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well after several days of impatient waiting and no chewy lexus cookies i have finally picked her up. all new timing belt, filters and fluids, feel ready to drive her cross country.

i shall name her "Geidi".











as for ride quality...it was actually somewhat firm and only slightly better than my old camry (which was still quite soft, don't get me wrong) but i was left wondering if the springs were maybe bad or this was just the reality of a 20 year old lexus.

this morning i checked the tire pressure and it was something like 14 psi above what the manufacturer recommends i bled some air to get it back down to the appropriate pressure, 29, and it rides better now you are aware of bumps and reflectors on the road, as in you hear them but it doesn't shake you at all really. driving over hard pockmarked roads you feel only the most marginal vibration in the steering wheel and nothing more, it is excellent, by far the best riding car i've driven so far in my life. effortless power from one of the greatest engines ever to come out of japan.

that said the roads here are pretty good in general, so perhaps i should be looking for worse ones to really test her out?

one thing i have noticed is that the seat itself seems to bob up and down ever so slightly when going over large undulations in the road. or maybe i'm making that up?

she has regular shocks and not the optional passive air suspension, so i guess it's not as good as it could be, but i'm willing to take that since replacing/servicing air suspension components in those cars tends to come with an eye watering price tag.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/3823800007 ... rmvSB=true

either this is an isolated incident and the epitome of "no low ballers I KNOW WHAT I GOT"... or old caddys actually are starting to go up in price.

i mean...12850 miles. most people drive that much in a year, let alone in 26.

it looks great but probably runs like dogshit. i can't imagine that car wasn't sitting and quietly rotting for years at one point.

thanks.

the engine is a 4.0 liter v8 with variable valve timing. 290 horsepower and 300 lb ft torque. (406 nm)

^^^^can you tell me what about the gold one up north you mentioned, that you thought was better?

the differences were mostly minor, really. i cant find the ad anymore but i preferred the colors and it had fewer miles. the seller also mentioned that the timing belt was changed, which wasn't the case with my car. (i had it done before driving it home)

i'm glad to hear the news that timing belts are an issue with these autos. or is it the same with any highway-miles car?

just a regular maintenance item to be done every 80,000 miles or so, same as any other car (unless it has a chain of course)

these later engines are interference, so if the belt snaps you can bend valves and damage pistons which can ruin the engine. belt replacement in general is costly so many people end up putting it off.

belts vs. chains, I guess the belts are quieter/lighter. but the chains are more reliable. if I stick with an old OHV caddy I can rest assured there will not be that particular issue to worry about.

^


what do you think of the later 90s devilles and fleetwoods with the more contemporary, rounded styling? i saw a mint, burgundy 90s deville with the vinyl roof earlier today while shopping and it looked unlike anything else in the parking lot.

Northstar engines are a pile of s**t, kinda fun though with that FWD V8. We had one for target practice when I was younger, about all it was good for.

was always curious about that fwd v8 layout, wouldn't it give you boatloads of torque steer or nose-heaviness?

these days you only see v6 or 4 bangers in fwd cars.

my fave caddies are the boxy ones made from '86-88. they were compact but had optional hydraulic dampers so they rode just like their big brothers and were styled so that they had just as much leg, head and shoulder room as the big ones, as well. they weren't especially hot-roddy but I've never been about that. gotta have that magic-carpet floating ride over the bumps, that splendid land-yacht isolation from the road.

My parents had a SS Impala as beater in high school with the 5.3L. They are cheap for a reason, torque steer is bad and they don’t handle well. Plus they eat transmissions for breakfast.

But if you get the chance to drive one, do it and mash the petal for a laugh... Just hold in tight.