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My first car restoration at 22 years of age - 1975 Eldo convertible

Started by Dazaa, September 26, 2017, 04:14:30 AM

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Dazaa

Greetings from London, a brief introduction about me and my cadillac. My name is Darius and i'm 22 yesrs old. Around 5 months ago I heard of "a big old American car" that lay abandoned in a derelict factory. Long story short, I rescued this 1975 eldo convertible from where it had been abandoned and vandalised for over 20 years. Unfortunately the building was leaking heavily and it was only when i got the car in to the daylight for the first time since 1998 that I realised how bad some of the rust was. Nonetheless I have taken it upon myself to get this beast on the road again. Shes a 75 convertible, appeared to have originally been red with a brown coloured interior and later painted its current shade of burgandy and fitted with cushion seats from a later eldo, 42k on the clock. My aim is to get her going as cheap as possible, I know the welding around the windscreen will take up some money. The original interior was destroyed from yesrs of water and vandalism and I have been lucky to find rear seats in blue along with all of the door cards and trim, leaving me needing only the front seats or a very brave restoration of the originals which I had to cut up to remove as the bolts under the seats were so corroded. Vandalism included smashing the windscreen, cutting the wiring loom from the engine bay. Stealing the radiator and alternator and destroying the trunk lock to open it. Here are some pictures, this is my first ever car project however I grew up working on small 2 stroke motorcycle engines so I know the basics. So far have confirmed that the engine is not stuck and i'm hoping to try and start her up soon. J

Dazaa

Afraid the pictures are in no order. Right now the interior and windscreen are out. Floorpans, quarters, windscreen surround and boot floor all need welding.

Steve Passmore

Steve

Present
1937 60 convertible coupe
1941 62 convertible coupe
1941 62 coupe

Previous
1936 70 Sport coupe
1937 85 series V12 sedan
1938 60 coupe
1938 50 coupe
1939 60S
1940 62 coupe
1941 62 convertible coupe x2
1941 61 coupe
1941 61 sedan x2
1941 62 sedan x2
1947 62 sedan
1959 62 coupe

The Tassie Devil(le)

I second and third that.

That rust is horrendous.   It is a pity the graffiti artists didn't cover everything with paint as that would have protected a lot.

Bruce. >:D
'72 Eldorado Convertible (LHD)
'70 Ranchero Squire (RHD)
'74 Chris Craft Gull Wing (SH)
'02 VX Series II Holden Commodore SS Sedan
(Past President Modified Chapter)

Past Cars of significance - to me
1935 Ford 3 Window Coupe
1936 Ford 5 Window Coupe
1937 Chevrolet Sports Coupe
1955 Chevrolet Convertible
1959 Ford Fairlane Ranch Wagon
1960 Cadillac CDV
1972 Cadillac Eldorado Coupe

Glen

Glen Houlton CLC #727 
CLCMRC benefactor #104

Tpicks55

Best of luck on your restoration.  I am restoring a 75 eldo convertible so I know what you will be going through.  Parts seem to be available but watch which vendors you use.  Tony
75 Eldorado Convertible
94 Deville Concurs
2019 Lincoln Continental
2016 Cadillac XTS

Jeff Rosansky CLC #28373

At least you won't have trouble finding it in a parking lot.
Most importantly--- have fun!!

Jeff
Jeff Rosansky
CLC #28373
1970 Coupe DeVille (Big Red)
1955 Series 62 (Baby Blue)
Dad's new 1979 Coupe DeVille

chrisntam

Here's what I recommend.

Take a trip to the U.S.  Take a week or two and look at a few cars.  Buy a good one here and have it shipped back to the UK.  You'll save a lot of time, money, busted knuckles, cursing, etc.  You should be able to find something on our east coast that will keep shipping costs down.

Even a good running and driving old car will keep you busy.

That's what I recommend.
1970 Deville Convertible 
Dallas, Texas

gkhashem

Quote from: chrisntam on October 07, 2017, 07:35:01 AM
Here's what I recommend.

