Before you say it–yes, I know, we’ve done the classic early ’90s Cadillac Brougham. But it is one of my favorite Caddys, and when I saw this lovely example posted to the Cohort by Actually Mike, I had to share it. Why you ask? Simply because it is my favorite color on these: Maple Red. I know, because I have the 1990 Cadillac deluxe brochure, which prominently shows one in this shade. So for you Brougham fanciers recovering from Easter brunch, feast your eyes on this!
I won’t go over the whole Brougham history here–for some of you CC newcomers, the full writeup can be found here. But in a nutshell, the 1990 Brougham was a mild restyling of the 1987-89 Brougham, which was the Fleetwood Brougham (and flossier Brougham d’Elegance) from 1980-86.
Even better, this one has the 5.7L Chevrolet V8 instead of the more common (and slower) 5.0L Oldsmobile engine used from 1986-90, or the 5.0L Chevy mill that was standard in 1991-92–after the Olds Rocket was retired. To get the 5.7 you had to pay a hefty luxury tax, and as a result they are not especially common, though it seems a higher percentage of 5.7 Broughams have survived. This one is certainly well-kept–I love it!
These were one of the last GM cars to feature ample chrome and stainless “jewelry.” Look at all that brightwork! And these cars always look best in dark colors. I wouldn’t turn away a similar Brougham in black or midnight blue, but for me, the best color is this one–with matching Maple Red leather, please!
At some point, maybe with the 1990 restyle, the Brougham’s stance was changed as well. The back of the car rode at a higher level.
I think I prefer the prior stance a little more. Kind of like a vintage Chris-Craft with a slight “bow high, transom low” attitude.
That’s the HD suspension package you’re referring to, which was standard with the 350.
Whatever the color, this is my favorite Caddy of all time. Give it the real wires and the 5.7 I’d take it. Black with red leather would probably be my dream set up.
A Shark surrounded by its attendent remoras….
Too many of these old Caddies are either black or white. It was great to find a red one in such good original condition, and with the 5.7 engine. It’s obvious that the owner takes a lot of pride in this car; these pictures show it about as dirty as it ever gets, and this is in the Seattle area, where keeping your car clean isn’t exactly an obsession for most people.
What a beautiful car! I like how this particular maroon matches the wire wheelcover medallions. I also love the silver taillights: reminiscent of the mid 60’s units. If they made a Coupe DeVille with this setup there’d be one in my driveway already.
I wanted to put these taillights on the silver ’80 CDV I used to have because I thought the “silver” taillights would look classy against a silver car but I never found any until years after I sold my car. I also like these taillights because they had an extra bulb at the bottom which made the whole unit glow, not just the upper 2/3.
I see a ’67 Mustang hiding amongst the blobs in the background. Are there any shots of that? I very much like the ’67-’68 Mustangs.
Good catch; I didn’t even see the Mustang until you mentioned it.
My mom had a Diamond Blue ’68 hardtop; here is a shot of it with my dad’s ’74 Capri. When Dad got a ’77 Volvo 245DL, Mom sold the Mustang (it was getting holes in the floor) and started driving the Capri.
You can read more about our Capri here: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-european/curbside-classic-1973-mercury-capri-get-yours-today-at-the-sign-of-the-cat/
You have a very good eye! That’s a ’68 notchback Mustang in the background. There are some pictures of it on the cohort, but they didn’t turn out as well as the shots of the Caddy. I hope to get some better ones soon. That Mustang is another daily driver, and from the way it sounds when it drives by, it still has a six under the hood.
I think my favorite thing about the 1991/92 Brougham was they incorporated the former “Premiere Roof” option into the design. This vinyl roof option was $895 on the previous version.
The Premiere roof is one of the things I don’t like about the 90s. I also don’t care for the wrap around front bumper, digital dash and door mounted seat belts. Even though they built far fewer 90-92s they seem more plentiful in the used car market than the 86-89s.
A friend’s stepfather had one of these, I believe it was the late 80’s vintage, midnight blue with matching leather interior, immaculately kept. It looked like a presidential limo. They were very wealthy, lived on the waterfront in Newport Beach bay, could afford any vehicle they wanted (and did, a yacht, a Mercedes, a big black Suburban SUV), but the stepfather totally loved his Brougham, would never part with it and kept it until he passed away in the early 90’s. I once had the privilege of driving it for them to their Scottsdale, AZ second home. I drove it from Newport Beach to San Diego (where I lived at the time), to Phoenix. I felt a bit foolish, but it was like driving a cloud. Set the cruise, it practically got there by itself. It was, indeed, a feast for the eyes and the senses.
