1989 Cadillac Brougham

[Night Wolf]

This is my mothers '89 Brougham, has the Olds 307

I know the pictures arn't the best I just took them now and it was getting dark, this car is the custom gold edition (all gold emblems and markings on the outside and the real rare, speical grille) and also came with every extra option that was avalible. this car has about 135k miles on it, and was a Florida car before we got it about 5 years ago. the car is not without it's faults, and some parts of it show it's age. the paint is now getting somewhat bad (it is cracking in a few spots, although you gotta go right up to it to see it) and some light rust is starting in those cracks. there are some very light rust on the bottom of the trunk lid (ver very small area, again you gotta go up to it) and on the rear doors, like the top where the weather stripping is. we will probally fix that this summer, but it's been too cold/crappy out to do anything. also the paint (especally on the hood) has various white spots, we think it's becuase 2 years ago, durrning the winter the car was parked on our lawn (near the road) and with the snow plows coming by it just sprayed the road salt all over the car. it runs pretty good (well, minus the overheating problem I described in the problems room) and does everything it should, it needs some TLC to be real mint, but my mother really dosn't have the money to do extra things to the car other then keeping it running well and normal maintance. some minor things are showing age (front driver seat is ripped, needs seat covers and the armrests are also ripping alittle)

ok, enough of the bad, I really like this car, sure you wont win any races in it (the Olds 307 has like no hp but alot of tourqe) gets decent millage when everything is running good (around 18mpg city, we got like 22 on the highway) but I love it becuase it's a Cadillac, it's big, long and heavy, and has a good ol' V8 (RWD too) if you were ever stuck somewhere, you could camp out in the trunk with 2 of your buddys and have room to move around :D but it's really a nice car, I wanted a '88-'89 Brougham as my first car (and was going to get one, they are pretty cheap you can get a mint one with under 100k miles for like $3,500 or so, it seems like not many people want them, but I really like everything about it) then my Grand Am poped up, and I like it, so I got it. although I already told my mother, if she was ever going to sell the Caddy, that I would buy it from her, and store it somewhere until I had the money to restore it to it's origanal condition (or drop a Chevy 350 in it and hot rod it out :D )

ok, here are some pictures (maybe I'll take more tomorrow in the day)

[Night Wolf]

the back. car is 18 feet long and weighs 4300lbs. :D

[TA^Guy]

A nice paint job and some classic styled 18" wheels would look great on it. Mom would have a pimp ride. :)
Too bad it doesn't have a 500 under the hood. I had a Olds 403 in my old '79 TA although it had alot of torque it wasn't nearly as strong as other GM 400's.

[92CamaroRS]

cool my friend just bought a 1989 Cadilac Fleetwood and that thing is awsome! anyone with info on it let me know!

[Night Wolf]

TA guy, yeah a 500 would be real sweet, but we are stuck with the slow, but reliable 307


Originally posted by GAguy
cool my friend just bought a 1989 Cadilac Fleetwood and that thing is awsome! anyone with info on it let me know!

the Fleetwood was the same thing as the Brougham, well, what do you want to know about it?

it has the 5.0 Olds 307, pushing a earth shaking 140hp @ 3200rpm and 255ft. lbs. tourqe at 2800rpm, has a 3speed+overdrive trayy (forgot which model, Turbo350?) new, it did the 1/4 in something like 17-18 seconds

fast? no. win a race? yeah maybve against a Chevette but the ride is ultra smooth and the car is real comfortable, you can sit 6 people real good (8 if you count the trunk)

I would defintly put a tranny cooler on it though, and sometimes the tranny is "stupid" and will stay in like 2nd or even 3rd when it should be in 1st up a hill, or if you passing some one and gun it, it will stay in overdrive (ours is really bad that way since the rebuild)

but it is a great car, the 307 is not a performance engine nor is it a engine to hot rod out, but it is a very, very reliable engine, and get's the caddy moving around pretty good. I think my mom's 307 lost alot of power, because my mom's boyfriend '88 Fleetwood which has 160k miles has considerably more power while more miles.

I dunno what else to say, if you want to know anything about it, let me know and I will do my best to answer your question.

