1949 Cadillac Roadster Build

[Jack 1957]

Originally Posted by 123pugsy

That's terrific.


How is the fit where the dash meets the windshield?

I had to trim the composite dash inner structure at the corners where the windshield curves around to the sides. I didn't have to cut into the upholstered top surface because the CTS A pillar trim came down and merged with the dash in the corners. I will make filler plates that will snap into these openings and upholster them to match the dash upholstery.

[123pugsy]

Originally Posted by Jack 1957

I had to trim the composite dash inner structure at the corners where the windshield curves around to the sides. I didn't have to cut into the upholstered top surface because the CTS A pillar trim came down and merged with the dash in the corners. I will make filler plates that will snap into these openings and upholster them to match the dash upholstery.

Thanks.....

[Jack 1957]

I thought at first that this V6 would look puny in this cavernous engine bay, but as I started putting in the various systems it's looking more and more like a typical swap; never enough room.
I got the master cylinder plumbed and started with the A/C lines. The lines from the evaporator and compressor are in. I can't finish the A/C till the condenser gets here. Probably early next week.



That's the lower half of the fuse box setting on the cabin air intake plenum. It will be mounted just forward of the plenum so I needed to alter the harness and extend a few wires since the box will be mounted about 8" further back than the original location on the CTS. I need to get a roll of 8 gage wire in the morning for one of the wires in this harness, then I can close it up.



Moving along, I got the trans cooler and P/S cooler mounted and plumbed. The transmission and P/S systems are finished. All the brake lines are installed and the ABS manifold is plumbed. Fuel lines are in from the engine back to the vapor recovery canister and back to the gas tank area. I still have work to do in the front. There's a lot happening in a small place. Once I have everyhing plumbed and wired I'll start tying everything down and making it look a little cleaner.The gas tank will be next. I can't use the CTS gas tank because of size and shape so I got an 18 gallon tank for a 68 Camaro. The dimensions are perfect but I need to do a lot of modifying to get the fuel pump, sending unit, and vapor recovery system to fit and work properly.

[Gojeep]

Great to see it coming along Jack.

[snedboy]

I don't post much Jack but the way you are combining old school customising with modern components is inspirational. Keep up the good work

[Jack 1957]

I've been laying out the CTS harness in the 49. Routing is pretty much the same as in the CTS but a few things needed to be changed. The service connectors for the electronic door latches and the connector for the door power harness had to be reversed because of the suicide doors on the 49.
The door latch connector originally ran to the back edge of the door where the CTS latch was mounted in the door jamb. The door latches are electronically activated, not mechanically. I needed to unlace the connector from the main harness and move it to the front of the door opening where the latch is now mounted.
The same needed to be done moving the door power harness (power windows, door latch switch, power mirror, etc.) from the front of the door opening to the rear.
There is a main harness running from front to rear on both sides of the car so the process is the same on both sides. I am not tying the harnesses down yet because there are a couple other similar modifications that will need to be done.
There is a receiver that was mounted on the CTS under the plastic rocker covers on both sides near the back edge of the doors. It receives the signal from the key fob and activates the door latch to open the door. It was mounted under the plastic because the signal would be unreliable if it had to pass through the sheet metal body. I will have to relocate that receiver. There is enough room to mount them under the speaker grills on each corner of the dash board. It will be hidden by the speaker grills and there is only the glass windshield that the signal will be passing through. Another result of switching to suicide doors.



In the picture below, the circled item is a cable operated emergency escape lever. It mounts on the floor beside the seat. If, for whatever reason, the power fails while in the car, you can pull this lever and it actuates the door latch and opens the door.



Moving back to the rear end of the harness, there are a couple wires that go from inside the car to the outside underneath. They are for the ABS sensors on the rear wheels and fuel management systems. these have large pass through insulated grommets on them where they seal to the trunk floor.
When you're doing wiring take all precautions. One screw up can cause nightmares and with as many wires as this car has, it would take forever to find a chafed wire causing phantom power drains or popping fuses with no predictable frequency.
OEM's pay crazy money to swarms of engineers to prevent that kind of crap. This simple insulated grommet is a prime example of that, so USE IT!
I'm using a 2 3/8" hole punch to open holes for the grommets. Then pull the wires through and snap the grommets into place.








Same thing on the other side. Also on the right side are the battery cables and rear fuse box

[Charlie Myres]

Your attention to detail is admirable sir!

[Larry4406]

Originally Posted by Charlie Myres

Your attention to detail is admirable sir!

I agree! This is a fantastic thread to follow!

[Jack 1957]

Wrapping up some small jobs still.I finished off the steering, I needed 2 feet of 3/4 double D steering shaft, two universal joints and one 3/4 spherical rod end with lock nuts. The rod end will support the shaft from moving around since the additional universal joint is needed.



The output shaft on the rack is an oddball size so I cut the end off the original CTS rag joint and welded it to one of the new universal joints.



From below



From above. You can see the small pillow block that I made to mount the rod end. I used some 1" round tube and some 1/8" plate then welded a nut to the end of the tube.



Next up, seats. The original mounts on the front ends of the seat tracks were just hooks that went into slots on the CTS floor. I don't like them, never did. I cut off the hooks and made some feet out of 1/8" plate and drilled some bolt holes in them.





Moving on, I needed to fit up the A/C condenser. I knew I would need to modify one of the A/C lines, but I needed the condenser installed in order to see what I needed to do. It fits up nice and snug and the outlet line fits. I need to find some fittings and make the inlet line.

[Jack 1957]

I haven't forgotten about you, I've been working hit or miss when I have a couple hours. I've been working on the 49, closing up the pool and getting ready for the inevitable.
I got the cooling fan mounted and set the radiator in place to see what I'll need for radiator hoses. The upper will work but the lower will need to be replaced..



Moving on to finish the seats. The CTS was hit hard in the rear and the driver's seat back had bent backward about 3" at the top.I removed the upholstery and found where the damage was. The upper half of the frame is 1" round tube. It is welded to a stamped steel lower frame. This area had failed on both left and right sides. It didn't break the welds but the stamped steel tore where the welds were. (circled). I ground out the welded areas, straightened the mess out, and rewelded them.
Also, at the bottom where the seat back pivots, some of the framework had bent so I also straightened those out and got it working smoothly.



Looks right and functions properly. Reassemble and install it.





Moving on. I had planned to use two linear actuators to open and close the deck lid. They are 12" stroke, reversible 12 volt DC with limit switches built in. I didn't need two to carry the weight, one is plenty strong. I wanted to use two because since this deck lid is so long and heavy, I was concerned that if I only used one actuator the deck lid might twist a little from its own weight and size.





I installed both and tested them. I couldn't get the motors to run in sync. When one reached its limit, the other was about one inch behind. Too much difference and it was doing exactly what I was trying to avoid, putting a twist in the deck lid on the way up. After wasting a couple hours trying various things I decided to try it with just one actuator. It worked fine and there isn't any noticeable twist in the sheet metal, so its only getting one actuator.



It works well. Opens and closes as it should. I still want to slot the upper bracket so that when closing, the ram is not trying to pull the deck lid down and possibly bending the deck lid frame. If I slot the upper bracket rather than having a drilled hole and pin, when the deck lid closes, there is no pulling if the actuator needs to be 1/4" lower to hit the limit switch.