[Mattia-SS]

94-96 for around 6000$? I made up my mind and I´m going to buy one and use as daily driver. Summertime I got my -77 Lincoln.
There are 7 93-96 for sale right now over here in Sweden but none of them suits me to 100%.

From what I understand it´s not the easiest thing in the world to get one in good condition in the States either or am I wrong?

Import one is my last option since it´s a lot of work and takes time but I will consider it if it´s the right car and a rustfree one!

I see the price vary from like 1500-15.000$ ??

 

[96 Black]

I'm amazed there's over a half-dozen already in your country. You don't mention what's not to your liking with them, but there are plenty of these big rust buckets left in the States. And, you are right, -- they are listed everywhere from $700 to $20,000, depending entirely on many factors. You'll find them with all dented with the bottom chrome skirts falling off and all the fancy electronics not working, all the way up to a one-owner snowbird's garaged creampuff with 30,000 miles and plastic still on the seats.

$4-6,000 should get you a pretty straight car worth importing. Your English is quite good (better than many Americans), so it sounds like research into shipping is in your future. Ask any specific technical questions you care to. If you're committed to buying one, then the first thing I'd do is grab a copy of the Factory Service Manual off E-Bay and become a pro on all the goodies on a FWB and ask all the smart questions from the seller.

EDIT: I just clicked your link. If that's your SS then it's damn fine looking with some nice rework and updates. Good luck hunting for the Fleetwood.

 

[grandpas wagon]

I was surprised also - 7 FOR SALE in Sweden that you know about. Are there more but just not for sale?

Remember Fred who used to be active here? Don't find his forum info but here he is on ebay:

http://members.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=mostly_unusual_cars

He is mostly wagons but I'll bet he is good for a FW also. Used to be in NY, but now in South Carolina so closer to the good rust free cars. Contact him.

If I were you, I would acquire a friend in the Miami area who would religiously scan Auto Trader, Craigs List, etc for FW. There are more in Florida than anywhere else, or so it seems.

For me and most buyers, rust is the dirty four letter word - like having a little cancer or being a little bit pregnant. Most other things are fixable but not rust without extensive work and $$$. Go for a southern or western USA car and insist on seeing photos of the undercarriage.

I think you will have to spent over $6K for a nice one. My advice - be patient and wait for the right one, but be ready to jump fast when you find it. Since you are a SS owner, I think you would have a hard time with a '93 - stay with the LT1 - resale alone is enough reason, without even mentioning performance.

You probably know better than we do - what is a typical import cost when considering all the other expenses like duty, fees, etc?

 

[Mattia-SS]

Thanks for the answers. Cadillac is the most common US Classic car in Sweden but not the late models.

Sweden is actually the largest US car scene outside the US. We LOVE our american cars over here and have done so since the 50´s when a special subculture was formed (wich still exists today).

What don´t suits me with the seven CAddys for sale is vinylroofs, mileage, color and the price of course. I´m a bit picky

I do know about the import rules. I imported 2 US cars. The latest last summer, a -70 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme SX 455 convertible. I got this from a contact I got in Miami but I wasn´t happy with the condition of the car. Pics don´t tell much!! Duty fees are ridicoulus that´s why I can´t spend more than 6000$.

And yes, it has to be the 94 model and on since it got the Lt1. I love that Engine. The Impala in the link I owned for 11 years. I sold it 2 years ago. I know for a fact that there are at least over 100 94-96 Impalas here.

Btw one of the caddys for sale here has got built in monitors in the headrests and DVD player. Was that an option or is it aftermarket stuff? http://www.blocket.se/malmo/Cadillac_Fleetwood_Fullutrustad_inkl__TV_DVD_49029303.htm?ca=21&w=3

 

[diamondhill]

http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/cto/4064168006.html I've had great luck with cars from Texas

 

[diamondhill]

http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/cto/4058366868.html
http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/ctd/3986969181.html
here are a couple more

 

[The Dude]

Maybe it's because I am in FL, but all the Fleetwoods I see are in better shape than mine.

 

[vanaisa]

Why you dont like vinyl roof?
I drove 4 years in my ´93 FWB and we have slightly worse weather here all year round - no problems at all.
Plus - you dont hear raindrops from roof when raining

 

[96 Black]

What don´t suits me with the seven CAddys for sale is vinylroofs, mileage, color and the price of course. I´m a bit picky



Btw one of the caddys for sale here has got built in monitors in the headrests and DVD player. Was that an option or is it aftermarket stuff?

I removed my vinyl. It will be rather difficult finding a Tri-9 D-body without it. The base [non-Brougham optioned] Fleetwood had no vinyl, but then again MOST of these tubs were Broughams. You could get a Brougham without the vinyl only as a 'special delete' order.

Based on your pics of your (sold) SS you appear no stranger to a bodyshop, so you may want to remove your top and patch the paint as needed since it's already color matched. Here's pics what to expect underneath. There's I think 2 dozen holes to fill, considering rear glass moldings and pillar emblems. There's the roof-to-pillar ditch that the factory slops bondo into. You get a choice of trying to locate the special filler tube (no longer a dealer item), or, simply fill the seam. The biggest head-scratcher will be whether to hunt down the special 'vinyl delete style back glass' with molding already pre-installed and a rubberized extended lip along the bottom to shed rain into the trunk ditch (I got lucky with a junkyard here in town), or, leave your original rear glass installed and figure up some sort of one-off surround molding to close the gap between glass and body.