[92CamaroRS]

that car dont look anything like his tho maybe hes got the years mixed up to me it looked newer than an 89 but i dunno

[Night Wolf]

well, the '90-'93 Fleetwood was pretty much the same as this one you see (minor changes to the nose, headlights and no side molding)

I dunno then. does it look like the DeVilles of the same year? (total junk though)

[92CamaroRS]

well the front looks totally different

[Night Wolf]

does it look like this?

http://www.funeralcars.net/91CADILLAC/1.jpg

that is the '90-'93 style (I think it's ugly with the 2 headlights, 4 single ones look alot better/classy)

here is a link to that car and more pictures:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2407019802&category=6149

[Night Wolf]

oh, BTW the front probally *will* look differnt becuase the whole grille on my mothers car is the real rare one, for custom gold edition Caddys only (the silver gill with brass bars)

this is what the normal front looks like



http://ebay3.ipixmedia.com/abc/M28/_EBAY_5a2186e12f513cb651642758930c397e/i-1.JPG

[mom2mac]

nice caddy :)

[Night Wolf]

here are a couple of more pictures, these were taken in the day

[Night Wolf]

we have new filler pieces for the front and rear (it's rubber and the dry out and get britial then brake and fall out over time) but we are just waiting for it to get warmer, then we will paint them and put them in (car looks bad with the spaces there)

BTW the pin-strips on the side were hand painted by the previous owner, he did a real good job too, (signed his name in the middle of the 2 strips near the back)

[DIO]

That's one big Caddy:agree: You could have alot of fun with the ladies in that thing:D

[dearim]

Originally posted by Night Wolf
[B]well, the '90-'93 Fleetwood was pretty much the same as this one you see (minor changes to the nose, headlights and no side molding)[B]

Actually, no, they weren't the same. My dad was really into Cadillacs, and we test-drove more than a few. The Fleetwood was basically a gussied-up DeVille back in '89-93.

Also, they weren't junk. I know several people who've owned them, and they've been pretty reliable.

The DeVille from '92:
http://images.autotrader.com/images/2002/12/17/117/624/237864698.117624213.IM1.MAIN.565x421_A.562x421.jpg

http://images.autotrader.com/images/2003/3/26/126/529/319269830.126529841.IM1.MAIN.565x421_A.565x377.jpg

The Fleetwood from '91 (sorry for the lousy picture):

http://images.autotrader.com/images/2003/4/5/127/521/328218182.127521747.IM1.MAIN.565x421_A.562x421.jpg

[Night Wolf]

no, the '90'93 Fleetwood Brougham were the same.... '94 they got the new style with the LT1 (Impala SS platform)

in '89 the Fleetwood Brougham and DeVille are NOT the same..... the Brougham is a much bigger car.... from the early 80's until '94 (with the whole new car and North Star) the DeVille was pretty crappy.... '90 and '91 were pretty bad, '92 and they got alittle bigger and had more to them.... in fact I think the '89-'91 DeVille was on the same platform as my Grand Am and the Cutless......although maybe it was alittle longer

I mean, even in your pictures, it is obvious the Fleetwood is a bigger/ higher level car then the DeVille (and it is a year older.... when alot of changes were going on)

the Fleetwood was also the last RWD Caddy, last year was '96 (like the Impala SS- my uncle has one) and they offerd a Fleetwood SS (FTS- Fleetwood touring sedan, it was a real nice car)

Atleast Caddy is getting the sense knocked back in them and realized that people paying $60k for a luxury car want big V8 power (which they now have..... gotta love the North*) and RWD.... '05 all the DeVilles and SeVilles are going back to RWD and hopefully they'll bring back the Eldo sometime soon. Hell they need to bring the Fleetwood/Brougham back.....with the LS6 :D :D :D

[dearim]

Originally posted by Night Wolf
no, the '90'93 Fleetwood Brougham were the same.... '94 they got the new style with the LT1 (Impala SS platform)

in '89 the Fleetwood Brougham and DeVille are NOT the same..... the Brougham is a much bigger car.... from the early 80's until '94 (with the whole new car and North Star) the DeVille was pretty crappy.... '90 and '91 were pretty bad, '92 and they got alittle bigger and had more to them.... in fact I think the '89-'91 DeVille was on the same platform as my Grand Am and the Cutless......although maybe it was alittle longer

I mean, even in your pictures, it is obvious the Fleetwood is a bigger/ higher level car then the DeVille (and it is a year older.... when alot of changes were going on)

the Fleetwood was also the last RWD Caddy, last year was '96 (like the Impala SS- my uncle has one) and they offerd a Fleetwood SS (FTS- Fleetwood touring sedan, it was a real nice car)

Atleast Caddy is getting the sense knocked back in them and realized that people paying $60k for a luxury car want big V8 power (which they now have..... gotta love the North*) and RWD.... '05 all the DeVilles and SeVilles are going back to RWD and hopefully they'll bring back the Eldo sometime soon. Hell they need to bring the Fleetwood/Brougham back.....with the LS6 :D :D :D

Hmmm...

