1961 Eldorado Concept Motorama Show Car

[Series75]

Bob,
Whether these shows took place in late '61 or 'early '62 the car does highlight minimally some '63 style points.  Raised Hood, with what appears as the '63 tight V&Crest or is that a wreath & crest?  Also the interior wood panels resemble the 1963's. 
When you magnify the show photos on the turntable the passenger side sure looks wavy.  Odd.  What wheels and tires are on the car back in 61-62, wires or ? 
Tom CLC6866

[INTMD8]

Awesome car, I'm looking forward to learning more about it

[N Kahn]

I have a very strong affection for unrestored survivor cars, which this one is, but it does have areas of damage that are beyond patina and if left unchecked will deteriorate further. What I want to do this car is to get it running and then do spot repairs which minimally affect the condition the rest of the car is in.
The hood molding is made of pot metal and is in poor condition with peeling and pitted chrome, also the front bumper has been hit and is cracked right in the middle, the repair of both will result in them being beautifully shiny thereby making them stick out like sore thumbs.

What to do?

[62droptop]

you could have the chrome shop not polish so much and leave a more satin finish,no?

[76eldo]

I think if the condition of the paint and chrome is such that it really detracts from the appearance of the car, I would repaint and rechrome it and bring it back to what it looked like when GM was using it as a show car.

Joe Bortz has totally restored many Motorama cars and gets respect and accolades for his efforts.  Taking a significant historical vehicle and putting it back to it's original appearance, exact color and so on would be what this car deserves.

Looking at the photos in this thread, it clearly needs a new top, some repair on the quarterpanel, and paint, and it's quite possible that it's been repainted already.  You won't know until you start doing some sanding.  To leave the car like this would be a shame.

Taking an all original car with only minor imperfections and tearing it apart and restoring it is a bad thing, but if your car needs work, I say make it look right.

Brian

[N Kahn]

Joe Bortz' cars are far more significant than this car for one, and they were found in far worse condition, some literally sawed into pieces with no drivetrains, chrome, trim or interiors, this car is 100% complete.

At the very least I'd like to show her as found on the first go round and then I'll make a decision as to what to do.

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

The most important thing is to stabilize any rust so that it will not progress resulting in further damage. It's apparant that the car already had been refinished so there wouldn't be any great loss to originality by refreshing the exterior. The chrome, grillework and all exterior trim should also be addressed at the time the painting is done which will all need to be removed anyway. An able & qualified chrome shop will be able to sort the front bumper crack as well and I agree with Brian, it's probably best to have it done by an expert in one-off cars. Being a unique assembly, it would be unwise to chance having it restored by anyone else. 

[INTMD8]

I have a very strong affection for unrestored survivor cars

As do I.

If it was mine I would leave it original/unrestored if it could be brought back to 85%+ condition just by cleaning and mild restoration. (sympathetic restoration)

In this case, with the paint/chrome and top damage I would just do a complete resto.

Just my opinion.

[N Kahn]

Trust me, I am more than capable of restoring this car, including repairing the front bumper, I have taken a 56 Chevy wagon three piece bumper welded it into a one piece, closed the bumper bolt holes and had it chromed by Spacecoast Plating, who are the best.
I cannot do the top or upholstery.
I've been doing this stuff for a long time and I'm not letting it out my hands and into a shop.

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

Well that's even better you can do that kind of work yourself. I could only wish I had talents like that! 

Sounds like the car found the right home.

[76eldo]

Nadeem,

I apologize if my post sounded like I was trying to tell you what to do with your car.  This board is really helpful and a great place to come for info.

What I was saying is that the top looks pretty old and the window is cloudy.  Making the car drivable and keeping dry if you get caught in the rain would be a concern of mine, and the rust blister would bother me.  But, just obtaining a car like this is a major thing, and I wish you the best with it.

Brian

[N Kahn]

The top is shot and there is bare steel under that wheel arch blemish which needs to be addressed. The car has had a repaint, there's no doubt about it and I am willing to do a bare metal refinish. The bumpers have no rust outs and will be a  piece of cake to get re-chromed but will cost plenty.
The only parts that's really going to be a challenge is the passenger side aluminum rocker decoration, it is mangled up by the door and it will be hard to repair, I'm sure there's a shop that specializes in this kind of stuff that can handle it.

[N Kahn]

I'm going to post some pics from today, I put a battery in the car and everything works, including the clock, trunk release and the top, which works very smoothly. The power antenna and blower motor are not working, the car turns over too.

[76eldo]

Really cool car.
What year did they stop making the hard boots for Cadillac convertibles?

That hard boot may be a one-off piece too!

Brian

[N Kahn]

Here's my flickr photostream. I'm going to take pics with a real camera very soon and post them, these are cell phone ones.

Thanks for all the kind words and encouragement, I hope to learn a lot from you gentlemen.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/66732932@N03/

[Davidinhartford]

Excellent!    I am so glad it will be restored.     

[rwchatham CLC 21892]

Cool looking car really like the custom touches. I see it being called a concept car in a proto type car which it is not.  It is possibly a styling design car That GM used to get feedback on. The problem is That the previous owner and his father tried to document the car for years with no luck. The cars gm customize back then all have something in common. They all have S O On the trim tag for shop order And the build sheet will specify for factory or show use. So since this car has no S O on the tag what happens if the build sheet comes back as ordinary ? What is it then ?

[N Kahn]

Cool looking car really like the custom touches. I see it being called a concept car in a proto type car which it is not.  It is possibly a styling design car That GM used to get feedback on. The problem is That the previous owner and his father tried to document the car for years with no luck. The cars gm customize back then all have something in common. They all have S O On the trim tag for shop order And the build sheet will specify for factory or show use. So since this car has no S O on the tag what happens if the build sheet comes back as ordinary ? What is it then ?

There may still be an SO under the front seat, if it isn't there, then so be it, the car's still something special. I've ordered a build sheet I'll let you know what comes up.

[rwchatham CLC 21892]

Just looked at the flicker pics, surely has been repainted at some time, can see the over spay on the door jamb parts, trim tag etc. Also can see the different shade where the paint is cracking off. In the one photo it looks like you can see the outline where the light was mounted in the fin and filled in , can you see the outline or is it just the photo. Do you have a picture of the undersides of the boot pieces ? How much rust is in the floors and inner rockers ? I am with you on the original cars but this one needs a frame off restoration.

[Ralph Messina CLC 4937]

Hi Nadeem,

Congratulations on your purchase. I wouldn’t buy lottery tickets any time soon as it appears you’ve recently hit the jackpot.

You’re correct that the trim will be the most problematic part of any restoration you under take. The lower rocker is similar to the rocker on the ’65 Riviera GS. If it is extruded aluminum with a bright anodized finish it can be repaired and straightened with nominal work. The problem you may have is with chips in the ribs. They can’t be filled by welding because the subsequent anodizing will make the repairs stand out. If necessary you can fill the surface with body filler, sand to shape and paint it with a silver wheel paint. The black areas in the grooves are best covered with 3M black trim tape. I’ve just used this process on a ‘vette rocker and unless you feel the surface you can’t tell it’s painted.  If you consider having the work done professionally contact me directly at  ralph@rrrclc.org  . I can provide the name for an excellent craftsman at very reasonable cost. I hesitate to post it because the webmasters  sometimes frown on postings about vendors.

Whatever you do to the car, please take “too many” pictures and notes. I’m confident there will be old car writers and publications knocking on your door.

Ralph