To pull the vinyl off it is very important to pick a very warm day in the sun to loosen the glue.

TVs in headrests would be aftermarket. But, the ceiling vanity lighted mirrors on Broughams are OEM.

 

[The Dude]

Holly crap. I would never have guessed all those holes were under there. Mine is a non-Brougham, but it had an aftermarket canvas top. There was a line of holes along the front of the roof, but nothing like that. Also they were only about 1/8" or slightly larger. Luckily they ran along the brace on the underside of the sheet metal so I didn't have to worry about warping it when I welded them up.

 

[Mattia-SS]

Seeing all those holes makes me real afraid As I wrote I had to replace the vinyl on my Lincoln. I saw a tiny bit of rust where the vinyl meets the metal and once it was off it looked like Berlin in may 1945!!
I could put my hole arm through a hole under the rear window. Costed me 34.000Kr wich would be around 5500$!
Our climate eat cars for breakfast! That´s actually why most classic US cars are in very good conditon. Most of them have never seen snow or rain.

 

[MWP]

Yes, I can testify to other readers that there is a huge culture of old American cars in Sweden. It is unique. In summer they are on the road everywhere, and a large percentage of them are in very good or excellent condition. I went to a summer show in Varberg with a couple of thousand, and thought that was big, but the really big one, the Power Big Meet, claims to be the biggest American car show on the planet, with 20,000 cars. I haven't been to it yet.
http://bigmeet.com/varldens-storsta-biltraff/

At more than 8 dollars a gallon for gas, filling up a B/D body costs about $180. I don't complain about the price of gas in the US anymore.

Regarding your search, it sounds like you are well informed and know what you are doing. My only suggestions are to put a want ad in the For Sale section on this forum and look for a car with maintenance records.It would be nice to find one where everything works and all the big projects have been done recently--cooling system, brakes, Optispark/tuneup parts, suspension. Some old cars that are in very nice cosmetic shape may still need a lot of parts to make them reliable, and of course that is cheaper and easier to do in the home country.

By the way, the world record for car mileage is a guy in New York with a Swedish car, a '66 Volvo P1800. He has driven 3 million miles in it.

 

[Mattia-SS]

MWP: That is true. If you´re interested why I can explain why swedes love their american cars so much. It´s not a coincidence. It started with a small subculture called "Raggare". (You can translate "ragga" with pick up girls)
Over the years they grew bigger and are now probably the largest subculture in Sweden. This is really good reading if you are interested in how US cars are worshipped in other countries.

here ´s an article about it published in N.Y Times: http://schott.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/07/raggare/

An article from Jalopnik: http://jalopnik.com/your-guide-to-europes-weirdest-car-culture-raggare-512086377 nice vids here too.

And Another one from Vice: http://www.vice.com/read/raggare-love-hot-rods-and-rock-n-roll-000926-v20n2

Movie clip by Fifth Gear from Västerås/Sweden Power Meet wich is the largest US car meet in the World with 20.000 cars and visitors from 44 countries this year:

 

[lornejay1]

Good advice,just wanted to ad my newest reason for not buying unless seen.

My friend just bought this Trans Am,had one,wished he kept it,you know the story,and this car is definitely as clean as the ad says.

http://www.hutchysautosales.com/mobile/mImagesAll.aspx?cmb=0|99055659|260943

Never even considered smell,but the car was stored with Moth Balls,and you can't sit in it the scent is so strong.

Two mouse nests under the dah,what a mess.

 

[ScottLC]

Pop the hatch and leave the windows down outdoors, or indoors with a fan, and mothball smell will clear out pretty fast. Matter of days. Or it should. I guess there are different types of "mothballs"(besides those under a moth) that are worse than others but I've never had a problem with 'em...so far...

 

[Mattia-SS]

Here´s another proof that we swedes are crazy about american cars (short clip)

 

[Joe B.]

The Raggare sure have their priorities straight. I wish some of that would rub off on the younger crowd around here. Most of our raggare types are collecting a pension. My Grand Sport 'vert and I do have an issue with the "5th Gear" video dude and his critique of the GS, however. Good luck with your search for the Caddy.

 

[Caddylack]

I bought mine in 2005 for $4500 and it was MINT with 80k original miles. Leather interior and no vinyl top.

 

[Mattia-SS]

The Raggare sure have their priorities straight. I wish some of that would rub off on the younger crowd around here. Most of our raggare types are collecting a pension. My Grand Sport 'vert and I do have an issue with the "5th Gear" video dude and his critique of the GS, however. Good luck with your search for the Caddy.

Yes we have a generation change going on over here. About my Caddyhunt - no luck...yet!

 

[Ratmaster]

I buy and sell Fleetwoods. I have 4 at the moment. They are as follows: 94 (white on burgundy with a burgundy presidential top) non brougham 65k miles pretty near mint (from FL), 95 (Triple Black with a factory roof) Brougham 55k miles with a few scratches that will not come out and chrome wheels that look good from 5 feet, 95 (Black paint, black roof, beige interior) Outside and inside are almost flawless with some surface rust on the frame and floors but solid with no rot, 18k mile 95 brougham triple black 1 owner that is ABSOLUTLEY perfect! But that's not for sale!

GaryJacksonMotors.com

Check us out. I apologize for the website as it is still under construction.