Caprice engine swap?

[kevm14]

Nationwide search for STS-Vs for under $13k on Autotrader. One hit: http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale ... lCode1=STS

http://www.timshortautomall.com/used/CA ... f82f04.htm

I noticed that V SUPERCHARGED logo fell off. Well the Supercharged part did. At least it looks like it did.

I am beginning to wonder if the only way to put up with the flaws of the STS is to take it in full strength V form. This shouldn't be surprising. I have no interest in a base CTS.

[kevm14]

Time for the Light Driftwood show. Again. I guess. Biggest thing with this color is certain light makes it look beige or what I guess I'd call flat out tan, or even gold. It has more silver/grey in it than a straight up 2002 Camry beige. Here are many examples.

[bill25]

Someone from Mass bought it from a Mass Car lot and put 11,000 miles on it. Now they are selling it. It has a Mass plate in the pic on craigslist. The used dealer probably told them it was a Florida car.

[kevm14]

Well it's not too easy to pretend it is a Florida car when you look in person. If it isn't true I mean.

[kevm14]

Couple options with the talk of an STS-V:

1. CTS-V, B/D Body, 5K STS V8 = 11K + 2K + 5K = 18K
2. Nice B/D Body w/money for upgrades/swap, STS-V = 7K + 11K = 18K

A little more math.

1. Keep CTS-V, add B/D body ($4k), and add a cheap STS as a daily ($6k). Total additional cash required to complete: $10k.

Pros: I get to keep the CTS-V as the clean, good car. It would be my handling car, manual trans, fun to drive. I get a B/D body, and a daily driver for me that Jamie can drive.

Cons: B/D body has no budget left for mods in this scenario (near term anyway). I only get one garage bay so that clean B/D body is probably staying outside.

2. Sell CTS-V (-$11k), obtain B/D body ($5k + $5k for mods), obtain STS-V ($11k). Total additional cash required to complete: $10k. B/D body goes in the garage.

Pros: I theoretically have the car and a budget for some kind of B/D body build plus starting with a $1k better car. STS-V gives me a very nice daily with an automatic trans that Jamie can drive.

Cons: I lose out on the CTS-V handling/manual car. I was talking about upgrading to a C5Z so this would be a step in the complete opposite direction.

These options are pretty different.

#1 is the more conventional option that I thought I was pursuing. #2 is a bit of a shakeup.

I have to say though if I got rid of the CTS-V, I guess I'd want the black one. But it would see daily driver duty, split with the B/D body in nicer weather. If I kept the CTS-V, the cheaper the better. Though if they did $11k for the black one, and knowing that silver one is $10k + $500 in HP Tuners to program out the CEL....it would be hard to say no to the black one. This is where I'd do a remote inspection and possibly even have it shipped. Possibly.

Let me also add a third option.

3. Keep CTS-V, get STS-V ($11k). Total cash required to complete: $11k.

Pros: I get to keep the CTS-V and get an STS-V for daily duties and Jamie could drive it just like #2.

Cons: Uhh...no B/D body. And dropping $11k right at this moment is going to be a very hard sell. I am currently getting pressure to deal with the kitchen.

When I talk about the STS-V unable to fulfill the handling car mission, this is what I mean (http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons ... s-v-page-3):

Where the Caddy fared worst was in Grattan's twists and turns. Although the steering was quick and nicely weighted, excessive up-and-down motion in the suspension inhibited transient responses, and observers noted substantial brake dive compared with the German cars.

By the time the V2 hit the streets in 2009, they had that MR suspension dialed right in but apparently the 2006 STS-V was calibrated for comfort, not world-beating handling (with a lot of comfort still). For daily driving I know you could argue the suspension is plenty good enough. But I remember a thread on the Cadillac forum about G meter peaks. Many of these guys were looking at like 0.8x in daily driving and more than one guy ran The Dragon and was still barely into the low 0.9x range. Some guys just don't push the handling and those guys would be plenty satisfied with the STS-V. I don't know if I would in the context of selling the CTS-V. If I kept the CTS-V, well, that's different. Problem with that plan is we took the first step to spending a bunch of money on our kitchen by meeting with RIHI for 2 hours. That number is going to be ridiculous and will probably become the target for us to save for, which means frivolous car purchases are not going to be authorized. So dropping $11k on an STS-V and keeping the CTS-V is probably not going to happen. I DO think there is still budget for a daily type car that I like and she could drive occasionally. Which is the $6k budget area for all the things we've been talking about.

