---
title: 'I Accidentally Bought a 600HP Cadillac Eldorado Custom, But It''s an Unfinished Nightmare!'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=lIobXJIt3Ys'
video_id: 'lIobXJIt3Ys'
date: 2026-07-10
channel: 'Hoovies Garage'
---

# I Accidentally Bought a 600HP Cadillac Eldorado Custom, But It's an Unfinished Nightmare!

> Source: [I Accidentally Bought a 600HP Cadillac Eldorado Custom, But It's an Unfinished Nightmare!](https://youtube.com/watch?v=lIobXJIt3Ys)

## Summary

The video follows the host as he inspects and begins fixing a 1992 Chevy 454 SS truck and a heavily modified 1976 Cadillac Eldorado with an estimated 600 horsepower. The Eldorado, bought at auction, is a 'restomod nightmare' with unfinished details like a non-functional AC and broken windows, while the 454 SS needs transmission and other repairs. Both vehicles will be given away to viewers.

### Key Points

- **Introduction to the Hoopties** [00:44] — The host introduces his latest auction purchases, including a 1992 Chevy 454 SS and a 1976 Cadillac Eldorado with a built engine.
- **Wood Trim Controversy** [01:50] — The 454 SS has custom wood trim on mirrors, bed cover, and interior, which the host finds mismatched but leaves for the winner to decide.
- **Ignition Issues** [04:00] — The 454 SS has a broken ignition switch, requiring a hotwire start by touching a purple wire to the battery.
- **Transmission Problems** [05:25] — The 454 SS loses fourth gear (overdrive) due to a slipping 4L80E transmission, a common issue.
- **Eldorado's Engine and Brakes** [07:50] — The Eldorado has a built 500+ cubic inch engine with estimated 600 HP, Wilwood brakes, and a fully restored suspension.
- **Unfinished AC System** [10:00] — The Eldorado's AC compressor is new but not connected; the system is incomplete, with capped lines and no refrigerant.
- **Underneath the Eldorado** [13:00] — The Eldorado has a front-wheel-drive layout with a chain case and TH400 transmission, plus a custom electronic emergency brake.
- **Wood Exhaust Tips** [16:00] — The 454 SS has custom wooden exhaust tips, which the host finds excessive.
- **Eldorado's Trunk Surprises** [18:00] — The trunk contains spare parts, an unfinished electronic parking brake, and manual air shocks.
- **Escalade Repairs** [28:00] — The host's 1999 Escalade needed a power steering pump and heater valve replacement, costing $769.91.
- **2013 Escalade Hybrid** [31:00] — The host shows his rare 2013 Escalade Hybrid Platinum, which had lifter noise repair and wheel corrosion issues.
- **454 SS Repairs Progress** [33:00] — The 454 SS gets a new ignition switch, AC repair, and brake work; total cost $3,700, plus transmission rebuild pending.

### Conclusion

The host successfully addresses many issues on both vehicles, with the 454 SS now drivable and the Eldorado awaiting further work. Both will be given away to viewers via Fanatics.

## Transcript

Are you marveling at his magnificence?
>> This is amazing. I've always heard of
these engines being hopped up and I've
known that when you do, they turn into
just absolute monsters of power.
That's crazy.
>> It pulls and pulls and pulls and pulls.
>> It just doesn't stop. It It's still
pulling at near 100 milesPH for a 8
million pound Cadillac to just
>> It just doesn't stop.
No, it's a it's a locomotive. It's got
to have at least 600 [music] horsepower.
Wheelwood brakes. Is that a W?
>> Sure enough.
>> Wheelwood brakes.
>> This is the coolest thing I bought in a
long time.
>> It is really cool. Can I have the
engine?
>> No. Welcome to Garage, the dumbest auto
channel in all of YouTube. And a few
weeks ago, I went on a buying spree
[music] at a collector car auction and
brought home five incredible cars. But
two were standouts. One was this crazy
Cadillac with an engine swap [music]
that I'd never seen before and a
gorgeous 454 SS. It was an amazing sight
to see [music] this fresh batch of
hoopies getting unloaded in Kansas. But
unfortunately, once I got all of them
out on the road and really took them on
a shakedown cruise, there was one that
had the most issues by a lot, and that
is the 1992 Chevy 454 SS. But in this
video today, we're going to go through
and fix everything on this truck because
it's an OBS Chevy and it's pretty simple
with the exception of one thing that'll
be a little bit pricey, but also because
I partnered with Phantom to give this
truck away to one of you. I was mulling
it over and I just couldn't figure out,
well, do I give this one away or do I
give away my Ford Lightning because they
are just so similar and I was just back
and forth, back and forth. that the
454S,
it is just so amazingly cool, and I just
thought you all would appreciate this
one the most because it has a lot going
on. But one thing going on with it that
is kind of controversial is this wood
treatment. Now, this is supposed to be
sort of the stealth blacked out sport
truck from Chevy. The Cyclone was a few
years before this. This is a big block
454, and it's supposed to be sort of the
continuation of this stealthy GM
vehicle, sort of like the Grand National
or the GNX over here. Obviously, not
turbocharged. huge engine under hood,
but somebody thought they'd make this
thing custom by adding this wood
treatment on the mirrors on the bed here
on top as far as the cover on the
interior. And then also when you pop
open the bed inside
is another wood treatment. And these
struts have failed to where I'm holding
this thing up with with all of my spray
and bed liner here. And it's all
beautifully done. Just incredible. And
Russ Kinsky, Dr. for wood grain. They
credit him for doing this and it is
beautiful, but does it really match this
truck? So, I was going to immediately
paint this thing black, but then people
in the comments said, "This is cool.
