1989 Cadillac Fleetwood

60 Special Sedan

8 - Cyl.

Automatic

1G6CS5150K4272268

Gasoline

I purchased this 1989 Cadillac Fleetwood Series 60 Special over 4 years ago. A friend of my father’s (who owned a radiator repair shop) owned the car and kept it garaged. When the repair business became tough, he was forced to sell the automobile. I purchased the car the first day I saw it—it looked that nice. Prior to this vehicle, I had a four-door 1989 Cadillac Sedan Deville (navy blue) that was great. The car had over 200,000 miles on it, but it still ran great. Cadillac had worked out the kinks in the 4.1 liter years ago. By the time they bored and stroked it out to the 4.5 it was a very reliable engine. I drove that vehicle everywhere—to work, to school, and out on the weekends . It was comfortable, reliable, and stylish. I mixed tapes for the vehicle and cruised in style. After that vehicle was totaled (another driver rear ended me), I kept my eyes peeled for the next ’89 Cadillac and found it in a garage in my home town. I occasionally drove the vehicle when I first purchased it. I started to piece together the history of it and things that it needed. I realized immediately that he paint was not original. The car was originally black, but this paint was not the late ‘80s GM paint—it was a whole lot better. Whoever did the paint did an outstanding job with no orange peel or any other problems. The paint wears like iron and looks great. The body itself is straight with no dents. The car has been garaged kept most of its life and it shows. With that being said though, the paint is not perfect. The car has been driven and has the usual wear and tear that one would expect from this. It is still a looker from 10 feet away though. Moving past the paint and the body of the car, I will now discuss the mechanics. About 10,000 miles after purchasing the car, I had the brakes (front and rear) done. This included new hardware and new hoses all the way around. This was performed about 40,000 miles ago. I had to redo the rear brakes last winter as I had one of the wheel cylinders burst. It was at this time that I had the system flushed with DOT 4 brake fluid. In addition to original brake job, around that same time, I had the rear shocks and front struts replaced. I also replaced the CV half shafts and the wheel bearings. I had new white wall tires put on around 30,000 miles ago as well and had the vehicle aligned by a high-end alignment place in Louisville, Kentucky. They still have a lot of good tread on them, but a new alignment wouldn’t hurt. Before putting on new tires, I took the set of wheels that are on the car now and hand wet sanded them starting with 220 grit and working all the way up to 2000. I then taped off the wheels to leave the openings and painted the openings black. After all of this, I hand polished the wheels with Billet aluminum polish. I did the same thing to the center caps. Since this time, I have washed and cared for the wheels and they still look great. Around the 120,000 mile mark, I noticed that one of the heads was cracked on the engine. I had come to the cross roads with this vehicle. I could either ditch it (but it looked so great!) or keep it and do an all-out restoration of the mechanics. I decided to go for the restoration. This was before I got married and still had money. I bought a remanufactured engine from a place down in Texas. I got a place down in Jeffersonville, IN, who is famous for their transmission work, to rebuild the transmission. I bought every last part that I could think of replacing while the engine was out. Heater core, rack and pinion, hoses, etc—basically everything that is inaccessible and a pain to replace when the engine is in. Naturally I had the throttle-body injection system rebuilt; I also put in new plugs and wires, new fuel pump, new alternator, new starter, new distributor and a host of sensors. I had a new emissions system that rests on the top of the engine installed as well—this incredibly expensive part is discontinued as well. I put in a new radiator and new hoses as well. In addition to this, I have had every component of the air conditioning system replaced and I restored the system back to its original R12! This air conditioning system blows so cold that during our heat wave here in Indiana (when temperatures exceeded 100 degrees multiple days in a row) I actually had to turn my air off while driving around because I got too cold. They don’t make air conditioning systems like this anymore! From an electronics standpoint, I had all of the Bose amplifiers rebuilt. I had the option of ditching the Bose system and putting an aftermarket one in, but I wanted to keep the car original. I found a company in Florida that rebuilt them for $100 per unit. I sent down one unit at a time. The stereo works to factory specs now. Although it is an old system, it still sounds good! I’ve been playing Best of Loverboy (still have the tapes) in it as of late. In addition to the stereo, I recently replaced the driver’s side window motor and switch. It all works great now. Beyond this though, I replaced the ECM (Electronic Control Module) and the PROM along with the BCM (Body Control Module). I even bought an extra PROM because they are unavailable now. I bought one of the last ones from Vintage Parts LLC up in Beaverdam, Wisconsin. I reasoned that in case the PROM went bad, I wanted to have an extra. It will be provided with the automobile. All electronic systems on the vehicle work as they should. I replaced the exhaust system about 15,000 miles ago. I also replaced the Cadillac opera lights on the sides of the vinyl top. I put gold ones on, but I also have a set of new