Projects Found this in an old moving trailer

You've done a great job on that old Caddy, I'm impressed.

 

Thanks guys, it has turned out to be an awesome highway topedo and we have put about 1200 miles on it so far this summer. Still doing some interior stuff so there will be more updates, but gotta find a pair of skirts. Another build thread will also be starting soon, been putting it off but the next vehicle is about to move into the teardown bay!

 

Another update..had to remove the passenger side front door panel to fix the rusted solid regulator, and the door panel literally fell apart into pieces. So, time for some low buck new door panels. First the disclaimers!
Are they perfect? No.
Are they show quality? No
Are they better than nothing? Yes!

So here is one of the rear panels I started with, and it was one of the better ones!



At work we get a lot of parts that come in plastic boxes, made of the same stuff commonly found on side of the road signs..political ones especially it seems. Anyway they get tossed out so I grabbed some for a nice sturdy water resistant material. Traced the door panel on the plastic and cut out a panel.



At the swap meets I found a guy last year selling bags of plastic trim clips, bought a huge bag for around $7. This is one style that was in the bag, they will work fine. You can buy them online easily but for more money.



Put the panel on the door and drilled a couple 1/4" holes and then held in place with two clips.



Drilled more 1/4" holes through the panel and door.

 

pulled the panel and installed all the clips



Bought a bunch of fabric at the fabric store for $35, enough to do all the door panels and some other trim pieces. Layed out a piece and set the panel on it.



I used weldwood contact cement that I had around in a gallon can left over from a counter top project from years ago. Stuff works great, brush on and let it get tacky, the fold the material over.



Installed panel.



Did all 4 and they look pretty good, a lot better than what I had for sure. Total cost under $40 for all 4.

Now have to make the fender skirts!

 

I was looking at that car when it was for sale, Im glad you got it, its coming along great.
I have a 46 62 series im bringing back from the dead. it sat for almost 30 years. I need to start a thread on it .


here is what I did to my dash

It was black inside and out and I just had to lighten it up a little

http://s391.photobucket.com/user/RussK_album/library/1946 cadillac?sort=3&page=1

a link to my photobucket

 

looking good ..

you dont see these car(s) often.

you do they are usually a small crowd looking at it and asking questions about it

keep up the good work ...

 

Looks good, I like the fleetwood dash better. I have one from my parts car, may section it and put it in my car in the future. It would be a winter project, dont want to take the car down during the nice weather when I can drive it.

 

Looking good. How did you go about converting the clock to AA battery power?

 

I have to see if I have any other pictures, basically I bought a AA battery powered clock works for a few bucks on ebay and installed it inside the original clock housing. Then I bought some AA battery holders from radio shack and ran the wires up to the clock works so the battery is accessable. I will check on pics and auctions later today.

 

Skirts being made, just have to get some dark gray paint. I made a thread on how I made them since it only cost me $10, maybe it will help someone else.

 

drptop70ss do you have a link to your thread on the skirt build?

 

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=828068

Finished the 2nd one as well, just need some gray paint to match the lower side of the car.

 

What is the difference between a Fleetwood dash and what you have?

 

Fleetwood has a dash similar to yours, different size and layout of the guages. Compare yours to mine and you will see the difference. The fleetwood is also a wider car so the dash would have to be sectioned in the middle to fit my car. Maybe in the future, for now I am running it as is and working on other stuff.

 

I enjoyed your build. Your drivetrain choice will make it easy to get parts anywhere you break down.

 

I found this thread from your fender skirt tech thread. Man.....what a great job! I totally admire your ability to rework things that a lot of us would overlook or throw away. You are very creative and seems that you have no fear when it comes to tearing into things and making them work!! EXCELLENT JOB!!! These are my favorite kind of builds!!! Have fun with that old girl!!!!

 

Not a GM fan, but what a cool ride! sits just right, looks like you drove it out of a barn, just awesome. Will look better with paint though.

 

HAHA that made me crack up. I think the idea is to upgrade to NOT break down! 1500 trouble free miles so far this summer.

Thanks for all the kind words, plans were to paint the car maroon when I was building it, but my 11 year old daughter loves the car like it is now so it will stay this way for now. Anything to get her to hang out with me while she will, who knows what the teenage years will be like.

 

Still doing low buck interior work..all door panels done, seats covered about as cheaply as possible, maybe $50 in materials. Have to do the rear side coves next with the same material as the door panels.





Pic with the skirts painted

 

Got to drive that bad boy across a scale somewhere and see what it weighs! Its gotta be epic

 

You could get around all the chrome work by calling it a 1942 and useing the color paint on your grill that chevrolet used on the Chevy grills of those days. Yes I do remember when the"42's came out new! No,I didn't know anyone with a new Caddy so I'm not sure if any Caddys came with painted grills. I like your car.

 

Hmmm... A "blackout" Cadillac. Don't believe I've ever seen one either.

 

According to Wikipedia, it should weigh about 4100 to 4400 pounds.

 

Almost did just that today, was at a shipping place that had a public scale. Didnt have time today but will do it in the future just to see what this thing weighs. Should be lighter than new since the original engine was one massive chunk of iron!

 

I like your " Back From The Dead " Caddy. That is a lot of work in a pretty short time.
I guess the weight at 5800 lbs .
Good job !

 

man i just love to see this thing back on the road

 

2200 miles so far this summer, the "car found in a trailer" story gets told a lot. Just told again a few hours ago at a local car show. Only problem with the car is the spectators who watch TV that keep asking me when I am going to clear coat it like the ass monkey show does.
We are going to try to make the hot rod fallout show if you want to see the car again.

 

Sorry not Stuarts, but Shermans. Depending on the version, the Stuarts had either a radial aircraft engine (Wright Cyclone I believe) or a Diesel in the M5 series
Mike

 

Just turned 7000 miles on the odometer on the way to work this morning, averaging around 20 MPG. Only issue so far is one hubcap that just wouldnt stay put and slipped enough to cut a valve stem. Tried a 2nd hubcap, NG. Put a few mig weld beads on the inner rim across from each other to try and keep the wheel balance from getting trashed, hubcap is now good to go. Car has been a great driver.

 

Love your updates. Every time I see the grille....I wish I was close enough to sneak up with some cola and tin foil. You'd be surprised what a little sneaky neighboring can do. I cringe at the 3k chrome discussion........but for shits and grins, and another low buck looky see.....try a pan of cola, a roll of foil...and maybe some 0000 or finer steel wool/chrome polish at the end process.

I'll go back into my hole now. Thanks for sharing. Neat car.