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| I've always considered old Cadillacs as pinnacle of automotive industry. The '59 model is still my favorite, but it didn't quite fit in my not-so-vast student's budget. Yet I find the early 60's to mid 60's models also quite classy, and couldn't just say no to this '64 CdV. Actually, I had made a deal on another '64 CdV just a couple of weeks before buying this car. Or I thought I had - the person selling that car decided not to sell it when I came to fetch the car with the money. Anyway, this particular car has come to Finland from Texas where it had been since new. The car has been restored rather meticulously in a shop in Finland in the beginning of the 90's. The interior is re-upholstered and the car is painted with the original color. A trail of blue smoke following the car told me that the engine was in need of repairs when I bought the car. After a new piston, piston rings and bearings plus valve job the engine is now running smoothly with a noticeable increase in horsepower. I wish to thank my friend Jari for helping me with the engine overhaul. The ride is very soft and comfortable and the Turbo Hydra-Matic transmission is tuned for much smoother shifts than I have experienced with other GM makes. Cadillac buyers were pretty conservative and thus the dashboard design lacks innovative styling typical to the era. |
Literature scans
Some pictures of the Cadillac ( 40-80kB each )
Track testing at Ahvenisto I decided to prove to all my doubtful friends what a race track rocket an old Cadillac is. I drove three test laps at Ahvenisto race track at Hämeenlinna. I hadn't driven any car before on any asphalt circuit, so I thought it would be wise to take it easy while being unfamiliar with the track. I tried to keep the speed at such level that the tires don't squel much in the curves and I didn't floor the pedal all the way down when accelerating out of the curves. The time for the one complete lap I managed to drive was 2 minutes 34 seconds. A good driver who knows the track and feels no mercy for a 36-year old car might have gotten about 15-25 seconds off my time. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Ahvenisto circuit, a good lap time for an average family car is about 2 minutes. You might also want to check out the following pictures.
The event was organised by TTMK and driven at the University's parking lot. The distance was 200 meters (abt. 1/8 mile) and the timing was manual. The weather didn't favor the event this time as it was raining lightly. I did only one run because I didn't want to stress the drivetrain more than necessary. I thought it was an adequate measure against grip problems to drive in 'D' and start from idle (500 rpm). I was wrong. The tires lost traction almost instantly as I floored the gas pedal on the wet asphalt. The start was already ruined, so I didn't bother raising my foot from the pedal. The tires were spinning through the whole first gear and Caddy laid down rubber for about 20 meters (70 feet). When the tires hooked up at 2nd gear, the car started accelerating quite well, slightly better than my Chevy pickup did last year. My time was 12.3 @ 103 km/h (64 mph), which was 1.3 seconds worse than that of Chevy's, but the trap speed was only 1 km/h lower. I think the Caddy would run high 10's under dry conditions. Here are some pictures and a video of the start.
