Slowly moving forward,....
The tsunami like influx of emails into my mail box has alerted me to the fact that I have not posted an update in a while and that you are all wondering what’s been happening with the car. Disclaimer, actual events may differ greatly, from starting comment. Well one part is true, I have not posted in a while and although progress has not been gargantuan, I thought I would post a brief update,...considering it’s Cadillac night and all.
Life has been pretty busy of late, so much so that Cadillac night has been replaced more than a few times by work night, catch up night, oh crap am I ever going to get this work done night, travelling night etc etc you get the picture! Progress has been small, but as I see it any progress is good progress.
The biggest news has been realisation that Rule # 1 has well and truly been confirmed. Old cars are like old houses, one job creates many more jobs! As an example, I spent many hours working on the clock from the dash board, scrubbing out the old paint from the recesses of the acrylic face, repainting it, polishing it - too soon and spoiling the paint by chemical reaction, cleaning it out again and repainting it again. Waiting longer for it to dry and then polishing it again to remove the excess paint only to see that I cracked the acrylic. Ahh, lifes many lessons,....so the upshot is that if you have a dash clock for a 1949 Cadillac sitting on your shelf gathering dust,..a willing buyer can be found via my email address!
I also managed to find a company in America that supplies reprints of the numerals to go on the odometer and trip dial. Score! I ordered a few sets, waited a few weeks and when they arrived patiently waited till the next MNCN to apply them. Got the first few on, was happy with the results until I realised that the font was wrong. Now some of you out there are thinking, “oh well I wouldn’t have worried” the rest of you are thinking “knowing Cameron’s anally retentive nature, he was straight online to order some more”.
Thought two was correct, so after another few weeks wait and numerous emails I received the next set only to find that they were also wrong. Solution, use my work contacts to have some more printed in the correct font. I will get some extras printed soon and will soon be selling them to all who are interested. Message me if you need some! Hopefully photos coming soon of the finished unit!
I have had a panel beater come out and look at the car to give me an idea of what was required to get the old girl back in rust free shape and coated in some deep black paint. He was pretty impressed with the car and thankfully there was nothing that scary for them to tackle. Very happy with that! He is pretty keen to do the car,..seems like I am not the only fan of this car!
I did have to pick up some new sills for the car as one was rusted through. Through a new “car community” contact I was put in touch with a guy in the USA who remanufactures these with the original press. Received them in the post the other week and am very happy with the results and a far more cost effective option than getting the panel shop to remake them.
Again through the “car community” that I have started to get a bit more involved with on line, I have been lucky enough to meet a guy who is building what will quite possibly be the most amazing ’49 Cadillac ever built. Although my build is pretty much at the opposite end of the spectrum being a very mild custom to a well everything done to it one off creation, I can’t help but be inspired and motivated by this car! James was kind enough to send me a replacement fog light lens for my car simply because he didn’t need it and thought I could use it - a sincere thanks to you James.
I have been through every box and jar of parts and have transferred the bits of paper with descriptions written in Polish from each into a book and have tracked down someone who will translate them into English for me. I might actually find out what some of these less obvious bits and pieces do now!!
I have also been buying a few small bits and pieces to put in the “for later” pile. There is a long long wish list of parts for this car, so I just keep an eye on a variety of sites and if it comes up, I put a bid in and hope that I can get it! I have managed to pick up a “Spalding Flamethrower” dual point distributor which is a classic piece of 1950’s speed equipment that should suit my 1950’s mild custom theme perfectly. Added to this and also keeping with my intended “vibe” is a polished aluminium Hildebrant remote oil filter, photos of both below.
Well I think that’s about it for this update,..stay tuned,
hopefully more, serious progress soon! Thanks for reading.
Finally some progress!
So last night it started,... my New Years resolution of sorts. I don’t really like to make resolutions, however I have decided from now on that Monday nights will be Cadillac night. I aim to spend about three hours each week getting started on the car. Well I have sort of started on it, progressing might be a better description.
