Hello All:

Just joined the forum so I can be more informed regarding my recently acquired 1993 Deville.

My Cadillac story actually goes back about 20+ years.

In 1990, my father, who had retired to a small but nice condo in Florida, decided that he just had to have a Cadillac because he had always wanted one. So, he took out a home equity loan to buy a white with white interior leftover 1989 Deville with some of the typical (the kind I don't care for) Florida dealer add-ons like fender skirts, gold lettering, opera roof and lights. You get the idea. But my father loved the car.

In 1993, he passed away and I inherited that car. It was in perfect condition with the 4.5 V8 and only 27,000 miles. We towed it home to New England with the front wheels on a dolly.

I was a bit embarrassed about the appearance of the car the way it was equipped. But everyone kept telling me what I beautiful car it was and that I should keep it. So I kept it the rest of that summer (it became my wife's driver), put it away that winter, and sold it to my father-in-law the next spring. My father in law loved the car and drove it from 1994 until 2010, when he finally decided it was time to replace it.

The used car dealer who was selling him his "new" 1993 Deville did not want to take the 1989 Deville in trade. It had rusted front strut towers and 158,000 miles. So my father in law gave the 89 to me. (How many people get to own the same car twice?)

When I picked up the 89 to bring it home it was 3 and a half quarts low on oil and the coolant was bit low, too. But it ran perfect and passed emissions. There was a bit of a clunk/shudder when shifting into reverse.

I had both a mechanic and a body shop look at the rusted strut towers and neither of them was willing to pronounce the car safe to drive, so I parked the car in a shed, thinking the car should just be retired/scrapped. However, out of respect for my father-in-law, I just kept the car and did not say anything to him about it. During this time, the engine seems to have frozen. The last few times I ran it the exhaust smelled terrible and blew white smoke from the tailpipe even after being completely warmed up. My guess is bad head gasket. The oil and coolant had to be going somewhere (no puddles on the ground).

Well, this past spring my father in law passed away at age 90, and he wanted me to have the "new" 1993 Deville.

It is in beautiful (not perfect) shape with only 70,000 miles on it. He kept it put away during the 3 winters he owned it. It is a Florida car with no rust that I can see (have not seen it up on a lift yet). He only put 6,500 miles on it in the 3 years he had it.

Yes, it is white, but with a nice beige interior. Yes, it has the simulated convertible fabric top. Yes, it has gold lettering, but no opera lights and no fender skirts, so I like this one much better than the 89!

So, at this point, the 89 needs to get hauled away.

Here's a couple of questions I have about the 93:

Is there an alternative to having a spare ignition key (with chip) made at the dealer? The local hardware store was not able to help me.

Does the 4.9 typically idle a little rougher than the 4.5 (have not done any plugs, filters, etc. yet)?

Thanks for putting up with a long post...

 

Hey there buddy..welcome to the forum..nice intro you made out there with such a story.
Have a great time out here and enjoy the stay.

 

With the keys, you can have them done at all auto parts stores. When I bought my 2002 Deville, it only came with one key (no remotes), so I went to WalMart and they made a spare key. But, an auto parts store should be able to do it, or point you in the right direction. Since it needs to be programmed, it will cost slightly more, but they would do it. A hardware store only has key makers for home keys, which do not have chips in them.

In terms of rust, don't worry about under the car. If it hasn't been driven in snow/road-salt, chances are there won't be any. If there is, it would be surface rust, could easily be sanded away, with no structural damage.

If your car is rough idling, it needs some help. It could be spark plugs, injectors, Idle Speed Controller, air filter, etc.

TS

 

Hello Everyone!

Forgive me for posting something that may be against forum rules but we need help...

If anyone is interested in having their car appear in a real movie, here's your chance...

We are shooting a feature movie and shooting begins this Friday. In this film a Cadillac will be used and the one we had set to go is no longer available. The film is a feature independent thriller with NO CAR CHASE SCENES AND VERY LITTLE DRIVING! Mostly, the car will be filmed stationary using rear projection to make it appear as if it's moving.

We are looking for late 70's-early 90's anything---the film is set mid 90's, so nothing newer can be used (but if it's close and we're outa options, sure!)

Please contact me ASAP if you are interested or know anyone else near the GTA who might be interested---a larger conservative non-Caddy would do as well.

We would need to borrow (or rent) the car for the following dates,
August 23,24,25
September 7,8,9,13,14,15

Thanks and true story, in '98 I owned a 96 black on black STS. I cleaned that thing as much as myself and loved it more than my girlfriend