Dirny
Member
My name is David Dirnberger, happy new father/owner of Lucy, 2005 XLR. After a few postings and much, much more lurking, I have finally registered my XLR and would like to introduce myself to the group and thank everyone here for the great amount of help I have received during the last two months. I am the proud owner of my father's 1965 Cadillac DeVille Convertible as well as my regular driver, a 2005 STS 1SG and the first new car I ever bought, 1979 Trans Am SE. My wife Lynn and I are parents to Heidi and Anton, and new grandparents to our two month old (Heidi's newborn) grandson CARmine.
I have been passionate about Cadillacs since about the age of 7, when I sat in the back of my first Brougham, unaware at the moment that my Dad's car was also a Cadillac, albeit convertible. I have affectionately christened my basement man cave "The Cadillac Lounge".
My son Anton coming home from law school this summer for an associates position prompted the need for a 3rd "regular" car. After much contemplation ranging between a cheap beater all the way to a new CTS for me, my wife encouraged me to buy and drive my dream car, while my son will use one of our existing cars. Since I laid eyes on the Evoq show car at the North American Auto Show in Detroit, the XLR has always taken my breath away. I embarked on looking for a Red XLR with tan interior, and found Lucy in Lake City FL in March, owned by a very nice middle aged couple who bought it from their friends/neighbors who hardly drove the car. A flight into Atlanta, picked up by my childhood friend and a rode trip into Florida, and I was on the road back to Detroit. Coincidently, 27 years ago I flew into Atlanta and had my same friend pick me up and drive me into South Carolina to buy a '76 Eldorado Convertible... and here we were 27 years later, him picking me up at the same airport to go buy another Cadillac convertible!
Since returning home I have taken care of many little things that needed to be tended to. A complete brake job and rotor replacement, going with zinc coated slotted and drilled, as the original pads and rotors were feeling quite "warpy" after 10 years. Replaced the diff fluid as the front wheels started to "skip" on tight turns somewhere in Kentucky on the way home. The Race Ramps I bought on recommendation here worked great for getting the rear end up off the ground. I also replace both outer door switches, which were working intermittently. Shimmed up a loose inside rearview mirror. Bought a set of brand new 2009 XLR wheels for her since the existing wheels each have curb rash... and I really love the 2009 wheel. Found a whole set, never used for $750. couldn't resist. There are more sets available, left over from when XLR production was abruptly halted. Waiting for a few more potholes here in Detroit to be filled before mounting them. Installed rear sway bar on the recommendations I found here, bought all the parts needed from GMDirect. Installed a WindRestrictor, lights up red, with Cadillac script. Was a bit unsure of it, but I'm getting lots of compliments on it. Also installed a Kinovo Bluetooth adapter connected through an aux adapter plug bought from Ray Kawal through the Corvette forum. Absolutely works great, can even talk on phone with top down and windows up, plus listen to all the music on my phone. Next up, replacement of the driver sun visor, and a radiator flush.
I could not have progressed so far so fast without the help of this forum. I cannot thank everyone enough, and hope I can give back in the future.
Looking forward to the Belle Isle Indy Grand Prix next Saturday. My wife and I will be in the Cadillac Corral with our XLR, rooting for Andretti racing.
Happy Memorial Day and Happy Motoring!
David
I have been passionate about Cadillacs since about the age of 7, when I sat in the back of my first Brougham, unaware at the moment that my Dad's car was also a Cadillac, albeit convertible. I have affectionately christened my basement man cave "The Cadillac Lounge".
My son Anton coming home from law school this summer for an associates position prompted the need for a 3rd "regular" car. After much contemplation ranging between a cheap beater all the way to a new CTS for me, my wife encouraged me to buy and drive my dream car, while my son will use one of our existing cars. Since I laid eyes on the Evoq show car at the North American Auto Show in Detroit, the XLR has always taken my breath away. I embarked on looking for a Red XLR with tan interior, and found Lucy in Lake City FL in March, owned by a very nice middle aged couple who bought it from their friends/neighbors who hardly drove the car. A flight into Atlanta, picked up by my childhood friend and a rode trip into Florida, and I was on the road back to Detroit. Coincidently, 27 years ago I flew into Atlanta and had my same friend pick me up and drive me into South Carolina to buy a '76 Eldorado Convertible... and here we were 27 years later, him picking me up at the same airport to go buy another Cadillac convertible!
Since returning home I have taken care of many little things that needed to be tended to. A complete brake job and rotor replacement, going with zinc coated slotted and drilled, as the original pads and rotors were feeling quite "warpy" after 10 years. Replaced the diff fluid as the front wheels started to "skip" on tight turns somewhere in Kentucky on the way home. The Race Ramps I bought on recommendation here worked great for getting the rear end up off the ground. I also replace both outer door switches, which were working intermittently. Shimmed up a loose inside rearview mirror. Bought a set of brand new 2009 XLR wheels for her since the existing wheels each have curb rash... and I really love the 2009 wheel. Found a whole set, never used for $750. couldn't resist. There are more sets available, left over from when XLR production was abruptly halted. Waiting for a few more potholes here in Detroit to be filled before mounting them. Installed rear sway bar on the recommendations I found here, bought all the parts needed from GMDirect. Installed a WindRestrictor, lights up red, with Cadillac script. Was a bit unsure of it, but I'm getting lots of compliments on it. Also installed a Kinovo Bluetooth adapter connected through an aux adapter plug bought from Ray Kawal through the Corvette forum. Absolutely works great, can even talk on phone with top down and windows up, plus listen to all the music on my phone. Next up, replacement of the driver sun visor, and a radiator flush.
I could not have progressed so far so fast without the help of this forum. I cannot thank everyone enough, and hope I can give back in the future.
Looking forward to the Belle Isle Indy Grand Prix next Saturday. My wife and I will be in the Cadillac Corral with our XLR, rooting for Andretti racing.
Happy Memorial Day and Happy Motoring!
David
![IMG_0024[1].jpg](https://www.xlr-net.com/forums/data/attachments/1/1421-7a7611d35149d04a22844a1c987f1463.jpg "IMG_0024[1].jpg")
Al