Really I'd love a V2 in my garage, taking the place of my CTS-V. I guess that is my goal. Which means I shouldn't be wasting $11k on an STS-V but spending more like $6k on a regular STS. I can also still get a clean B-body but the key issue there is, I can really only have one garage queen type car. Parking outside is not a good way to treat a car that I want to last.

The other thing is, if I get a D-body, that extra length is actually a bit of a problem. It will fit in my garage for sure but the way the cars are organized is my car is closest to the door and the wife/kids walk by it to get to her car. With a Fleetwood in there, the car would be so far back that it would be a pain to walk around, especially with the stuff I have in there.

I could switch and use the far bay which would help. One minor annoyance there is that the Homelink in the 2008 SRX just cannot talk to the Chamberlain-style rolling code of the other garage door opener so I'd have to throw an opener on the visor in the SRX. I am not going to let that get in the way of an otherwise executable car plan. But really, the issue the whole time with my CTS-V bay is its location. Jamie had a learning curve with the current bay, and that included some close calls and some actual hits. The CTS-V bay is going to be really difficult with the retaining wall right there as far as backing out and pulling in. I think that is an issue. I could stage an experiment and see how it would actually be. I don't think it would be impossible.

[kevm14]

Fun fact:
The STS-V did not get all options available on the regular STS.

We already know it didn't have adaptive cruise and I would assume that extends to HUD.

But I just found out (not 100% confirmed) that ventilated seats were also not available on the STS-V. The way to tell if any STS has it is to look at the heated seat button. If it has a single center icon, that is heated only. The ventilated cars have icons at the top and bottom of the button and the top end controls the ventilation and the bottom end controls the heat. Both the silver STS-V in VA and the black one in KY show heated only and a look at Compnine seems to suggest it was just not available (similar to my discovery about the adaptive cruise).

Regardless of the utility of these features, I find this lame for a $75k car.

Bonus info on how the ventilation works. I was right about the air sucking rather than blowing.

Vented Seat Modes of Operation
When the ventilation seat system is active, it is designed to draw cabin air around and away from the
occupant through small holes in the seat cushion and seat back covers, through channels in the foam
pad, and then through the blower motor exhausting the waste air under the seat cushion.

Battery positive voltage is supplied at all times to the driver seat blower motors from the DPM Fuse
located in the left rear fuse block. Battery positive voltage is also supplied at all times to the front
passenger seat blower motors from the RF HTD ST/S BAND Fuse located in the right rear fuse block.
Both, the driver seat and passenger seat blower motors are grounded through their ground circuits and
G307. When a vented seat switch is pressed, the climate control seat module sends a low side pulse
width modulation (PWM) signal through the blower motor control circuits to the seat cushion and seat
back blower motors indicating the vented seat command. In response to this signal, the logic in the
blower motors set the blower speed to the switch set point. Both blower motors then run drawing cabin
air around and away from occupant. The following describes the High, MED, and Low ventilation
modes of operation:

• High Ventilation This mode cancels all previous modes and initiates a ventilation cycle with the
Under-Cool and Super-Cool Features active. See below for the description of these features. In the
high mode, both the seat cushion and seat back blowers are ON at a 95 percent duty cycle that
provides 100 percent blower performance.

During vented seat modes of operation, the climate control seat module uses Under-cool and Super
Under-cool Features in order to keep the seat temperature above pre-determined set point temperatures.
The following describes these features:
• Medium Ventilation This mode operates identical to the High Ventilation setting with the
exception that the blowers are ON at a 85 percent duty cycle that provides 80 percent blower
performance.
• Low Ventilation This mode also operates identical to the High Ventilation setting with the
exception that the blowers are ON at a 75 percent duty cycle that provides 60 percent blower
performance.
• Under-Cool Feature The under-cool feature set point is 15°C (59°F). The climate control seat
module under-cool feature is active when the system is in any one of the 3 High, MED, or Low
ventilation modes. The under-cool feature will initiate a heat cycle when it detects that the seat
temperature reached its set point of 15°C (59°F). This means that if the seat temperature reaches
this set point, it is possible for both, the blowers and heaters to be on at the same time. Then if the
control module does not detect that the operating temperature is above the set point within 90
seconds of the initiation of under-cool mode, the module will shut down and cease operation.
• Super Under-Cool Feature The super under-cool feature set point is 10°C (50°F). The super undercool
feature is also active when the system is in any of the three ventilation modes. This feature is
meant as a secondary precautionary measure. The super under-cool feature will deactivate the
blower motors and initiate a heat cycle when it detects that the seat temperature reached its set
point of 10°C (50°F). This means that it is possible for the seat heaters to be on and the blowers off
while in the ventilation mode. If the control module does not detect that the operating temperature
is above the set point within 90 seconds of the initiation of super under-cool mode, the module will
shut down and cease operation.

