1981 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham d'Elegance

[dave.williams@chaos.lrk.ar.us (Dave Williams)]

-> What is a V8-6-4 anyway?

 It was a selective cylinder disabling system Cadillac used to increase
fuel economy.  I'm not exactly sure why fuel economy was a big issue for
Cadillac owners, but I guess that's beside the point.

 The system, made by Eaton, used a solenoid and lock system to free the
fulcrums of both the intake and exhaust valves of four cylinders.  The
engine could function normally as a V8, as an odd-fire V6, or as an even
fire V4.  It worked just fine, mechanically - Honda has licensed the
technology to use on their next-gen VTEC engines, for example.  But GM's
control system was a mess.  The engines lurched and hiccuped when
shifting from mode to mode, and it wasn't uncommon for the controllers
to simply up and die.  Angry Cadillac owners filed a class-action
lawsuit against GM over it.

 Some Chevrolet inline sixes got the system.  I've seen them in the
junkyards.  Ford was *supposed* to use it on the 300 Six in some vans
and trucks, but pulled it at the last moment.

 Interestingly, the solenoids in the actuators have ordinary Bendix type
fuel injector connectors.  No gasket was used; Cadillac simply poked
them through the valve cover and glopped silicone sealer on them.
                                                                                                                        
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