Hoo boy, here we go. Don't expect anything exciting. I was hesitant to start this thread because I don't have anything to show for, but I did only get the car a little over a month ago. I guess this can be the beginning project thread, as it seems a lot of project threads around here can span for years...so I guess I won't be too out of place. I was looking for a '59 or '60 Cadillac for a long time, and it seems whenever I found one I liked, the funds were not up to par. Isn't that the way that it goes? However, this time around, the cards laid out just right, and I snagged this one. Pictures at the bottom of this rambling... Yes, it is a more-door, but I don't give a damn. It's a '60, and that's all I cared about. It was a borderline road-ready driver and 1) not rotted to hell, 2) not 2,000 miles away in California, 3) a "running when parked" deal, which was a key factor in my decision. I guess the purpose of this thread, for now, is to gather some opinions and perhaps some inspiration; a helpful nudge in the right direction and to bounce some ideas off of you guys. After being waxed: Interior (also the day it was driven home from Detroit): The interior, paint, etc. is the work of the PPO (previous previous owner). I really wish they had not cut the dash for an aftermarket radio...granted, I would have added one myself, but I would have gone with something a bit more stealthy like a glovebox install or at the very least something non-permanent like brackets below the dash. Perhaps I can snag a period-correct Cadillac radio at a later point in time to blend it in to fix the sin. The seats were also out of a 90's Cadillac, so it appears. Judging by the removed, original blue interior pieces in the trunk, the seats were probably trashed. Seems the PPO did this quick and on a budget to make a cheap cruiser. For the interior, for lack of any better ideas, I think I'd like to get the correct seats for it, and have them reupholstered (and the interior in general) to factory black and white style. A custom interior would be nice, but I lack expertise and inspiration in this department...plus, I love a stock, factory Cadillac black and white interior. A lot of the interior trim was removed for paint and never put back in. It's too rough and ugly to even bother putting back in at the moment anyway. The paint. For now it is decent enough to wax and take a shine, but I'm not so wild about the color scheme. Plus, it has the usual chips and flakes here and there. The underside is fairly solid, and I can't find any rust through (yet). I'm hoping filler was used sparingly...but God only knows what I'd find if I stripped it completely down, something I'd be tempted to do - or maybe not, depending on advice. It's fairly straight as-is, and I don't wanna strip it completely down and get over my head and make it worse. Would like some opinions on color combos, or colors in general. I've seen some nice '60's with the candy flake, nice two tones, intricate detail and all that, but haven't really seen anything that fits what I want mine to look like. I'm having a hard time finding inspiration beyond a solid color, gloss black. Until I'm inspired, that's what I'd be shooting for. Gloss black body, black grille, black powder coated smoothie wheels (not sure on what kind of chrome center cap) - with or without wide whites, I'm not quite sure on that yet. I just keep picturing this long, low, mostly all jet black Cadillac over and over. It's all I can see right now. Plus, a simple, solid color paint job I could more easily manage. I'm not sure I trust myself to pull off a proper paint job though, so not sure on that one. I want to do as much of this as possible myself, but I want it done right. Perhaps I'll experiment on my '54 Plymouth... Like I said, I'm just looking to get some opinions and bouncing some ideas off the more experienced. I guess I should shorten this and summarize my pipedream plans: - Air suspension - Correct the interior to stock style in black and white, for lack of better ideas - New paint (gloss black as earlier indicated) - Fix the cut dash - Some engine dress up goodies/speed parts like a multi-carb intake (3x2, 4x2, etc.) - New wheels, possible wide whites Those would be the "fun" things to do. So far, after spending the money on the car I've slowly been improving the necessary as I could afford. Basic stuff like rear shocks (fronts soon), plugs, tuning it up, fuel filter, belts, tires (for functionality in the meantime), loosening up the windows, fixed wipers, etc. Other necessary things that need to be done before aesthetics: - Fix transmission leak (this is the biggest one I need to do as soon as possible, damn Hydramatic front seal!) - Replace certain weatherstripping/seals - Replace various front suspension parts/rubber/bushings - Whatever else comes up Right now functionality is most important. I'm not too worried about the interior as much as the exterior, nor the exterior as much as the mechanicals, but I know a crappy, hackjob interior can ruin the overall feel for a car. I don't mind the current, as it serves a functional purpose, but I would like to improve it in time. Priorities first, however. Being done on a budget, and slowly. Some day I would like to have enough done to it so it could earn the status of a mild kustom, but I think I lack the vision for that at this point. It won't be original either, so it's not stock...so until it is determined what exact path this car will take, it will simply only be known as...The Jalopillac.