This is amazing. You have to keep this."
Uh, so I'm going to leave it as sort of
a dealer's choice. So, if you enter to
win, obviously it'd be very easy to take
this thing off and paint it all black or
wrap it, do whatever. Or you could just
remove it and rock it with the truck bed
totally exposed. The one thing I will do
for sure is paint these mirrors because
they just they just need to be black. No
production car I've ever known had a
wooden mirror. So, it just makes no
sense to me at all. Even my real wood
car over here, my 46 Chrysler Town and
Country where they were still using wood
construction in the body of the car. So,
this is real, you know, teak and stuff.
They used metal for me, chrome. So, it
needs to go back to black on this thing.
I do really like the wheels. As cool as
the old 454 SS stock wheels were, I
think these definitely work with the red
painted calipers. And since this thing's
been hot rodded, it makes sense and it
can be yours by entering to win at
fan.com/hoviesgar.
It is linked below a keychain or a mug
enters you for a chance to win this
truck. You can be bringing it home with
this beautiful, freshly built 454. I
found an ad years ago when this thing
was at another auction. They talked
about this engine just being rebuilt and
obviously it was painted and completely
taken apart for that. Unfortunately
though, I mentioned the issues. They are
numerous. Or the ignition, it is broken.
It is stuck. So, I have to hot wire this
thing to start it. We'll do that in a
little bit. Also, the air conditioning,
it blows warm. This passenger window
doesn't work. This truck needs to be all
it can be to match how nice it is
cosmetically because this is one of the
nicest 454 SS's on the planet. It was
all repainted and the paint is just
nicer from the factory. It's crazy how
clean and shiny this thing is. But, uh,
it needs to start. So, this is my
current starter situation with this
wire. It's It's very difficult to see,
but back behind this giant 454 big block
is a couple of wires. The purple one, we
cut a little slit in it to get to the
wire so I can touch this to the battery
and it will start right up like you're
turning the key on the ignition. But I
do have to disconnect the battery when
the car is not running because the key
doesn't turn all the way off. Just
change the ignition switch and I'll
never have to do this again.
Unfortunately though, there was a much
bigger issue when I got it out on the
open roads. So, we are going to take
this thing up to the Car Wizards today
for a full inspection to get everything
fixed. So, there is the battery getting
hooked up. And my 76 El is already up
there. There we go.
Yes.
Smooth running horsey here. So, they
made about 17,000 454 SS trucks on the
OBS from 1990 to 1993, but the last two
years are the most rare, less than 2500
built. This one is a 1992 and it got a
big performance boost from the factory.
Jeez, is very, very fast. And the reason
for that is the transmission was
upgraded to the four-speed 4L slippy E.
And unfortunately, well, this one's
doing its best impression of the older
3-speed transmission because
that last gear, it just slips. It
doesn't exist. And then it downshifts
into third gear to where I can go down
the road. But that shaved a second off
of its 60 back when it was new. But then
this thing has been rebuilt and modified
and it is so so much flipping faster.
240 horsepower from the factory. It was
way more torque than that. But this one,
it's a little bit spicier.
It is a a fast fast truck.
I'm I'm telling you, this would beat my
Ford Lightning, which spanked this thing
stock back in the day. The 5.4
supercharged V8 in the '90s Ford
Lightning. in the second generation uh
really put this thing in its place. But
somebody hopped up this motor to make it
very very spicy. Unfortunately, this
transmission is is not liking this spicy
motor. So, it does need to be rebuilt.
This is a very common problem. This
transmission is not that expensive to
have a shop rebuild it and do it right.
So, that's okay. It's okay that I have
to fix that and the other issues because
overall, this truck is just so clean. I
I can't be mad at all. There's just
something about these old body style
trucks that just feel so different than
anything since. And what's nice about
them is they have that feeling of an old
school smaller pickup truck. Even though
this is full size, but also all the
modern comforts. So, it's really
everything you need. And they are so
simple and dead reliable, easy to fix.
fix. I mean, with the exception of the
transmission, it's was all easy to fix
and cheap to fix that. That's why you
see so many of these things on the road
as daily drivers just totally torn apart
and rusting apart, but they still go
down the road. They're just so
impressive. Other than drinking a lot of
dead dinosaurs, no problem making it up
here. And there's the Weezard.
