Has the '60 been across the block yet? I got Pete Stengel to autograph the picture of his '59 wagon in the 80 Years of Cadillac book! I'd love to know the story of the '59 - I didn't think it was James Young though. We used to see Peter Stengel on a fairly regular basis back in the late 70's/early 80's - we'd hang out at a Pizza restaurant on the Kings Road in Chelsea and he lived near by. Consequently (and as 50's American cars were almost unseen in London at that time) he come by late at night and chat. I understood that the 59 wagon was built in a small coachbuilders in Battersea, London SW8 - the name escapes me but I think it may have also been called Coachcraft or Coachworks - it was the same company that in the early 70's were converting the original 2 door Range Rovers in to four doors for Arabs, long before British Leyland did it!
The '60 Caddy wagon has not crossed the block yet. It will on Saturday at the Gooding Auction. According to the online catalogue here: http://auction.goodingco.com/ it is lot #56. They are estimating it to go between 60K and 75K and will be offered without reserve. Sports Car Market is hosting the Gooding sale live on their site Saturday, click here to watch: http://www.sportscarmarket.com/goodingsale/ It starts 11am out there, so plan according to your timezone. I can't wait to see what it goes for! Still wish I was able to keep it when it was here
Hell, I wish you could've kept it while it was here! If you have 'em, could you post pics of the interior? You know, the non-stock rear parts? I'm all sorts of curious about it... ~Jason
Cheers for that CGR, thats 6pm my time - I'll tune in to see it! I'd be curious to see those rear inside shots too. Is it a 9 passenger wagon, where is the spare tyre etc... I mean, if I'm going to but it, I need to be practical... I wish!
No doubt! I'm curious as to the middle and rear seats, etc, to see if they used them from a pre-existing GM wagon. ~Jason
That would make sense - pressumeably they'd have to have done some floor work also - thats what's been done on my '56! I am amazed that GM didn't offer a sporty wagon on that flat top body style as it really makes for a good looking car on the whole line, 59 and 60! Also, my 56 seats are all custom made!
Haven't found out yet, will let you know as soon as I know. I'll also round up some pics of the interior...
I found out this morning the wagon sold for $66,000, right within their 60k-75k range they estimated. Have not heard who the buyer was or where they were from. Working on gathering up some interior shots for you guys.
More info at this link: http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/h/hess_eisenhardt/hess_eisenhardt.htm Here's some info from there: In 1950, a Hess & Eisenhardt's competitor, the Henney Motor Company of Freeport, Illinois, was awarded a special contract to build a fleet of nine custom-built, long-wheelbase Lincoln Cosmopolitans for the Truman White House. One stipulation in the government's order was that the coaches must be armored by the industry leader, Hess & Eisenhardt. Armored limousines were subsequently built for many head's of state including Queen Elizabeth II, King Paul of Greece, and King Hussein of Jordan. J. Edgar Hoover and Mamie Eisenhower were other VIPs that rode in Hess & Eisenhardt-made coaches. Eisenhower's 1955 Cadillac limousine featured a retractable roof panel over rear passenger compartment and was built without a standard C-pillar using a Series 62 coupe rear window. (For younger readers, who may not know, Mamie was the wife of Dwight D. Eisenhower, our 34th President). Hess & Eisenhardt built a small number of Cadillac-chassised airport-style 12-passenger limousines for Colorado Spring's Broadmoor Hotel in 1955 and 1956. Built to replace a group of aging Cadillac Series 75 sightseeing coaches built in 1937 by A.J. Miller, the Hess & Eisenhardt Skyview limousines were built using a Cadillac Series 86 commercial chassis mated to a slightly altered Sayers & Scovill limousine-style hearse body. On some of the cars, four large smoked Plexiglas panels supported by a framework of exposed chrome-plated cross-members were inserted into the roofs for year-round sightseeing. The other Skyviews featured a roll-back canvas roof similar to the ones found in A.J. Miller's pre-war Broadmoor coaches. The Skyview's were built using a body-shell from a S&S Victoria funeral coach, but the Broadmoors's sloping C-pillars differed in one respect. Although set at an angle, they were perfectly straight and unique to the Skyview while the sloped C-pillars found on a Victoria funeral coach were noticeably curved. Skyviews shared the 3-piece rear windows found on most S&S professional cars (except for the high headroom ambulance and flower car) but the glass was fixed in place. The bottom half of the rear loading door opened into a small storage cavity behind the rear seat and the spare tire was stored in an under-floor compartment. All Skyviews were painted Mandan red with a beige side window surround. A feature unique to 1955 Broadmoors was their Eldorado-sourced rear wheel openings, which did not continue into the 1956 editions. Six were built and three are known to survive. Surprisingly when the Broadmoor Hotel replaced the aging 1955-56 SkyViews in 1959, Hess & Eisenhardt's arch-rival, Superior Coach was awarded the contract. Unlike the Skyview's which used extended wheelbase chassis, Hess & Eisenhardt's 1955-1956 View Master "woody" station wagons were built on a a standard 129" wheelbase Series 62 chassis with a Series 86 commercial cowl and floor pan. Most View Masters were built for 9 passengers, but a few dedicated 6-passenger cars were made, including the prototype. All the glass behind the B-pillars is unique to these cars except for the tailgates. 1955 models featured Chevy Nomad rear liftgate glass while 1956 model used standard Chevrolet-sourced 210 station wagon rear hatches. The first prototype View Master didn't include the DiNoc and fiberglass faux paneling found on the remaining vehicles and was painted Sea Island Green from head to toe. It was 1 of 12 built using 1955 Cadillac Series 62 chassis. Seven more Custom View Masters were built for the 1956 model year, making the grand total 19. Seven View Masters are known to survive and as most of them are currently owned by an Ohio collector, they're a common sight at regional Dayton and Cincinnati car shows. Joe Louis is one of the many celebrities known to have owned a Hess & Eisenhardt-built View Master. During the 1950s Hess & Eisenhardt was instrumental in the development of Cadillac's first electric sunroof, and also helped develop GM and Ford's first production padded vinyl roofs. First introduced on the Cadillac Seville, the first run of 50 or 100 such cars for both firms were done at the Hess & Eisenhardt plant.
The black one looks like a plain "Caddy hearse" to me...I don't see the "skyview" panels on it and the rear window door is different...and I cannot see the rest of the blue one... R-
sorry about that i thought the pictures had all 3 the black car is a hearse bought for parts for the broadmoors
these cars are at the shop that i work at the owner even has a running and driving '56 Broadmoor also! i'm supposed to do the bodywork on the running '55! sweet!
Beautiful cars! The "non-woodie" is stunning, and my favorite! Just beautiful. This dealership is still in business, in Cleveland! http://www.centralcadillac.com/Accessories
Not that I'm not as well, but there's something cheesy about the wood siding (and you *know* I like the Woodies, Choptop). I think it needs thinner trim and a little more area covered. VERY nice though. (I'm still bowled over by Leno's (excuse me, Dayton-Guy's) '56 that you pointed me at through the other posting.) -Scott
Thats pretty kool, for a Cadillac. Think about how much kooler a Lincoln wagon would have been though, maybe a '57 or '58. Time to cut up a merc wagon and make one!
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