Although it is still freezing cold outside during this years winter months, I spent some days in the cold garage to start working on the Pimperado again.
The main problem which keeps me busy at the moment is another defective ECM. It quit working during a cruising tour last summer. Before that it worked like a charm.
ECM issues are plaguing me for a couple of years now. After a long search I found out that the last ECM was shot due to a defective solenoid on the EGR valve, which I replaced last spring. I still do not know what caused the most recent ECM to quit working.

With the help of Barni - an electrician- and the shop manuals wiring diagram we tried to find possible issues in the electrical system, but we could not find any problem. All solenoids seem to be o.k. this time.
Barni will try to repair the last ECM with parts from all the other ECMs which I have lying around in the parts shelves of the garage (see pictures below). I hope he can fix it. This electronic stuff really is a major pain to repair and to diagnose.

Also did some other minor repairs and adjustments on the Pimperado and some conservation work. Looking forward to the next stay in the garage.

old fashioned picture shot on B&W film


Barni helped diagnosing electrical issues


at work in the garage


some of the old ECM´s which we disassembled for diagnosing purposes


studying the cars wiring diagram to find problems

Tags:ECM

Facelift

I spent a couple of days in Geralds Garage, working on the Pimperado.
The facelift is now finished -- some parts were changed back from gold to chrome like the headlight bezel and some interior parts.

Seats work!

We also finally managed to get the power seats working. The leather seats came from an 1980 Eldorado and did not work when I installed them into my car.
Nobody managed to fix them. I had my car at 3 different Cadillac dealers and a couple of auto electricians but nobody could make them work. It took me 10 years now and finally they work as they should. Gerald and I made them work perfectly. I´m very proud that we managed to fix what the experts couldn´t. The reason they did not work, was that the switch design and some wiring was changed from 1980 to 1981. Studying the shop manual very closely, we replaced the wiring and the switch-- and voila, perfect smooth operation. The wiring and switch came from Arizona Vintage Parts - a great source for Cadillac Parts.

I spent a couple of days in Geralds garage to do some more restoration work on the Pimperado. I finished the restoration of the continental kit. All the parts were chrome and gold-plated and repainted. I put everything back together and mounted it on the rear bumper. Its in perfect condition now. Compare it to the “before” pictures further below on this page to see the difference.

I also started to reinstall the rear automatic leveling system. I already installed the correct original rear shocks and rebuilt and refurbished the height sensor to like new condition. The ALC compressor is at the chrome plater at the moment and will be another piece of art when finished. Now I waiting for a lot of parts to arrive from the States. When they will be here I will continue with the work.

the restored continental kit!

Tags:Continental Kit

I got my driver seat back which got a completely new leather upholstery. It was perfectly done and looks and feels absolutely new. Maybe I will do the passenger side sometimes in the future as well. I also received the air management valve and a new ALC compressor. Both parts will now be overhauled and chrome- and gold-plated before I will install them.

I´m desperately looking for the 2 solenoids that are part of the air management valve for my 1981 Eldorado. One of them is causing the ECM to burn through, so there must be a short somewhere internally. Problem is that I just cant find it anywhere for sale. Any hints are highly appreciated!

Please send me a message if you have one for sale or if you know where to find one. Thanks!!!

The air management valve and the 2 solenoids - click for larger view!


The air management valve and the 2 solenoids - click for larger view!

I spent the last 3 days in Gmunden doing lots of car work with my friends. First we repaired a friends Buick Park Avenue which was in a crash and then the Pimperado kept us busy. I decided to completely restore my continental kit to show condition. I disassembled it and everything will be chrome- or gold-plated and get a new paint job. Some parts will have to be refabricated as they were too rusty to repair. Lots of work ahead for this season.
The other project was to convert the original head lights to BiXenon HID headlights. It was pretty easy to install and works perfectly now. We also installed the ballasts of the HID on a hidden place so everything still looks stock.

The new BiXenon headlights

the hidden HID ballasts under the frame of the radiator

working on the headlights

working on the headlights

the continental kit after I took it off the car - before the restoration

Tags:Xenon, Continental Kit, Gmunden, Restoration

My friend Manfred - a professional mechanic - helped me last weekend to get some more things fixed on my Pimperado.
We finally fixed the issue with the ISC-motor and the TPS. Now the car idles smoothly. We also replaced some transmission seals and fixed some other minor things.
Below are some pictures.