I like it. It might be a 4-door but it's an old 4-door. Beats a modern 2-door car for me any day. What engine is in it? I'm assuming the original engine since you didn't talk much about it aside from adding some go-fast goodies. It's refreshing seeing people take rusty field-find cars and building them to be traditional or period correct. However it's much more refreshing to see someone take an already-drivable car (sans good taste..) and change it to fit their desires, especially if it's traditional desires. take your time, think this through, do a lot of snooping around on here. There's enough stuff on these Caddies to learn here that'll help you out. This is yet more proof you don't need to find a car that hasn't ran in 50 years to make into a nice mild custom. So what if it takes a few years. I've been working on my car for closer to two years now. You can't rush perfection. Looking toward what is to come of this. iPhone - TJJ App
Paint some wide whites onto those tires and snap some caps over those hideous rims, that would help a ton right off the bat. Not real fond of the dark grey on the bottom either, if you can't match the color, you could consider two-toning the car with a more complimentary color (lighter or darker gold perhaps) and carry that over onto the roof as well as the lower part so the secondary color doesn't look so out of place. I'm parting out a '62 4 door hardtop that has some pretty decent seats in it, I'm sure the '62 seats are slightly different somehow but I'd bet they'd fit in there and look better than those horrible late model deals, I'll sell you them super cheap if you can find a way to come and get them. Probably have a set of stock style steel wheels I could set you up with too if you want to ditch the truck rallys. Looks like a pretty decent car overall, a few changes will go a long way.
thats a nice lookin car. i might be getting one sometime next month if everything works out. ill post pics when i do!
Yeah, the stock 390. I wouldn't change it to anything else. If anything, another little project would be to have it rebuilt with a few performance parts for a little bit more zip, but as long as it keeps running strong, that'll be one of the last things on the list... And I would like to keep it close to traditional as possible, while making a solid endurance driver. No 350/700R4 or 20" mag wheel shit here. I've gained a ton of information on this board, hands down the best resource. I like learning in general, about cars I'll never even have, there's still a lot of information to be garnered, inspiration to be gained from paint ideas, fabrication, etc. I have a ton of admiration for the people who can make art out of rust; it truly is humbling. I almost feel kinda bad not starting off with something rougher, haha. Good ideas. If anything, I could get at least two smoothie wheels for the front, and a pair of tasteful hubcaps for the rear. A sort of middle ground to help general appearances until I could afford all 4. I appreciate the offer, and agreed, the '62 seats would be close enough, unfortunately I couldn't afford it or the drive as of the moment. I really wish I could though! And yeah, I'm not sure what the PPO was thinking with this color scheme. Maybe it was around Halloween...?
Ya can't go wrong with a vintage Caddy. That looks like a nice start, I hope you stck to it and get 'er done right.
