Thread: 1979 Cadillac Opera Coupe Restoration

So the valve covers could have been worked a bit more with the rust pits but I just shot 3 coats of un-reduced Epoxy Primer wet on then 3 coats of PPG Refinish Shopline JAU (2 K Urethane) Topcoat wet. Works well in a pinch to fill the pits. I will paint the Air Breather cover to match while painting the body black.

Good looking work

Looks good.

I was waiting on a replacement Thermostat housing and to find a 24in long piece of 1-1/2in Radiator hose. The housing arrived today and Autozone let me pick thru their hoses till I found something I could cut to fit.



If you look closely at the first image in the Upper Hose you can see a Radiator Cap within a Hose Splice. This was added for two reasons, first for a means to Burp the air out of the cooling system since it is the highest point and second for a means to add coolant since the radiator cap is in-accessible when the car is together. I will fabricate a nice looking bracket to provide support to the upper hose assembly to increase the longevity of the assembly.



Since this coolant reservoir is toast I will take the opportunity to install a smaller, better looking unit from Rock Auto.



This is when the designer should have quit for the day and returned fresh to create a better way to support the long extension lines. Just a little bile in my throat looking at this rig. I will say it won't take much for me to improve this setup.

At least it wasn’t duck tape.

Those valve covers are awesome. I have always said the engineers need to work on the stuff they design and maybe they wouldn’t design stuff so ridiculously.

I spotted that in line fill cap. I was thinking that it must have been special to that car because I had never seen one. Then I read what you wrote. Certainly would make life easier. Certainly hate it when they Engineer something. And put the maintenance points where you have to tear it apart to get to them. In there defense. I am sure the original intended owner was not the type of person to do their own maintenance

Originally Posted by DockShootinJack

I spotted that in line fill cap. I was thinking that it must have been special to that car because I had never seen one. Then I read what you wrote. Certainly would make life easier. Certainly hate it when they Engineer something. And put the maintenance points where you have to tear it apart to get to them. In there defense. I am sure the original intended owner was not the type of person to do their own maintenance

The original owner was a Gangster, I don't want to give a name as everyone knows the name. I don't know how long I will keep this one as most everything has a purpose around here. The plan is to drive it to Crusin' The Coast Events and date nights but I have another build for that a few years ago for Crusin' I don't mess with much nowadays, pushing the 600hp envelope.