These were loved by the die-hards, like you said, people who could afford more expensive cars, still bought a good number of these.
Love these cars too. I like them in any color tho.
Much prefer the mid-80s models than these. Why?
Ugly “Euro” headlights. Gaudy cheap grille someone would pick up from Walmart for their Honda. Ugly gray trim surrounding the entire car. Ugly semi-clear tail-lights. Jacked up like it’s got AWD.
All in all, a less sophisticated-looking Cadillac.
For what it’s worth, this one has the 5.7, which included HD suspension. The 5.0-equipped 1990-92s sat a bit lower.
I like both body styles, but you basically listed all the things I like better about this one than the older body. To each his own
If I were to own one of these, I’d either get the ’77-80 model and swap in a Cadillac 500 over the 425 or 368, or the last of this style with the ‘aero’ styling, the taillights, and the trim. These look great to me. The 81-89 cars just look dated in my eyes or have mechanical issues that were baked in ( I don’t want anything with an E4ME Q-jet, or an underpowered 4100) a Fuelie 368 wouldn’t be bad.
Who slips a car like this into CC on Easter morning…When I have to chase a couple of grandbabies around looking for Easter eggs…Well as the President of the Red Cadillac Society I feel I must chime in here…
One of the first things I did when I moved over to Cadillac from Oldsmobile in 1993 was to buy a Brougham. By then I was old enough to drive one and still be taken seriously (as opposed to “driving dad’s/granddad’s car or are you trouble…” It was 1994 and I was able to obtain one of the last 1992s that was driven by an exec so technically I was the first civilian owner even though it had only 15,xxx miles on it. Back then the deal was you got the car for 1/2 price after 2 years regardless of mileage. I ended up paying about $18,000 for the car. It was a regular Brougham not a d’Elegance in white paint red vinyl top and white and red interior. Most 90-92 Broughams had silver lower accent body cladding but white, black, and gold were available for those colors. Mine was white.
It had the 5.7 V8. Part of the reason for the relatively rarity of the 5.7 was that for the first two years it was only available with the Coachbuilder Package while in 1992 it was available stand alone. My car had the package so it helped significantly on handling.
I absolutely loved the car and wholeheartedly agree that that is the last “classic” Cadillac. Yes the 93-96 Broughams were basically of the same ilk with a refreshed body but they were bubbly like the contemporary Caprice and did not evoke the same lines as the old style – but were very very nice cars to drive especially with the LT1.
An interesting fact that is not particularly known but the Broughams were built in Arlington Texas but at the time all the RWD full size cars were built between Arlington, TX and Willow Run, MI. GM decided to close one of the plants and held a ‘contest’ to see which one would close. Many felt that Arlington would close because of the fact that Willow Run was located in Michigan and close to most suppliers and could be easily transferred to other production. Turns out they chose Arlington because, in an interesting way, the UAW stepped up to the plate put some skin in the game and offered a package to GM management that sealed the deal. It was an unprecedented turn of events in management-labor relations. Suffice to say, for about 18 months, the build quality of the cars out of both plants was impressive. I mean everyone was on their game. Willow Run eventually sued GM over the matter but that is another story.
The 1990 Broughams refreshed a few things including the aero front and revised taillights, roof treatment (which was actually available as an option in 1988 but made standard in 1990), the interior was revised slightly the fake wood was revised from an American Walnut look to a Butterfly Walnut. Digital instrumentation was made standard as well as revised HVAC and radio controls. One of the neatest features of the new dash was the translucent upper indicator bar that looked just like wood but when a light lit up it shown through.
Cadillac did not limit production of the Broughams because of CAFE, some of them were subject to the gas-guzzler tax but it had little impact on actual sales. Broughams only represented about 5-8% of Cadillac production so it was only a minor factor. They were huge old fashioned cars and full size RWD cars of any kind were beginning to dwindle in the marketplace. Given the trend to FWD by then a lot of people just simply did not want to drive such a big car, even old timers. Part of the reason that the car lingered was its popularity with the funeral and professional car business which was good for about 40% of the sales by the end of the line.
