Faults:

Nothing other than routine maintenance. Needed to rebuild the GM Rochester carb due to varnishing and to eliminate old, gummy fuel. Needed a front wheel alignment at about 75K miles.

General Comments:

Bought this car from the original owner where it had been in storage for over 22 years. Started right up and ran for 1000 miles to be delivered to my home.

Since owning the car it has run flawlessly. With the factory-installed sway bars the thing tracks very well in the corners at speed. The suspension is 'buttery smooth', gliding over virtually all bumps without much interruption to passenger comfort. The tranny is smooth as silk with the passengers barely noticing any shifting. Braking is tight, crisp and accurate - front disks help a lot.

So far, all accessories continue to work, the dash has no cracking, the seats look almost new. Had to replace the top - the stitching had rotted from age.

The goofy car is a real head turner and local favorite at the car shows. All seem to 'remember the days' when either their parents or friends of their parents had one of these things. Seems a nostalgic trip for most people.

Now, compared to today's cars, the thing is a boat, floating long the road. The passengers are completely isolated from the driving experience and the road. It's heavier than the Titanic, is about as nimble as a whale. It's fairly loud and definitely would qualify as an EPA superfund site with respect to the exhaust fumes it pumps out. Lap belts only and no air bags. And, of course, its not easy on the wallet if you're driving it a lot. But, despite this, today's cars don't allow for 8 of your closest friend, PLUS their luggage, PLUS the open air experience, PLUS the 'looks per mile' that this car brings. All of this outweighs any negative.

Is it a real classic? Probably not. But, who cares? Where else can you look out at the horizon reflected on a 6'+ hood, watching the miles tick by without ever feeling the road and its bumps? Great time, all around.

Faults:

To imply that things have "gone wrong" with this car isn't fair. This Cadillac was all original except the water pump and battery, so I'd say nothing went wrong, the parts just wore out.

In the year I've had the Coupe DeVille I have replaced the original Rochester carb with a rebuilt one twice, as the first was junk, but the second has worked well. In addition to that, I replaced all vacuum lines leading to a from the Carburetor. (runs and idles much better)

Last week I replaced both rear wheel cylinders, master cylinder/brake booster, and a crushed rear brake line (a la exhaust pipe touching it)

I've replaced the radio with a new unit that is made to fit into the dash with no cutting or modifications needed. I replaced the original 10ohm speakers with new 8ohm speakers that fit right in. (no modifications needed)

Please keep in mind that all this stuff was original so I don't consider these things as "gone wrong" just wore out.

General Comments:

This car has been fun, and it always turns a head where ever it goes.

This year Cadillac is a left over design from the 60's. This is a good thing, because the 70's were not kind to engine power and performance, (EPA smog control) so this model year will deliver in performance if needed.

A very comfortable and quite ride. Amazingly for this cars age it does not squeak or rattle while driving down the road at any speed.

The dash layout is not so great.. The radio and a/c controls are hard to see, as the steering wheel hides the display and levers. The right control knob for the radio is hard to use as the dash wraparound wall in very close to it, and the clock is completely hidden from passenger view. Minor, but thought I'd mention it.

137,000 miles, 40 years old and still running strong.