When I think about it, three hours doesn’t sound like a great deal however my brilliant plan is that these hours will over time add up and I will actually achieve something. Life is busy, and short, so don’t waste hours waiting for spare days to appear. They won’t. Sounds like I am quoting Ferris Bueller!I will keep it short, don’t want to get too carried away or bore you,..it’s going to be a long rebuild and I hope someone will stick around for the ride. As much as I enjoy writing, and documenting what I do for that matter I also think that time is better spent working! Focus.
So, what did I learn MNCN#1,..That’s Monday Night Cadillac Night Number 1 for all those not inside my head. Old cars are like old houses. For every small job tackled, many more smaller or larger if you are unlucky jobs will appear.
I thought I would have a nice easy relaxed start to things and work on the speedo/instrument cluster and dash clock from the car. They are both essentially ok, just requiring some cleaning before being packed up in the finished pile to be reinstalled when the time came,..or so I thought. Nothing huge, just the comments above about small jobs and a realization that if you are going to do it – do it once and properly.
I polished the chrome frames and although 85% acceptable for use I have decided to get them rechromed. Please don’t ask me how I rated them 85% ok,..it’s a mathematical equation far too complex for me to even understand! The glass on both parts was filthy with some black tar on the speedo that must have been flung in through an open window or something,.. Both pieces of glass are now sparkling clean and thankfully unbroken.
I need to get some more flouro paint for the needles on the dash. Unfortunately as I was doing some gentle cleaning of the 62 years of dust that seems to have found its way into the gauges a few small specks have come off. The needle like end to the speedo arrow has also come away, this should be easily fixed with a bit of super glue.As I was pulling it all apart I noticed cream flakes falling everywhere, when dismantled it all I discovered that thankfully there was not a broken snow cone inside but the reflective paint used to help illuminate the gauges was coming away. This will require some stripping and respraying. The numerical cylinders for the odometer are also really dirty, unfortunately I am not sure of what can be done to fix this part, I will need to do a bit more research.
I also pulled out the reverse lights from the “to do” pile: this pile is pretty much everything I have that belongs to the car! These will just need some wire attention, cleaning, rechroming and some new rubber seals. These lights form part of the “Accessory Group B” option that was included on my car, not sure what % of the $57.80 these lights take up!
In all no big issues, just a bit more than a simple clean and polish,..but oh what fun it is. Pictures below of the destruction!
Whats been happening,...
I have put all the parts on shelves for sorting and storage really enjoying going through some of the boxes to see some parts in closer detail. I should probably point out that I have never seen one of these cars "live" before it arrived so it was fantastic to see it in 3D! The Art Deco dash clock is a particular favorite as is the speedo binnacle and some of the switches. Very cool and definitely form over function.
I was very happy to see that it all arrived safely, including all the glass and small pieces of trim. A huge thank you to the previous owner Bob for that. It really was packed extremely well and considering the journey its been on its understandable why I was so happy that nothing was broken or taken as a dock souvenir while on the way.
The last few weeks have been spent looking at it and researching all of the areas requiring attention,..well most of the car to be honest. I even seem to have polished a section of the rear tail as I seem to sweep my hand over it each time I walk past! I am hoping to set a bit of an action plan, deciding on which part to start on first. My ideal plan is to do it all pretty much myself, however the more I look into it the more I am realising this is not the ideal plan of attack.
Each section of the build that needs to be subbed out will of course entail a higher expenditure and it needs to be planned. For example, I dont want to rush out and have the body done and painted for it then to sit in my factory for a year while I save for the next part only for the car to be damaged while sitting there! So much to think about. The good part is that as the body is separate from the chassis, I can send the body out to be worked on while I have the chassis in my factory working on the motor and other mechanical. Just need to sell a kidney to fund it all....queue a flurry of Ebay selling activity!
So I think thats about it, I will start with the mechanicals and restoring the interior and sundry parts: this sand blasting and repainting and rebuilding should keep me busy for a while. Stay tuned for the future thrilling installment, "Today I sandblasted and painted the old horns". Sure to be riveting!
The long awaited arrival,....
