Projects The Best 1955 Cadillac build

i dont know about anybody else, but im hungry to see more pictures

 

mee too

 

wow, great thread. Im at the begining of my Caddy. Ive got to replace the motor on my 53. once I get it back on the road and have a driver then i will start on my 52. Thanks for posting your build. I know nothing is easy when building the early Caddys

Todd B.

 

1. Wow what great work.
2. Double wow, what a great thread.

 

Dam! that is one sweet Caddy!

 

UPDATE:

Got tired of working the small dings and dents and decided to tackle one other thing I wanted to get fixed...under the hood. The driver's side inner fender panel had an indented area for the 'automatic headlight dimmer' box...huge area, and I didn't like it...so decided to fill it so it would match the passenger's side...I made a cardboard template to see if it would simply "wrap" from the bottom up...found out it would so cut a piece of 20 gauge and proceeded to weld it in (below).



Figured I'd clean up the welds later and then seal it after the front fenders are blasted.

Once that was done, I then turned my attention back to the hole in front of the fender skirt (driver's side)...I'd previously cut a piece of metal to fill the hole but hadn't welded it in...so while most of you were watching the Steelers whip up on the Cards...I was in my garage.

The Caddy had taken a hard hit on the door pillar and quarter sometime in its life...in previous photos you prolly noted I said it had been filled with about 1/2" to 3/4" of concrete (read that: very old, very hard bondo) and it was all cracking...so I couldn't very well fill over it, cuz "a chain is only as strong as its weakest link", meaning -simply sanding off the top layer and filling over it, it would only crack out under fresh paint. It had to be removed and the metal completely redone.

So, once I had that section cut out, I got the old plasma cutter up inside the panel and cut out the inner panel support...not only did the outside get hurt, the inner support was damaged as well...it wasn't doing much supporting. Once it was out, it took about an hour of pounding, dollying and hammering to straighten the support pillar...but we got it done...I slipped it back into place and welded it back solid and tried the door...Hmmmmmmmmm, closes a lot better now.

With that taken care of, I proceeded to weld in the panel. Of course, I'm not proficient enuff to do all this by myself, so my brother is a big help to me. I got him to get inside the car and hold the metal piece to be welded in against the edges of the hole, that way, the metal conforms to the shape of the body. I welded about 3/4's of it and cleaned the welds...



I then turned my attention to the door pillar, which I'd straightened as much as I could, but it also would need some new metal welded in - as you can see, there were parts of it missing...time to make new cardboard templates. Since I'm not so good at bending sheet metal around corners, I figured a bit more stiffening couldn't hurt anything...I grabbed a piece of square tubing, put it in the vice and bent it to match the curve of the body and tacked it in place...



There, that'll give me a lot of area to weld the replacement piece to...and stiffens up the whole pillar...and, better yet, makes a nice "corner".

It took ten hours on Super Bowl Sunday to take care of this section...but it was well worth the time I spent on it instead of sitting in front of the TV, one more thing done...!!! By 8 PM Sunday nite, it was done...and I was done...my hands actually hurt from holding the air file. As for the amount of bondo I put back in it...a skim coat to cover the welds and to smooth out the panel...nothing like what was there...

Healed and sealed....



The area you see there that looks like it isn't welded solid is...from the back side...and this is where a stock piece of chrome trim will cover it.

Well, that's about it for this update...the car is getting closer to done for the summer...hope to have it all sealed and primed in the next month or so...

R-

 

Absolutely beautiful car. Can't wait to see the finished project.

 

All I can say is wow. Very slick Caddy

 

im getting itchy to see a final product... probably not as much as you are! ha

 

Great thread , keep the pics and info comming.

 

Wow! I like the detail to the front edge of the cruiser skirts.You guys have been busy! do you sleep
I'll have to come by and check it out this weekend.
Tim

 

Maximum respect to you sir, truly beautifull. I just learnt a lot of stuff I always wondered about. Briliantly documented. Cant wait to see the finished car.

F

 

Can't wait to see this in paint!
Any more updates Roger????

 

Paint coming right up...!!! It's being mixed as I type this...

Naw, I'm kidding, I'm still about half a car away from paint...but I did get the complete driver's side quarter in sealer...



And got started on the passenger's side quarter this past weekend. I've got some final welding to do on that skirt...and then I'll have another go at the top...want that in sealer AND primer by this weekend so that'll make about 2/3rds of the bodywork done. It's getting closer...

R-

 

Wow, you made that look easy. I can't wait to see it finished....

 

i dont have a caddy but i learned some stuff so thanx

 

One of my fav builds, excellent photography even .Really love the skirts and cant wait to see them back on with some primer on them too!

 

Holy sh*t... I will be following this thread daily.. so far it looks awesome

 

how did the peak on the hood and trunk turn out?

 

Well, cavistyle, you need not follow this thread daily, cuz I don't work on the Cad every day, so not much gets done daily...unless, of course, you want to re-read everything in this thread that's already posted...but thanx for the "awesome" compliment and please, stay tuned. The updates usually come after the weekends.

The peak on the trunk is done...and it came out good...the peak on the hood is welded...but not finished...the hood needs some "panel beating" -- it's got a few ruff spots so I think that's going to be one of the last items done, but thanx for asking.

R-

 

nice work! she's got the makings of a fine automobile, keep up the good work.

 

Cadillacs suck ! Looks like you are coming along nicely. Seeing your skirts make me want to build some for mine even more. But not a copy I'm going for the factory flush look

 

Hey Hoboy...thot you'd like to see a pic of my friend's '56...his skirts are partially "flush", meaning he set them into the body at the front and allowed them to "gently" come out at the back. He used a set of Ford Cruiser skirts and lengthened them and rolled them under at the front to match the Caddy body...I think they look good on the car.

R-

 

Wow !!! Great job !!! I can't wait to see this one done!!!

 

Damn Damn Damn , I gotta get some work done on mine this year somehow. Did I say Damn?

 

Very cool!

 

Saturday morn...decided to work on the passenger's side skirt again...went ahead and made a cardboard template (of the "done" side-the driver's side) with all the measurments on it and cut out so that I can match this skirt to the other (and matching is the hardest part)...



As you can see, the front of the skirt needs some help...but the round rod I use is dead on to the pattern...a little metal fill here, a little welding there...and it "should" look like the other one...



More later, I'm working on the Caddy all weekend...

R-

 

Looks killer Roger. I am gonna have to make some plans to get out your way this year so I can see your Caddy in person. I have some friends in your town I could visit while there.

 

Did you ever get to the point where you just wanted to throw something?
Or is it just me?

 

Sir, I followed your caddy build and must bow down to your greatness...but the reason that I really write is that I am shocked at the descriptions of your trips to the junkyard... dash outta a 57 chevy? then a 56?!? What are these cars doing in a junkyard? Here in chicago the only thing you'll find in a junkyard are rusty piles of rice, with about 20-30 non english speaking indiviguals trying to borrow hand tools from you so that they can remove a motor or such right quickly......I think i'll have to make a trip to one of your junkyards once it comes time for vacation....It sounds like a little bit of heaven here on earth....