i just received, as a gift, a '75 cadillac fleetwood. it runs pretty well..i drove it from ohio to mass w/no probs. thing is its the biggest rust bucket you've ever seen. it is inundated with rust. most of the rust is only surface rust, tho. there is one place on the body where its eaten through (small). the lips on the hood and trunk are the worst..parts are eaten through. i really dont know that much about bodywork. im figuring on getting some primer, bondo, and a sander. my goal is to spend as little money as possible making this car look better. anything i do can only make it look better, believe me. im thinking of getting a circular sander attachment that fits onto a drill. anyone have any bodywork advice? this is like the biggest body work project. i mean, the car itself is 19.5 feet long. and its got that much rust hehe. its such a complete opposite change from my crx that i love it. plus it's claimed to have the big 500 in it. im not sure how to verify if it really is the 500. but the fabulous 11 mpg im getting could be an indicator (course it needs a serious tune up). its white in color, btw (well...mebbe orange if u consider all the rust )
thanks in advance for any advice

 

The only thing I can add is that if there is surface rust, you MUST sand that off. I had a 79 Regal that had a little rust, then it grew and grew because I did not do it right, the first time. Make sure you use lots of primer. It protects it much much better compare to just paint.

Yeah, I do believe it's a 500cid V8. They did not "down-size" the RWD until about 1978, where they maybe run on a 350cid V8 instead.

 

yeah, i got a circular wire sander thingy to attach to a drill, some sand paper, and some rust tuff primer. you dont even know how mcuh primer i'm going to have to use. it's gonna be a zebra or somethin by the time im done with it.

i checked today at autozone and they verified i have the 500. apparently the 500 came in the fleetwood brougham (which i have). it's a 8.2l V8. that is HUGE.

8.2l 500cid V8 in 1900 lbs crx??
oh..the possibilities.

 

There will soon be people looking for that car. Keep it protected (from rust) as much as you can. Who knows, you may want to restore it one day. It's no surprise, Fleetwood Caddys are going to be a classic in the future.

Even with 500cid under the hood, you won't be able to take anyone. But you will be able to light up a lot of tires in the rear. That's old school fun!!!!!.

 

I really do regret selling my '68 Sedan deVille...... gas mileage sucked but I wish I could store my GS-R for the winters. BTW, my '68 had a the 472 cid V8 and yes, I was averaging 9-11 mpg. Starting in 1970ish, Cadillac started the 500 cid V8.