Starting this has kinda bumped up the paint on the list of priorities...I think perhaps setting the car to the color I want it to will help my inspiration. Kinda hard to see it how I want to with that pumpkin color glaring at me all the time. Some opinions directly related to paint... I'm waffling on whether or not to try and do it myself, or have it painted "professionally". I'd really like to do it myself, just for the pride factor, but I want it to look good too. Perhaps I could try doing it myself, and if I'm not satisfied, just strip it down to bare metal and do it all over again...? Which leads to another factor. Should I strip it down to bare metal completely? My hesitation for this is that I'm going to run into filler; it's just inevitable. Now if I run into heavy filler, say in the quarters, I'd like to patch it right. But I don't have a proper welder for body panel patch work. Before I tackled anything like that, I'd like to learn/experiment with hammer and dolly work, and gas welding; the old way. In turn, it makes me wonder...since the paint is decent (albeit lacking a bit of taste), save for some chips and minor flaking that could easily be feathered, could I get away with painting over the old paint? Would this be a bad idea? I'm not even sure what type of paint was used, and I know due to the differing chemicals in certain paints the results could be horrific if they didn't jive well together. Still, this brings me to hesitation. Even if I could paint over the old paint, prep it properly, use quality paint...and invest hundreds in the proper spray gun and other associated accessories...I don't have the proper place to do it. My garage is old and musty, sometimes damp. It's also very humid this time of year, and will be until September at least...then there's the sanding even after it's been painted, buffing, bringing out the shine - shit! I've never done this! I don't know. I'm still debating on what to do. I've been reading and looking up and keeping tabs on other peoples' home paint jobs, and they make it look easy and simple. I'm just a little daunted by the task. I wouldn't be so worried if the car started out rougher, because hey, almost anything would be an improvement, right? I wouldn't be screwing anything up. Quality paint suggestions would be appreciated, too. I guess I just need to focus on one little thing at a time, and not try to bite off more than I can chew. I tend to overwhelm myself by thinking about every little detail in advance. K.I.S.S.
That is one cool looking car, and a perfect example of the BS that more-door's don't get it. Actually it looks pretty fine just as it is... I too would do something else with the wheels/rims...(Chrome reverse always class up an old boat like that IMO) Color combo I kinda like as it is...definitely different... Good luck, and keep us in pics as you get it finished. Cheers..........
ok somone do a photo shop of it with moon disc's on it and do the bottom in silver +1 on black and white interior and Ill give ya $50 bucks for the front seat for my f100
Def (K.I.S.S.) take your time do what you want but don't cut corners, if you don't have the money right now then save until you do, set up a cadillac fund... put you change into it and whatever you can... believe me it will build up into some serious cash! When you got the money get that paint job( but do it professionally( home paint jobs never turn out the way you want it to unless you've done it many times before and learned from your mistakes) And the only part I would def get rid of are the 90s seats( seats from the 90s belong in the 90s!) Hope this helps I love cadillacs.
Start selling some of your old stuff on EBay to get more $$. That's what I always do. Makes more room in the garage too.
Cool car! Congrats! I agree on a black and white interior... it seems right. I always loved the old cars that were big enough to throw a party in!
I like it. I like the current color and I like the current wheels. I would lower it just a tiny bit, maybe another inch. Then I would enjoy driving it alot while I got the interior up to speed. You did very well.
cool car, I am a cadillac addict myself and just love the 1960's (I prefer the bubble tops though) I bought a 60 cdv in January and it already had bags in place but not plumbing, so I fixed that and added WWW and now I drive the car everwhere I go. does highway speeds with ease, very reliable and suprisingly comfortable...however it's in quite a bit rougher state than yours. great start, and I'll be following your progress here's a pic of my jalopy cadillac
i think this pic was on the hamb a while ago. move the rear window forward, weld up the rear doors and fab a box. simple! it's a manydoor so it's legal.
i've been looking for a '60 flat top to do just that. 60s are so much cooler than 59s. so get busy and post pics. somebody's gotta do it.
That's a nice score. I think I have a '63 (from our Coupe DeVille) seat up overhead yet, that would need recovered but WAS complete. Brian
That's a pretty cool find. (Price dependent, I suppose.) I would capitalize on everything that is RIGHT with the car at the moment. It looks like a good cruiser. I would try to check the body out first and see what exactly you have. Maybe then you can decide about paint. I actually like the color scheme it's in. It's not original, but it just looks like a fun car. If the body checks out pretty good, maybe stick with it for now. You can always change it later. Then give the basic mechanicals a once-over to make sure it will drive well. Fluid changes, brakes, bushings, etc. At that point, you can cruise this thing for a summer or two, if need be, while you decide what to do long-term. The interior looks out of place and pretty shabby, but the idea of comfy modern seats is somewhat tantalizing. Since you don't have the original interior complete ... Perhaps you can do some custom work to integrate the modern comfort features like sculpted buckets with period-correct materials and colors. I would also consider some headrests, to be honest ... having been rear-ended with a ~50mph speed differential, I can say they could save your life. I know they generally look wrong in a vintage car, but if done right, they might integrate okay. Or just remove them when showing it. Anyway, I wish you the best with the project!
