I bought a 1961 Cadillac Eldorado GM factory custom off craigslist

Am jealous..... sweet find.

 

Nice ride, congrats.

 

Here the lenses are all polished up and installed, not bad for 4 hours work and zero dollar expenditure.

 

I am amazed.

 

I'm loving this thread....keep the good news coming Nads....only hope I can see this in person someday!!!

 

Nads, you have a fantastic and unique car there. It's lucky to have found you, and you are serving it well, making it look as new.

Can't wait to see the final restored product (is that the first time anyone has said this on here?).

 

like I said it won't be restored, just freshened up, the worst damaged stuff will be restored but mostly it will remain as I found her, just cleaner than it's been in years.

The next guy can restore it.

 

Sorry Nads, I guess I wasn't clear. I used the R word as an alternative to 'rodded' or 'kustomised'. I can see that what you are doing is a very sensitive refreshing of a unique car. It's not a frame-off restoration, but you are bringing it back to a former glory without obviously changing it from those period photos you showed us - just like a unique show car deserves.

It's still wearing its' unique history, but at least now it is beginning to look like someone loves it again.



Anyway, a unique piece like this doesn't need a full restoration. That would just ruin the car and destroy its' provenance. Your choice is the good way to go. Show the history!

 

*double post, sorry. That never happens to me!*

 

Great stuff, love this thread.

 

I love Lux Interior, he's been gone 4 years now.

 

Hermit, no way could i customize this car but i am at heart a custom guy, first and foremost.

 

I'm loving this...

Those tail lights are really beautiful. Great way to integrate the reverse lights into the design while addressing the absence of the lighted fin.

Amazing how much that grill resembles that of my '63 Cad when it's removed from the car.

 

Nads I've been here from the start and really appreciate not only your vision for this car but also the meticulous detail that you go to in order to bring the old girl back. I really believe it couldn't be in better hands and look forward to your updates. Eli

 

I don't know if I shoulda done this but I did, too late now. I took a good look at the cracked lacquer on the wood and realized that it was actually pretty good underneath, no splitting or anything, well one little chunk missing out of the passenger side.
The lacquer dissolved really easily with lacquer thinner and after a slight sanding I masked it up and painted it with Deft nitrocellulose lacquer which you can still get at Lowes.
I think it came out pretty good, I know it's not original anymore but would you not do an easy fix like this?
Check out the door pulls, man are they gorgeous.

 

Nads, I guess you never watched Antiques Roadshow.









Just kidding, looks great!

 

I think anything you do to get back to 1961(?) with the car is legit. But if you find a chest of drawers from the 1700's, leave it alone.

 

You are preserving a truly gorgeous reminder of GM's golden years of show cars!
The amount of "restoration" that you are doing is what I would refer to as mearly up keep, or a "sympathetic restoration".
Fantastic!
KK

 

^^^^^^^ Yup!

 

Naw, you did the right thing refinishing the woodwork. I went on a rant about this before: this car was intended to sparkle and dazzle. And it deserves to be returned to that state.

The reason an unmolested old car is interesting is to be able that it allows us to see what the production car originally was. It informs us about all those other cars of the same vintage that are out there. This wasn't a production car. It was a one off, and as such, doesn't have anything to teach us about other Cadillacs of that era.

Shine her, make her dazzle. That's why she was built.

 

Totally agree, unlike that 1936? Ford convertible that was in the Rodders Journal. She needs to shine like a jewel. Polishing on all the chrome is simply amazing. Nads, you truly got Mad Fabrication skills, Brother.
Saw the car on Sunday and I am blown away, in comparison to what it was when it got dropped off the transporter months ago. What a transformation!!
I fancy myself an ametuer woodwoker and let me tel,y'all, the veneer looks killer!!
JT

 

Jakespeed63 helped me a lot with getting her running, he is a true friend.

just picked up my bumper, holy fuck, Spacecoast Plating, you are the gods of chrome.

 

Wow, that bumper came out nice. Didn't expect anything less of Spacecoast though!

 

Yeah, but yours truly did do all the metal repair.

 

That's nice NADS! Maybe now RichardD will let me redo the veneer in his Rivi

 

My friend Eric who runs Paragon Customs in Orlando made these stainless cones which are the basis for replicating the original hubcaps that were on my Caddy when it was first built, he did it from nothing but a foam core model and a simple drawing, he is quite skilled.

 

So, Nads: What are you going to do with the paint?

 

He went way too early. No one could put on a show like Lux and The Cramps. It doesn´t matter how many times you´ve seen them it´s never enough.
Keep up the good work on the Caddy.

 

I will be watching this part with great interest. Bitchin' bumper by the way.