He's already messing with the eldo.
>> Are you marveling at his magnificence?
>> This is amazing. I've always heard of
these engines being hopped up and I've
known that when you do they turn into
just absolute monsters of power.
>> They are uh Yes, it is incredible. I've
never experienced a gigantic boat like
this with the power that it has. You
have to experience it. Here, hop in.
>> All right.
>> Cuz it's it's crazy. [clears throat] Two
for for you today. I bought five
actually but
>> two today.
>> Two today.
But nice fuel injection. So it just
starts right up
>> a good
perfect little burble. You know, it's a
little comical because it's frontwheel
drive but
>> that's crazy.
>> It pulls and pulls and pulls and pulls.
>> It just doesn't stop.
>> It It's still pulling at near 100 miles
an hour.
>> Really? That's it. I I I don't
understand cuz you think the gearing run
out of gearing, but it just it just
keeps pulling.
>> Just keeps going.
>> For a 8 million pound Cadillac, it just
>> it just doesn't stop.
>> No, it's a it's a locomotive.
>> It's It's so cool. very much like this
unlimited torque where because it's so
heavy, it's not going to jump off the
line like a supercar, but it just keeps
pulling like it just it just won't stop.
>> It's got to have at least 600
horsepower.
>> Here we go. But the front wheel drive's
a little
It doesn't torque steer though, I think,
because the transmission's not that kind
of transmission. I don't know. It's
That's crazy, man. It's almost like a
souped-up Honda Civic or something. The
way it takes off.
>> Yes.
>> Yeah.
>> And you'll see the suspension on this
thing. Like everything underneath it
looks brand new. It's It's wild. So like
the issues are just sort of the old car
stuff cuz it's never been restored. So
like your window that's that's about all
she wrote on this window.
>> Okay.
>> And that back one there doesn't go up.
Um it's just like little things like
that, little old car stuff. But
they actually did this right.
>> It feels that way. Yes.
>> There's one exception though. Oh, let
bump the horn. There's one exception
that
>> it's like they stopped like
>> short like at the one yard line. They
ran it all the way across the football
field. Not that I'm very good at
football references. And then like right
at touchdown they're like they just
stopped. Interesting.
>> Anyway, let me show you. Oh.
>> So, when you were marveling at this
engine that they say is boarded and
stroked, so it's more than 500 cubic
inches.
>> I was definitely being stroked on that
ride. That's for sure.
>> So, well, did you notice when you're
under the hood that there's something
off here?
>> Yes, I did right away. There's only one
line going to the AC compressor.
>> Correct. Yes. The AC It doesn't work.
The blower doesn't blow, but also the
compressor, it's it looks like a newer
compressor cuz in 76 it would have been
like an enormous thing, right?
>> Yeah. They would have an A6 compressor.
It's a black long black one.
>> A long black one. Okay. [laughter]
Uh-huh. So, this is a modern AC
compressor. And they have it hooked up
here to the condenser.
>> Uhhuh.
>> Which is the original condenser, but
then nothing going there. It's capped
off.
>> Yeah. It should be a a hose going into
here. This is your dryer and your
expansion valve all in one unit. Wow.
It's like maybe they ran out of money or
the guy passed away or
>> it doesn't seem like something that
broke. It just seems like something
where the job didn't get finished,
>> right?
>> So, I was ooling around. I noticed that
this one's I could almost get it loose
with my hand, but this one is definitely
loose. So, they just like put the hose
there and stopped.
>> It is odd. But I'm thinking, you know, I
got this thing for 15,000 bucks.
>> 15,000.
>> 15,000.
>> It would cost that much to make that
motor
>> just to build that motor with everything
else like 30 $40,000 into the
mechanicals of this thing. Because when
you get up in the air, like you'll see
like this mechanically completely
restored outside. I mean, it's sort of
original survivor with some patina, some
touch-up here and there. It's in good
shape. It's a driver, but this this is
insane. Just wait till you put it up.
It's
[music]
>> It's kind of Cadillac City in here right
now between Bob's Deville and then
>> your Black You swapping that one.
>> Yes.
>> Don't Don't steal this one.
>> No, I'm not going to steal that one.
That one's about 80% done. I've got a
video coming out soon on it, but it's
going to go to New Mexico like it is.
I'm not going to have time to finish it
yet.
>> Okay. Yes. 2020 on the oil change.
>> You don't want to remind me the time's
drawing near on that, but okay. So, that
means this was done a little while ago.
>> Uh, 6 years ago.
>> Oh, you know, look at the suspension.
Look at the brakes.
>> Wow. All the bolts are brand new.
Everything.
>> Look at the control arms. Look at the
shocks. Look at the frontwheel drive
stuff.
