I love, love, LOVE the big C-body Cadillac Coupe deVilles. Not may cars from the late 1970s and early 1980s can carry the presence that the wreath-and-crest coupes can. You have the clean, boxy styling that appeared when GM started downsizing their full-size cars, seats that were built simply for comfort, a simple dash layout, enough visual difference from the other GM brands that you won’t be mistaken for an Olds 98 or a Pontiac whatever they were calling it this week, and…unfortunately, you have a rat’s nest of black hoses in an engine bay that screams out, “beware!” like the ghost on a Scooby-Doo cartoon.
Here’s the rub: for years now, this has been “grandpa’s car”…which is to say, this is the legacy car that someone in the family held on to because it was kept in top shape, pampered, babied, barely driven and now that the seller is aged on or gone, is up for grabs since the younger members of the family don’t want a barge occupying space that a cute little crossover could be parking in. This means low prices for good cars, like this 1983 we found on our usual eBay Motors binging. On the surface, this thing looks right: black paint, no padded roof, red leather interior, and even the taillight/bumper extension filler pieces look to be in good shape.
Then you go underhood and see more gritty darkness than a B-rate slasher flick, and you know in the back of your mind that fuel consumption, power and even some handling has not fared well in the years since this tank rolled off of either the Detroit or South Gate, California line. So what do you do? We wouldn’t mess with success with the looks or the interior…they are spot-on. But that dismal 4.1L V8 has got to go. LS might not be the answer, but we could certainly see a small-block, like a 383 stroker that’s pushing 400+ ft/lbs of torque, hooked to some kind of overdrive automatic being a solid replacement. Clean up the spaghetti pile of hoses, keep the stroker looking stock underhood, and use this big Caddy as a supremely grand tourer and occasional light tow rig…it is full-framed, after all, and those bench seats look like a lovely place to relax as the miles roll on
. But that’s just us…what would you want to do with it?
eBay Link: 1983 Cadillac Coupe deVille
Clean up that mess under hood, and replace that 4.1 with a 500 inch Cadillac engine, leave the car as a sleeper.
My first thought also was a 500 caddy
Perfect for this home
I even have a 472 cad that I would volunteer to any BSer who bought this
gonna go a bit weird on this- Worked 6.5 diesel, 8speed trans. I figure about 300hp, and the corresponding boatload of torque, along with the steep overdrive would make this thing perfect for trips to Vegas, or wherever. should knock down decent mog to boot as well.
I agree, put a real Cadillac engine in that thing. Add some wheels,drop springs, swaybars, and some decent brakes. That would make a real cool pro touring luxury cruiser. Haul ass with class!
Agreed. Find a good rebuildable 500 cubic inch Caddy engine and make a visit to these guys before you drop it in.
http://www.500cid.com/
CTS-V supercharged LSA. That and some suspension work, while leaving the interior/exterior as is. Just my $0.02.
Roadster Shop chassis with independent rear. EVOD one off billet rims that look like the hubcaps. A smoothed sheet metal engine compartment. And a Falconer V-12.
http://www.mcsmk8.com/80CAD-500/MAVICA.HTM
The best part of the car is it doesn’t have that stupid padded half roof. Perfect color combo too.
Yeah, every time I see that padded half roof, I want to make it into a detachable half-hardtop. Not that it would look very good, but making it into the half-a-convertible it was pretending to be would make a good joke.
I was thinking, “If it runs and drives, it can’t be all that bad…” until you said Cadillac 4.1. Yeah, that needs an upgrade, all right. I like the Cadillac 500 idea that’s been tossed around, but some sort of BOP 455 would also be pretty cool. If you go with something in the LSx family for that car, it needs to be big, at least a 6.0 and maybe larger. This car just needs a big inch motor.
Gotta love the Caddys. I’ve got a rebuildable 500 thats been in dry storage for years
Is that ( 4.1 ) the engine that the intake,and head share the cylinder deck’s surface ?
Bags, 20’s nice sounds system and chuck that boat anchor under the hood for a 6.0 LS super charged/turbo…either or. Leave the paint and interior alone. Maybe ad a nice red pinstripe