I hope this works. After being a member since '02, I thought it was time to try to post a picture. If this works, the beers are on me!
Yep...worked here...nice Cad...'8 or '9...??? I have a '48 Sedanet, just started and working on a '55 Coop deVille... Is that a '56 Chrysler grille...??? PS, I quit drinking years ago...but I'd settle for a Coke... R-
Nice Caddy... I have a 54 myself that i am building myself and am only 16...40StudeDude any progress in your 55
It's a '48. Been done about 8 years now, but I haven't driven it since a year ago last June. I took the disc brake Seville rear out and was going to replace it with a plain old Chev 1/2 ton drum brake rear. And that's as far as I got. It just sits while I fart around with two '63 Dodges and one '63 Pontiac. The Caddy is a really nice car except my excitement for it has ebbed. It has a 500" Caddy, TH400, air ride, all leather interior and all of the rest of the amenities that one would expect with a geezer car. And, yes that is a '56 Chrysler grille! Good eye. It goes down the road really nice and rides like a Caddy should. Maybe when I get back from the winter trek to Florida I'll start to thrash on it again. I just need something to spur my building juices. I'll see if I can post some additional photos. Now that I've gotten this far, does anyone know how I can post photos like Denise does. This little thing just ain't cutting it! 40Stude, a coke it is! Really, I seldom drink any longer but, I do like a nice cold amber beer every once in a while. I gave the cola products up as, in the summer, I would slug down a couple six packs of them a day! Not good for the weight loss program my wife thought she put me on!!! Weight gain yes, loss - not so much.
Progress EVERY DAY on the '55...the rad is in, support built and smoothed...working on building a shroud now...underside of hood modified and back on...working on hood latch mechanism and lower pan...brake lines all run, fuel line in...trying to figure out a nice place to mount the tranny cooler...etc....I've been busy... I missed my self-imposed deadline of November 20th to make it start and run on its own ...but hey, it's winter here and I can't go out driving it anyway... R- OLD&KRUSTY: The photo thing: Use photobucket...they'll allow you to post larger pix...to wit: This was prior to welding up & smoothing the support...and that's a 500 incher too, O & K...with a '78 Pontiac Trans sub-frame in it...lots of work...
40Stude, mine has a Seville clip on it and it was way more work than it was worth. Had to narrow the A-arms to get the track right! A huge pain in the arse! We've got a couple old Nascsar boys here and one of our members who has a '54 Caddy had them build a front end for his car. Slick as can be and a lot less work. It's a beautiful installation. I'll try the Photobucket site and see how it works. Thanks for the tip.
O & K...meant to tell you that the front/hood treatment on your '48 is tasty...waaaa--aaaay too many '48's & 49's are built with stock grilles, side trim, headlights, etc...not enuff "customizing" is being done to them to suit my taste...my '55 WILL NOT be stock bodied...nor will my '48 Sedanet... R-
40Stude, glad you like the front end treatment. The '56 Chrysler grille, I think, just fits the car. However, in order to get it to look right we had to pie cut the hood about 3 1/2", if I remember correctly. Very major surgery! You know you do one thing then you have to adjust something else. However, the end product is unique and, again, in my opinion, everything seems to visually flow together. You probably can't see from the picture, but the skirts are another little touch that took a ton of work. The entire lower part of the fender is now the skirt! You really have to pay attention in order to see the seperation line. The top of the skirt fits right below the chrome spear so it isn't visible unless you are on your hands and knees. Very subtle but, very much in the keeping of a custom. Glad you guys liked my Caddy. I'm very glad that I finally took the effort to learn the photo posting trick.
O & K...Yeah, can't see how you did them but that is EXACTLY how I was going to do my '48's skirts...but I had figured to use two fender tops and switch them side to side...is that what you did...or build them all by hand...??? And here I thot that was an exclusive idea I came up with... Just goes to show ya there is nothing new under the sun... R-
Fella's this car is a must see in person... It's one hell of a car and about a smooth as can be! Thanks for posting a pic, always a pleasure to see that Cadillac.
40Stude, when I got my Caddy there had already been some work and the rear fenders were part of the hack job. The guy had welded in a portion of the rear fender openings from a '50 Chev (I think) and they are not even close to what a Caddy needs. The openings are much smaller and just looked rediculous, plus the install was terrible. Marty Pierson, the guy that did the metal work on the Caddy, just said lets make our own skirts and never mind the opening. They are held on by two pins in the top and Dzus fasteners on the lower front and back. The skirts are made from 1/2" X 1/2" square tubing and then skinned in sheet metal. Really, works of art as Marty is a master metal man who works with NO special tools such as an English wheel or shrinker-stretcher or anything beyond a mig welder and a bunch of hammers and TONS of talent. He did the work on my '33 Buick 90 series Victoria. The body was so bad that the rear of the car nearly disappeared after sandblasting. Marty just rebuilt it with the tools just described. Amazing skills. But back to your idea of using two fender topsswitched side to side and then flipped upside down. If you do try that approach, you will have to provide some type of lip or flare for the area adjacent the wheel. If you don't, the fender will really have a very fat and most unpleasant appearance. I know as this is the look I first arrived at. The flares on my fenders are the result of standing back and saying "Oh-oh"! Just the addition of the flare made all the difference in the world. However, this is just my opinion. Tony, thanks for the kind words. Maybe, as I said, the springtime could be the rebirth of the Caddy.
Now that sounds like a great plan..and your welcome. I was being very serious. That car is one of the nicest Caddy's i've seen.
Bob, the rear is essentially stock appearing as I think the rear of the Caddy is near perfect as is. However, we did sink a third light into the trunk. Thinking about it now, I can't really remember what the light came from but, it looks very unobtrusive back there - which is what a custom should do. I know I have more photos around and will try to find them so that I can put them up here. One of the things I like best about my car is the dash. The stock Caddy is very ornate and full of chrome. Mine is devoid of all that and is very smooth. Hopefully, when I dig up the photos I'll be able to show this feature. Thanks everybody for the compliments. They are appreciated.
Beautiful! You should post more pics of that one for sure...Sleek looking. ~Gotta love the Caddy's~ The 54 Convertible that is keeping my dad busy these days just got the engine all fine tuned in November and is running like a champ! It's still in Black primer but it's a real beauty!
Mmmmmmmmmm, Kustom Caddys are my weak spot. Looks great, get it back on the road for our Caddy community here.
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