a lot. I believed that since the dawn of my Allante relationship,
I been saying something a bit similar, and to this day, holds true.

To many, the Allante is a toy - I dont quite get that.
For me, to the day, the Allante is what it has always been .. basic transportation.
I do have a toy, put about 500 miles in 18 months and needs some serious TLC,
but it is definitely a toy, not a Cadillac.

One final note ... I have noticed an interesting pattern.
People own an Allante for 10+ years, talk about it as if it was, sacred? Then, unexpected, out of
nowhere they sell it, they part it, and they vanish not to be seen or heard from again? How many times
have I read the words " lost interest" .. LOST INTEREST .. ? At least, when the time comes for me to
move UP, you wont hear that, simply cuz it doesnt apply. It will simply be a chapter in car ownership.
Read 9 lines up.

 

Actually - I don't think the Allante started out as 'basic' transportation - not with a price tag of over $50,000 in the late 80s and early 90s.

To each their own as far as toys go (heck, I have a friend that has a great little Gremlin - complete with a 304 v8 and the 'coveted' Levi interior - and he loves his toy) - yes, mine will move up as well - when the time/money is right - but, for now, the allante is fun.

It's production line partner will be fun too... eventually. And far less than Gary's zr-1, for a lot more 'wow' factor. I dare anyone to park a zr-! next to a Testarossa and even notice there is another car other than the Italian...

Plus, there is all this anxiety to get the allante to 'classic' status - heck, mine is only 15 years old. We should be happy they are already showing up at Me***s, RMs - and other car auctions... That is a pretty fast 'show up' at those prestigious auction houses... I would imagine that most american cars have to wait longer than that -

 

Fox,

this dont sound collectible.

https://www.cadillacforum.com/m_21036/tm.htm

I'm not sure there is another car out there with as much hype ..
whatever it was trying to be at its dawn, at $50K+, it is no longer.

However, free thinking is OK, and since money talks, a fat check is of course acceptable
in trade for any of my .. err .. collectibles! I would say that in this case, a five digit check
speaks loudly.