That is really a 4 person job. Those hoods were HUGE and HEAVY!

I would install hood after replacing engine by myself.

Back in the 80s me and my gang took one of these hoods and polished the Hellout of it. This was mid winter, so we had plenty of snow. We had an ice storm on top of it, so was a glare of ice. There was 5 or 6 of us. We hung out and passed a massive joint around. Got really baked,and that was one steep hill. Damned near ended up in the river!!😂

Hood came off a 73

Nothing floats like one of those that’s the truth.

Vaaahooommmm!

Yes, what I always refer to as the QuadraJet roar: Uh-wahhhh...

We used to flip the air cleaner lid over so you could hear it better!

@@corgiowner436I got in trouble doing that on our Delta88, I forgot to flip it back over and Dad drove it and looked at me and said, boy you been running my car ? Busted 😆 bwaaaaa !

I know I did, nothing like the sound of a quadrajet wide open...sound is un-mistakeable!!@@corgiowner436

It get mileAGE? So it can go more than 1 mile per gallon? Impressive!

@@johndaniels651 From Burlington, CT to the shore is around 110 miles round trip. If I take the Fleetwood, it will burn off 11-12 gallons. :) It is a combination of highway and country roads.

@@waynejohnson1304 I found it interesting there were fuel injected and carburetor versions, I'm guessing the FE models (if any are still running) would be quite rare. Wonder if it made much difference in efficiency... But heck, having a land yacht has to be the greatest, and 12 gallons of fuel now and again, its still way cheaper to operate than a modern car that only lasts 80K miles.

@@johndaniels651 The fuel-injected models got an additional 15 HP but, I'm not sure if gas mileage was improved or not.

It gets the same MPG it got in 1976!

"Diamond in the back, sunroof top, diggin the scene with a gansta lean, ooh hoo." - Wiliam DeVaughn

We thought they were the cat’s meow at the time.

You could get oars as an option

Same! Six adults and we all had our own ashtray 😂

I had the 73 coup deville, had what ever vinyl, pleather, leather dont recall, never cared for the ultra plush seating, more of a practical thing with me. Huge car, wonderful ride, doing the gangsta lean.

@mrBrianBusch in 1980 I too drove a ‘73 Coupe DeVille as my daily driver, shouldn’t have sold it!

They were all junked. At the grave yard junk yards. 💀💀💀hers only survived because he was always in a garage!! They were Rambling' Rust' buckets!

@@captainamericaamerica8090 Actually that's not exactly true. More of this particular model Cadillac, meaning the 74 to 76 Fleetwoods survive today than the majority of other big luxury sedans from this era. They still exist literally everywhere plus, a number of original unrestored examples are starting to show up with extremely low miles.

I regret not buying the 67 Camaro my mother inherited from my grandmother.

Correct , I agree wholeheartedly, the absolute best of the best before the Cadillac brand was wrecked. . Hi from Sydney, Australia. I have owned a black '74 Talisman for almost 42 years & a '72 Fleetwood for 31 years which is a 70th anniversary car so has a more upspec interior. From 1971 to mid '74, if you wanted to own a USA GM full size car you had the choice of 2, either a boattail Riviera, OR , a Fleetwood Brougham. I'm a doctor, and in my late 60's, I was in my mid 20's when I bought the black '74 FWD Talisman. "blackie" has been bullet proof, now with 705,000klms (about 445,000miles) when I bought it was a mere 102,000klms on it as an 8 yr old car. it is a genuine Aussie GM Holdens RHD kit car sent as mere parts to be built here as a factory RHD car in GM's Pagewood, Sydney factory, there are many changes to the US model home market cars, same with my cotillion white '72 model. As a doctor and as business cars, I have claimed back 100% of operational costs to "mr taxman", both look and drive like they are NEW, flawlessly endlessly reliable, why own modern junk. AND , I had the last laugh just prior to x-mas 2023, I was returning home on a very hot 42 degree day to my lovely mid-century modern home on the central coast, about 100klm's north of Sydney. On the F1 freeway there had been an accident and after the big bridge over the Hawkesbury/Nepean river. All the traffic had slowed to a crawl due to an accident some kilometres ahead. Some weeks prior, at the last fuel station prior to entering the freeway, I chose to fill with petrol, went into the office/shop & paid, upon my return to the car, I was attacked verbal tirade by the owner/driver of a new 7 series BMW telling me that all US cars were crap, blah, blah, blah, I said to him that all German NAZI shit boxes should be crushed on arrival to our shores and that as a Talisman with the lot, my old car was way superior to his modern junker. His face went red with ANGER. Around 2 months later, on the REALLY,REALLY, really HOT DAY, I was to see him once more. As his around 3 month old BMW 7 series had decided to immolate itself, so the similar aged owner/driver (to me) and 3 passengers stood roadside and watched as this wonderous new $250,000 + car burned itself to death. I honked the Cadillac's "GM train horns" and waved, then he saw me, his face went beet root color pinky-maroon in PURE ANGER. I saw him again at the same fuel stop recently, this time I was in my white '72 Fleetwood, he saw me and looked away, when I had paid for my fuel I walked past him, he asked re the white car, I said it was my spare when the other one was being serviced and that I'd owned them for 31 & 41 years he was amazed at this year count and black ones mileage compared to its almost new appearance. Like the Irish female singer Sinead O`Connor's song --"nothing compares" that is true on these cars, nothing else does compare. ABS braked, Traction control. ACRS air bags and locking pretensioning seatbelts and built like a road fortress, a true tank. Re clarifications, the Aussie-ized versions certainly have outboard taillights, that small bulb in the US models was altered to be a full size 21 candle power taillight, PLUS we needed a orange/amber rear blinker light so the taillights were more in the centre of the car with the amber blinkers on the outer edge. Our main taillights had to be a mere 3 candlepower, the brake lights had to be 10 times greater at 32 CP, the amber blinkers 21 cp and the outboard side markers in those vertical blades were also 21 cp. Back in the 1960's & '70's the local market Aussie cars ALL had amber reversing lights of 21 CP, same with my 2 Aussie built Caddy's both the '72 & '74. Re the hood ornament. all the Aussie factory RHD ones were all fitted with the US deVille de Elegance hollow hood ornament which I think looks a little more discrete, however at speed the ornaments all lay back, or if there is heavy wind outside.

