Finally Road-Legal: The Brake Saga of My 1966 Cadillac

Owning a classic Cadillac is a dream—but getting it licensed in Austria is a challenge. My 1966 Coupe deVille had never been registered here, and the strict inspection standards meant a long checklist of modifications and upgrades.

The Austrian Inspection Checklist
To make my Cadillac road-legal, I had to:

• Add rear orange directional lights
• Replace T3 sealed beams with halogens (T3 sealed beams are prohibited)
• Disconnect side marker lights
• Ensure brake and fuel lines do not touch the frame
• Pass a full brake test
• Pass a full suspension test with zero play
• Install a rear-lit license plate holder for oversized plates
• Pass the emissions test

The Brake Test Nightmare

By June, I thought everything was ready. The inspector at the state station was friendly and helpful, but the brake test came as a shock—the brakes failed completely.
Back home, I started taking the brakes apart. At first, everything seemed fine, but I soon discovered the culprit: the wheel cylinders were stuck. Years of storage and old brake fluid had taken their toll.
Lesson learned:
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Front left before rebuilding

Lots of heat was needed to loosen the fittings

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Tags:1966 Cadillac Repair Tips, 1966 Cadillac Coupe deVille, Brake Fluid, Brakes, Restoration, Rear brakes

Bleeding the Brakes on My ’71 Lincoln: What I Wish I’d Known First

This summer I refreshed the brake fluid in all my cars — including my 1971 Lincoln Mark III. I started with the method that always works on my Cadillacs: vacuum-bleeding each wheel until the fluid runs clear. Everything went fine… until it didn’t.
After bleeding the Lincoln lost all braking power and the brake warning light came on. After some head-scratching and a dive into the shop manual and forum threads, I learned the key detail I’d missed.
The Problem: Vacuum Bleeding Doesn’t Work on These Cars
After some head-scratching (and finally checking both the shop manual and a Lincoln forum), I learned something that would have saved me a lot of trouble:
You cannot bleed a 1971 Lincoln using a vacuum bleeder.
According to the factory manual, these cars must be pressure-bled from the master cylinder. If you vacuum-bleed the system, the front brake metering valve can trip. When it does, it shuts off fluid flow—instantly giving you that “no brakes at all” moment I experienced.
How to Reset the Metering Valve
Luckily, resetting the valve is quick and straightforward.
The metering valve is mounted underneath the front of the car at the crossmember, roughly centered under the engine.
On the ’71 Lincoln you must pull the pin out and hold it out. That opens the metering valve so fluid can flow — and while it’s held out, you can even vacuum-bleed the system safely.
The manual mentions a special tool for this, but in practice a small screwdriver or a pair of pliers does the job. The crucial point is to hold the pin open during bleeding so the valve stays open for continuous fluid flow. If the pin is not held out, the valve will block flow and you can end up with the “no brakes” moment I experienced.
Where to find it and how to do it

1. Crawl under the front of the car and follow the brake lines to the center at the front crossmember (underneath the engine).
2. Look for the metering valve — you’ll see a small rubber boot covering the pin.
3. Pull the boot back, grab the pin (a screwdriver or pliers works), and pull the pin out.
4. Hold it out while you vacuum-bleed each wheel (or clamp/pin it so it stays out).
5. When bleeding is complete and no air remains, reinstall the pin and boot, then test the brakes carefully.

Tools & tips

• Special tool: listed in the shop manual, but not strictly necessary.
• Practical substitutes: small screwdriver, long-nose pliers, or a hooked tool to pull and hold the pin.
• Hold the pin open the whole time you’re bleeding (don’t just press it).
• If unsure, perform a final pressure-bleed from the master cylinder or get a pro to confirm.

Safety first
Brakes are critical. After bleeding, always check pedal firmness and perform a low-speed test in a safe area before driving normally. If the pedal feels spongy, or you’re not confident in the job, stop and have a professional inspect the system.
Final note
Earlier Mark III models used a more complicated valve that required calibration. I’m glad the ’71’s simpler pull-out pin made this fix straightforward — once I knew what to do. One pulled pin and a proper bleed later, the brakes came back to life.

