I got a nice mail from Scott Thrower, who found some of my pictures on Flickr. He wrote:
“Hi, Gerald....I saw your photos on Flickr. I snagged one of the photos of your 67 and made a Photoshop creation of it. Be looking for it.”

And here is the picture he sent - my 67 under palm trees, something I have never seen before as those huge palm trees are not existent over here in Austria! Great - I love it What a great photoshop creation and idea - Thanks Scott!

Tags:1967, Deville, Various

My wife and I had a great night shooting with my 1967 DeVille. She took some brilliant pictures with her Hasselblad 6x6 camera. The pictures were shot on good old Fuji Provia slide film and scanned afterwards.
I also took some "making of" pictures of her in action.
Click on the image below to go to the gallery with all the pictures.

Tags:Photoshooting, 1967, Deville

Today I once again tried to fix the low pedal issue on the 67 DeVille´s brakes. I recently replaced the booster and master cylinder and had a low pedal problem then. The brakes worked fine, but the pedal travel was way too long. I first suspected air in the lines, but we really thoroughly bleed the whole system multiple times. I then thought that the push rod of the new master cylinder might need some adjustment, until I found out that the Delco Moraine boosters are not adjustable, whereas - the also used - Bendix boosters had an adjustable rod.
As I replaced the complete front end including the entire front brakes last year, I did not think that the drum brakes might only need a simple re-adjustment. As it turned out the front brakes were out of the range where the star-wheel can adjust itself while driving the car backwards and applying the brakes.
I now adjusted the front brakes pretty tightly and the pedal is now pretty firm again. I hope it will stay like this. If not - there must be something wrong with the automatic self adjuster, but I´m very optimistic that the problem is now solved. I also gave the rear drums a check - they turned out pretty fine. I just wished the DeVille had front disc brakes like my 67 Eldorado...

checking the rear drums - crappy cell phone picture...


the rear drums

Tags:Brakes, 1967, Deville, Restoration

While my friend Tayfun was in town to help me with my Cadillacs, it was time to exchange the still original brake booster and master cylinder of my 1967 Cadillac DeVille.
Everything went pretty smoothly at first - only bleeding the brakes was a little complicated and it did not help either that I spilled some brake fluid into the engine bay. Some harm was done to the black paint which had to be repainted immediately. So it took us some unplanned time to get everything back in working order. As it was raining heavily we could not even test the brakes. In the meantime I did a test drive and found out that the pedal travel is way too long. Looks like the push rod in the booster needs adjustment... D*mn this means removing the master cylinder once again... I hope I will find the time to do this soon.

the removed brake booster - the hole in the firewall

the new booster needed some paint before installation

painting the master cylinder

Tayfun painting the primered booster

reinstalling the whole unit

Tayfun bleeding the brakes

finished - looking good

Tags:Brakes, 1967, Restoration, Deville

Today I started to change the oil on my cars. The 67 DeVille was first and now has some fresh oil in its engine. Next up was the Roadmaster. Unfortunately I did not have the correct oil for the Roadmaster at home but I eventually found out when I already had drained the old oil... The RMW its now stuck over the pit until I buy the correct 5W-30 for it... So the 67 Eldo and the 58 will have to wait for a couple of days. Stupid me - I should have checked which oil it needs before starting to drain it... BTW: The 1967 Cadillacs need 5 quarts of oil at an oil-change when you also replace the filter and only 4 quarts without a filter change. Considering the displacement of the engine this is not that much oil...

I had to drive one after each other over the pit...

somehow its always a mess to change the oil...

Tags:oilchange, Roadmaster, Restoration, 1967, Deville

Today I picked up my 1967 Cadillac DeVille from American Special Parts - the shop where all my repairs and restoration work is done when I can´t do them for myself.
The car got a complete new front suspension including all bushings, ball joints and paint. Some of the old bushings already fell apart. As everything was apart we also did the complete front brakes.
Also the radiator was fixed and the car got a new ignition lock which I removed from a 67 limousine at a junkyard in California last year. Also the turn signal switch was finally fixed after it was broken 3 years ago...
The car is in spectacular condition now and with the new suspension it drives like a brand new car - I could not imagine that the difference would be that big.

On the left you can see a picture of the rebuilt front suspension. Its still a little dirty as I had to drive the car home through rain - it will be cleaned soon though.

