Well, I always wanted a barn find. Technically this is a warehouse find, but it is close enough for me! When I bought my Brougham, I really wanted a '59 Flat Top, but there were not many around, especially in Australia. I was asked by a local magazine (Unique Cars) if they could use my car in a photo shoot as they were planning on a feature about the 1957 to 1960 Broughams. During the photo shoot the photographer mentioned that there was a Cadillac in the adjacent warehouse. We connected a battery and poured some fuel down the carb and it started. We included it in the shoot, and although the owner was looking to sell the car, my wife would have killed me if I came home with another Cadillac; so I walked away :-( I received a text from one of the guys at Unique Cars on 23rd July telling me that the car was still there and the owner was keen to sell. I wasn't going to walk away from it twice, so I made an offer and he accepted! The car is mostly restored. It is a '59 4 window DeVille with E Z Eye gl***, 6 way power seat and Air Conditioning. The colours match the placard - black exterior with turquoise leather & black cloth interior. It has been re-painted and also re-trimmed using original fabrics (including the trunk!). The only untouched thing is the engine, so I am planning a mild rebuild with 60's gear. I already have a pair of Offy finned rocker covers (original, not re-pops), and recently picked up a genuine Caddy 3x2 from eBay for US$285. I am in the process of getting prices for a 3x2 Rochester setup. Other mods will be an Isky 256H or 262H bumpstick, and some grinder work to clean up and match the ports as well as polish up the combustion chambers. I am planning painting it VHT Burnt Copper so it pops in the black engine bay! The only bits missing from the car are the rear filler panels for the front wheel arches. They will be hard to find in Australia, so I would appreciate it if anyone knows of a '59 with these bits, to let me know. I also have a Ridetech Air Bag system which I will install. I will attach some pics of where I found it as well as a couple once we gave it a wash. Under all the dust and bird poo the paint was excellent...makes me thing it might be 2 pack paint.
Hi Dimadee: What a wonderful find. That 59 looks beautiful and the roof line is exquisite. Enjoy it with some happy p***engers and on-lookers. Thanks for sharing. TEB Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
'cool car, pack it full of ******s and have fun!' Funny you should mention the ******s.......I am thinking of trying something different for the exhaust system. I have a couple of 2 1/4" ****** Max Flow mufflers in the shed. I would ideally like to add a balance pipe to a twin system, however the X frame makes it pretty difficult. I am planning on running 2 1/4" pipes from the manifolds into a ****** on each side, however when the pipes get to the diff I am thinking of merging them into a single 3" pipe and through a 3" resonator. I want to achieve a nice deep & mellow note, but smooth rather than the machine gun sound from a split system.....as smooth as a gravy sandwich!
Good score!! Try Andrew at Auto transformers in Adelaide- He had a stash of Caddy bits for sale. 08 82816770.
Thanks for the encouragement guys, and also the tip for Andrew in Adelaide. I will call him tomorrow.
When I was much younger I could not afford a good set of ******s. I had to get by with Hedmans which leaked at every weld.
I was a little disappointed when I bought the ******s, and found that they were made in China. It seems that the western world is no longer able to make anything :-(