I bought a 1961 Cadillac Eldorado GM factory custom off craigslist

Wow, whatta find! How far did your jaw drop when you first laid eyes on it?

 

My jaw dropped but I had no real idea what I was looking at, I thought it was a custom from a custom shop not a factory GM custom. To be honest I still don't know absolutely 100% that it is the 1962 Chicago Auto Show car, but if it isn't what else could it be?

 

^^^ Disagree! But that's funny as hell.

 

I've followed this fairly well, but what about the idea that this was built in one of their "skunk works" or supplier shops. Creative Industries comes to mind, I'm having a hard time recalling the other GM specialty/prototype shops that did this stuff. Could be why the number seems off compared to the in-house builds. Just sayin...

 

Oh without a doubt I'd drive the living daylights out of it myself. But that's what I thought of soon as I saw this, and I just couldn't pass it up great find!

 

I can't live with the paint blisters and the bent rocker molding. There was no rust under the paint, I got a pint of paint matched to the faded paint on the car. I'll try and match the shine with flattening agent in the clear.
The rocker molding isn't perfect but with a bit of welding and some judicious filing and sanding it'll look pretty good, I can live with it like this for now.

 

Nads, that will look much better. I think you are correct in your approach, light-handed but dealing with the blemishes that grab your attention.
I am surprised with what was under the blisters. I thought for sure there was rust through!
Thanks for keeping us posted.

~Alden

 

There's thick primer, as is the case with many hand built cars. It's as thick as a thin layer of Bondo, which they really hadn't perfected in 1961, so they used layer upon layer of primer. I think delamination started with the primer not sticking to the lead, the car was probably hastily prepped as it was only going to be used as a show car and was maybe intended to be scrapped at the end of its publicity life.

 

Love the picture of the Cherry Queen!! Wonder if she has aged as gracefully as the Caddy. Dynamite job on the car. Man' she drives like a dream. Next time we roll, I'll bring the big fat stogies.
JT

 

Looks Great, much better than the one Johnny Cash built one piece at a time. Congratulations!!

 

No smoking in the car

 

No smoking. Check. Any current pics of the Cherry Queen???

 

Ramblur

luv that avatar.... where did you get it?

 

incredible find..love to hear what new information your able to dig up on this one

 

Awesome NADS! How is the Elcamino coming along, this is a great stable mate for it!!

 

Did they really use those hokey screws to attach the ribbed aluminum panels below the belt line or was this done at a later time?

 

I doubt they were originally done like that, I'm pretty sure it was done later, it's gonna be really difficult to restore the pieces properly. The whole car has a very one off build quality to it, like it was just done for the show and not intended to ever be in private hands.

I painted the damaged areas, it came out pretty good, it's not perfect, but I tried to match the patina of the rest of the car, for sure it's better than huge areas of paint falling off.

 

Just curious, have you looked behind the rocker moldings? Maybe something to ID them from back there? Your spot repairs are looking good too.

 

What an awesome ride, congrats on the great find. Thanx for sharing this uber cool beauty with us. Enjoy!! ~sololobo~

 

Jackpot, got tons of documentation from GM via someone who is connected.
Car # 50115 is the Chicago Auto Show car, it is one of one. I still haven't found out about its connection to Walter Hagen. The car was changed from when these pics were taken, the grille is more like a 1961, the tires are single whitewalls and the badge on the trunk says Le Mans later changed to Eldorado.

 

What a score, hats off to GM for sending you those. One thing's for sure, the double white walls in the trunk, were NOT on at the show. This will save allot of headaches trying to find a set. What an elegant automobile. AND the B&W photo's allow you to focus on all the body lines much better.
JT

 

They were double whitewalls at the Chicago show. I like this grille so much more than the one that's on there now, the Le Mans badge is so sexy.

 

I totally agree. NOW....how tough will they be to re-create?

 

The hub caps would be impossible to replicate, but damn are they the coolest or what?

 

Wow! Great factory shots! I can't quite tell...does it have the ribbed rocker panel trim in these shots?

 

GREAT pictures! you really scored with that car nads...those hubcaps are amazing..one of my favorite cars on the board for sure..

 

Wow. Great find with a great history behind it.

 

Jeesh... the grill and caps are sexy.

 

Wow! What a find. Even if you didn't like Caddys you can't deny it's a collector.