balthazar

Of course those are the Toro's grilles. Your pics certainly verifies them being plastic AFA I am concerned. The '68 Toro is NOT the first tho.

In the pics Cmicasa posted, Cripes does the BMW look like a circa 1998 Pontiac! It is beyond dated. MB's unfortunate issue is they have the same exact body on the high-visibility cheap-o CLA as they do on the s-class. I don't get why MB wouldn't give the s-class unique bodywork. Shocker to me; I had no idea toyota was putting the same IS nose on the LS!!! The design is horrifically polarizing, and tho you can make a case for it being 'edgy' on an entry-level IS, it's completely out of place for the sleepy flagship transportation nodule that the LS always has been. That cartoon face has GOT to throw sales into reverse. It's not remotely refined or luxurious-looking. Audi ( and the MB) looks nice, just at the same time: nothing special and largely generic. There's certainly very little to be wow'ed about with current auto design efforts.

I was not aware Caddy ran shaft rockers on the 365; nice. Have not made my mind up on the paint, am still open to mattes, satins, pearls, etc. I used to be hot on silver pearl metallic. but more recently I have been looking at all sorts of bronze and golds.

The hilarious downmarket push continues unabated !!

Ya- Cavalier is way too new. Ford's soybean push was in the '40s, but did it extend to grilles? My buddy is hotly pursuing a '68 Toro (and not having any luck), but said pursual has had me recently looking into Toro info & a few videos- I am surprised to know the grilles were plastic- that's verified, DD?

Where is the info revealing this is likely a rebadged nissan truck? "The Best, or Nothing! …or the commercial van division…. or nissan!"

Nice going, Z; you are correct on all 4 your answered. Only #1 remains...

I have the Mustang & Coronet ads in my collection. Don't recall seeing a Nicky Chevy ad before.

That's probably right- Linden ended with the S-10/Blazer. I'll put plant history on my project list.

My son works in an auto parts store, bought replacement headlight assemblies for a '90s Ford Taurus- his cost was $80 for the PAIR.

Forgot to paint the MC cap- did that today. Busted down the rear pass brake & cleaned all the grime off everything. Put that wheel cylinder back on. Cleaned the threads on the intake for the new shorter carb studs I had to buy; my truck came with a governor below the carb which I am not reinstalling. Also found some missing nuts & bolts for the carb I had misplaced. - - - - - NEXT WEEK : Planning on taking the tires/rims, 2 at a time, to a 'country' tire store that is used to farm equipment, and had previously told me breaking down 20" Budd rims with retaining rings was no problem. I need to get new tubes but want to clean everything up on the rim & really check the tires out in & out, then I'll have them remount them. The tires are REALLY old.

Here it is !!! From May 20, 2013, from this thread. Want me to dig up the thread where you claim BMW grilles are made out of metal??

I have got to sit & compile my Cadillac plant notes! I forgot Linden built Caddys in this era… go ahead and strip me of my 'Yoda' title. Do you know the year span Linden built Cadillacs?

Thanks DD, that clears that up! Like I said, I knew I was missing something.

>>As for the S and headlamps. Just about any upscale headlamp is $1200 or more anymore even on a Sonata.<< That was a reference to SMK claiming it cost MB that much to manufacture a single s-class headlight. Clearly he was confused with retail price there.

GM plant history is interesting to me, and Cadillac's is pretty contained, so it should be easy to get it nailed down. I have some notes on this I need to formalize & verify, if just for my own interest. What struck me is, Cadillac's plants, historically, have been in a surprisingly small locale, most mere blocks from the others. Clark & Hamtramck are the main period ones, but Hamtramck is partially in Detroit city and partially outside it... ...so my thinking is that ELDORADO production was moved over to Hamtramck when this pic was taken (obviously the plants overlapped to keep production continuous) and the Seville was built in Clark a bit later... IE; the pic records the last Eldorado built in Clark, Cadillac people don't consider Hamtramck 'Detroit', but some Cadillac production continued in Clark after this pic. Looking forward to more information! To clarify- I am NOT doubting the picture/story, just expressing my confusion; I know I'm missing something on my end. BTW- I'm not surprised I'm the only person who asked, I should've been a research investigator. Or secured in a nicely padded room with a view of the grounds...

^ That's ridiculous; we know mercedes loses mad money on the s-class; ONE headlight alone "costs" $1500!! Whole car must easily cost $200,000 to build if that were true.

COME 'N GIT 'EM! 1.) What American car is credited as having introduced the plastic front grille? 2.) In the '50s and '60s, Chrysler built the 300 series of high performance cars. They began naming them in alphabetic order, starting in ’56 with ‘300-B’. By the time the run concluded, Chrysler had skipped a letter- why? 3.) What ‘obsolete’ engine configuration did Chrysler use in one of its 1990s concept vehicles? 4.) The first (2000) 1976 Cadillac Sevilles produced were all metallic silver with grey leather interiors. Why no color deviation? 5.) A chief engineer for a vehicle manufacturer was laid up in the hospital for a stretch after surgery. To keep busy during the resulting downtime, he carved a bar of soap into a 3-D emblem for the company, which was put onto production vehicles nearly unaltered. What is the company & emblem? View full article

Answer I had found RE #6 was this : the early Ford trucks were shipped crated, and the crating material was meant to be used as the bed. Customers had to go pick the crates up at the dealer, hence 'pick up' truck. Don't know how truthful that is.

See, you want to argue, but you use completely fabricated 'facts'. Cadillac CTS-VSport already does what you are asking for; HP peak is about 5400 (Cadillac rates it at 5750), TRQ peak is 3500. VSport develops between 400-435 TRQ from 3000-5000 RPM. Try again.

Hmmm… Confused by this pic. The Eldo in the pic looks to be a circa '78. Hamtramck's (partially in Detroit) first vehicle off the line was supposedly an '85 Eldorado. Hamtramck was the proposed replacement for both Clark Street & the Fleetwood plant, tho those stayed open a number of years past Hamtramck's opening. Clark Street's last Seville was July '79 (different gen E-body)… so what plant was this reputedly?

Curious if anyone here has rebuilt a carburetor? I myself have done a 1bbl, a couple 2bbls, a Carter AFB & Holly 4bbl.

Only luxury brand doing anything unique stylistically right now is Cadillac.

Makin' lil' sketches….. ...makes for quick reassembly: Driver's rear brake assembly all buttoned up: Also did some reassembly on the carb… tho I am missing a few screws after leaving it sit out for, umm, what feels like 6 months. Some of it is straightforward, but other bits are leaving me searching for a decent exploded view. For a tiny 2bb, it sure has a lot of gaskets. Luckily I have a spare complete carb I bought at an estate auction for $4.