More Car Pics

[cadman]

Since we're on the car topic, I thought I'd throw out a pic of the Cadillac action the other day. There's Ben who was over with his Deville doing some underhood tweaking. I had the Allanté out of storage and was doing some of the general checks, and we were both working our butts off on the black '59 Deville which gets worked on almost everyday after we get off work.

The black '59 is actually the car we intend to take to Omaha for the convention! Though if the exhaust system doesn't arrive by next week we'll be in trouble. Current status, I replaced the bent and dislocated pushrod I discovered while changing valve seals this weekend, so now we're running on all-8. Tomorrow the leaking freeze plug gets replaced, and we'll attempt to clean up and install the rear bumper. The new brakes will need some adjusting and we'll put a tune on the engine and take it for a pre-trip spin...it hasn't been driven in 28 years LOL. The shocks and front rubber is fresh, new Diamondback widewhite tires, new fuel lines, pump, pickup/float assembly.

The AM radio and power antenna are rebuilt and the iPod is loaded with 59/60 songs to play through the system while we roll down the Lincoln Highway using vintage road maps. Oh, gotta take a look at the Guidematic system if there's time. Anyone have an NOS foglight bulb for one of these beasts?

Hope to see everyone Saturday in Omaha!
Cory

 

[Kevinpreston3]

Cory that is WAY cool!

I mentioned on another thread that my mom still has her 1969 Fleetwood Brougham. I grew up in a GM household and we were always going out and looking at Cadillacs. There is no new car smell like a Cad, and there is no ride like a Cad of any year. I think that if I was ever to have a white shirt on that my mom washed, a cup of my wife's coffee, and sitting in a new Cad, my olfactory senses would overload...3 best smells in the world.

What does the 59 ride like? Does it have air? What on earth is a Guideamatic? I thought "autronic eye" was a wierd name!

KP

 

[kenmore1978]

brakes and Guidematic/Autronic Eye

"The new brakes will need some adjusting"

Hopefully you replaced the oft-overlooked brake hoses?

Autronic Eye(AUTOmatic electRONIC, clever, eh?)/Guidematic are the same device, just a name and size change from 1959 to 1960

 

[kenmore1978]

Fog light bulb

"Anyone have an NOS foglight bulb for one of these beasts? "

You'll proboably never find one in an auto parts store BUT, I bet a lighting distributor either has it or can get it for you.

 

[gansky1]

I can't wait to see the 59 Saturday - good luck on getting parts on time! That Allante is hot too!

We need news coverage for this event, I'd better get on that!

 

[veg-o-matic]

Oooooh. That Allante is a definite Babe Magnet. I still wonder why it didn't catch on.
Geez, you and Ben riding around in any of those cars? Women of America, watch out!

veg

 

[lbcarguy]

Guidematic

Hi,

Guidematic is the automatic headlight dimming system available on many GM cars through the 50s-60s. Came out around 1955 or 56. Not sure when it fell out of favor. The units use a photo sensitive diode to detect headlights of an on-coming car and then automatically switch our lights from bright to dim. The early units use tubes. They became solid state in the mid-sixties. Guide (part of GM/Delco) sold the technology to Lincoln and Imperial also. The sensor is often found on the dashboard and looks like a cyclops eye on 50s models. They streamlined the units in the 60's and experimented with other locations. On 64 Cadillacs, it is integrated into the trim area on the left front fender above the headlights. On my 67 Eldo, it is hidden behind the grill.

The marketing folks came up with cool names for all these power princess gadgets, like Twilight Sentinal (auto headlight ON/OFF/Delay), Guidematic, Magic Circle Power Steering, Wonderbar Radio, Transportable Radio, Highway Hi-Fi (record player), Safety Dish Steering Wheel, to name a few.

There are a few names bantered around today, but most companies share the names for technology, like SRS, ABS, Downhill assist control, traction control, etc. Maybe we are all losing the power of imagination.

Happy motoring, and with twilight sentinal and guidematic, your hands never need to leave the wheel to keep from being in the dark.

MK in LBC

 

[westytoploader]

Very nice! The pink '59 is definitely the chick magnet!!

Looking forward to seeing the black one at the Convention!

 

[Kevinpreston3]

Come to think of it....

My dad had a "sentinel" setting, which had a dial behind the headlight knob for sensitivity, on his 1971 Cadillac. I know he did not like to use the feature, but I don't know why he didn't like it. I will have to ask him.

Another oddity on that car. On the rear "package shelf", there was a little hooded object--not unlike the Ghost of Chrismas on Scrooge, or the Emperor of Star Wars.

When you put on the brakes, fiber optics lit up inside the hood..the idea was that you could see if your brake lights were working from the rear view mirror. I have never seen this feature on another car. Of course, the lights lit up red like two evil eyes inside the hood!!!

 

[lbcarguy]

Fiber Optics

Hi,

GM used fiber optics in a few cars starting around 68 or 69. A friend of mine had a 69 corvette and it used the fiber optics to show that the tail lights were illuminated. They were in the center console below the shifter. Cadillac used this also as you mention (I know in the Eldos, not sure about the De Villes) on the package shelf and self-supported on the convertibles.

MK in LBC

 

[petek]

On my 75 Electra the brake lights and rear turn signal monitor was located on the ceiling liner centered right in the middle, on the top edge of the rear window so you could see the two little lights in your rear view mirror. As well it had the chrome headlight/turn signal monitors on each side of the front hood. That car had lights for everything, cornering, curb lights, ashtrays, foot wells, ceiling, make up, reading etc. It really was a knockout car and even looked nicer inside and out than the similar coupe d'ville I thought.

 

[cadman]

Hey, thanks guys!

Yeah, I'll have to show you pics of the Allanté sometime, they have a very interesting background and are a really innovative machine.

We got the bumper on the '59 tonight after lots of polishing and assembly and it doesn't look too bad. Still have some tweaking for the engine but otherwise we're set.

Kenmore1978, we've got new brake lines, new MC, new hoses, new spring kits, new shoes and new cylinders, just have to get them really dialed in.

The guidematic (or autronic eye in this case) is the highbeam dimmer as Kenmore mentioned, they fell out of favor in the mid-80s actually, though by that time not a whole lot of them were around. The increased traffic, reflective signs and paints, lighted billboards and roadside sprawl causes lots of false triggers on these systems designed for deserted two-lanes. They were popular through the 70's though, and gave the driver greater sensitivity control. With this system, it's on whenever the headlights are on.

This is actually a non-AC car, I had an AC car here a couple months ago (same exterior/interior) but sold it off. The huge compressor and added components made servicing a nightmare. With this one, we'll slide the vent levers open wide when rolling on the blacktop : )

Cory

 

[kenmore1978]

Automatic headlight dimming

"Guidematic is the automatic headlight dimming system available on many GM cars through the 50s-60s. Came out around 1955 or 56"

Actually was introduced around 1949, as were signal seeking radios. And it never really fell out of favor, my 1988 T-Bird has both systems (Ford calls it "Autolamp" and they both work perfectly.) It's amazing how gadget crazy and technologically ahead we were in those days