The true wire wheels garner a lot of attention and are popular and make the car look good but were notorious for giving trouble balancing. There was a return rate of about 20% for a while from owners who complained of vibrations and such after driving for a while. During the late 1990s there was a bit of a glut of these wheels around used so much you could have got a set for $500 but now they are $1800.
As far as the sagging in the rear, GM did not alter the ride height in the rear on purpose, some of it had to do with the fact that often times people would replace the rear air lift shock absorbers with aftermarket ones (like Monroe Max-Air) who natural equilibrium was slightly higher than Delco units. Also, some people complained that even at factory specs the rear looked low so mechanics would shift the height sensor and the car would raise slightly. Also, the springs were slightly softer on air lift equipped cars (for some years on the C/D cars air lift was optional) they would be replaced with standard duty coils which would naturally ride higher. I am not certain, but the Trailer Package may have specified stiffer springs as well. So there is some confusion as to that but I do not believe Cadillac altered the height per se.
When I sold my Brougham in 2005, it really did feel like the passing of an era. I sold mine for $7500 (it only had 34K on the clock) but choice examples are getting mad money especially the 90-92. One of these days I would love to have one again as it really was the best of both worlds an efficient reliable drivetrain with classic appointments, like having your cake and eating it too. I love my 2008 CTS, but that car was like Hollywood back when legends like Greer Garson, Bette Davis, and Marlene Dietrich rode around in such cars.
Before 9/11 cut in, partly as favors for people and partly for the h*ll of it I would do unofficial livery service pick people up at the airport even did two weddings in the car. Sure, Lexus, Mercedes, BMW 7 series might have been more competent cars but nothing I mean nothing available new at the time could make a statement like the Brougham.
You had a white Brougham with white leather and you sold it? If I had such a car, I would never have sold it, unless I found myself without a garage for it.
1990-92 Broughams almost always had a color-keyed roof in my experience; yours must have looked good with the red top. I’d love to see a picture of your car; it must have been a real looker.
Yes, it was different we called it the “Valentine’s Car.” I sold it in 2005 before I got a digital camera so all the pics I have of the car are paper versions. I will have to find some and scan. It is not like I wouldn’t keep it, but having other cars and other needs it was a matter of priority. White is my 2nd favorite color of Cadillac behind dark red.
The car in the article has been repainted minus the pinstripes which I believe were standard (or always on the car from factory).
http://gtcarlot.com/interiors/Cadillac/Brougham/1990/53279301/
Good website to see the red/white contrasts.
I can relate. To this day I wish I’d kept my first car, a black ’91 Volvo 940SE. But I couldn’t afford to insure two cars at the time and it was just sitting in my parking space at the condo, under a car cover, with my daily driver in the one-car garage. So off it went…
Whenever you get around to scanning those photos, Craig, it’ll be an interesting read. As has been said already, these ’90-’92 Cadillacs were the end of an era.
Tom, although it wasn’t my first car, I also had a black ’91 Volvo brick, a 740 turbo wagon–and also wish I still had it (its turbo whistle and railroad-trestle structure left an impression).
I have so may pictures mcc from back in the day I do not know how to scan them. Most of them are on slide projector film so converted them online is a technological feat I am not aware of. We did not get digital cameras until 2005. We have 1,700 slides of ever facet of the Northstar engine you can imagine.
Nice writeup about these cars. Your brougham sounded like a real looker!
Interesting note about the ‘contest’ between willow run/arlington, I didn’t know about that. Also interesting about the wire wheels/ride height issues. I remember reading somewhere that the real wires weren’t available w/ the 5.7 becuase they couldn’t handle the torque of the bigger motor. I wonder if that’s true…
Anyway, if you want another, I’d say get one sooner than later. I browse craigslist for these cars sometimes, and the 90-92s with the 5.7 and/or D’elegance seem to go for some big dollars if they’re in good shape. It seems collectors are realizing that these cars represent an end of an era of big, opulent, classic Cadillacs.
http://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/25/business/the-gm-cutbacks-michigan-workers-see-politics-in-closing.html
An old article that touched on the subject.
I also had a 1988 Brougham for a while. It was triple grey, standard interior and only a modest amount of options. It was a nice car the 307 was adequate. The car was an ex-funeral home car so it did not have a lot of miles on it but IMO triple grey looks a bit drab to me. I replaced the vinyl roof once because it was Florida car and dried out. Other than that it was pretty reliable. It struggled up the couple of big hills in the WV mountains but not too bad.