>> They had them powder coated or
something. They're Wow. They look new.
CV shafts, the rotors, brakes are all
brand new.
It's got Is this Willwood brakes? Is
that a W?
>> Oh, possibly. Are you kidding me? It
>> has Wheelwoods on it.
>> Okay, so we need to pop a wheel off and
see that cuz that's
that makes a lot of sense. When you
upgrade to like 600 horsepower, you
should probably upgrade the brakes.
Yeah. Slotted rotors. What?
Are you kidding me? This is like a full
out resto mod. We'll investigate that
here later. but
>> fresh engine.
>> So, it's frontwheel drive. The engine
sits like a rear wheel drive. Then
there's a chain case back here. There's
a chain
>> that goes to a TH400 transmission and it
goes forward. Has a differential bolted
to the back of the transmission.
>> So, it does like a 360 almost in power
>> and that's why it doesn't feel torque
steery because of this weird setup
because it has an actual diff.
>> Yeah. So, it's not tugging the wheel one
way or the other, but look at it's just
>> that's crazy.
>> It's incredible. So, there's, you know,
15 grand in the motor, the drivetrain
being rebuilt, and then
>> probably another 15 grand suspension
here. And then it's a nice car overall.
So, this exhaust really sanitary as far
as the way it's done, too. Like, this is
>> Oh, wow.
>> What's that?
>> So, the E bra cable is broken and they
put in electronic E bra. What? It says
Estop.
>> Okay.
>> The push button emergency brake.
>> Why? Just just to spend money, I guess.
>> I don't know. Maybe something was wrong
with the mechanism under the dash or
>> But that's it's easy to fix the
mechanism under the dash. So why would
>> that? But
>> okay, whatever.
>> That's fascinating cuz then like here's
the dynamic of it. But like this
crossbar replaced here or at least
repowder coated.
>> But the undercarriage, they never
restored it. Like most of when you're
doing restoration like this, you would
at least like spray down in black the
undercarriage.
>> Yeah, you would think so.
>> And paint all this to make it look nice,
but they just replaced all this and then
left everything else original. It's
>> It's so weird.
>> It is bizarre. And then how the AC is
not hooked up. It's kind of bizarre.
>> So then we go to the back suspension.
This is frontwheel drive, so there's not
a whole lot going on. But once again,
>> there's our fuel pump for the EFI since
that now has e EFI and not a carburetor,
>> right?
>> It has air shocks, but
yeah, they're they're hooked up. Where
do the lines go? They go up to the
trunk,
>> huh?
>> There's a hole in the trunk there.
>> Okay. I have not looked in the trunk, so
that might be something worth
investigating. I suppose
>> it's def it's just like a ship. Look for
and aft and starboard.
>> Look at that. [laughter] for the fancy
exhaust tips. But these brakes don't
look like uh Willwood fancy.
>> No, that looks stock brakes.
>> But still brand spanking new.
>> This rear axle looks brand I mean
literally brand new out of the factory.
>> They just they just replaced all of it.
So
15 grand with a full mechanical
restoration and then this thing hot
rodded. And they actually went to the
trouble of like, hey, if we're going to
put a 600 horsepower engine in this
thing, like it needs to be able to stop.
It needs to be able to suspension needs
to be able to handle the power and all
this stuff. Like
>> who who did this?
>> I don't know. It's very It's awesome,
but also strange at the same time.
>> It's it's it's very odd. Can we pull the
wheel off? I'm just I'm just curious.
And then we can open the trunk, too,
because I never I never looked in there.
stock hub caps and wheels on Vogue
tires. And
>> anyways, look at the Wheelwood.
>> Whoa.
>> Whoa.
>> Can you see right in through here?
>> Okay.
Sure enough. [snorts]
>> Wheelwood brakes.
>> Wheelwood brakes. And it looks like they
had to sand it down a little bit for it
to clear the stock wheel.
>> Yeah, they did.
>> They grinded it down.
>> Even the wheels have been powder coated.
>> Yep. This
This is insane. It is the world's
fastest 76 El Dorado. It's pretty safe
to say.
>> Yeah, I would say so.
>> Imagine what this motor would do in like
a Camaro or something.
>> This would be nuts. Be nuts. [laughter]
Or, you know, a transmission that could,
you know, Yeah. where you could go
through the gear. That's the thing. The
probably the transmission is the
lethargic part of it. That's why it just
feels like it just pulls.
This is the coolest thing I've bought in
a long time.
>> It is really cool. Can I have the
engine?
>> No. No. [laughter]
These weren't the most rigid bodies on
the planet, were they?
>> No. Watch it flex. There it goes.
It goes from a 3/4 in gap to a quarter
inch gap.
>> That's And that's factory.
>> It's factory. Well, it's a convertible.
That's why.