It would appear the ventilation uses closed loop temperature control which is pretty cool. That last part says 50F is the lowest the can be in vent mode and might even turn the seat heater on to get it back up where it needs to be.

It is gross but when you think about swamp ass/back, sucking air makes plenty of sense because it would promote evaporative cooling. It's just not necessary to actually blow A/C or something onto your back and butt.

[kevm14]

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/deta ... /overview/

Not a terrible option. Another one without adaptive cruise but everything else. 1SG, FE3, AWD.

Gone. I think this was the one with the wheels that looked different but were probably the same. It's the old rule: if they are around from week to week, they are probably overpriced or terrible.

[kevm14]

I should probably pass. If my goal was to get into one of these as cheaply as possible this would be the car...

I just wanted my clean STS for $6k...

So I replied. First I said hang on while I digest everything. Then I gave my final reply.

Tim,

I will have to pass. I hope it goes to a good home.

Don’t feel like you wasted your time, and I wish more Craigslisters would follow suit. You provided a great deal of information which allows someone to make an informed decision to proceed, or not. Had you not provided the information (like most sales), there would be a lot more back and forth, and extending this whole process just to not go through with it in the end.

You can take or leave this: I’ve tried twice now to drive down from RI to NJ for cars. Both times they were crap. The second time I was careful and thought I got all the information and pictures. It was at a value used car dealer and I should have known better.

Good luck.

-Kevin

And he gave his final reply:

Thanks for being up front with me man, and good luck on your search. They're rare cars but not impossible to find. If you're on the Cadillac owner's forum you'll see good deals pop up.

Take care,

~Tim~

[kevm14]

These get pretty cheap when they have issues.

https://jerseyshore.craigslist.org/cto/6086131267.html

05, V8, AWD, 146k.

This is my 2005 Cadillac STS with 146k miles. Its in good interior and exterior condition with only a couple of blemishes. Car is the top of the line fully loaded model with the 4.6L Northstar V8 with 320HP(MPG 17/26). When the car first came out it was a $70k luxury car and it shows with all of its advanced features. It comes equipped with Dual power heated & cooled front seats, heated rear seats, power & heated mirrors, touch screen navigation, sunroof, remote start, power adjustable steering wheel, back up sensors, and much more and also has a brand new battery I installed 2 weeks ago($250). Like I said it was the fully loaded model so it has most of the high end features a luxury car today will have. The only problems with the car is that the check engine light is on since the mass air flow sensor is bad($40 part), the exterior passenger door does not work, and it needs one more matching rim(I have the brand new tire to match the set). All tires are also in great condition with lots of treat life. I would fix it but I simply just do not have the time since Im currently out of state for the next couple of months and don't have the time to come back and deal with it. If you have any questions you can contact me on my cell phone listed above. Send me an offer 3100 OBO(well below blue book value), I just can't accept low ball offers. Need to sell by 3/15/17.

I don't think I have run the VIN yet. Needs:
- A wheel - and I am not 100% sure these are OEM but maybe?
- MAF? Something else?
- HVAC buttons
- Keyless ignition button
- Front bumper is all scratched/chipped
- Rear bumper has a scuff
- One of the doors doesn't "work" ?
- Seats somewhat worn

Overall this is not an example of something I want, but I just wanted to show how cheap they can get.

I am still hopeful for my unicorn and that it won't be totally out of reach - the RWD should technically be worth less anyway, especially up north.

This same car is down to $2800.

https://westernmass.craigslist.org/cto/6112683019.html

I don't think I actually ran the VIN. I will tonight.

[kevm14]

Really clean example.

https://westernmass.craigslist.org/cto/6111101781.html

05 Cadillac STS - $5900 (Feeding Hills)
2005 Cadillac STS for sale. Unlimited options including: Heated seats, cooled seats, power windows, locks, steering wheel, navigation, DVD, power locks, cruise control, leather, and more. Bose sound system, traction control. Needs right rear brake light (easy fix). Adult owned and in excellent condition. Come take a look. Asking $5900 or b.o.

17s though. So most likely an FE1 car. RWD though. Well he says RWD. No VIN to verify. Seems to have most options though.