Take a trip to the U.S.  Take a week or two and look at a few cars.  Buy a good one here and have it shipped back to the UK.  You'll save a lot of time, money, busted knuckles, cursing, etc.  You should be able to find something on our east coast that will keep shipping costs down.

Even a good running and driving old car will keep you busy.

That's what I recommend.


Good advice.... this car is history.

1959 Oldsmobile 98 Holiday Sports Sedan
1960 Cadillac Coupe Deville (CLC Sr #72)
1964 Oldsmobile 98 Town Sedan (OCA 1st)
1970 GMC C1500
1977 Oldsmobile 98 Regency Coupe
1978 Cadillac Coupe Deville (CLC Sr Crown #959)*
1992 Oldsmobile 98 (OCA 1st)
1996 Oldsmobile 98
*CLC Past President's Preservation

Past Cadillacs
1959 Coupe Deville
1966 Coupe Deville (Sr #861)*
1991 Eldorado Biarritz (Sr #838)

chrisntam

That car belongs on (in) the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas.

;)
1970 Deville Convertible 
Dallas, Texas

gary griffin

Shipping from the West coast may cost more but better chance of getting  solid rust free cars on the West coast also.

I shipped my Lanchester from England to Tacoma Washington and as I recall it was about $2,000

Flying to LA and shipping from LA to Europe may cost 3 or 4 thousand more but what is "Rust Free" worth in our cars?
Gary Griffin

1940 LaSalle 5029 4 door convertible sedan
1942 Cadillac 6719 restoration almost complete?
1957 Cadillac 60-special (Needs a little TLC)
2013 Cadillac XTS daily driver

chrisntam

1970 Deville Convertible 
Dallas, Texas

carguyblack

So glad to see that someone chimed in to abandon that car! I didn't want to take the wind out of a "newbie's" sails, but when I saw the pictures I was bemoaning all the work that was seen and all the unseen stuff yet to be discovered in the process. No car is hopeless, for a price, but even if you had all the money in the world, the sheer frustration of setbacks right out of the gate would have made anyone walk away from this project and swear off to ever attempting another. Make your first car something solid and tired but restorable and have some fun with it in the process. Speaking from experience, even a "good" car can really beat you down certain days. But this car looked eager to do that before you even started. Good advice to start with something solid as well as how to find that better car. Hope this helps before you're in too deep. In the states we call that "upsidedown"!
Chuck
Chuck Dykstra

1956 Sedan DeVille
1956 Coupe DeVille (2 sold)
1957 Oldsmobile 98 (sold)
1989 Bonneville SSE

The Tassie Devil(le)

I would be advising the purchase of the '74 in the For Sale Forum, as the price is good, but I can remember back when I was first into cars, I couldn't afford to buy anything better than what I could afford, and this taught me everything I know about automobiles, electrical, plumbing, etc.

When I started Drag Racing, I would never have got into it if I had waited long enough to buy a good Dragster, so I built my own, then gradually upgraded as I could afford it.

Bruce. >:D
'72 Eldorado Convertible (LHD)
'70 Ranchero Squire (RHD)
'74 Chris Craft Gull Wing (SH)
'02 VX Series II Holden Commodore SS Sedan
(Past President Modified Chapter)

Past Cars of significance - to me
1935 Ford 3 Window Coupe
1936 Ford 5 Window Coupe
1937 Chevrolet Sports Coupe
1955 Chevrolet Convertible
1959 Ford Fairlane Ranch Wagon
1960 Cadillac CDV
1972 Cadillac Eldorado Coupe

chrisntam

1970 Deville Convertible 
Dallas, Texas

Bobby B

Quote from: chrisntam on October 21, 2017, 03:48:49 PM
Put it here!

More like put it back there!  ;D ;D ;D
                                           Bobby
1947 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible Coupe
1968 Mustang Convertible
1973 Mustang Convertible
1969 Jaguar E-Type Roadster
1971 Datsun 240Z
1979 H-D FLH