Well, you're right that the Brougham and DeVille are different bodystyles, however there was a nice little front-driver known as the Fleetwood which was a separate model from the Brougham at least from 1989 through 1992, although I'll admit the '93s were not. The DeVille and Fleetwood shared their bodystyles up until 1992, and in 1993 the Fleetwood name was reassigned to the big rear-driver you know and apparently love. Also, at least from 1989 through 1992, the rear-driver was known simply as the Cadillac Brougham. Here's some specs from Car and Driver's '89 buyers guide: the '89 DeVille/Fleetwood (it was just a higher-end DeVille back then, so they listed 'em together) was 202.7-205.6 inches long depending on the bodystyle (remember the Coupe DeVille?), had a 110.8-113.8 inch wheelbase, and had a 4.5L V8 with a four-speed transaxle driving the front wheels. The '89 Cadillac Brougham was 221.0 inches long with a 121.5 inch wheelbase, a 5.0L V8 and a four-speed auto driving the rear wheels. The '90 models of the DeVille and Fleetwood have the same specs, while the '90 Brougham received an optional 5.7L V8. In '91, the DeVille and Fleetwood received an upgrade to a 4.9L V8, while the Brougham remained the same. The '92 models were the same all round. The Fleetwood name was given to the big rear-driver when it was redesigned for 1993, while the DeVille kept its bodystyle until '94, when it was redesigned on the Seville platform, receiving the Northstar V8 as an option.

The DeVille was a platform-mate of the Olds 98 and Buick Park Avenue back in 1989 through 1991, but that changed in 1992 when the Park and 98 were redesigned.

I just dug out my 1990 Cadillac "Ultra-Luxury Series" brochure. The Fleetwood for that year was a front-driver with a 180-bhp 4.5L V8. There's a picture of the 1990 Brougham in the back of the book, along with pictures of both the DeVille and Coupe DeVille. I don't have a scanner, but next time I make it to my brother's place, I'll scan a few pictures from it for you.

The pictures I provided were from Utah's very limited collection of early-90's Caddys for sale on AutoTrader.com. Sorry for not finding the same year pics.

By the way, every Cadillac in the past 30 years or so has had a V8, the only exceptions being the little-loved and little-missed Cimarron and the Catera. I am happy to see that Cadillac is going to move the DeVille and Seville back to rear-drive, even if it means losing some winter traction. I hope it helps Caddy take back the market from Mercedes, Lexus and BMW. I also hope Cadillac brings back the Eldorado, but don't see that happening until the SUV craze dies, assuming it ever does... :(

Look, I've been a car nut since I was 12, and have been collecting brochures and car mags since then, so I have a lot of material to back me up (not to mention the 'net). Please refrain from dissing the DeVille and don't mix the early-90's Fleetwoods up with the Brougham; they were most definitely different cars.

End of rant.

[Night Wolf]

Yes, you are right, we just misunderstood each other with years and models, that's all.

Everything you had said was correct though. The 4.1 (used early-mid 80's) was a real pos engine, the 5.0 (Olds 307) was very reliable and easy to maintain, although underpowerd, the 4.9 was a Caddy engine, and had 200hp and somewhere around 260lbs ft. tourqe, then of course everyone knows about the North*

actually I forgot what out "debate" was even first about... heh.....

[dearim]

Originally posted by Night Wolf
Yes, you are right, we just misunderstood each other with years and models, that's all.

Everything you had said was correct though. The 4.1 (used early-mid 80's) was a real pos engine, the 5.0 (Olds 307) was very reliable and easy to maintain, although underpowerd, the 4.9 was a Caddy engine, and had 200hp and somewhere around 260lbs ft. tourqe, then of course everyone knows about the North*

actually I forgot what out "debate" was even first about... heh.....

That's cool. I guess I just got a bug up my butt since the Fleetwood Sixty Special was my Dad's favorite car back then.

My Dad died three years ago, so everything he loved is almost sacred to me.

He'd have LOVED my GAGT. He was always a sucker for a hotrod.

Oh, and you're right about the 4.1. It WAS kind of a crappy engine.

[Night Wolf]

ok, I understand now, in the late 80's and early 90's, the Fleetwood was a version of the DeVille, not the Brougham.... I am sorry for getting all that mixed up

and I also regret ever saying anything bad about the ~1991 DeVille :)

I'm sorry to hear about your father...it sounds like you guys had a really nice bond together...