Caprice engine swap?

[kevm14]

Damn, not bad!!

https://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/6052839533.html

Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham - $4500 (Durham)
Here I have a luxurious Cadillac brougham,the last classic rear wheel drive.Has lt1 corvette motor Cadillac put with this year.Very comfortable and smooth car.Its been well maintained and kept up with.I have replaced a various amount of parts: alternater,water pump,thermostat,plugs,wires,radiator hoses,coolant resovoir,02 sensors,and more..Also has new exhaust/piping done recently.Engine runs smooth and has a lot of pick up.Interior is in great shape as you see in pictures.Exterior is in pretty good shape aswell,does have a dent on passenger side fender you can see in picture.The chrome looks good..This car is not mint condition.,but it's still a nice Cadillac in great shape!If you want luxury that's smooth,stylish and has power this is it.Feel free to let me know if you are interested or have any questions.Thanks

[kevm14]

Damn, not bad!!

https://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/6052839533.html

Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham - $4500 (Durham)
Here I have a luxurious Cadillac brougham,the last classic rear wheel drive.Has lt1 corvette motor Cadillac put with this year.Very comfortable and smooth car.Its been well maintained and kept up with.I have replaced a various amount of parts: alternater,water pump,thermostat,plugs,wires,radiator hoses,coolant resovoir,02 sensors,and more..Also has new exhaust/piping done recently.Engine runs smooth and has a lot of pick up.Interior is in great shape as you see in pictures.Exterior is in pretty good shape aswell,does have a dent on passenger side fender you can see in picture.The chrome looks good..This car is not mint condition.,but it's still a nice Cadillac in great shape!If you want luxury that's smooth,stylish and has power this is it.Feel free to let me know if you are interested or have any questions.Thanks

Already down to $4000.

I kind of want this car.

My issue is, I need a real daily driver first. I would not drive this in the winter. I do have all summer to get a Super or whatever. The other problem with the Fleetwood is my stuff is less directly compatible, stemming mainly from the longer wheelbase. This impacts the rear axle/discs and exhaust. I am sure this would drive nicely with 3.42s but it is also a 96 so it will be a pain all the way around.

I feel like a paintless dent guy could handle the dent in the passenger front fender.

Looking more closely the exterior does have a few defects but it is hard to tell what is going on from pictures. Maybe some scuffs on the hood? Something with the driver's side front corner with the bumper and polished stainless panel looks out of alignment.

Bob, would you be able to take a look?

[kevm14]

Bob, would you be able to take a look?

So the car is ~2.5 hours from Bob. Which means he cannot look at it. So if I want answers to all of my questions, I will have to bother the owner. I have no idea if he will want to deal with me, or if I will be satisfied with his answers. It is quite a gamble without eyes and ears that I trust on the car. It worked out for my Caprice but I really lucked out with who the seller was on that one (a well-known editor for Circle Track magazine at the time).

This is not my dream car. I am just feeling a little more pressure lately with the looming inspection and having been exposed to inspection issues on the SRX just last weekend.

[kevm14]

I just sent him this e-mail:

I am interested in your 96 Fleetwood. I had a 95 and sold it 7 years ago. I miss it. I am looking for a clean southern example to potentially replace my very old 93 Caprice (came from Charlotte 16 years ago!) and carry on the B-body torch in my fleet. I am in RI so please bear with me. I have a cousin in Charlotte but he indicated he is too far to look at the car for me.

Would you be able to provide more closeup shots of the exterior issues with the Fleetwood? Areas I am interested in include the hood (is there clear coat fading or is that just a reflection?), the front bumper area both in the middle and on the driver's side corner (something isn't aligned right there), and the fender dent that you did show.

With regard to the interior, do you have a side shot of the driver's seat near the heated seat controls, as well as the B-pillar cover? Those are common wear areas on these cars.

I am not trying to beat you up over flaws - I am just looking for a certain condition vehicle and, flatly, some things I can work with, and some things I cannot. Hope you understand.

[kevm14]

Wow, he's reasonable.

Hey Kevin,no problem I do understand if your concerned with some wear on the car.There is no clear coat pealing anywhere on the car or hood.There is a picture of the fender passengers side dent in the add.I can provide pictures of where your asking,and can send them to you tomorrow as soon as I can.Anyother pictures lmk..The pillar that your talking about is in good condition with no rips.The drivers seat by the heat switch has no tears.There is some wear on left arm area of drivers seat,but not that bad.I will provide you pictures of these areas aswell.
Thanks Nick

[kevm14]

I asked about history. Guy seems really friendly.

No problem.Yes,I bought the fleetwood from a older gentleman I believe he was the original owner.The car was bought from the Cadillac dealership in Greensboro NC.Its has remained in NC it's whole life.Ive have owned the car for about a year and a half.Ive never had any problem with it.Ive just had the engine light come on for minor issues that I've fixed already,like the 02sensors,purge valve,water pump etc..Overall it's a great looking,and strong running car.Drives like a Cadillac is supposed to,like a cloud.The reason I'm selling it is,I have other cars and need more space/funds for them.Anyother questions Kevin feel free to ask.Thanks

[bill25]

It is really nice that the guy is willing to answer questions and take more pics. What is the plan if the pics look good?

[kevm14]

Probably hem and haw and wait until someone else buys it.

Actually I don't know. I think I will need to figure out how much the issues bother me and what it is worth to me considering I will have to do the fly down routine. Hopefully I could find someone for an adventure like that. I assume flying down would be the best option. I thought I checked and I have enough points for one ticket on Southwest. I hardly fly anymore so I'd have to look again. We could fly into CLT and like have Bob engage on the action. Or just do RDU.

I think driving down on top of it is not the best plan - now it's two vehicles going back so co-pilots require 4 people rather than 2. Plus it'll take too long.

I am a little surprised the things the car needed but I guess it was still an 18-19 year old car so stuff happens.

Cons:
- Somehow this color on the Fleetwood isn't as good as it is on the RMS.
- 96 Fleetwood is like the most difficult to bring to Caprice spec, being long wheelbase (exhaust) and having the 4 wheel ABS/TC (axle/brakes) and a 96 (OBD-II, I have no software for that currently)

Other than that this sounds like a decent example for probably a decent price, like $3500 I would think.

Worst case, if I am not into it, I could sell it up here, right?

[bill25]

Is this a LS turbo swap candidate? Otherwise I am not sure the point.

[kevm14]

No more or less than my Caprice would have been if it wasn't too rusty to bother.