I took the horn ring off the steering wheel today to figure out how to keep it from vibrating when driving over bumps and I found the reson for the funky way the turn signals cancel... or not. The cam that bumps the springs to release the signal was 180° backwards. I had to pull the steering wheel to reverse the cam, but that was easy. With the cam fixed, I put little strips of rubber from the stash of stuff I'm using for the '49er's door panels under the part of the wheel that the hold part rides over, and over that I used some of the self-adhesive fabric Cooper sold me for the window weatherstrips.

Parts

I went to Coopers and picked up the parts, all $1400 worth! Cooper ordered the springs, which should be around $170 more. Tyerman's estimates about $800 in labor so it's a pretty typical front end rebuild in my view. I don't think it's worth it to do the labor myself and save the $800, especially. Part of me wants to, but part realizes that it will take me weeks and I will wear myself out. Tyerman's will do it in a day or two and all I have to do is enjoy the results.

Bad News

I took Lucille over to Tyerman's in Burbank for a front end alignment. What they found wasn't pretty. The upper control arm shafts are particularly worn, to the point of being unsafe. I got a quote from them on the labor and called Cooper for the parts. Cooper had everything but springs, and those he will order for me. I had Tyerman's adjust the toe-in anyway and even that little bit made a huge improvement in the steering.

Drive!

Drove Lucille for the first time today with the refreshed carb. Only one issue, and that is the TV adjustment for the trans shift points. It shifts a little late so I need to loosen it a bit. Otherwise, starts, drives and accelerates fine, with better power than she had before. It might need to be leaned out a tiny bit too.

Carburetor

Had the original carburetor rebuilt by Scott Kaiser (Ralph's son) at Vintage Vehicle Services. Brought it home, bolted it on, and fired her right up without issue. I made a few quick adjustments, I need to get a better handle on adjusting Carter AFBs, and she runs like a champ. Better than she did with the old, chokeless carb, for sure. I'm very pleased. 

Motor Mounts

Lucille spent the day at Vintage Vehicle Services getting new motor mounts put in. When I went to pick her up, the starter would begin cranking as soon as the key was turned to ON. It did the same in ACC. With the cold weather, we figured the extra cranking I had to do to get her started in the morning caused some breakdown in the ignition switch... and indeed a new replacement switch solved the problem. VVS replaced the switch and only charged me $65 for the part. Motor mount labor was $200, for a total of $265. He takes checks and cash, no plastic.

Bump Steer

Last weekend, when I was driving Lucille before the generator blew, I had her on the freeway and the dips in the road surface would cause her to steer to the right a bit. I got sidetracked with the alternator thing, but later I looked up the symptom and it seems when I changed the steering gear and pitman arm, I altered the angle of the tie rod ends because the drag link is now slightly lower. I had heard about keeping the drag link level, but failed to keep the tie rod ends level with the drag link. Result: Bump Steer (or bumpsteer). There are various kits available, none for Cadillacs, of course, that will help correct this with an adjustable height tie rod end. I did find a place in PA that may be willing to put a kit together for my car. I set them the specs and am waiting to hear back from them.