i'm fixing my 53 Caddy pickup my dad had built in 1957 when the ford Ranchero came out.it was done in Los Angeles by King Auto body.I'd like to know if anyone out there has seen this car in the past or know anything about the build.My dad left it to me when he passed and now i plan on restoring it. it was made using brand new parts from the ford dealership not from a used car.also what i want is to see some caddy with other types of exterior sunvisors like futons and such. I will have my son post some pics later.thanks guys this car is cool..carlos in tucson az
I've never seen the car before....but I hope someone can help you with this... Looking forward to seeing a few photos...looks interesting.
Thar's great to see a son work on something his father built years ago. Please keep posting with pictures.
It does look like an interesting car. It was fairly common in the '50s to see cars modified into ranchero type trucks, often as a rolling advertisement for someone's body shop. Many found their way into the magazines. I'd love to see more pictures of this one.
In that time period there were a number of Cad pickups built by the same coach builders who built the Hearses and Ambulances around the country. The Cad dealer in down town Seattle had one as a service truck for many years. That appears to have been a well done conversion and it would be great to see it restored to the way your dad had it built in the 50's.
many people had told dad and i that it was a flower car but it was not. he had a trucking company and wanted a Cadillac pickup. At first the plans were to cut it in half and weld a 5 window chevy cab to it and to put the same bed but ford came out with the Ranchero in 1957 so they bought the parts new from the dealer not used.built in LA by a Body shop call King Auto Body .thanks guys for the help
A fella in Sheridan Wy had one in 95. When I looked for him in 07 he was gone. Any chance he wa s your dad?
I have sen a few flower cars conversions of that era on Cadillac frames. As morbid as it sounds there are hearse and flower car collectors they might have some leads on the car.
I have seen Carlos' car in person,It is bad ass.About ten years he pulled up in front of my car wash that I owned at the time and I was blown away.I walked out to the street to talk to him,very very cool person. Does anybody remember the movie where Richard Pryer was a race car driver and he has a 50's era Caddy made in to a pickup?
still looking for any info on this car.my dad told me that after it was converted it was put in some magazines but could'nt remember which ones.I'll post more pics later.any help would be cool thanks
If it is a custom (cool) then they really went about it the hard way. They have copied a Funeral Flower car. MrC.
car was never a flower car.i've had guys argue that it was ,that they made them back east.i will post picture soon i'm working on it from time to time.
very interesting and good luck on the restoration!... I heard about a '49 Cad P/U in my area sitting in someones field....need to get on it and check that out...thanks for reminding me...
There was one of those around South East Portland around the mid 60s, Looked a lot like that. It belonged to an auto repair shop. Not much but that's all I remember. There still is an outfit that converts the cars to trucks. Maybe these folks have something. https://www.cadillaclasalleclub.org/
herei posted a pic i took last month ofmy dog buddy in the bed of the pickup.andon the other I'm sitting on my mom's lap with my older brother and sister in Mexico 1962.the caddy pickup is in the back ground
here i'm siting on my mom's lap with my late brother and sister back in 1961-62 in front of the caddy and thr other pic is of the rear of the caddy with a new rear glass and polished trim that my son Carlito's and i installed and polished ourselfs
bump any one seen this caddy in the LA area was buit at King auto body 1957-58 Los Angeles California
Cool looking Caddy. What parts are Ford......as you mentioned they used new Ford items. I have seen several of these type conversions done on Cadillacs and Oldsmobiles over the years. No - they weren't all used as flower cars. There was an older fellow who had a small body shop near my house. Every so often he would build a car/pickup, drive it a while, then sell it. Always thought they were pretty unique.
my Dad told me they bought the parts new from a ford deal in L.A.this is what they used..rear window frame/trim and metal section in side by the glass,all the inside bed tailgate, "roll pan" and bed trim.he told me he spent $800 but i don't know if that was for the parts or the whole job.
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