Tags:Restoration, 1967, Deville, suspension

Today another 1967 Cadillac turn signal switch arrived for my 67 Deville which is in the shop at the moment with a broken switch. I found a nice NOS switch on ebay and finally it's the correct one. All the ones I bought in the past were the wrong ones as 3 different ones were available in the 1967 models! Non of them is still in production or reproduced and they are very hard to come by. Originally they were built by AC-Delco and Boyne and they are very different as I learned later... I already spent quite a sum for wrong NOS switches. Used ones are usually sold for $250.- to $300.- at the big Cadillac parts specialists... Here is a picture of the NOS one I found - it was manufactured by Boyne.

UPDATE 2010: In the meantime (since 2009) the Boyne switches they are getting reproduced and show up on ebay all the time. Also OPGI shows them in their Cadillac catalog. Its harder to find one for a T&T column as they are not getting reproduced so far. I do not know where one could find a switch for T&T though. If you know of any resource for T&T switches please let me know, I would love to have a spare one for my Eldorado!

When I was looking for a switch for my 1967 Deville, I only investigated resources for cars without T&T columns and this is what I found out:

According to the 1971 parts manual there are two different ones for standard column cars and one for T & T

• 1967 - 1968 (Exc. T & T) Part # 7800483 - Switch, w/wiring harness (Delco-Remy)
• 1967 - 1968 (Exc. T & T) Part # 7805675 - Switch, w/wiring harness (Boyne Products)
• 1967 - 1968 (T &T) Part # 7805676 - Switch, w/wiring harness (Hazard warning switch an integral part)

The two different standard column switches can be identified without removal as the parts manual describes:
„Hazard warning switch is an integral part. Switches can be identified before disassembly as follows: The Delco Remy switch has a square hole for the hazard warning switch in the cover, the Boyne Products switch has a round hole for the hazard warning switch in the cover.“

The problem with the switch on my standard column DeVille was that the return cancel cam broke, and that non of the repair kits were available for the Boyne switch.

Replacing this switch in the steering column is quite a pain - below you can find the instructions from the shop manual on how to do it.

click on each picture for a larger view!


the connections going to the directional signal switch - the turn signal switch connector

If you need instructions for a tilt and telescope column click here for the instructions!

Tags:Restoration, 1967, 1968, Deville, Turn Signal Switch, Diagram, Eldorado, Part Number, Steering Column, How to

Today I disassembled the rest of the front suspension and cleaned all the parts before they will be sandblasted. Tomorrow I will finish them and give them to my buddy Richard for sandblasting.


the brakes before I disassembled them - I hope I can clean the small metal parts with an ultrasonic cleaner


all these parts will be sandblasted and painted afterwards

Tags:Restoration, 1967, Deville, detailing, suspension, Brakes

The restoration of my 67s front-suspension is in full progress. Today I visited American Special Parts to pick up all the suspension and front brake parts they disassembled. I will clean them and have them sandblasted before they will get a new coat of paint. Most bushings and ball joints will have to be replaced with new stuff and I already ordered all the necessary parts from the USA. This will result in a hefty bill...
After this the suspension will be in new condition - one of the last things that have to be done on the 67 before it is really in like new condition. The only other thing that needs attention in the future will be the top which is still the original 40 year old one.

the completely stripped front suspension

the 67 at ASP

Tags:1967, Deville, Restoration

I´m on vacation this week and I´m using my time to prepare my Cadillac for the Cadillac BIG Meet which is coming up this weekend. I´ve repaired the AC on my 67 and cleaned and detailed both cars for the show. My friend Tayfun is also in town and we´ll do the same with his 81 Pimperado as well. We´ve spent around 14 hours in the garage each day so far.

working on the AC

installing the new backup lenses - which had to be custom fitted...

Tags:Cadillac BIG Meet, Restoration, 1967, Deville, 1958, detailing, Eldorado, AC

I have to admit that the 67 was a little neglected in the last time, as I spent most of my spare time working on the 58 and on my friend Tayfuns Eldorado. So it was time to do some necessary maintenance work. Today I replaced the fuel filter in the glass bowl. It turned out to be a really big job because the fuel bowl would not want to come off. I had a big problem opening the screw which holds the glass in position, as access is very limited.
Eventually I made it and when everything was back together, the bowl leaked. So I had to re-open everything. I readjusted the gasket and now everything is tight. The old filter was very dirty, because at the last big service I forgot to replace it...

Tags:Restoration, 1967, Deville, Fuel Filter