For now, I'd find a rattlecan color that matched the upper body and shoot the lower quick & dirty. Then I'd look into whitewalls and full wheelcovers, something smooth and elegant, not gaudy. The tires on there now, are they light truck tires? I'm curious about whether there is any whitewall that could be revealed by grinding them. Down the road you'll figure out paint schemes and details, but doing the above will make the Jalopillac look a bit better.
looks solid. do the quick and easy so you can enjoy it for a bit while you decide on future mods. ditch the truck wheels, skinny or wide whites-it can handle either, match the paint as close as you can to ditch the gray. instead of repainting right away might as well have fun with a blank canvas- lay some seaweed flames / scallops / panels etc, might make you hate the color less if it was partly covered and then cruise it. i like your approach to this thing, keep us posted.
I actually dig the color that's on it now, although the lower color I could pass on. With some WWW and full covers, I think the beast would dress up just fine. As far as some of your futurethought: If you can afford to do it twice, you can afford to do it right. . My own three pesos: work on it as you can, and drive the damn thing!
Beautiful coupe there. Seeing your wide whites and the dark wheels really makes it stand out, the minor surface rust doesn't even bother me when I look at it. Something I need to keep in mind heavily as I change things one by one... The PO changed the oil and filter before I took possession of it, and put on a new master cylinder and fixed a leaking wheel cylinder. It is however a single reservoir master, which makes me wince a little bit. Another thing to upgrade... Your suggestion of a seat with headrests brings to mind something I forgot to mention. I would like to put some sort of rollbar/brace in it...yes, in a Cadillac. Why? Because after the benches are in, I'd like to have 4 point harnesses for seatbelts (front). I know this isn't traditional, but I really would prefer having them; and I need a proper anchor point for them. Would be nice if it added a little side-impact strength too. The purpose of the harnesses would not only help keep my pretty face from smacking the steering wheel in the case of a collision, and my ribs curved, would also help keep my ass in place. Sliding around bench seats taking a sharp turn or maneuver is a bit hazardous! I had enough of that fun in my teen years in my old pickup. They're an all-around sedan type of tire. The cheapest thing I could get brand new...tires were put on within less than a week of getting the car home, and I wanted to be able to drive it around without having the dry-rotted, cracked older radial tires blow out and leave me sliding down Main in front of everybody. Good point. Doing it multiple times would be redundant...only thing to gain from it would be experience. I might outsource the paint job at a later date. For now the car is definitely a driver, and is my first and foremost concern. I won't want to undertake anything major (like bags, paint, etc.) that isn't well-organized in advance for minimal downtime. I'm definitely having a lot of fun driving it in the meantime as I slooooowly improve little things here and there. Hell, as soon as the trans leak is fixed and no other major problems have been discovered, I may head out to St. Louis with it to visit my buddy. Love that city. When the humidity lets up here, I think I'm going to Rustoleum the grille gloss black. Should I go for the wheels too...? Actually, I wouldn't half mind the gray part being turned to gloss black quick and dirty...a black bottom half and black wheels would contrast and look better in the meantime. Just in time for Halloween! Right now, I'm tracing down a rain leak in the rear, and have the back seat out most of the time. It seems the rear window seal is just a bit dry and shrunk, and was letting it in under the rear roof, along the chrome trim inside, and onto the floor. Hence the rust you see in the rear - were it not for the leak, it would not be there. I'd like to replace the seal entirely, but at $208, roughly, for a brand new complete seal, I've taken to testing out 3M Caulk Strips in the meantime to trace it down. Luckily it's black and somewhat blends in with the seal, but I don't care for the method all that much...either way, that has to be done whenever possible. Boring use of money, yes, but functional and necessary. All the fun stuff comes last unfortunately...
The Jalopy Journal
