Goodfella79’s 1979 Cadillac DeVille

The key for the locks on the wire wheels which is a nice feature they can't be stolen or maybe more importantly can't fly off if I take a turn too sharply, and also pictured the original 8-track tape with about 6 or 8 contemporary songs which believe it or not if you listen to it, it kind of sets the mood for driving such a car.

These first two were taken in Michigan after I arrived to bring her home...was checking the fluids and belts and everything before the 6 hour drive back home and she drove like a dream the entire way, the suspension on these cars is amazing...that and just the size of the car helps theres so much more car to absorb bumps and whatnot but you can drive over the most bumpy stretch of road and you hardly feel anything.

Just to make it easier for any readers...Page 1- Recent updates, and then pictures/descriptions of the car before I purcahsed itPage 2- Pictures I took in Michigan and after bringing the car home.Page 3- Pictures/descriptions of the car now.Page 4- Owners manual and miscellaneous brochures that came with the car.Page 5- Future improvements.Thanks and enjoy! UPDATE 4/27/12Well another long time without an update, heres some recent pics I took last weekend when I was out all day and was able to go out by the water for a while, and theres a few pics for you Benzilla lol of the third brake light progress.

Here she is all cleaned up, the rusted out bumper with the hideous bumper sticker covering the giant rust hole has been replaced with a rust free California bumper and the correct red reflective strip installed between the rubber impact strips, I played hell looking for this reflective strip, eventually settled for a roll of $30 red reflective tape I found online for such an application.  I do still however need to take and have the body clayed and fully detailed to bring a full shine back to the hood and have a new headliner installed, but for right now I am happy with my progress the rest will come together very soon.

An original bookelt containing proper care and repair of the special tops and replacement of the rear window and quarters for Cadillac Biarritz and Phaeton roof options, I was lucky enough to find this on ebay I have only seen a few of these floating around and this one is in brand new condition.

UPDATE 4/25/11I haven't been on the site in a while and it's been even longer since I've updated anything on here but the last time I was on was to post the info and pics of the head gasket that blew on the car, thank God that has since been taken care of.  My latest project for the car is something that just came to me while watching Goodfellas for probably the millionth time...to re-create the third high-mount brake light.  Purchasing one of these isn't even an option since they were even more rare than the car itself so all I have to go by is the film so this weekend I went out in the garage and made sort of a prototype from thin cardboard to get a feel for how it will look and fit in the window.  I think I got pretty close considering I had no dimensions or anything to go by, just stills from the movie.  Anyway I posted a couple pics below all I have to do now is figure out what material to make the actual unit from...and see if I have the heart to drill a hole in the rear deck for the wires :/

Out and about for the day.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________After being a huge fan of the amazing film Goodfellas for years (if you've seen the movie you will probably recognize this car right away), having a love of old cars period and recently having to sell my fathers 78' El Camino I was looking to replace that loss with a car I had wanted for quite a while so I knew I had to find a Phaeton of my own.  I looked for a long time before finding this gem not very far from me this past February, I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it and knew I'd be making a road trip to pick it up.  This Phaeton is one of only 2400 or so produced and of that number very few were in Western Saddle Firemist ( the color of mine) and even fewer survive today.  Until I found this one I nearly settled for a Cotillion White Phaeton in Pennsylvania because the Western Saddle Firemist's are just so scarce anymore I didn't think I'd ever find one, I'm glad I waited and kept looking because there is nothing like owning and driving this car I have literally lost count how many times I've been out driving it and I'll stop at a redlight and the person next to me will roll down their window to compliment me on the car or even in parking lots I've had plenty of total strangers come up and ask to see it and ask about it...unfortunately it's winter here where I live now and I don't dare drive it in this weather so it's covered and stored away in my garage I'm very anxious for spring to get here so I can take it out again.Anyway this first set of pictures below were all taken by the original owner and are the pictures I saw on the website I originally found the car for sale on...these sold me right away.  You just don't come across Phaetons everyday especially ones in this condition and this close to you and this color.

I thought this picture was really cool, I found it among a bunch of albums and envelopes of old pictures, its a shot my dad took from his car of a truck load of new Cadillacs at the end of the summer in 1978, he wrote descriptions on the back of all his pictures so thats why I know the year and everything.

Here are some misc. shots of the "V" emblem I installed on the trunk lid that was missing when I bought the car, the Cadillac Wreathes around the door locks which were not factory but did look very eye catching on the Phaeton in Goodfellas, and of course the coveted Phaeton identification badge on the rear quarter panels.  By the way pay no attention to the floral floor mats in the front those came with the car lol, there is only one Cadillac floor mat in front I found a set of fronts just a matter of buying them.

The previous owner had the car rust-proofed by Ziebart, these little yellow plugs along the inside doors and rocker panels are where they injected the substance, the undercarriage was done as well.  Those aren't scratches on the first picture btw lol just some leftover wax from whoever waxed the car last, I guess that looks bad on my part that I haven't cleaned that yet.

Another interesting sticker, this was the original dealer the car came from back in '79, I thought about removing it but for one thing it's the same exact color as the car even though you can't tell from the pictures (thanks Blackberry camera) and for another I think it gives a little bit of character to the car since it's the actual dealer sticker, idk thats just me.