2014 Cadillac ATS Premium 3.6 AWD - Mostmint #47

[MostMint]

Well the black ATS ran into a roadblock with the dirt drags, and I eventually figured out the V6 version makes 50 more horsepower, so I bought one. I looked at regular retail vehicles but the V6 has a decent premium over the 4 cylinder, so I went looking at wrecks.

This one is from North Carolina, has some damage from an accident, and had a rebuilt title before that.

The auction came on Monday - all total I'm in for about $5600 including delivery to my house. By Wednesday it was here. Today it went to the BMV by trailer to get VIN inspection and get an Ohio salvage title

It has just over 121k miles, and the damage is pretty minor. Based on what I saw underneath, looks like the car slid backwards through wet grass. I speculate it slid backwards into whatever it hit.

Observations so far:
- the differential is leaking a little through the breather, and possibly through the rear diff cover. It also looks like it had been erased.
- the LR is a little toed out, but nothing looks bent and there looks to be plenty of adjustment left
- the car has 4 different brand tires on it - could be a factor in the crash?
- looks like the LR quarter panel was repaired before - it has some fade on the C pillar, and there is evidence of bodywork where the fender was damaged
- it had remarkably few items inside though there was a receipt for the tow

About the car:
- the infotainment system on the dash is a touch screen
- it has shift paddles on the steering wheel
- 18" wheels
- it will automatically sync with the phone and play music which is a big plus compared to the black car

[MostMint]

Differential:

* Replaced the stock breather with a low restriction breather just like I installed on the black Cadillac. I did spot check the breather on the black car and it was in place and looked good.
* The fluid level is up
* The fill/drain plugs on this car are 15/16" and those on the stock diff are torx which to me confirms this is a replacement diff

Bodywork:

* Removed the LR taillight, rear bumper cover and LR inner fender
* Put the port-a-power, hammer & dolly, and some welded nails to straighten the LR quarter panel. It's not quite the way I want it but I'm at diminishing returns so it's time to put body filler on it and see how it looks
* Ground off prior body filler in the damaged areas

Other:

* Purchased a replacement LR taillight.
* Turns out the paint is WA132X Obsession Red which is a tri-coat paint: foundation base, intermediate base and clear. It's one of the hardest colors to blend and will be expensive. Great!
* I don't see any obvious bends in the LR suspension parts, but the toe in setting looks to be off the factory spec. The LR wheel also looks to be straight
* Found the cause of the accident: There was a tow receipt in the glove box which had info I needed to look it up. On 6/4 at 6:04 PM the car was exiting I-40W to US-321N in Hickory NC when driver lost control and spun backwards into the inside barrier.

Getting started

Before look at LR quarter

Child's play

After some straightening

More evidence the LR quarter has already been replaced

[MostMint]

Updates:

Bodywork:

- LR quarter is taking shape. Still some work to get the shape better but it's taking shape. I was tempted to get paint and just put it on but its just not ready forthat. I'm not looking for show car but there's too many imperfections.
- Put primer on it
- Reassembly in progress

Mechanicals:
- Grass is in a lot of nooks and crannies underneath, in the wheel wells and brakes, on top of the underbody panels, on the exhaust. I have cleaned up several piles. Every time I think I'm done I find more, though I have inspected all around the exhaust to make sure I'm not going to have a fire once this thing gets completely up to temperature

- Adjusted rear toe in
- Adjusted front toe in, also had to align the steering wheel
- Battery does not seem healthy - discharged while it was disconnected
- The parking brake does not hold the car idling in drive. This is only relevant since this is part of the inspection

Other:
- Removed the tint from the front door window on driver and passenger side. Glue stuck to the window on passenger side so I had to remove that, but luckily the adhesive on the driver side tint stayed with the tint
- Car is going in for inspection on Friday so no time to get the bodywork right and get it painted. Too much real world creeping in here in the past couple weeks. I don't want to wait three more weeks

[MostMint]

Last Friday was a big day for this car.

I ran out of time before Friday to get the paint on so I only got primer on the LR quarter panel. It's decent but not smooth enough for paint yet. After that I had some work getting the front end aligned as well as the LR. Toe in and steering wheel alignment are good.

washed it for the first time

I ran through all the safety tests they did when I took in the Challenger for state inspection, and found the e-brake would not hold the car while idling in gear. I did multiple adjustments to the e-brake shoes on both sides to where it would just work. If you push the pedal past the 4 clicks it would hold, but then its just an ebrake and not parking brake. Also had to get it reassembled before Friday morning. I was also concerned about the tread on the left rear tire but didn't figure that out til Thursday so I had to go with it as is.

The day started with a trip up to the state highway patrol for inspection. It was the first time on the road for this car. It ran fine. The actual inspection was a breeze. The only new part on the car was the LR taillight and the inspector said he didn't need receipts for that.

I then took the title and the inspection certificate to get a new title and a temporary tag.

That evening the car made its debut at the dirt drags. Rachel also made her debut with the Charger. The red Caddy runs pretty consistent low 4.50's. It lacks the high RPM stall converter but it's easy to hold the car at 1500. Overall very happy with the performance of the car, and thinking there is a lot more potential with a tune up, better tires and basic performance modifications.

The car has heads up display on the windshield, and I was able to change the display to show the tach.

Since that day I've driven it a few times. I really like this car. The user interface is just a bit clunky but its a ton better than the black car. The application of power is so much smoother than the turbo. You can actually hear the intake under power.

After that I put a little more time into the LR quarter panel. It's not ready for paint yet but hopefully will be in a few more sessions.

back to work on the finer bodywork

I also made a trip to pull a part to get a rim and maybe a couple tires to help sell the black car and I came across a wrecked ATS that had an aftermarket K&N filter on it and some floor mats - for $33 they are mine.

donor car

K&N took a little damage in the crash but the metal can be straightened and the plastic is intact

[GMJohnny]

I seem to remember that turning off the traction control on my
2016 Regal changed the stall speed. It works the same on my Terrain.
Did you try that?

GM

[MostMint]

All the passes were done with T/C and Stabilitrak off. I will try checking the stall speed with those off though to see if it changes anything. Can't recall if my original test was with it on or off. Based on the amount of pull on the brakes at 1500 (with T/C off) I'd say it's not going to change anything. The turbo had a much higher stall speed - best guess is less torque so they gave it a higher stall.

[MostMint]

Updates:

Finished up the bodywork and painted the LR quarter panel.

Took the buffer to the scuffed up areas on the bumper cover, and applied touch up to them and a few other nicks on the car - base, mid coat and clear. Also did a little straightening on the LF fender.

Cleaned up some of the overspray on the car. I covered every inch of the car I was not painting with paper or plastic but there were some gaps where it still got in. So confusing. Anyway the buffing compound I had to clean up imperfections took it off with relative ease. Still some spots to go but I have the technique.

Obtained a set of Firehawk Indy 500's on sale and had them mounted and balanced.

Driving uncovered a failing LF hub, which I have subsequently replaced.

Additional observations:
- The hood has definitely been repainted, and is slightly out of alignment
- The heater vent control on the driver side is stuck open so warm air comes out even with A/C on. I can close the vent at the dash but this means all the cold air is coming out the passenger side.
- The mechanism that helps the door stay open makes a snap sound when opening/closing the door. Looking closer I can see part of it is broken. Pretty sure I'll need a replacement

The blend came out good

The taillight required a hole to be drilled to fit. Must have changed the alignment pin location between model years

Trunk does not line up right with the quarter. I think the trunk needs adjusted down

[MostMint]

Here’s a little better after pic - compare to the pic in the first post