1967 Cadillac Restoration

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Many years ago, I bought a 1967 Cadillac convertible. The ad in the newspaper said "Some assembly required". I can certainly say that this will be the last time ever that I will consider such an ad.

Some time ago I started working on the car again, starting with the engine. A deep pounding when it had been running for a while was a clear indication that one of the main bearings was bad, so I did the crank job.

The beginning: removing the engine. I built my own lifting frame in wood, and used a chain hoist to lift the engine. When you work over gravel and dirt, the only thing that can move is the car itself, so a fixed lifting frame is not a big drawback.
Yes, that is a '75 Eldorado (in somewhat poor shape) facing the '67.

Then with the engine out, the car is pushed back. Observe how high the car rides then. The engine is very heavy.

Pretty grimy engine.

Starting the cleanup. The lifter valley was more or less OK, I did a minimum of cleanup there because I did not intend to do the top end this time around.

First look at the crank, absolutely no visible damage, although the bearings are a little thin. That should be a simple enough job.

The last rod in the back appears to be different from the others. And check out these strange marks in the oil pan. There is also a repair on the side of the pan, and slight damage on the counterweights of the crankshaft. Looks like that engine lost a rod some time ago.

The valve covers cleaned up pretty nicely - they just need a coat of paint.

The oil pan after painting. I used a Cadillac Blue engine paint from Eastwood. I see Cadillac engines out there with light blue engines, but I was told that the official blue for a '67 is this nice deep blue - it matches the old paint on the valve covers too. Hopefully I'm right - too late to change now.

The engine mounts are in excellent shape.

The engine, finally cleaned up and ready to paint. The area around the engine mount ears was really hard to clean.

After painting - looks good!

Close-up of the (rebuilt) crankshaft in place, new bearings, everything.

My favorite picture of this whole adventure - taken after a long day of work on the engine.

	The beginning: removing the engine. I built my own lifting frame in wood, and used a chain hoist to lift the engine. When you work over gravel and dirt, the only thing that can move is the car itself, so a fixed lifting frame is not a big drawback. Yes, that is a '75 Eldorado (in somewhat poor shape) facing the '67.
	Then with the engine out, the car is pushed back. Observe how high the car rides then. The engine is very heavy.
	Pretty grimy engine.
	Starting the cleanup. The lifter valley was more or less OK, I did a minimum of cleanup there because I did not intend to do the top end this time around.
	First look at the crank, absolutely no visible damage, although the bearings are a little thin. That should be a simple enough job.
	The last rod in the back appears to be different from the others. And check out these strange marks in the oil pan. There is also a repair on the side of the pan, and slight damage on the counterweights of the crankshaft. Looks like that engine lost a rod some time ago.
	The valve covers cleaned up pretty nicely - they just need a coat of paint.
	The oil pan after painting. I used a Cadillac Blue engine paint from Eastwood. I see Cadillac engines out there with light blue engines, but I was told that the official blue for a '67 is this nice deep blue - it matches the old paint on the valve covers too. Hopefully I'm right - too late to change now.
	The engine mounts are in excellent shape.
	The engine, finally cleaned up and ready to paint. The area around the engine mount ears was really hard to clean.
	After painting - looks good!
	Close-up of the (rebuilt) crankshaft in place, new bearings, everything.
	My favorite picture of this whole adventure - taken after a long day of work on the engine.