Starbird’s ’47 Cad

Darryl Starbird is mostly known for the radical customs he built in the late 1950’s and 1960’s. The Predicta, Futurista, Cosma Ray, etc… were all interesting designs that made a lot of magazine covers and turned a lot of heads, but they were also a little too “far out” for the simple man to dream about owning. Put frankly, Starbird’s work has never been thought of as timeless.

However, that doesn’t mean Darryl and his boys weren’t capable of building realistic cars with style. They built many… And this 1947 Cadillac is my favorite.

Darryl started on his ’47 Cad by filling the seams, shaving the trim, and widening the front fenders a few inches to make room for the ’58 Chevy headlights. Once done, he finished the body out with 20 coats of hand-rubbed black lacquer. The suspension was mostly stock, but dropped 6″ in the front and 5″ in the rear. Gorgeous ’56 Cad wires were used as rolling stock. The car was just as decked inside… Over 300 hand-stuffed pleats were performed on white naugahyde.

And that was that… Simple, clean, subtle – Those traits might be rare for a Starbird car, but I think this ’47 proves he was capable.

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