About the 1949 Cadillac
Of these forty odd years of Automotive Design, one of the years that stand’s out in particular for me is 1949. Nineteen forty nine was a watershed year in the life of the American automobile and of all the American cars released in 1949, one stands out as the pinnacle in terms of design, performance and collectability and that car was the new Cadillac.
In 1949 America was emerging from the constraints of a long and costly war and finally starting to break free from the shackles and conservatism that had governed life since 1939. Indeed no consumer production Cadillacs were made in 1943, 1944 and 1945. It was late in 1946 before Cadillac started to return to full production. Their sales figures soared as a result of what Cadillac had been doing during the war.
Cadillac was involved heavily in the war effort, throwing their production capabilities into manufacturing tanks and munitions and personnel carriers. The upshot of this was that it allowed the Cadillac name to be spread and to become synonymous with reliability and quality. The same men who had been driving Cadillac powered tanks and carriers during the war became its market for automobiles in the post war boom.
The 1949 Cadillac although only stylistically tweaked from the 1948 model was an entirely different beast thanks to what lay beneath that long, sleek bonnet. Gone was the flathead V8 from the previous year, an engine utilized in tanks during the war who’s technology and use with Cadillac stretched all the way back to 1915. In it’s place lay a smaller, lighter, more powerful, more efficient 331 cubic inch V8 producing a more than respectable for the era 160HP. As a reference, it took a 452 cubic inch Cadillac V16 to produce 160HP in 1930.
The design of the car, conceived by the design team of Harley J. Earl was a huge hit, earning acclaim including Motor Trend magazines very first “Car of the year” award and ultimately with The Milestone Car Society recognizing the 1949 model as a Milestone Car.
Earl’s Cadillac design was the first to feature fins on the rear quarters of an American car. The fins were inspired by the tail fins on the Lockheed P38 Lightning: a fighter plane that served it’s country well during the recent war. Over the next 20 years these tails fins would grow and grow to ultimately shrink in a way that partly mirrored American culture and influence, a design bubble punctured by the rise in oil prices of the early 1970’s and the new conservatism that came with it.
The ten years of automotive design between 1949 and 1959 typify to me where America was and where she aspired to be. The two small tail fins on the ’49 Cadillac were influenced by and are anchored in where America had just come from while the huge wild fins and space ship influence of the 1959 Cadillac show where America aspired to be to.
It was 1962 when JFK spoke of putting a man on the moon and it may have taken another 7 years for this to eventuate however I can see a spot for the ’49 Cadillac in this chain and progression. From the small fins influenced by a conservative mind set as a result of the war to the huge fins and spaceship styling which typified America’s drive, ambition and “can do” attitude. A result of this drive, ambition and attitude was the ultimate success in placing man on the moon. The 1949 Cadillac is a design worthy of its place and adulation, a definitive example of how automotive design is influenced by and can ultimately help shape popular culture, history and the future.
The how, why & about me & my particular car.
What started out as a general conversation with my father in law who lives in Philadelphia about the possibility buying a car in the US ended up with the chance discovery of my car 40 minutes from where he lives. This in turn started a chain reaction of excitement and frustration which has ultimately finished with a project that will consume many hours of my life.
What drives me to attempt to finish the rebuild of this classic car? The mere image in my head of me driving the car, and the sense of satisfaction and achievement that will be felt as I turn the key for the first time, hear that V8 fire, engage D and feel this behemoth of the road lurch forward in its first drive down the bitumen in many many years.
Although to many this will look like a pile of parts, a jigsaw puzzle with no hope of completion to me it’s the perfect starting point. I can see the car literally stripped bare, totally exposed to my eager excited eyes with no nasty surprises hiding behind new shiny paint. What you see is what you get, simple. You can see what is ahead, the potential, what will be required to resurrect this classic car and be confident that as you know all her secrets she can be rebuilt.
As someone with minimal body work experience, nothing scares me more than the “R” word. Those four letters R-U-S-T strike fear into my heart and a huge dollar sign into the body and rebuilding budget of the Caddy. Seeing the car and all its faults gives me the confidence to tackle the restoration, rather than the reverse. For a car that seems to have lived its entire life in the cold, snowy climate of Pennsylvania it is thankfully reasonably rust free.
