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

if that motor does run you should weld the center link back together so it can be moved around while you work on it. cool ride!

 

Glad you started on it. Bout time! Just kidding. Also glad you didn't get Hanta virus while cleaning it up. I hate that, I always run into the same mess with my projects that I have picked up. Nasty! Need any parts or whatever let me know.

 

Thats definitely soon on the list.

 

Thanks Johnny, Im still healthy, thank god, and still finding mouse bits everywhere. I'll be in touch soon about parts, haha, because I foresee a need already.

 

Very cool project. Can't wait to see it all done!

 

Does anyone know of any interchange on center links that would work for this year Cad?

 

Nice work on the caddy! But what I want to know is........do you take funny pictures on purposeFirst Dogzilla then the man with fins growing out of his head?

 

They just kind of happen. That man with fins growing out of his head is yours truly.

 

Cool. I guess it's a hood off something hanging on the wall.....but it sure looks funny, my dad was famous for just snapping away with his kodak and some pretty silly shots turned up, like a telephone pole growing out of your head pic.

 

Looking good Stutz !!

 

supprised that cad. does not have more rust than that, after sitting out for 39 years. good luck with build.

 

I couldn't agree with these comments more. . .

Lookin' GREAT Stutz. . .and I understand both your "pain" and your "joy" as I felt the same way last week when I stripped/cleaned out the rotting hulk of my '60 Edsel. . .

Keep it up! Looking forward to seeing this one back on the road!

 

Thanks yall, Im glad that everyone is enjoying the thread. If anyone wants to know what a stock (insert here) looks like on a 54 Cad, Send me a PM because this big girl is pure stock. I'll bet 90% is as was from Sept '53. Just a thought.

 

cool caddy man ill be working on mine soon to keep up the work.

 

Keep up the good work there Stutz.

 

Big Thanks to you Tommy! (Dsr_54)

 

nice find!
Gotta love mice and bugs etc....

I usually haul em home with a few house bug bombs going off inside to kill stuff and/or get them to jump out on the ride home, as to not bring an infestation home.

Also makes for lots of funny looks a car on a trailer "smoking" LOL

 

Its getting pretty dirty on the Cadillac. Tearing down the front clip, starting with the grill. All the little rust wholes that are to be expected showed there face...



There goes the bumper.



Heres a close up of some of the rust that surrounded the corners of the fenders where the wires hide.




a Whole shit load of work ahead....


By the end of the day... Duese wanted to go home.

 

Stutz good progress. Once you got all the mouse stuff out did it start to smell better??? Do you think the smell is in the metal or just in the upholstery? My Caddy looked good after blowing everything out with my weed blower. Then I touched the head liner and it was wet and rotten and everything fell down fron the head liner. I had to back up and not get near it until I got some rubber gloves and another mask. Ter409

 

It definitely smells better, but I still plan on going to the extent of blasting the body inside and out.

 

I've had about a half a pound of cheap coffee spread on the floor of my pontiac since I cleaned it out. It was an easy low buck short term fix but I like the smell of coffee and cigars...

 

had a friend that blasted the inside,still had sand coming outof cracks and crevices for a long time especially under the dash,would just wire brush it if you can

 

Just reading this post brings back the smell of varmints from a couple of the cars I saved.

My 41 Caddy's seat coils served as a Mouse condominiums and the dining room was the headliner, glove box and inner doors!

I sand blasted my cars as well and they still had residual mouse smells... I heard that vinegar and baking soda wash would get rid of it.... or at least make it smell like a mouse salad bar...!

I'll see if I can find the pictures.

 

Update... didn't get a Goooood Dammmmmn thing done this weekend on the Mouse House. Stupid responsibilities. But Hopefully I will be pulling the engine out in the coming week as well as "attempting" to pull the body off. Thats prolly coming in more than week. We'll see...

 

The only thing the rodents got on my 68 caddy in the almost 20 years it sat was, for some reason, vacuum hose. Nothing in the interior was destroyed by them. That was the job of mold and mildew.

 

Update. It been slow going on this Cadillac since I've been so busy with lately.

Slowly taking apart the engine accesories to pull the engine/trans. I learned when I was younger that cataloging everything you take off and taking pictures is crucial to putting it back correctly... but even then, sometimes I forget.



Only a couple of little steps left... remove the driveline and cut the exhaust free and pull it. Then I'll move back on the tearing down the body and removing the miles of stainless.



The engine paint is still like brand new under the thick oil build up. As you can see from the pulley, the blue Cadillac paint might have survived.



Theres the incredible size changing dog.



Anyone got a spare Centerlink for one of these?

A serious question on that subject for the pros... If I weld the centerlink back together and refurb it, would I be setting myself up for trouble?

Anyway, slow going progress... Ill try and get back to it.

 

Looks pretty good for a car that sat in a field for 40 years!

 

Ugh, mice are gross. We had a coupl eold combines we had to put back into duty one fall after they had been sitting for 2-3 years. I spent, no shit, a WEEK cleaning those two cabs out. Inside the instrument panel was 4" deep. I stripped them down to nothing, pressure washed both of them at least 10 times each (each time with bleach + pinesol) before putting them back together again with Irish Springs soap for mouse deterent/air freshener as well as the automotive tree smellies...

could STILL smell the mouse shit in there.

 

Update.

Engine is pulled.


Another update.

I am stupid.

Note to self, drain trans fluid first.


Had to disconnect the exhaust manifold on the pass side and found MORE MICE PACKING! Yippie!


I got it out... by myself... and like I said. I should have drained the trans fluid. It looked like the fucking Exxon Valdez spill under the Cad. boooo


This was a few minutes before the engine was out. The exhaust was FULL of mice stuff. This was about a third of it. The other two thirds I had already sweep up. Dumb mice.


This makes me happy inside. and a little sick to my stomach.



My Dog Duese was over it.




Next step... finish removal of glass/trim/doors/ect... and pop the cabin off.

Alright, well

Thats all.

 

Really Stutz? That's all the oil you spilled? Really? Looking good.