silver ones that will come with the vehicle. These are now also discontinued and impossible to find. I have a new hood ornament for the car as well as a deck-lid ornament. I should be able to put them on the vehicle before it gets sold. If not, these will also be provided with the vehicle. As far as the interior cosmetics are concerned, I had the headliner replaced in black. It looks really great. I also ordered custom aftermarket floor mats for the vehicle. They have the Cadillac emblem on them as well as the script “Mr. 400.” I ran the 400 meter dash in high school and was pretty good at it. As the car did not come with floor mats when I purchased the vehicle, these mats will be sold with the car. The carpet in the vehicle is still in good shape. It’s the exta thick, premium carpet that they put in the fleetwoods. It looks and feels nice. The back seats are nearly perfect with only a mark or two. The front seats are showing wear and are torn in some places (see pictures); the seats will need to be recovered for the car to be show quality. They are usable as is though, but are the weakest point on the vehicle. This was the premium Cadillac of its time. Cadillac no longer produced a factory limo, so this car was it for those consumers who wanted the best Cadillac had to offer. It cost around $37,000 back in 1989 and had all of the options you would want in a Cadillac: cruise control, digital dash, Bose stereo system, memory seats, lumbar seats, heated seats (which do not work), power headrests (this was a first to me) a power cup holder (the switch needs some work—sometimes it will work, sometimes it won’t; still a cool design though), twilight sentinel (I never had to worry about turning on and off the lights), power passenger seat (with the same power options as the driver’s seat except for the memory seat function), cigarette lighters in the rear doors (convenient for charging my children’s power equipment), rear vanity mirrors that come down from the ceiling (really cool feature—everybody loves this one), lighted Cadillac emblem opera lights, rear passenger reading lights, power pull-down trunk, remote fuel door, auto-dimming rearview mirror, power antenna (functions fine, except it will not go all the way down anymore) auto-release parking brake (will release, but needs adjusting), automatic climate control; rear window defroster, rear storage panel underneath of the third brake light, anti-lock brakes, real veneer-quality black walnut accent wood in the dash and on the door panels, power windows, and power locks. There isn’t a place that I haven’t been to where I haven’t received compliments from this vehicle. I used this car mostly to commute from my place of residence down to law school in Louisville. It garnered a lot of attention there and became famous with the student body. It’s a classic Cadillac that is in good shape. The common refrain is that you just don’t see this model of vehicle in this type of shape every day anymore. I’ve turned down offers to sell the vehicle in the past, but it is time now. I purchased this car before I became married and had children. I now have a wife, two children, and a mortgage. It is time to move forward, accept the fact that I need a vehicle with a third row of seats (Nobody say the word minivan!), and sell it to somebody that can enjoy the vehicle as much as I have. It is not perfect. As stated previously, the front seats need work, the heated seats don’t work, the power cup holder works sporadically, and the car rides a little rough at speeds from 60-70 mph. I had the tires balanced recently, but I had this done by a place I had never been to before (as I recently moved) and I suspect they did not know how to properly balance tires. The car does use a little oil—leak might be a better word. It loses a little fluid out of the rear main seal—this is an engineering flaw and all 4.5 liter Cadillacs do it. The leak isn’t horrendous, but it is still present. Over one oil change (6000 miles) I usually have to put in about half a quart of oil. I have run synthetic oil in the vehicle since the beginning of the new engine (except for the first break-in oil change—I ran standard oil in that so the piston rings would wear in). The car runs great and shifts strongly through every gear. I would have no problem driving this vehicle anywhere. It is comfortable and semi-private with the window tinting (30-35% in the front and 10-15% in the rear). The car has done great for me and the family, but it is now time to sell it to someone else who can carry the torch so to speak. I will miss this vehicle, but all good things must come to an end. Do not hesitate to contact me on here if you should have any questions. The car is located in northern Indiana about 20 miles northwest of Indianapolis and will be close to I-65 for convenient access. A $500.00 deposit shall be made to my Pay Pal account within 24 hours after the end of the auction. Payment in full shall be made either prior to the pick up of the vehicle or at the pick up in the form a cashiers check or a money order. Any shipping of the vehicle shall be paid for by the buyer. This is for serious buyers only. If you have any negative feedback, contact me before you bid. The reserve will be set realistically low. Bid with confidence. I realize that I am a relative new comer to Ebay, but I can assure you that this is not my first transaction in life. Like I said before, let me know if you have any other questions. Don’t let his vehicle pass you by. Cadillac only made 2007 of the Fleetwood 60 Special vehicles in 1989. There’s no telling how few are left. Bid today on this piece of automotive history. You might not get the chance again.