Manfred and me at work adjusting the ISC-motor and TPS

Manfred and me at work adjusting the ISC-motor and TPS


In Manfreds Corvette

My homeboy Gerald did some filming when I visited him last weekend for the season opening 2008.
He edited it into a short clip which is now online. You can see some repairs going on, and the first cruise 2008.

Tags:Video

As spring is finally in the air - I once again visited my buddy Gerald in Gmunden to wake up the Pimperado and to do some repairs.
Gerald and I started to work on our Cadillacs on tuesday. I´ve made a long "To Do" list of things that I want to improve this upcoming season.

Yesterday I removed the front driver seat to have some minor imperfections repaired at the upholstery shop. I also removed the gold plated head light bezels to have them re-plated in chrome. Also some other smaller parts of the interior, like the door handles will be re-plated. I´m doing this to change the appearance a little.
We also replaced the fuel pump on Gerald´s 1958 Eldorado. You can read more about it on his website.

Today the sun was shining and so we decided to take the cars out of the garage and do a little test-drive.

The Pimperado started right up. As there was no more front seat installed, temporarily I had to improvise a little - check the image below

The work will continue...

well - thats not really a Cadillac seat in there - but it was good enough for a spin around the block.


removing the headlight bezels

I will change them from gold- to chrome-plated


not the most comfortable seating position

spring cleaning in Gerald´s Garage

Tags:Spring 2008, Headlight bezel, Leather seats

Today it was time to repair the power window on the passenger side. My buddy Gerald and I found out that the window regulator was dead. So we had to disassemble the whole door to get the motor out. It came out pretty easily. Then we had to drill out some rivets and replace the motor with a new one. Putting everything back together took some time as it was not very easy to reassemble everything again. Eventually we made it after a lot of sweating and cursing. Now the window works perfectly again.

After we finished working it was time to go cruising. We met Richard and Alex with their cars and Gerald did some professional filming for our next video. It was a picture perfect sunset and we got some great shots.

After a long day in the garage repairing my Cadillac, my buddy Gerald and I sat together and we were discussing what we achieved during the last 6 months since I brought my car to Gerald´s garage were my Eldo has its new home.

And here it is - things we repaired since December 2006

• repairing the electronic problem with the ECM took us 8 weekends
• repaired error code #25 and #71
• repaired the cause for the check engine light to come on all the time
• repaired electronic diagnostic system
• repaired AC with new compressor, dryer and everything else, found out that the connector at the clutch was wrong,
• repaired heater
• repaired Theft Deterrent System
• repaired the switch for the moon roof
• changed front lights
• repaired continental kit
• complete new rear brakes with complete overhaul of pistons
• re-chromed door sill scuff plates
• changed ISC motor
• complete detailing of rims, wheel-housings and interior
• changed fuel filter and housing and fuel line fittings
• complete rebuild of power steering pump
• adjusted hood and replaced shocks of hood and trunk
• repaired the leather hood insulation
• adjusted some moldings
• repaired inflatable rear shocks
• new HEI ignition coil
• new tires
• new radiator
• steering alignment
• and much more little things...

There are 11 points left on our "to do list" which we are planning to do before the Cadillac BIG Meet at the end of August

Tags:Restoration

I spent another full day in the garage with my friend Gerald.
We totally rebuilt the rear brake system including the rotors, calipers, brake fluid and brake pads.
All 4 rims and wheel housings were cleaned and polished.
We changed the ISC motor and will adjust it tomorrow.
Also a set of new spark plugs went into the engine.
The theft deterrent system was repaired as well.

working on the ISC motor

Tags:Restoration, Brakes, Repairs

Today we finally repaired the Eldorado. It took about one year to finally have everything fixed. The car had an electronic problem which caused all ECM´s I installed to burn through.
With the help of my friend Gerald and Martin we finally fixed the car and now everything works like new again.

Martin found the defective part!


The new ECM is installed


Gerald and me working till late in the night

Tags:Restoration, ECM