After a four month process of finding the car, buying it and getting it taken to the Philadelphia docks, for another 60 day journey by ship to Australia nothing would have broken my enthusiasm and belief quicker than removing a panel on a complete car and finding that rust had destroyed large sections of the body like termites would eat a piece of timber. I have seen the Caddy’s secrets, and they don't scare me, well ok maybe a little.
My interest in things old with motors goes back many years, past time spent working on cars in my early twenties, past a teenage passion for American cars and Ferrari’s, past weekends spent at Motorbike race’s with my Dad who worked with Honda and probably back past Meccano, Matchbox cars and Scalectric sets all the way to Tonka trucks and cars. If it had wheels, I liked to play with it. All that has changed in now that I have grown up, my toys are more expensive!
My interest in this particular car can be traced back only two years to a chance sighting of a car on the back of a tow truck at Hexham near Newcastle. What I saw was “Art Deco” a 1949 Buick Custom by Hills & Co Customs on its way to a car show. I was quite simply amazed and a little obsessed with this car, the subtle roof chop, the amazing body and take your breath away style of this car. Once home I feverishly researched, the car, then the model, then other cars of this year and era.
This trail led me to the 1949 Cadillac Club Coupe, a car from the same stable yet with a better pedigree. I was hooked and hoped that one day I would have my own. Slight problem, there is only about three in Australia and they are hard to find in the US as they only made 6409 of them.
So what do I know about my car, probably a surprising amount considering the 62 years that have passed since she rolled off the production line. Body number 2213 left the factory on the 27th March 1949, destined for Harrisburg Pennsylvania. Resplendent in French Grey paint with a grey cord and felt interior she rolled onto the FJ Boutell Driveaway Co. car carrier on four Royal Black White Sidewall tires.
She was well kitted out with Hydramatic Transmission, front compartment radio, deluxe heating system, fog lights and Anti-freeze - probably a good set of options to include considering those cold Pennsylvania winters. With her special steering wheel, license frames, glare proof mirror, wheel disks, back up lights and windshield washer she was all ready for delivery.
Who purchased her, unfortunately I don't know however I do know that they picked her up from White Rose Motors in York PA. I have tried to research the dealership, unfortunately it no longer appears to be in business. What I now know as a result of my research however is that “White Rose” is a popular name for a nudist camp and can point you in the direction of one’s in the UK and the US if you are interested!
From 1949 to sometime in this century it’s a mystery to me as to what # 2213 was doing. She did keep her original paint, managed to avoid anything more than a bit of rust and the odd dent and scrape until she came to the attention of a father and son team who planned her restoration. They totally stripped the car, right down to the last nut and bolt, carefully and meticulously labelling and making notes on each component and jar of screws, clips, bolts or nuts. Unfortunately for me this has all in been in vain as it's all in Polish. I speak no Polish and fear that it will take me longer to learn Polish that to restore the car.
Unfortunately for ease of rebuild yet fortunately for me personally the Father & Son team moved from a house with a garage to one without, so something had to go. You guessed it # 2213 was packed up and put on the market looking for a new home. A gentleman named Bob answered the call and became the new owner of this “project” and proceeded to have the chassis restored by a shop near his home. The quality of this restoration is so high it makes we want to drive the car around without the body on, just a glorious black frame with four big whitewall tyres!
Again fortunately for me, Bob has too many projects and not enough time so # 2213 was back on the market where it came to my attention. I enjoyed many chats with Bob over the phone about the car and with Pete's (my father in law) inspections of the car knew that it was a good car to get my excited hands on. It was a long, costly and frustrating process to get the car here yet now that its here all I can think of is restoring it and getting # 2213 back on the road.
Please check back in to this blog to see how it’s all progressing. I am hoping that it will be back on the road in about two years, optimistic I know however I have that image of me taking her for her first drive to keep me focussed and motivated. I can’t wait!
Thanks
Cam
