Handheld Jump Boxes

With my Cadillac, its pretty easy to run the battery down, lots of interior lights, leaving the key on trying to hunt down electric problems, etc. I always keep one of these little hand held jump boxes charged and near the car so I can jump start it if I need to. This weekend, we went to see one of my cousin's graduate from Ranger School. He had left his car on base without seeing it for over two months and asked me to bring jumper cables. We got to the car, battery was dead, dead, dead. Not even interior lights. The little hand held jump box is a lot more convenient than jumper cables, I told him we would try that first. His Subaru rolled over slowly, but started. I am just amazed by these little boxes. You just wouldn't think because of the size, that they would be able to start a car, but they do. If you don't have one, and you are car guy, you need to get one. Lots of different ones out there, but this is a picture of mine:

And it will charge your phone over and over again, and theres a flashlight.

Windshield Wipers

Buying Windshield wipers makes me crazy, because a lot of the time, I get them home and they don't fit. These do fit my 1977 Cadillac and seem decently built:

Parts Guide

A president of a company, that I have done work for, would say "There are three sources of knowledge:"

* Golf

* Saturday Night Live

* The shop manual for your car

I would include the Parts Guide:

Amazon

I have been getting good results just pasting the GM part number into Amazon. This one made me happy. The relay for the Guidematic.

Amazon rocks!

General Info

Some general info I have been collection about my Cadillac:

1977 Cadillac Deville Base Model

425 cubic inch, 7.0 liters

90-degree, overhead valve V-8. Cast iron block and head

4.082 inch bore, 4.06 inch stroke

8.2:1 compression ratio

180 Brake Horsepower at 4000 rpm

320 lbs-ft Torque at 2000 rpm

Five Main Bearings

Hydraulic Valve Lifters

4 Bbl. Carburetor (Vin Code S)

121.5" Wheelbase

221.2" Overall Length

Height 55.3"

Width 74.6"

Standard Tire GR78 x 15-8 SBR wide White Side Wall

Transmission: Turbo Hydra-matic transmission standard on all models; column shift

Gear ratios: (1st) 2.48:1; (2nd) 1.48:1; (3rd) 1.00:1; (Rev) 2.07:1

Standard axle (final drive) ratio: 2.28:1, with 3.08:1 optional

Hypoid rear axle: Salisbury type

Steering: variable-ratio, power assisted

Front suspension: independent coil spring, link-type stabilizer

Rear Suspension: four-link drive, coil springs

Automatic level control not standard

Body construction: ladder type frame

Brakes: front disc, rear drum

HEI electronic ignition

Fuel tank: 24 gal.

Cruise Control

Remote Right Outside Mirror

Trunk Mat

Twilight Sentinel

Tilt & Telescope Steering Wheel

Trunk Lock

6 Way Driver and Passenger Power Seats

Dual Comfort 50/50 Front Seat

Automatic Door Locks

Radio AM/FM Stereo Signal Seeking w/ Scan

6CD69 - Model - deVille Pillered Sedan

40U - Paint Code - Seamist Green

44E - Trim Code - Med Sage Green Dynasty Cloth and Vinyl Bolster

Body and Paint Tag, Body Number Plate

BODY BY FISHER

ST 77 6CD69FWD006048 BDY

TP 44E 40 40U PNT

09E AV7 V SF

D G

GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION

CERTIFIES TO THE DEALER THAT THIS

VEHICLE CONFORMS TO ALL U.S. FEDERAL

MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARDS

APPLICABLE AT TIME OF MANUFACTURE.

ST 77 - Means Style 77 Model Year

6CD69 - deVille Pillared Sedan, 6 - Cadillac Division, C Model, D - deVille Series, 69 4 Door Pillared Sedan Seating 6, 

Headlights

Low Beam - H4656

High Beam H4651

H4651Y is the Amber version of the headlight

I want to run either 10W-40 or 15W-40 oil based on this website:

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/putting-the-simple-back-into-viscosity/

One owner had 300,000 miles on a 1970 cadillac and owned three 1970 cadillacs and always ran 10W40. 15W40 has a slightly higher min temp -25 vs -30C, but has a improved high viscosity shear at 150C.

From 

http://www.automobile-catalog.com/tire/1977/186575/cadillac_sedan_de_vlle_7_0l_v-8.html

Cadillac Sedan de Ville 7.0L V-8
as offered for 1977 since September 1976 in North America 

Make:	Cadillac
Model:	De Ville 06th generation
Submodel:	De Ville 6th-gen. Sedan
Optional equipment:	d Elegance
Production/sales period of cars with this particular tires:	September 1976 - September 1977
Modelyears:	1977
Body style:	sedan
Doors:	4
Traction:	RWD (rear-wheel drive)
Engine type:	spark-ignition 4-stroke
Fuel type:	petrol (gasoline)
Cylinders alignment:	V 8
Displacement:	6966 cm3 / 425.1 cui
Horsepower net:	134 kW / 182 PS / 180 hp (SAE net)
Horsepower gross:
Transmission type:	automatic
Number of gears:	3

Standard tire size for 1977 Cadillac Sedan de Ville 7.0L V-8:
(in case of different tires in front and rear the dimensional data are valid for driving or rear wheels)

Standard tire size:	GR78 - 15
Tire width (mm):	207
Tire sidewall factor:	78
Rim size (in):	15
Total wheel diameter (mm / in):	704 / 27.7

The Horspower / Torque Curve below was generated by the ProfessCars™ software, based on the factory data:

Hunting Tires

I need to get tires for my 1977 Cadillac and the first challenge is what does a "GR78 - 15" map to?

It has 215/75R15 tires on it. Tirerack.com seems to think I should use a 225/75R15:

SEARCH FOR TIRES BY VEHICLE

ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT SIZES FOR: 

1977 CADILLAC DEVILLE 

Important Note About O.E. Tire Sizes

• Original Equipment Wheel Diameter: 15"

  225/75-15

Need help choosing the correct size?

Don't see your tire size?

This article, http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/rwd-19xx-1984-deville-fleetwood-1985/245184-old-tire-size-conversion-newer-numbers.html explains that "One reason they went to the P-metric standard was the difference in sizing among the tire manufacturers. Some resouces claim the GR78 - 15 were actually somewhere in the middle, on average, between 215 75 - 15 & 225 75 - 15 sized tires."

So that could explain why I am seeing two different sizes. Further down in the article, someone posts a picture with two 1977 Cadillacs, one with 215s and one with 225s. At least from the picture, I can't see much of a difference.