>> Right. They didn't brace them up very
much. So, like I remember one of the
first episodes of the US Top Gear Adam
Ferrari jumped that Cadillac and it just
You remember that? Where it just
accordion when he landed.
>> Yeah.
>> That's uh
>> Get the trunk open. Yes. And
>> there's a spare.
>> A brand new spare.
>> Bunch of spare parts.
What do we have there?
>> It's the electronic stop. So, it's not
actually hooked up.
>> I see. So, they didn't finish that
either.
>> There's your button.
>> Oh, okay. So, another unfinished project
there.
I don't see. Now,
>> the airlines came up through
back here somewhere. Right there,
>> huh?
>> There's where you fill it up manually
with an air chuck.
>> Oh, okay. So, there is a little tank
somewhere.
>> So, there is It can fill it up to
wherever height you want, but it's not
automatic.
>> That's right. We had that on the 49
Caddy.
>> Yep.
>> Where it was those air shocks where you
just manually got it to the desired PSI.
>> Mhm. I knew it would be in there. I just
had to find it.
>> Okay. But once again, originality.
Look at that. And so it's it's just such
a It's just such a weird car. It It's so
cool.
>> I'd like to know the story like as far
as they went with it. Why did they stop
at at the 99 yard line?
>> Right. Once again, football references
we are not good at. It's the one yard
line
>> or is it the hundred yard line?
>> It's the one yard line.
>> I'm not a football person.
>> Me neither. It's obvious. We just talk
about cars. But yes, I very odd. So,
>> okay. This thing's cool. I'd love if the
AC worked and the blower worked for the
heater and all that stuff and those
windows went down and you know, not sure
about that electric parking brake if I
need it or not, but
there we go. The world's fastest El
Dorado. And then one really, really fast
454 SS outside. I'm not sure if it's the
world's fastest, but it's it's really
quick. A little work to start this one,
but the funny thing was the shipper, he
was really nice. I told him about the
issue with the ignition switch and using
the purple wire and he's like, "I got
this. I I know what you're talking
about. I grew up in a rough neighborhood
so I know.
>> Grew up in the Bronx or something,
>> whatever it was." He's very nice. But
then he used the purple wire.
>> Oh, yeah.
>> Down here.
>> Starter wire. Yeah.
>> And he started it like in it was gone in
60 seconds. It was It was really
impressive. So, I'm not sure how he did
it there. He probably hooked it up to
something. I just need to touch there
and touch it here.
>> Yeah. There she goes.
What a cobbled up way to start a car.
>> Yes, but it got it here.
>> Yes, I love the GMT 400s.
>> It is. It is very, very good.
Unfortunately, there's something you
can't fix. No fourth gear.
>> Oh, no. We don't do trans the 4L slippy
E, whatever they call it. You know, the
[clears throat] 4L80 transmission, the
four-speed is gone. It's lost fourth.
But every other gear is
>> it it's it's good. It means business.
>> It is very, very good. But we do want to
get this thing really nice because I am
giving it away with Fanath.
>> Oh, it's going to be a giveaway car.
>> It is a giveaway car. So, you can enter
for a chance to win Wizards since you
love these so much.
>> Mhm.
>> People might get mad if you win though.
Be a little They [laughter] might think
it's an inside job.
>> Yeah, that probably wouldn't be fair.
>> But we do need to make it nice. So, this
window,
>> no worky.
>> No work.
>> So, I need that to go.
And I need the air conditioning to go.
And I need this key to actually
>> say it doesn't go all the way turned
off.
>> Ignition switch is is all jacked up.
>> It's broken.
>> But it's not broken to where the
steering wheel locks in. So that I mean
that saved my butt. Otherwise,
>> I would have been really stuck.
>> You would have. These compressors are
known for leaking around the case seal
here.
>> Yeah.
>> And they leak their refrigerant out
pretty easily.
>> I see a little neon. You know, there
look like a little neon green there.
>> Probably needs a compressor. I would bet
>> it's ugly anyway. And the rest of the
engine's so nice that that would be
>> Yeah. Yeah,
>> wouldn't be the worst thing to replace
it, but [clears throat] fuel injection
on this sucker. Look at the bow tie
screw on there. That's That's show car
right there to be able
>> It's got pache.
>> Mhm. Yeah.
That's very satisfying.
>> Every Chevy should have that.
>> It's not plastic.
>> No, it's not plastic. Here, take that
off. We should have
>> TVI.
>> Yeah. You like throttle body fuel
injection?
>> I do. It's one of my favorites. is super
simple and it's very easy to replace
parts on it and cheap and some upgraded
plugs, cap and rotor. EGR valves intact.
>> That's good.
>> Yeah,
>> but she did sort of blast through the
transmission. So,
>> that's not good.
>> Uh, if you could fix everything else on
this as soon as possible, I guess we can
put up with the lift and see, but then
I'll get it down the transmission shop.
