Projects My 1959 Cadillac Six Window Sedan DeVille in Dubai

Beautiful car and interesting concept with the custom rims with integrated whitewall!

I love that you can get the "big fat breakfast" at the Fatburger place. At least they call it what it is.

 

Thanks

The Drums are okay... but the problem is because there are so many nationalities here we're a real melting pot of driver education levels and because of that, I really need the brakes to be better than okay. That's why the headlamps were one of the first upgrades, the earlier I can see them the quicker I can avoid them.

On top of that, a lot of the US Urban freeway speed limits are what? 55-65 mph? Ours are posted at 75 but the radars don't trip until 87 and everyone knows that, so 85-90 mph is the average speed unless you wanna sit in the truck lanes where you're more likely to hit debris.

The other reason is that once you get out of the city - we have some really nice roads to enjoy. We do plan to use the Cadillac for such road trips and I know it's no corner carver and that's exactly why I need to be able to use the brakes! (On my Toyota 86 (Scion FRS) you barely touch them, just steer and hold on!)





It would be nice to take the Cadillac to similar locations for a totally different pace of life. I just want to know that from the brake pedal to the caliper, there's no part of the brake system that I need to be worried about.

Also - the end goal here is pretty much true RestoMod. I'm talking about honest engineering and functional upgrades that are well thought out, and integrate the modern technologies with the traditional aesthetic. Not billet parts everywhere. (although that's nice too, that's not what we're going for)

Essentially I want to treat it as how Cadillac might have built the '59, if they built the '59 in 2012 I enjoy making it as good as it can be and learning along the way

 

Yeah - she's a California girl.

 

We are actually very lucky - the punishments for crime out here is very harsh so it rarely happens. I feel much safer here than I do back home in England. Also there's virtually no unemployment here because as a foreigner if you lose your job, you go back to where you came from. As a Local, you're usually well looked after by the government. And I find that most people living in Dubai are there because they want to make the most of an opportunity and make things better for themselves... so when they see something nice they treat it with more admiration and possibly as a goal more than anything else. Back home in England, there's this sense of entitlement to some people who will be jealous and will want to either damage or steal your property.

Like I said, we're lucky.

 

Thank you!

 

Another update!

Wheels and tires are mounted, ready to ship out tomorrow!

Looks like lots of clearance for future brake upgrades!







(The centre caps aren't fully clipped in)



Can't wait to get 'em!

 

Stunning Cadillac and gorgeous scenery. I'm a little bit jealous, as my only view right now is of the new Freedom Tower being built from 74 stories above downtown Manhattan. I guess the view could be worse, though.

 

Thank you!

 

You have made an already great car better.

 

1959-60 Cads are my all time favorite cars. Yours is beautiful!

 

Very cool! Cadillacs and Fatburger in Dubai! I had the opportunity to spend a week on vacation in Dubai in late August 2001. I was pretty impressed with the whole city. Much better than the cesspools of Riyadh and Dhahran, by a long shot!

Keep an eye on a yellow 1970 Challenger 440+6 that was exported to Bahrain in the mid-1980s. Supposedly, the car is still over there, and very possibly in the UAE these days, who knows?

You live in an area of relative safety and quiet. A rarity in the Middle East.

 

I'am also a caddy lover. Mine is a 1949 Coupe Deville.

 

Yep - I get to travel around the Middle East quite a lot and I'm very happy to call Dubai home. Oman is also really nice, a bit less westernised or commercialised but very rich in culture, scenery and outdoor activities and friendly people.

I'm driving the '59 Caddy to Oman over the christmas-newyears holidays so can't wait to get the 55-profile Radials on there for that journey!

 

Very nice! Love that smooth chrome on the front bumper!

 

Gorgeous Caddy friend, the wires and new rubber look great. I don't recall ever seeing one of these classics in the vibrant red, sweet! Rock on ~sololobo~

 

A couple more teaser photos for you guys

It's certainly teasing me! They should be shipping tomorrow!

What I really love is how these custom 18" rims that are done for a resto-mod purpose - actually don't look modern at all. If anything the proportions remind me more of the rims that you might find on a 1930's Duesenberg. Very happy with how they've turned out.

 

A local friend is running similar wheels on his project: http://www.chitownracing.com/forums/showthread.php?193892-57-Eldorado-Brougham/page4

 

Wow those came out real nice - total sleeper with the hubcaps - very impressed! Personal choice though would have gone for the fat whitewall look but I guess it's just a matter of repainting if he changes his mind! Looks like incredible fabrication work going into that car and I like the 3-point seatbelt conversion on the bench seat. I'll have to look in to that.

Bookmarked the thread and will stay tuned! Thanks for the link!

 

So somehow the Fedex shipment has partially delivered. The wheels and tires are still in France while the centre caps have arrived.

They're teasing me. These look DAMN good. I can't wait to get the rest of the shipment now! Expected in tomorrow morning now.

 

Old tires coming off... Up on the lift!

My early days of driving was all desert / 4x4 stuff and I just love the long travel arms on the front of this thing - just like a trophy truck



Here's the original tires removed - VERY small clearance behind the steel wheel.



New tires going on!

 

Lunch stop prior to the car wash... They wanted to take my order number away when the food came but I told them just leave it for a bit

 

And here's the finished result! I'm very happy! The handling improvements are immediately noticeable. It rides MUCH smoother and corners much flatter. Functionality wise, it's better than I expected. Blue came off nice and quickly in the pressure washer.




255/55-R18's are a tight fit on the '59. A little bit of rubbing at full lock in the front so I'll have to figure out what it's touching and adjust as necessary. The rear was very tight though. The issue was really just getting the tire in there. Even though the fender skirts came off, we actually had to disconnect the rear shocks and let the rear axle hang a little lower to get the tire in. Not that difficult really. Just not all that convenient if I need to do it at the side of the road!

Then when putting the fender skirts back on, was closer than I was expecting. Had about 5mm clearance between the sidewall and the fender skirt. Fender Skirts, meet angle grinder. We've trimmed it back to about 25 mm clearance now. Fender skirts have some other marks on them, will fully repaint them in Jan, along with that bubble in the door that you can see in this picture...

 

That is a stunning look on that Cadillac! Very, very nice!

 

Thank you!

Here's another picture. I'm very happy with the results!

 

Restomod?
Now it is perfect for a trip to the corporate fake american diner.

 

That is an awesomely beautiful car!

 

good looking car, seems like you venture to fatburger a lot... lol

 

Thanks!

There's actually not that many restaurants where we can sit out doors next to the car park here. Usually part of a Mall etc... so with FatBurger they have a great layout and they're very supportive of the classic car club. If we tell them ahead of time that we're coming they'll block the front car park for the classics and redirect the modern cars out to the side

Tasty food too

 

It would look real awesome dropped about 2", I'm not a fan of big inch wheels but they look pretty cool on your giant 59.

 

Thanks!

Totally agree. Air Suspension is on the to-do list. One step at a time! Need to recover financially a bit after these wheels. Worth every penny though!

Laid it on the bump stops in Photoshop just to tease myself. Enjoy: