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'Sidetracked' additions:

Chapter 3 – An Idea Evolves

Pages 26, 28a, 28b, 32

Page 26, para 3

    When, during those early pioneering days in Middle East, the Oldsmobile Delta 88 needed a new exhaust system – not too uncommon with the excessively salt atmosphere along the Gulf coast – the so-called ‘company scavenger’ was unable to locate any parts, either in Dubai or Abu Dhabi. I was informed however that exhausts could be made up in ‘motor town’, an area of rough sandy streets lined with tin shacks and crude concrete block buildings to the east of Dubai airport. 
    The car was therefore immediately booked in with a ‘nominated’ supplier. Being more than a little sceptical of what was afoot, when the time came I insisted on accompanying my cherished daily transport on its venture into the unknown. I assumed, quite reasonably, that the ‘ nominated’ supplier would have a selection of silencers, a range of lengths of various diameter pipes, a pipe bender and maybe even a diagram of the appropriate system – the normal sort of things one would associate with similar establishments in other countries.
    What I encountered when I arrived could not have been further from any such expectation. All that this open-air organisation possessed were some flat sheets of metal, a suitable range of tin snips and a willing gang of youthful metal workers recruited on contract from India. The owner of the establishment, also from India, was as surprised that I should expect him to have silencers or pipes or the suchlike, as I was that he did not.
    I sat for no more than an hour and a half while, between them all, they proceeded to make up and fit an entire set of dual pipes with no less than four full silencers, solely out of that flat sheet metal. For the pipe, they merely cut a strip of sheet, rolled it lengthways around a suitable diameter bar, then welded along the seam. To negotiate the multitude of bends, they simply made a series of mitre cuts to form the required curving angle, bent the resultant openings together and welded them up as they had with the seams. As for the silencers, there were certainly no plans: the length, diameter, overall shape and all the interior workings appeared to come straight from their heads.
    In the end, ‘the sceptic’ had to marvel both at the ingenuity and the artistry, as the result worked perfectly satisfactorily and continued to do so for the rest of the time we were in Dubai. So, while everybody imagined, when their cars were ferried in and out of motor town for replacement exhaust systems, that genuine new parts were fitted, those of us privy to the goings on in Dubai’s ‘motor town’ knew otherwise.
    Here again was yet another case of ‘anything was possible’ in the world of motorcars, especially in situations of essential ‘needs be’.

 

Page 28, para 4

    As for those two Oldsmobiles, the ‘88’ and the ‘Mamba’, only once did either of them let us down. On that particular well-remembered fateful day, such was the power of the midday sun, and so strong the glare from the parched white landscape, that no ‘idiot light’ saying “stop engine hot” was likely to be noticed; and certainly not by an eager young man intent on reaching the other end of a semi-deserted highway as quickly as possible.
    When eventually man and machine coasted to a halt, the ‘eager young man’ found himself sitting, all alone, half-way between Dubai and Abu Dhabi and therefore more than fifty miles from anywhere. When he opened the bonnet, not only was the 88’s radiator dry, but the smouldering spark-plug leads were not far short of bursting into flame. To add to his predicament, there appeared to be no water in the engine either. The truth, to his everlasting discredit, was that one young man had not double-checked that the radiator cap was properly tightened before leaving Dubai.
    I have no idea what temperature was reached in the engine but when, after nearly an hour, I managed partially to fill the radiator from an ever-to-hand emergency water supply and then cajole eight oversize cylinders back to life, the meagre water ration was blown back and dispersed, steaming into the hot desert air. As I waited, convinced that the cylinder heads, and the block too, must be cracked beyond repair, I idly scribbled an epitaph in the sand: “Here lies an ‘88’ – died on active duty – abused by those she trusted!”
     That, however, was not to be: when retrieved and fully checked, surprisingly, only one of the two cylinder heads was cracked. The other, along with the block, appeared quite unaffected, and no sooner was a new one fitted than the old car was back on the road.
     Of brute force, possibly even a lack of sophistication these cars might have been accused, but the 88’s and the Mamba’s endurance proved second to none in those near impossible conditions. Many another tale backs this up in many a varied way; but, as convincing as several undoubtedly were, they would be superfluous to this particular story.