>> Like, these people can rebuild these
transmissions blindfolded. They've been,
you know,
>> they can do it cheaper than we can cuz
they do it over and over. And they've
probably done 6,000 of these
transmissions because over the years cuz
they're just still everywhere. But
>> let's see. I guess I should have looked
underneath before I said let's give it
away on Fanithm. But I don't think
there's any surprises with this thing.
>> Let's take a look.
>> What do you think though about this this
bowling alley thing going on back here?
>> I'm really not a fan.
>> What?
>> No.
>> A lot of I'm a fan. I understand why
people wouldn't want the steel out truck
to have this. Danielson,
>> is this wrapped or what?
>> No, this is somebody's artwork. So, this
hand painted and not only that, Wizard
lifted up. It's the struts are bad. I'd
like for you to replace that. But then
it's, you know, old trucks in the '60s
and '7s, they had a wood bed. So, it
continues in here with a nice spray-in
bed liner. So, this is
>> this is a lot of work.
>> This is a lot of work. And I give them
kudos for the they did a quality job. It
just wouldn't be my styling. It just to
me it completely takes away from the 454
SS.
>> Right. So, you would just paint this
black.
>> I would.
>> Easy enough to do the mirrors. If you
pop them off for me, we'll paint those
black cuz wood mirrors make no sense.
But
>> I'm kind of leaving it up to whoever
wins this thing cuz somebody may love
this. And I personally love it cuz I
love fake wood anything.
>> But and the artwork, I mean, the amount
of time this took.
>> They did a good job though. They really
did.
>> Insane, dude. I would definitely keep
this just because of the work.
>> Yep. It's It makes it unique. It's
another like, you know, showc car touch
for it to pop. But I also think that a
lot of people were kind of like, is it a
real 454s because of this? And that's
why I was able to get it for under
$20,000 for the late 92 ones with the
faster, you know, better transmission
and stuff. So, I think it's a really
good deal for what I paid for it. So,
>> anyway, up we go. Any surprise? Willwood
brakes on this one? Does not appear so.
>> No, I think it has stock brakes on it.
They definitely had the engine out,
painted the block and everything. I
wonder what they did. Cam or lifters or
what all they did. See, here's our oil
pressure sending unit.
>> Okay.
>> But there's a tube up top is kind of
odd. I'm not sure what it goes to. We'll
take a look at that in a minute.
>> Okay. As I do have the oil pressure
gauge.
>> Yeah.
I don't see anything leaking. The shocks
are not blown. Does it drive pretty
good?
>> Drives nice. Yes. other than the uh
transmission, but no suspension or
braking issues at all.
>> There's a tiny bit of seepage here.
This bolt is loose. Could be a rear main
seal, which they could do when they had
the transmission out.
>> Yes, that would be very simple to do
>> with the transmission out. It's
interesting how I didn't realize that
they made up like this. Here it is.
Another loose bolt right there for that
flywheel cover. So, maybe they had it
off, noticed that there's a leak, and
then just quickly put it back on. Yeah,
they didn't tighten up any of the bolts.
They're all finger
>> finger loose
>> or they were assessing the transmission
or whatever and then didn't fix it
>> possibly. Yeah.
>> But that can all be fixed when they
[clears throat] pull the trans out and
rebuild it. That's not something you all
need to do.
>> Big old 4L80E.
>> Mhm. Three speeds forward, one speed
backwards, and two neutrals at the
moment.
>> Mhm.
>> But this exhaust once again very stock
looking.
>> This is Flowmasters.
>> Oh, they are?
>> Yeah. See?
>> Well, I stand corrected. Okay.
>> Flowmaster. These are original 40s, I
think.
>> So, this is like a like a day two
modification on your 454 back in 1992.
So,
>> that's why. And the fuel tank that it
needs to be three times as big for that
454 but
>> Mhm.
>> it's doing the job.
>> They did a pretty good job. Whoever did
all this.
>> Mhm. Looks like fresh shocks on the
back too.
>> Yeah. I see something wet here. Maybe a
wheel cylinder.
>> Oh,
well, we want to take care of that. It's
easy fix.
>> It is. I can see inside of here the
brake shoe has goo all over it.
>> Okay.
>> So, needs wheel cylinder, some shoes, at
least on that side.
>> And because it's an old truck, it's
thousands of dollars, right?
>> Oh, no. It'll be cheap.
>> I know. There's nothing, right? Yeah.
This rear diff looks
looks really clean.
>> It's a big boy.
>> It is a 14 bolt or something.
>> Huge. And overall, the undercarriage,
this is a nice, clean southern truck. I
had one of these before. It was a 90, so
it was a three-speed, not as fast. And
the undercarriage, it didn't look like
this, so I didn't keep it. But
>> wait a minute here.
>> What's up?
>> It has wood exhaust tips.
>> Whoa.
>> What?
>> Whoa. [laughter]
Okay.
>> Is Do you have a wooden tip?