@@gregharvie3896 I love that you have owned them both for so long and kept them in such beautiful condition!!! I also love the story about the angry guy, and hopefully now that he's started to get over himself maybe you've made a new friend. :) Hello from Texas btw!!!

@@gregharvie3896 Well Doctor...you sure are living the good life and only in Australia of course. By now you have well earned your Australianised Cadillacs and I have nothing but admiration for you and your tiny degree of pomposity. I too live in Australia and somewhat less extravagantly am also living the good life! 😊

@@mikevale3620 Hi Mike, what made me buy the first one, well earlier in the piece in the late 70's pre import cars luxury tax I wanted to buy a 4.2 litre series 2 Jaguar XJ Coupe, they only made them for like 3 years finally. I'd been saving like mad, then John Howard when treasurer when they kicked Whitlam out couldn't balance the books so he introduced a mega amount of brand-new taxes, the opec parity on petrol, the luxury car tax, cigarette tax, liquor tax and more. It took it out of my financial reach overnight 44.75% MORE. Time marched on and as a new young doctor working in the gov't area, not private, wages were lowish. Again, I saved EVERYTHING, and when Holden released the 1980 WB Statesman Caprice, I wanted one. Also, I found for a few bucks more it could be sent to HDT/Peter Brock and given a C-spec race engine, better brakes and a US GM front end adaption giving massively cambering front suspension/steering, so at speed on a bend, no scrubbing the wheel off the rim on the outboard tyre. Ordered and paid for in October 1980, I waited, should have been ready for xmas 1980, but not to be arrived mid-jan 1981 a few weeks late. Mike, I loved that car, I'd speck'ed it entirely to my wishes, but only owned it 22 months when it was stolen from a hospital carpark, 2 nice guards that worked there got clipped by the thieves. The Cops got the 2 guys, but my car had been split up for the parts trade for smash repairs. I ordered another one, near identical, metallic red is slightly paler in the 2nd one, and the leather seats just slightly darker. 42 Years later, I still own that too, it has but a mere 93,000ks on it as I ONLY use it where I can see it. These are the only 2 new cars I have EVER bought in 50+ years of driving. So I bought the black Caddy as a daily, never thinking I'd keep it 40+ years, but there you go. Neither one of the 2 Caddy's have ever been damaged, touched nor broken into, cars around mine have but NEVER the Caddy's, -- go figure that out. Finally, as an aside, OZ is the best country, I've for work been to a lot, but I'm always happy to see the North Shore Bridge from the plane when coming back home, and its friend the opera house.

@@DarrenFain Pal, they are going to "do me out" I will drive them until I drop dead, OR, we are banned from registering and using them. They have 200% of what's required from a car, and yep, I know we have a hot dry climate like Southern California but this just makes cared for cars last forever, like virtually ZERO rust issues, the primary old car killer. Re Mr. Grumpy, in his hire car, he was simply trying to maintain and hold back his rage, but you could see it was still hiding just ever so below the surface.

