'67 Crown repaired

John Burchfield

PCS Life Member
Well, it certainly is easy to get sidetracked here! I came on a while ago to post this but had to look at a few of the new posts. I picked up the '67 Crown Royale (no purple velvet bag however :p) from the body shop Wednesday. The hold up was the RH bumper end we had to send off for replating. Gordy the expert body guy took care of a few other minor things too-sprayed the RH windshield pillar which was a bit thin from the original repaint in 2003, tightened up the driver side mirror where the front hole in the door had stripped, and reconfigured the battery disconnect so that the hood doesn't ram down on it when in "disconnect" mode. I only had time to drive it back to the barn then head for home. I'm anxious to get it up home as was the original mission when I had the accident 7/20. The top studs of the new shocks are rubbing against the upper control arms, causing a most undignified "Grapes of Wrath jalopy" type squeaking! My wrench up here who installed the shocks said he could easily take care of the problem. Here are a couple of photos. Meanwhile work on the '75 MM combo continues! The '81 Victoria was feeling left out, so I included a pic of her, too...
 

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John,

I think you will find your mechanic may have some trouble replicating the problem you are experiencing with the rub/squeak coming from the front shock area as rocking and bouncing the car will not replicate it. I will include this here for you to mention to him, and you may already know this, but there is a design flaw in the washer disc that comes with the aftermarket shock mounting hardware. The problem is the aftermarket discs are just too large( by a fraction) and rub on one side which presents as an annoying squeak. This has been discussed over at the Cad-LaSalle site at length. The only known fix is to buy slightly smaller ones at the hardware store and substitute those for the ones sent in the hardware package( as long as it will compress the bushing satisfactorily then it should work fine). If I can find the thread I will post it here, as well.

Jeff
 
why not just grind down the other washer. easier then going down town and buy different stuff. slip it over a big Philips screw driver and touch it on the grinding wheel let it spin on the driver and it will move the edge evenly. there cupped so they put more pressure on the out side. or at least most of them I have are that way. got a few old ones in my parts box to. this give everything back to the customer has made reusing things a lot harder. then if I remember right they are a hard temper to. a soft one will just bend.
 
Very nice coach John...I failed to mention that in my previous post. To the other John, I'm not quite sure why that wouldn't work(grinding them down). I do not have a cadillac of this vintage so I have not had to deal with this issue. This was just a fix that one of the guys over there came up with...it is possible he didn't think about grinding them. I do think that would work...

Jeff
 
Jeff, I actually CAN reproduce the squeak by bouncing the front of the car. I'm sure some of you noticed that the center bar of the bumper and grille still have an upward bend visible.:( My body man tried to straighten the bumper w/o success. This is much more noticeable in the photo than in person, but I've decided to see if the insurance co. will spring for a new grille and bumper section to get the repair right. There was a '67 in a nearby junkyard a few years ago with a grille and bumper that I think was decent, so we'll see what happens...
 
There should be no question about the insurance company paying for the replacement, since the damage is a result of the accident. I doubt that there will be any problem, especially if you send them a copy of the picture of the car before and after the accident. It is clearly unpaired damage that needs to be corrected. Just ask them to have the physical damage inspector to do a supplemental inspection and submit a report for payment. Best to locate the parts and have the costs of plating included when he makes the inspection. It is easier to get everything through in the one report than send in multiple supplemental claims. If you need help, just let me know. I know the system, since I once did physical damage claim inspections for a independent insurance appraisal firm.
 
if you can't find a replacement grill let me know I may be able to locate one for you. can't promise till I go out and check but they are a few still out here.
 
Thanks guys, for the compliments and advice. This week and weekend have been quite busy, so I hope next week to begin the search for a grille and center bumper section.
 
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