That's the valve you have to open

Tags:1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III, Repair, 1971, Brake Fluid, Bleeding, Lincoln Mark III Repair Tip

Right after the Cadillac BIG Meet, the driving tour to the Cadillac Grand European kicked off right from Kremsmünster.
It’s a club gathering for all CLC-affiliated Cadillac Clubs in Europe, and it happens sporadically.
This year, the Cadillac Club of Germany organized it in Munich.
We were invited to do the official after-movie for the event once again. It was an awesome event, and we had an incredible week with other Cadillac enthusiasts.
Check out the video to see what went down. Enjoy!

V16 and V12 at the Grand European.

Tags:CADILLAC GRAND EUROPEAN, Munich, Classic Cadillac Club Deutschland, Video

The Cadillac BIG Meet in Kremsmünster was back again this year, and it was absolutely incredible!
I know I’m biased since I’m one of the organizers, but the feedback from the participants was super positive.
A whopping 130 Cadillacs showed up, with visitors from all over Europe and even the USA.
My personal favorites were a stunning V16 from the USA and two Eldorado Broughams. There were so many other amazing Cadillacs from the 30s to the latest models - the meeting is open to all years and models.
One of the personal highlights was a brief visit from friends from the United Kingdom and Latvia at my garage during the cruising tour.


My wife and I made a movie about the meeting, and it’ll be up on the Cadillac BIG Meet website, YouTube, and my website later this year (around Christmas time). I’m swamped with other projects right now, so I’m a bit behind schedule.

Breaking News:

The next Cadillac BIG Meet will be held most probably August 20th - 22nd 2027.

Stay tuned for more details!

Two Eldorado Broughams at the Cadillac BIG Meet

A visit from friends

At work for the movie - behind the scenes

Tags:Cadillac BIG Meet, Kremsmünster, 2025, Video

Since you should change your brake fluid every two years, it’s time to do it on all my cars. I started with the Buick Roadmaster. I gave it a good flush with DOT3 fluid. It’s an easy job on these cars because they have a vacuum bleeder.

The Roadmaster got some fresh brake fluid


Enjoying a drive afterwards with my son.

Tags:Brake Fluid, Brakes, Bleeding, Dot3

I produced a new movie-style trailer for the 2025 Cadillac BIG Meet. Make sure to watch it! Enjoy!

Tags:Cadillac BIG Meet, 2025, Kremsmünster, Video, Trailer

II recently got my hands on a gorgeous low-mileage Cadillac CT6 from a close friend. I’ve always been a fan of these last big sedans that Cadillac is no longer making, and I couldn’t resist adding it to my small Cadillac collection as a special occasion car. When I got it, I spent a lot of time cleaning and detailing the car, including a full paint polish and ceramic coating. I also made the engine bay and interior look brand new.

My newest Cadillac

Detailed engine bay

Tags:CT6

Its hard for me to write about an accident which happened in June 2024 inside my garage as it was such a terrible experience... to make a long story short - I crashed into a massive wooden shelf while backing into my old garage. The broken shelf completely damaged the perfect trunk lid... See pictures...

I now had to source a new trunk lid and found one in Arizona on Craigs List.
As we were planning to travel Route 66 this summer anyways I contacted the seller and we visited him in his warehouse in the middle of nowhere.
The lid looked great and rust free and it was advertised as a 68 lid which is completely identical to 67.
Getting it over to Europe was another challenge...

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Tags:1967 Cadillac Eldorado Repair Tip, 1967 Eldorado, Trunk lid, Restoration, Repaint, Bodywork, Accident

A Nod from Gary Witzenburg: My Contribution to Hagerty's 1967 Cadillac Eldorado Article

Recently, I had the honor of being contacted by renowned automobile journalist Gary Witzenburg. Gary was working on an article about the 1967 Cadillac Eldorado and, after discovering the research I’ve collected on its development here on my website, he reached out to see if he could reference some of that information for his piece on Hagerty's site.
Gary crafted an incredibly informative and detailed article, which you can read [here]. I’m truly grateful for the mention, and I must admit, it’s a thrilling moment for me as an automotive enthusiast and amateur historian to have my work featured by such a respected platform.
Thanks for the shout-out, Gary! It feels like my own little "15 minutes of fame" in the world of classic cars.

A detail of the article

Tags:History, 1967 Eldorado, Magazine