There was a downgrade of the interior quality and sheer amount of trim on the 1993-1996 cars, the older cars had all the nicer trim, the panels on the borders of the seats with the wreath and crest were always one of my favorite touches, I rememer ooohing and ahhhing over a trip-grey 91 Brougham at an Eastern Airlines Exec car sell off towards the end of the days for the airline, it was a company car with 5000 on the clock.
I am surprised that by 1991 Eastern had an exec car program, I figured Lorenzo would have killed that off a long time ago. My old next door neighbor worked for Eastern from 1964-1991 and things were pretty bad from about 1988-end.
The Bubble Broughams were nice cars, quality was high and they performed well considering. The main difference is that the newer generation was updated with the soft look like the 94-on deVilles and did not have all the ‘jewelry’ like the box ones. By 1992 the Broughams were like the proverbial old lady that wears everything she has in her closet.
Altezza clear lens taillights!
This is a great platform for an LS7 engine swap.
Why?
This car needs proper Caddy power, a 368/425/472/500 would fit nicely, though I’d keep the 350 in it just as easily and not change a thing.
I’ve always loved these cars. With the 5.7, these cars finally had a good reliable motor for the 1st time since 1981 (the 368). While some don’t like the body cladding and the ‘euro’ lamps, I love the look they give, and I think the body cladding works on these cars with the right body color.
I few months ago, I gave in and bought one these classics, a 1990 w/ the 5.7. It’s a beautiful dark gray with the silver body cladding, and I love the diplomatic look it has. Even though its a regular brougham, the interior is still very comfortable, and the door panels of these cars are pure art. With the 5.7. it definitely is not lacking power, and feels similar to a modern car in terms of acceleration and hill performance.
When these cars disappeared, it truly was the end of an era. While the build quality and materials weren’t like the 1960s caddys, they were still very elegant, classy, and opulent cars. The 1993 FWB simply pales in comparison to the brougham, with its odder proportions and the much more basic interior. The 1990 Town Car was also not as nice as these, with a modern look inside and out. The ’90-92 was the last uncompromised, classic Cadillac, and when it went away, took with it what remained of classic American luxury.
Attached is a picture of my brougham, just washed this morning:
Very nice looking car!
Thanks!
What size are those tires? They look like they might be a size too big, the original size was 225-75-15. That car screams wide white walls!
Actually, those are 225-75-15s. I wanted a wider whitewall, but it was a chore even finding 3/4″ whitewalls. None of the brand names seem to make whitewalls anymore, and this size made the search even more of a hassle as 225-75-15s aren’t that common of a size.
In the end, I was stuck with either buying a basic entry level tire with a 3/4″ whitewall, or jumping to the other extreme and buying a coker or similar brand and paying $300 a tire to get the wider whitewall. Since I wasn’t going to be paying those ridiculous prices, and since this car is a daily driver, I settled with 3/4th” WW tires (Aurora Radial H715s). They do give a nice smooth, quiet ride, though.
Yea maybe it is just the visuals, sometimes the whitewall placement changes with each tire manufacturer. The wide whites are hard but you can find an installer that will install a customer supplied tire and order them online. There are a couple of outfits online selling them and they run about $85-100 or so per tire per size. The original size in the early 1980s was 215-75-15 but it was bumped up mid the 80s.
Very glad CC kept the photo enlarge feature. Beautiful car and definitely my favorite color on the 90s. In fact it makes it as nice looking overall as the 80s version.
Where does this car live? The metal over-window shades look Aussie, but that’s almost definitely a US plate…
Those are Washington state plates–the photographer mentioned it was in Seattle.
These were the last “real” Cadillacs in my books.
I liked this color (Autumn Maple Firemist) so much that I’m having one of my Chryslers repainted in it.
Actually there were two reds the Autumn Maple Firemist that you are talking about (also known as Flame Red Metallic) was used by Pontiac Trans Am GTA, Camaro, Corvette I had my Cavalier Z24 repainted in that color from its flat dark red color. It is my favorite color of all time. AMF/FM is #74 on the color chart.
The paint on the car in article appears to be #78 Dark Maple Metallic which is a darker hue. The subject car appears to have been repainted (minus the pinstripes) but likely the factory color.