I totally agree with you! I love 70s big US cars. I was born in 1986 and i wish to have one...

@markjaynes7151 What makes you drive 200 miles a day 5 days a week for years? That is 4K miles / 6.400 KM a month. I drove 4,150 miles per months for nine months in 1998 in a 1978 Cadillac Fleetwood limousine for a single company. I thought that was a lot. Enjoyed every mile of it.

I took flying lessons back in ‘85, and a thing that carbureted aircraft engines have is carb de-icing, operated manually by the pilot. When the outside temperature is cool or cold (near the dew point), and the intake air passes through a restriction such as a throttle, it becomes colder as its pressure drops, which can make ice form. Carburetor de-icing switches the intake to get its air from metal shields around the exhaust manifold, to melt (or prevent) the ice. I’m pretty sure that the items you’re talking about do this same function on a car engine, but automatically controlled, so that the driver doesn’t have to worry about it. On a plane engine, when you switch it to the warm intake air, you can hear its power drop just slightly, so you only turn on the carb de-icing when you think it’s necessary. On my ‘92 DSM cars (with port fuel injection), they run coolant through the throttle body, and I believe that’s pretty commonly done as icing prevention among fuel-injected car engines of any make.

Let’s not forget the heat-riser pushing exhaust from right exhaust manifold up through the intake manifold chamber in a heat exchanger and out through the left exhaust only during warm-up. These were operated with a disk type of valve on a shaft like a throttle closed by a bi-metallic spring and counterweight. Sometimes they would stick and become noisy. Saw one which sounded like a cracked flex plate. They did reduce carburetor icing and improve warm-up.

Yes, they spelled it ThermAC, to denote the AC Delco roots.

The carburetors on most cars were calibrated with say 100° air temp that was provided by mixing the cold and hot supplies via the valve in the snorkel and a temp sensor located in the air cleaner housing. It does help prevent carburetor icing but is important for drivability. Many shade tree mechanics tore all that off.

@@mark4827 Interesting, very good point. I’m so used to fuel injection where, to increase the HP, you try to keep the intake air as cool as possible to get more of it into the engine, and the ECU sees the increased air mass and automatically adjusts the fuel amount. No such thing with a carburetor, so with the old tech, apparently an easier way would just be to keep the air at a thermostatically-controlled temperature.

I own a 76 Fleetwood and it's sublime. So smooth over speed bumps like they don't exist. I built the 500 myself so it cranks.

The 1974-1976 Fleetwood was a GM D body. The GM C body was the Caddy Deville, Buick Electra, Olds 98. The Buick was the largest C body and only I think 1/10 inch shorter than the Fleetwood. The Caddy C body was actually the shortest of the GM C body cars.

The deVilles had a 130" wheelbase making them bigger than any other GM car except for the Fleetwood. ​@petermartinijr.1012

@@MrSpartanPaul 1974-1976 Sedan Deville 231.0 inches long. 1975-1976 Buick Electra 233.4. Of the 3 GM C BODIES CARS, the Devilles are the smallest The Buick was the largest and the Olds in the middle

@@petermartinijr.1012 Thanks for pointing that out, I never realized the Electras got that long.

@@MrSpartanPaul the Buicks were just a smidgen shorter than the Fleetwood Brougham. You would think GM would make them the same size or the Devilles being the longest, but they were the shortest.

Nice! You could use this for gigs for most music ensembles instead of a bus or van! Sound equipment; guitars; keyboard etc... Just stack it in the truck like cord wood.

Another great video .

Also, wheelbase plus Smart = overall length ! Smart x2 plus 3 feet =overall length! I suppose you could park a Smart on the hood and another on the roof.

The 1990 Brougham was a very nice car. I consider it up there as a classic in terms of luxury.

You’re right

Yes, that's where they swiped them for the front door auxiliary lights.

Did the Kurgan rip the roof off of the Caddy, turn to your mother and say “MAAAAM!” and then take her on a joyride with Queen blasting on the cassette deck while playing chicken with other cars throughout New York City, circa 1985?

@@phantom0456 The Caddy was long gone in 85. Mom was driving a Datsun 280ZX by then

You go dawg!!!

Electra -- the mythical Greek goddess who helped her BROTHER murder her own MOTHER. Great "vibes" for a huge wallowing tank of a (killer?) automobile. HA HA HA."

@@berkeleyfuller-lewis3442 was a good movie also!!!

My dad had a 76. Was like driving a living room sofa.

Yup