>> Somebody loves wood. Just a little bit
too much. Just a little bit too much.
>> That's That's going overboard. That's
too much. Yeah.
>> M. Well,
very passionate wood owner.
>> I think they had a little bit of paint
left and they said, "Let's do the tips."
>> Just just the tips. Anyway, [laughter]
all right. Well, I'll turn you loose on
this thing and let me know when it's
done. Then we'll get it down to the
transmission shop and it'll be a sorted
car for the Fanath folks.
>> Definitely.
>> And you definitely want to enter to win.
It's just a mug or a keychain. They're
veteranowned and operated. They do an
amazing job. They've done like seven
cars for me at this point. So, this one
I believe number eight is it's it's a
really cool one. But we'll check back in
once the wizard uh gets things going.
Well, I'll leave these two fine hoopties
in your hands and I guess I can drive
home that one. It's like if these two
had a baby, my 99 Escalade, right?
>> Yep. But first, there's a bill.
>> A bill on the Escalade?
>> Yes.
>> Okay. It was It wasn't much. It was The
power steering was leaking. It was It
was should be very tiny, right?
>> Oh, there was a heater valve. You want
to see the old one?
>> Yes. My 99 Escalade. It's been a
trooper. Just sort of sitting outside.
Drive to the airport, drive around good
this winter. Heated seats that are just
like boiling hot. Incredible. But it
started dribbling pretty good from the
power steering, I think. Is that what it
was?
>> Power steering pump.
So, we have a brand new pump installed
and the leaks have been solved. But then
we found another leak. Daniel's son was
working on that and he kept seeing
antifreeze dripping and it was your
heater valve. He went to pull a hose off
and it just crumbled into pieces.
>> So I was just moments from disaster on
that.
>> Yeah, this thing here just popped off
with very little pressure.
>> Okay. So that's an easy fix. But
>> so and the new one is just right down
there.
>> Okay. That would have been catastrophic
for the 5.7 Vortekch.
>> Yes.
>> On this sucker, which these aren't
throttle body fuel injection. They have
a fuel rail, don't they?
>> They have a spider injection. It's
underneath this plastic intake. You
can't see it.
>> It is a little bit different, but the
next generation based on that 454. And
then the elbow would have been
carbbured, but now it's
>> it's fuel injected.
>> Now it's fuel injected. Well, I guess
I'll hit the road, huh?
>> No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
>> You got the key right here. The keys
right here.
>> Nope.
>> Keys right here. It's not even that big
of a bill. And you're still going to do
this?
>> Yes.
>> There's no there's no invoicing still
after all these years. All right.
Omega's moving to Los Cusus, New Mexico.
I don't I don't even want to like think
about it yet. I don't think about it
yet.
>> You don't want to see that right now.
>> You distracted people with the Game Boy
games. That's That's fun. But okay.
>> Power steering pump. Replacing it.
Heater control valve.
>> Mhm.
>> 150 bucks. Not too bad. Oil change. I
had no idea when it was done. Grand
total. Wait.
Wait. Is that [laughter] It's not
$7,500.
>> Well, yeah. There's an administration
fee right there.
>> Ad admin fee. I think I think your
computer is mixing. Yeah. So $79 the
total is $60 in tax does not add up to
$7,500. There's a zero there. That's
>> darn. Yeah. It's 769.91.
>> Okay. So you wrote it down. What's going
on with your computer?
>> Actually has some information from your
Lotus. I just threw random numbers in
there for that.
>> Oh, so the Lotus the tabs getting built
up on that one.
>> Yeah. And it's thinking it somehow it's
mixing it with that. I don't know why.
>> Right. Yeah. The Lotus it's still a work
in progress. I'm waiting to put out a
video until there's a lot more progress.
All right. Well, I'll be back when you
get the 454 done with your stuff and
then I'll get it down the training shop
and I guess the Cadillac as well. You
guys can just
>> knock those two out.
>> Yeah.
>> Sweet.
>> Ah, home sweet home in this slow
Escalade. And it is kind of silly to
have four Cadillac Escalades and an
Elorado until you come home and you see
that white diamond tri coat in the
sunset. And this thing, it's back from
Van Go and it is looking incredible.
This is my 2013 Escalade hybrid
platinum. A very, very rare thing
because there were very few hybrids
sold, but also even fewer platinums. The
MSRP would have been around $90,000 for
this thing when new. And obviously, it
was a lot of work to get this thing as
nice as it is. Mechanically, it had
noisy lifters, which required a whole
engine tear down, the heads off, and all
that stuff. And it's been fixed. But
also, the bumper needed to be painted.