Pictured is a Brougham with the Flame Red Metallic paint you can see it is of a lighter hue.
You sure know your Cadillac reds, Craig. 🙂 I like the darker metallic maroon of the featured car too. I have found it agonizing picking a color because 1:there are so many nice ones to choose from, and 2:the shop I am using messed-up the first three colors that I asked them to get sample tins of. They even messed-up the AMF (realizing now that maybe the supplier mixed-up Dark Maple instead) so I forced them to use a different paint supplier. I’m committed to AMF now, as I have the engine compartment sprayed-out in it already.
What are you painting? I almost never see complete mistakes on paint mixing since the harmonized paint codes are pretty straightforward (WA8748 for AMF/FM). Most of the complaints revolve around hue changes due to deviations in formula, the evolution of the raw materials causing natural changes, and the comparison between freshly applied paint and old paint that has been affected by the degradation of the environment.
My 81 Imperial is painted in a rare color Morocco Red (456 made), it seems as if Chrysler before say 2000 never really got into reds like others.
It’s a 1966 Chrysler, originally in Saddle Bronze (my avatar picture car). I have never been that fond of the original colour, and especially how other people refer to it as my “brown car” (It’s gold, dammit!). Since I’m doing a complete repaint on it, I decided to change it to a maroon.
The paint shop could not do a good job on the correct 1966 Chrysler metallic maroon, nor a 1967 Cadillac color I asked for. Then I said to try AMF and even gave the bodyshop the paint code and they still came back with drastically the wrong shade.
According to paintref.com AMF is note the same as Flame Red. AMF (WA8237) was code 74 from 1983-85, then it was code 89 from 1986-91. Flame Red (WA8748) was code 74 from 1986-91.
That was one of those cars I always wanted and never had. I did have an ’84 Olds 98 with the 307, and it was indeed weak for that large a car. A nice engine for cruising, but no power at interstate speeds. Another favorite of mine was the ’84 Buick Park Avenue in dark blue. Fantastic lines on those.
I had an ’84 Park Ave in dark blue. I loved the ‘lines’… but the seats were poor.. compared to my ’89 Caprice.. or my many 80s RWD FoMoCos.
I’ve been away for the weekend, so I am a bit late to the party…
This is a beautiful find Tom!!!
You need to hurry up and join TBS and post some of these there!!!
These were the last truly great Cadillac ever built in my opinion. Nothing made since the 90-92 with the 5.7 garners even the most remote interest in me. With the HD suspension, they made a fine road car. I will never for the life of me understand why GM would do what they did to Cadillac. These cars sold well and there was obscene profits in them. I mean if Cadillac still made a huge, cool, big RWD sled, they’s still be playing with the big boys, which they are not at the moment.
Of of the customers at our shop had one of these. He was in his late 60’s at this point but in the summer, he and his wife (and little dog) drove all over North America in it. He’d return in October with like 30,000 km added to it. These were good cars, the last good cars GM ever made. Everything (well most of the time) worked on these cars. Stuff was big, like window motors. Wiring was simple and rugged. The 5.7 engine is the best V-8 ever built in my opinion. The one we serviced had well over 200,000 km on it then and keeping it in top shape was easy. Most was parts bin GM so you could sub Cadillac parts and put exactly the same GM part in at a third the price. The great thing about these cars is it is not impossibly difficult to keep them running and lots of guys know how to do it.
GM was a company I grew up loving and watching it destroy itself from like 1985 on was a real heartbreak,
Damn it, Canucknucklehead, you and I certainly don’t always see eye to eye but that dang near made me cry with the truth and beauty that was in it. That’s why I’m not really interested in any Cadillac that doesn’t fit your description of what the brand should be.
Tom there can never be too many Cadillac Brougham posts. Totally agree on the Maple Red but what I really like is the burgundy interior color. I prefer the 80-89 styling and think the 307 Olds is the perfect engine for the car — effortless, smooth/quiet, good MPG — just don’t try to accelerate up a hill with a full load.
The 350 isn’t that much faster in real world unless you are standing on it all the time, which is not the right way to drive a Brougham. Hard on the brakes and just not fun. Also the 350s have the jacked up ride height which looks kinda bad and I heard really hurts the cloud-like ride.
