Projects Moss, mold, and mice garbage... 1954 Cadillac gets a new lease on Life.

Good advice. Hantavirus is spread by breathing Deer Mouse "residue" and can be fatal. Google Hantavirus for CDC's website and others regarding safe methods of cleaning and disposing of the waste.

Interesting project ... keep us posted on your progress.

 

I'm Definitely being safe about the possibility of hanta virus.. I even kept my big black dog locked in the other room during the process. haha. Probably won't have much for updates this week until next weekend but I will try and get it running by the end of next month. Center link is snapped in half so for the time being the car is completely immobile. Not to much the left rear brake is frozen and the lack of interior.

This picture cracked me up... Rusty looks like he is doing an impersonation of that famous picture of Sasquatch.

 

Good luck with the project. I'm looking at a 55 in about the same condition. The last car I pulled from a field had 2000 pissed off wasps living in it. I was tapping on the outside looking for rust. Opened the hood and trunk and slammed them closed. Opening the door and stuck my head inside for a look and those basturds were on me before I knew it. One eye swelled up completely and my lips looked like inner tubes. For some reason my friends won't let me forget about it. Once the swelling went down it was pretty funny. They tell me they didn't know I could run that fast.

 

I guess I can look on the bright side and be glad I only have to deal with dead things that can't sting me in the face. haha

 

How do you get rid of the smell of mouse pee any way? I think once its in the steel its in there forever!

 

A few more photos from my phone.




Before removal of the front seats

 

The only way I know of is to sandblast it...did it with my '48...clean now. I'd bet there's other way but I don't know what they are.

R-

 

Gasoline and a match will work... but then you won't have a car left.

 

Sure you would...metal doesn't burn (deform) unless it gets really hot...you'd just have more to "restore" then...!!!

R-

 

i dig it saving old cadilacs rocks , keeps saving the road boats guys ,

 

Cant wait to see the progress on this. I should hopefully be starting on mine again this month.

 

G'day, Odo Ban (Odor ban??) from Sams Club seems to work pretty well for mouse smell. I have used it on cloth, plastic, and metal with pretty good luck. It comes in gallons and you dillute it down as necessary. Put it in a garden sprayer mixed and just spray it on and let it dry.

ms

 

I think i've seen this caddy before? in fact pushed that heavy ass car a time or two, keep up the good work Stuz! lets get it running!

 

I had to laugh at the comment about your dog to. I thought it was either trick photography or the largest dog in the world.... too funny and nice caddy by the way.

 

i spit ice tea on mine. that shit was funny !!!!!

 

hantavirus info here

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002358/

 

I love those Caddys! My uncle had one around '58-'59.
First car I ever saw with power windows and air conditioning!

 

every time a Caddy's saved, an angel get's his wings.....

yep, mice shit and Cadillacs. I've played that game too.

 

Thanks guys for all the support, and for the cautionary tales. I am really happy to have this big bitch finally in my shop and in progress.

 

Update... I spend a some time continuing the clean up and investigating the condition of things. Its pretty obvious that the interior is a total lose. Every inch is soaked with toxic "peep and poop".

It really is amazing though... aside from all the bad... when you look behind the dash, its like the car never saw use. All the wiring looks great and everything is as it was from 1954.

Anyway, heres more photos..



I had five layers of clothes on... because I'm paranoid after all the hanta virus talk. haha


One more of the shit that came out of the headliner...


Put on a helmet just in case I passed out.


Once you get all the shit out of the way it started to look alot better


The first time I opened the glove box it was full of packing. There was a pack of cigarettes that the mice had chewed on but nothing else cool.


the front floors are pretty rusty. It seems that while other parts of the car survived like new, things that did deteriorate, did so to the fullest.

 

And just for perspective... here is some much earlier photos and some of the shit that we found in it.

 

The note cracks me up...looks like something a teacher sent home to parents

 

Yeah that note was something else... apparently Alan was kicking his covers off and crying alot.

All that garbage in this car and I didnt find a single coin.

 

YEAH some one will give you a buck for the orange crush can.

 

thats a cool car , mice and such make a real mess of an interior , also that has to be the oldest orange crush soda can ive ever seen

 

The Orange Crush can was the only one that survived coming out from under the seat without damage. Its always cool to find shit like that. The note was by far the most unusual thing I have found in a car.

 

Update as of 3-20-11

Like Most of us, I wish I had more time to work on my cars. Its always going to be something that I wish I had more time for But, hard work always pays off whether, its for your "real" job or your passion.

But I digress....

I spent some me on Saturday doing more clean up and break down of my '54 Cad. The extent of the mouse infestation is showing its ugly face every step. Literally, Every panel and narrow gap has signs of mice shit, and most the hidden spots of rust on the interior are the result of mice packing holding moisture and causing rust. BUT! with help from the youngest MoonShiner we made some head way.

Complete Taillight, Filler neck


Door Panels Still on Drivers side...



After the Removal of ze panels..






The Evil Rust Monster .... and evidence of passenger side repair from way way back in the day.








This structure piece was cut out years ago some time in the 50's or 60's


...and this door was originally black!


Found this peice tacked in behind the trim of the B Pillar.


This is the other side where you can see the piece that was missing on the other side.


Really starting to look better, inside what was once a disaster.

 

Wow... what a difference



I couldnt help myself


Skyguy giving his seal of approval for the progress.


Got the hood lifted off that starting to really see what I will be working with.


There may be very few things on the planet that make me as happy as cleaning out a Cadillac and letting the plans for the rebuild begin


Trunk... Clean


Rear Cabin... Clean


Front Cabin... Clean


Well I feel like I made progress. The cold hard truth about big 50's cars and especially Cadillacs, is that there are tons of trim pieces, screws, panels, wires, bolts, and on and on... its makes the process slow. But tt is hard to argue that when they are complete, put back together, and shining, they are truely beautiful automobiles. I'm thrilled and loving every minute.

Now the only thing left is everything.

• Remove rest of interior pieces (dash, ect.)
• Remove exterior trim and glass.
• Remove Doors and deck lid.
• Remove Front Clip
• Lift body off frame
• Disassemble frame and drive train.
• Media blast everything that needs it
• Clean and inspect engine during dissambly....

Making a list is so damn important...

 

The some of the later pic of the bottom of the body are more like what I would expect a 40-year-outside Wyoming car to look like. All in all though, not to bad.

 

Yeah, the rear is pretty rusty on the quarters. I think the way it was sitting in the field and the way the snow and grass piled against it helped spend up the deterioration. This part of Wyoming is much more humid then other areas of the state. Yet it still is better than what happens to cars on the east coast and in the south.