@"the same mountainbike" It wasnt my father in laws car he’s letting me leave the car at his dads house who passed away and the house is now vacant. We rebuilt the carb and cleaned it with carb cleaner.
@GeorgeSanJose I need to do that. Then also check for play in the timing chain.
Ive been DEBATING whether or not to take this cad to my parents for thanksgiving. They live 3 hours away. Easy interstate drive but Im a little nervous.
so… I was gone for a while fender, does it still overheat? what was wrong?
Hey, I don’t know if anyone mentioned this, but since this seems like it’s a collector car for the OP, I would suggest rebuilding the distributor, couldn’t hurt and after all . . . it’s 64 years old! Couldn’t be that much of a job either, maybe more of a job finding an old-timer who could do it. I have just such a guy about a mile away from me, does a lot of old stuff, distributors, alternators, generators and so forth. The fuel thing is a good tip (already mentioned) too. Since he’s going to keep this collector car, go through the fuel system to overcome the problems of the new fuels used today, replace the old stuff which is probably deteriorating for new stuff. Hey OP, could you send a picture of a '50 Caddy? I love 50s cars, the designs are so beautiful. Anything from a 50s Porsche bathtup to a tri-5 Chevy, maybe 50s jag, nice cars! Good luck! Rocketman
Besides checking the vacuum advance diaphragm I would advance the timing a few degrees. It helped a lot with off the line hesitation and/or bogging at low throttle on my 69 and 71 Buick Skylarks, 350 2v and 350 4v respectively.
It was an old trick the previous owner of the 71 told me. Just don’t advance the timing too much.
Fender, I could have phrased that better, there wasn’t as much a difference in power, as advancing the timing cured a hesitation/bog at low throttle.
Texases, 4 degrees sounds about right.
Ed B.
@wesw
The overheating was from a clogged radiator, and junk in the block.
Had the radiator rodded out, then i hammered out all the freeze plugs, used a coat hanger to poke and prod and pull out all the crap, degreaser, and hosed everything out and put in rubber freeze plugs. New thermostat. Needs a new temperature sending unit bc it maxes out the gauge, which I ignore bc my thermometer reads 180 at full operating temp. Runs cool as a cucumber currently. Theres a small ooze coming from one of the heater cores but thats for another day!
@edb1961 Its interesting how much more power you can make when advancing the timing. Theres a sweet spot, I just need to mess with it some more.
@"rocket man" I wish I had a local guy who could rebuild. My best bet now is mail order which ties up several hundred bucks.
Heres some pics:
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As far as advancing the timing, I would advance it then take it out and see if it ‘knocked/pinged’ under acceleration. Keep advancing it until it does (shouldn’t take a lot, my '72 was about 4 degrees over stock), then back it down to the last point where it didn’t knock.
I would caution you on advancing the timing. First of all, you have to be sure that the mechanical advance is working. Considering the age of the car, it maybe working a little, but not enough. They should reach maximum advance at around 2400 rpm, but yours may not be reaching max until 4k or higher, or maybe not at all.
Once the curves, both mechanical and vacuum are corrected, the factory setting for idle should be correct. When this car was manufactured, the advance was set using the gasolene available in the day. During the 60’s, it was common to add 4 to 8 degrees advance because of the higher octane available at that time. With today’s lower octane, I’d be reluctant to add any, especially if using regular unleaded gas.
Instead of fooling around with the timing at idle, fix the advance curves first. You will see much better performance that way.
BTW if the shaft is loose, a machine shop may be able to add a bushing for you, or knurl the body to close up the gap.
cool.
Definitely don’t mess with advance until the distributor is working 100% (vacuum advance, centrifugal advance, bearings, etc.). Once that’s done, though, there’s no harm in optimizing the timing for the fuel available. It might be a few degrees advanced, it might be a few degrees retarded. If it was me, I’d use premium since I’d be putting very few miles on it.
The Chilton shop manual for early 50s automobiles specifically stated regarding the timing specifications chart on Cadillacs;
“These are approximate settings. Engine design,altitude, temperature, fuel and engine condition will all influence timing. The determining factor , limiting advance, will still be the knock point of the individual engine.”
And the specifics on setting the “ideal” base time was just as @texases explained.
Fender, I can’t view your pics. Would you please post them again? Thanks! Rocketman
hmmm both my computer and phone are taking too long to upload.
there. that was right after putting new white walls on (hence the blue on them)
The 1946 to 1956 domestic models were some of the best looking cars ever produced here. The outrageous tail fins, stretched dimensions and overly gaudy chrome never suited me. The 1959 Chevrolet seemed to be the worst of the ostentatious styling.
For whatever its worth i double checked the dwell today. It was 27 at idle and 26 when revved