The perfect hobby car. Old enough to have that classic car look, new enough to drive across country in total comfort and reliability.
the 305/350 have the benefit of TBI fuel injection and not the fussy electronic Quadrajet that the 307 was saddled with. And frankly even in the lighter ’84 Delta 88 my parents had, it didn’t have the zip the 305 had in my ’76 Chevelle, and the E-Qjet didn’t feel as smooth as the old Rochester 2-jet did.
The 307 is more powerful than the 4100 for sure, but I’ll pass on that E4ME 4 barrel carburetor
ditto on the carb issue…I like the styling of the 1986-1989….but the carb makes me want to run away
does the 305 affect the ‘cloud-like ride’ ?
That 80s electronic carb should make you want to run away (unless you are an expert with them…mine had issues so often I ended up having to go far and wide to find mechanics of a certain age who once worked at a Cadillac dealership in the 80s in order to really get it adjusted and fixed right). It was an endless pain. It is too bad because when it was working it made the car shockingly efficient.
If I was in the same position again, I would have paid more $$ to swap in a 305 to avoid dealing with it. I once drove a 305 and I don’t think the engine affected the ride although I have heard that the Brougham’s ride became gradually more controlled/less soft from ’77-’92. Some say the 307 drove better around town but the 305 was more responsive on hills/highway. That makes sense to me; but I don’t have enough 305 experience to make an informed comment.
funny you should mention that..I see many pre 1991 broughams out on the road (I assume theyt are powered by the 307)- I can’t tell the difference between a 1980 caddy and 1989 but I would assume they are sporting the 307.
a couple of them look to be on their last legs but are still going strong- just surprising to hear that their is such an issue with the ‘electronic card’.
couldn’t you simply switch the carb on the 307 to a 4 barrel carb of more simple design?
The 305/350/307 or any Brougham for that matter on this body style should ride roughly the same. The suspension design was the same and except for thicker anti roll bar, heavier duty shocks, and some additional equipment up in the engine compartment, not a lot was altered. My 83 Eldorado Biarritz has the touring suspension option but I have driven enough Eldos of that vintage that the ride is the same with or without the option. IMO they should have just put the touring/HD on all Cadillacs as a matter of purpose because it makes the cars more controlled in driving without sacrificing the ride.
The 307 was slightly more torquey and at a slightly lower band so the 86-90 Broughams were not bad in non-full throttle applications. The 307 was remarkably efficient both in fuel economy and in emissions that is why it was able to be the last GM built engine certified with a carburetor.
Since the engine block and intake is basic Oldsmobile, you could remove the E4ME carburetor and simply bolt on a 4bbl from a 350 pre 1981 with little physical trouble. With that said, of course, you would lose your ECM functionality and thus would have to alter the EGR and related functions to run through a ported vacuum switch. Not terribly hard to do but its a bit time consuming. I used to know fella years ago that lived in the Toronto Canada area that had an 87 Brougham I believe that swapped in a 455 with a THM400 and it drove like a Northstar equipped car. Of course the MPG dropped like a rock. The 200R4 was the only OD trans that fit the BOP bell housing of those years so you could possibly drop a 350 in it but you would have to keep it mild. The 307 being of the Olds family, take all the tricks so you could pump it up a bit without too much trouble. If you had an other wise cherry body/interior 82-90 Brougham and pulled the 307 the easiest and most economics swap would be a 3504bbl/700R4 combination which could be had for less than $2500 and minimal amount of fab.
After driving a few 307s I found performance varies greatly depending on condition. Poor running 307s are terrible but great running 307s are completely fine.
Most of us grew up on FI and did not own a carbed car until now. I’ve learned carbs sometime need to be dialed in (or rebuilt) after high miles or sitting. That’s not unique to the electronic Quadrajet, that’s all carbs. If rebuilt by someone knowledgeable the e-Qjet will stay in tune, you don’t have to constantly fuss with it.
Sometimes the lack of power is simply a clogged catalytic converter.
I bought a low mile 86 FWB that did not need carb work. It’s an Arizona car and passed California smog on its first try. Took it on a trip this weekend and got 20MPG where 25% of that was city.
The 307 in the Brougham has high swirl heads and intake. The idea was to make big torque just off idle so that maneuvering around town is a breeze. You don’t press that huge, floor hinged accelerator (how unrefined!) you merely give it nudge. The engine doesn’t roar like on a car with heavy tip in throttle linkage, it silently moves off the line.