 

Page 28, para 7

    GM’s late-seventies Cadillac Seville, having been born into the era of early US emission controls, which hugely de-rated American engines, and therefore lacked the power of the unregulated ‘desert’ Oldsmobiles. 
    Fortunately, parts for the earlier version of its time-honoured cast-iron V8 engine were still available, so restoring the horses – some 250 or more – proved neither too expensive nor too difficult. In fact, with GM’s introduction of electronic ignition in the mid-seventies, along with the Seville’s all-new electronic fuel injection as developed by Bosch in Germany and Bendix in America, the engine’s top-end performance proved even better than expected.

 

Page 32, last para

    When evaluating the Seville, particularly with regard to countering any potential eventual sales negatives both at home and abroad, we discovered that over the years this smaller-than-normal rear-wheel-drive Cadillac had become a much-extolled driver’s car, both in Europe and in the United States. Some even went so far as to say that its production, in basic form at least, should never have been discontinued. This, along with Car & Driver’s road test versus the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, was a major factor in us continuing down the ‘Cadillac’ route.
    As for the Seville’s overall specifications, about which I am often asked, they are as follows: 
    On the mechanical side, the 5.7-litres of individually ported Bosch/Bendix EFI drives through a GM 400-series automatic transmission to a limited-slip differential via a constant-velocity propeller shaft. The electronic ignition produces a spark of such intensity that the engine will start first time under virtually any conditions; and, to help provide instant power when needed and assist with economy, there is a heat-sensitive viscous-coupled fan.
    Structurally, the Seville has a one-piece cab-and-trunk, or monocoque, which begins at the bulkhead – the elaborate multi-layered section between the cab and the engine compartment – and finishes at the rear bumper. Bolted to the front of the monocoque are detachable front wings, various bits of sheet metal and a radiator support frame, which together form the rigid front end. To the underside of all this, attached by six rubber- cushioned mountings, is a half-chassis that runs from the front bumper to just under the front seats.
    Mounted to the underside of the half-chassis – on top of which sits the engine and transmission – is the independent unequal-wishbone coil spring front suspension. The rear suspension, attached to a galvanised sub-frame fixed permanently to the rear of the monocoque, consists solely of longitudinal tufnel-separated leaf springs.
    The car, weighing in at 4,600lb (approx 2.1 metric tons), has varying-ratio power steering – which combines precise handling at speed with easy negotiation of city traffic – and to stop all the weight are all round centrally-vented dual system power disc brakes. Front and rear anti-roll bars and Automatic Level Ride (operated by a compressor acting on bellows surrounding the rear shock absorbers) helps create surprisingly precise handling and a very smooth ride.
    ‘Double rubber’ isolation between axles and body adds to the ‘gliding comfort’, and for safety there are five-mile-an-hour resistant bumpers front and rear, a collapsible steering shaft and collapsible steering column, and the doors are fitted with virtual ‘railway line’ crash protectors.
    Driver and passenger comforts come in many forms: tilt-telescope steering, self-release parking brake, cruise control with resume, ‘Twylight Sentinel’ – which automatically turns on the lights at dusk and, if required, lights up your final walk to the front door – and ‘Autodim’ which automatically dips the headlamps for oncoming vehicles. There are three-speed wipers with variable delay, cornering lights for night-time turns, optic fibre displays to all exterior lights, non-restricting seat belts, 8-way electric seats, electric windows, central locking and illuminated driver and passenger door-key entries.
    Driver and passenger door handles activate the interior lights prior to entry. The doors automatically lock as the car is put into gear and will unlock again when in ‘park’ and either front door handle is operated. There is a day-night interior rear view mirror and left & right cable-operated remote wing mirrors.
    More general features include air-conditioning with Automatic Temperature Control, heated rear window, stereo radio-cassette player with on-off remote aerial, ‘dim and bright’ illuminated passenger vanity mirror, and electric trunk lid release as well as ‘pull down’ closer. All the passengers are seated on leather, have cigar lighters and ashtrays, individual reading lights, panic handles and courtesy lights. 
    Barring the cruise control and the fuel injection, everything in the 1978 Seville is ‘electro-mechanical’, some of which first started appearing on Cadillacs as early as the 1950s.  The computerised cruise control is obviously a non-essential and the electronic fuel injection, if all else failed, can always be changed back to standard carburetion.
    Thirty year's ago, this has to be quite some list of standard features – the only apparent option back then being an early form of computerised theft deterrent, which, from all soundings, was not too customer friendly.