There was a weird PPF on here and Van Go
got it all off. Perfect match and
looking incredible. Unfortunately
though, I did get scammed a little bit
on this thing because I bought wheels
for it off someone from marketplace. He
delivered them to me and I asked him why
he took them off his Escalade and he
said, "Well, we just wanted to get newer
ones." So, I bought these for $700,
$800, something like that. And three out
of four are hemorrhaging air. The two on
the driver's side are terrible. This
back one where the cap fell off is a
little bit slower, but that is why they
took them off because they're corroded
on the inside and they're losing air
from the wheel itself. I have new tires
on them and that's why they got rid of
them. But then they put them on
marketplace and totally scammed me. But
the good news is J&J Autorecking sent me
two nice wheels they had in stock. So I
have these to put on and I have one more
on the way. So we'll have four good
wheels. I can put new tire pressure
sensors on them and that'll get rid of
all the lights in the interior where
this thing will be darn near perfect.
The platinums had the special leather.
It's aged a little bit but still looking
okay. And this wood inlay that's just so
pretty. So, I am very into this thing.
I'm also very into the 99, the first
year of the Cadillac Escalade. But
again, I need to find wheels for it.
These old wheels that are period
correct, they are corroding as well.
They're holding air, but it just looks
terrible. And finding the correct
16-inch wheels is actually kind of hard.
I don't want to pay $200 or $300 a wheel
individually. I can only find them
individually. I want somebody selling a
set for like four to 600 bucks. That's
still nice. And I know it's out there. I
just haven't found it yet. So, a
scavenger hunt for five or six months on
that. But yeah, four Escalades. There's
two in Arizona. One's going to get
shipped back here. The supercharged
Escalade, but the Arizona Escalade is
down there as well. And none of them I
paid more than 10 grand for or
considerably less, but then fixed a
bunch of things. So, if you add them all
up, it would buy me well, it wouldn't
even buy me a nice Escalade, even a few
years old, cuz those are 70 or $80,000.
So, maybe having four makes sense. But,
we're actually going to check in back up
at the Car Wizards whenever he has
progress to report on the two cars. So,
the weird General Motors Extravaganza
isn't quite done yet. So, it's been a
few days and I'm up here for that video
that's already been out. Yeah, I know. I
know. It's really bad, but Daniel has
the 454 all the way apart. So, I thought
I'd come over here for a little update
because there's a bit more involved than
we thought with this rear end. Huh.
>> Yep. A brake leak turned into a
differential leak. A uh new compressor
turned into flushing the entire system.
>> Okay. So, I see that the uh diffs all
exposed here. So, the seals were leaking
out by the brakes as well along with the
brakes.
>> Yeah, it was a mixture of both. Um I
have the old shoes down here.
>> So, you can see it's all grease and
brake fluid. Yucky. Okay. Well, that's
not good. But once again, Chevy truck,
so it's not the end of the world for
anything. But then the air conditioner,
that was the other part where this
probably hasn't worked for a minute.
Huh.
>> It has not. So, the orphice tube came
out in pieces and we obviously have to
get a new one, but there was a bunch of
metal in the system and it was clogged,
so it wouldn't work.
>> So, you're blasting out the lines and
all that stuff and new compressor. Is it
in? Can you guys see up there?
>> Yeah, it's in there.
>> Okay. So, it'll all go back together and
then I'll have air conditioning at least
when I drive it down with three speeds
to the transmission shop. Anyway, and
hopefully it's a better day than than
today in that going inspection with the
the oil filter. Oh. Anyway,
all right. Back [snorts] up at the
Wizards and I thought it'd be fun to
drive backtoback sport truck. So, I
drove up my 2000 Ford SVT Lightning that
I've had for 2 years and literally
haven't done a thing to it in two years.
I haven't changed the oil, so that's why
it's up here. See if Wizard finds
anything else wrong with it. But this
thing, amazing. Supercharged V8, 5.4 L
in great shape. And now I can drive home
the fixed 454 SS. Let's see. Oh yeah,
that's holding up on its own. And now I
can really get a look at this wood. It
does look really neat. But the wood is
now gone on the mirrors. And that is a
major major improvement. That looks so
much better. And also a major
improvement. Finally, we have a truck
with a working ignition.
I don't have to hotwire it anymore.
That's great.
Running better as well. Wizard did some
extra work to this thing. And also, we
have working air conditioning.
Oh, yeah. Okay. So, the grand total and
it's really sad to look at bills now and
see that Omega is moving. Closing June
15th. It's that's getting close. It's
really creeping up on us that Wizard is
moving to New Mexico. So sad. But as far
as all the work done, I panicked cuz it
said $10,000 there. It's actually a
typo. The total is like $3,700 to sort
this truck entirely out. Of course,
there's still the transmission to do.
So, next it's going to go to the
transmission shop. It'll probably be a
little bit less than that to go through
the transmission. And then this thing is
a darn near perfect truck for one of
you. So, we'll have it fixed in a couple
of weeks. I'll come back to it when it's
fixed. But, this is an awesome rig.
Oh yeah, that is much much better and
much more comfortable with air
conditioning. Thank you so much for
watching.