3rd Nov 2013, 02:19

THM2004Rs are junk, worse than Ford AODs. This is because they weren't truly meant for the large RWD vehicles that GM pressed them into service for. They were intended for smaller vehicles like the Olds Cutlass etc. They could barely pull the weight of the full-sized cars, which hurt reliability. But yeah, the Ford AODs weren't exactly perfect, although there are mods out there to help with the plastic brushing.

I know the 4L60 transmission used on the Cadillacs was the police duty version; very durable. The 350 Cadillacs had a firmer suspension for towing and a lot of police duty parts, which helped reliability and durability. The 305 versions came with the softer suspensions and lighter duty cooling system that was more geared for the average Cadillac buyer.

Yeah, I agree that GM's LT1 is a great engine. I believe that the final Fleetwoods were such refined products that were a marked improvement over the Broughams. A shame they lasted such a short time.

And I'll agree that Cadillac has the better interior over the Lincoln. It was always that way after 1979. The Brougham's interior is much more detailed and nicer looking than the Lincoln. However, while the materials were nicer, they were put together worse than the Lincoln. I've had to fight hard to prevent interior details from falling off. Worse, GM's exterior paint is terrible in every way, and it seems very poorly rustproofed compared to the Lincoln. I've heard that the Wixom plant was ahead of its time on the painting and rustproofing.

My friend hasn't had any electronics issues on his Lincoln yet. Though with these old cars, it's never certain, anything can break at any time. I've heard that Ford A/C sucked though in terms of reliability. GMs are more luxurious, but the Ford Panther cars are tougher in terms of how much punishment they can take in my experience, although both platforms are very durable, so you're basically comparing pretty tough to extremely tough. Not a world of difference in that regard. There are a ton of similarities between the Cadillac Brougham and the Town Car though too.