Now there’s a trade off for that. At higher engine speeds, like after kickdown when trying to pass, the engine doesn’t breath so well. In my opinion Cadillac made the right decision prioritizing low end torque, freeway refinement and fuel economy. I doubt the car is turning 1700 RPM at 65mph and you can’t hear the engine.
The 307 is cast iron and sits far away from the radiator. It always runs cool and that no doubt contributes to its legendary reliability. It has the same “hushed chug” as an old Caddy big block. The 305 and 350 are not as refined.
“If rebuilt by someone knowledgeable the e-Qjet will stay in tune”.
But that’s the point. You have to find someone knowledgeable. I tried to look at it, with the help of my dad who had grown up with carbs you could adjust yourself, and we found it too complex for a layman. Okay, bring it to a shop, no big deal, right? However, few mechanics under 50 had much experience with it either. Eventually I found a shop at which one of the guys had been at the Cadillac dealership in the 70s and 80s. Of course he rebuilt it right and it ran well thereafter (except for the vaccuum lines issue) but still that rebuild was more expensive because there were all the computer-related parts, too. And what do you do when that guy retires…like right around now.
I don’t think the 307 itself is a bad engine. Even though it was a dog climbing hills I wasn’t trying to climb hills at 90 mph anyway. And I understand why GM kept the eCarb in there even when every other car except the B-wagons had switched to FI…they kept thinking the car would be discontinued each year, why invest further?
Absolutely agree that when in proper tune, it ran great; I have no real experience with the Chevy 305 or 350 of that time. I will say that my Buick 350 on the Electra feels just as smooth around town but can get up a hill without losing 20 mph. Of course it doesn’t get the amazing mileage.
There should be at least one of these posted per year. I had an ’87, Cotillion White, white leather, red accents. Not d’elegance but close enough. Mechanically A+, except that computer-controlled carburetor and attendant 20 miles of vaccuum lines which seemed to disconnect somewhere every single week. Had it not needed so much work on those, I’d still have it today. The 307 could make going up hills or merging into highway traffic a bit iffy but overall was smooth and quiet. Transmission never crapped out, still shifted great closing on 200K (and it was a 200R4, who’d’ve thunk?) It could return mid 20s mpg if driven between 55-65 mph and properly tuned. Sold it with 175K to someone who dropped in a new engine, don’t know what happened to it. Truly the last real Cadillac.
Now have a ’77 Electra 225. I am lucky enough to live in Manhattan, so I don’t need to use the car as a daily driver…thus I can afford to keep it as my only car. Mostly the same car as the Brougham and blessed with the Buick 350 and it doesn’t have that damn electro-carb. Plenty of torque, keeps up with traffic, and doesn’t crawl up hills. Yet, although it has its own cool features, it will never have that formal elegance of the Cadillac Brougham.
It is too bad that in the 90s Cadillac did not keep the Brougham around (with a few necessary updates in interior safety, etc) while modernizing the FWD drive models to a greater extent to try to make them more competitive…Arts & Science a decade earlier in other words. I believe that could have satisfied the “traditional buyer” while also changing Cadillac’s image with Baby Boomers in time to keep them popular with the rising generation of that time. If it were made today, liveries would still buy the car, I think it would draw some nostalgic interest, too like the Chrysler 300. The key/difficulty would be to never allow it to become bland and totally dechromed and generic inside as happened to the ’93-’96 and the Town Car, and to continue to update the braking, transmission (5 speed?) etc. to keep it somewhat in synch with modern standards without killing the traditional Cadillac road feel (or lack thereof) and handling.
just wanted to mention that i got a car just like this one, almost exactly, exept i got the factory wire wheels.
my first car also since i got my driving license this summer 😉
I do love these cars…I prefer a black one..but I hate the black lower rocker covers..looks much nicer in silver…I might have landed a 91 /one owner/no winters..$4 grand certified…Im going crazy waiting to put it in my driveway!!!
Interior shot…looks like new
First thing Im doing is changing out those wire caps…they are a pain in the ass and look all hell cheap to me..prefer a older cap..
About the only thing else I want to do is lightly tint all the windows…nooo not limo tint..just a bit darker..
I know that the same Olds V-8 block came in a 350 CID… but it also came in a 403 CID. The latter is rarer.. and the bores are siamesed….. but 96 more cubic inches over a 307 ought to help!