Cadillac & LaSalle Club Discussion Forum

Cadillac & LaSalle Club Forums => Restoration Corner => Topic started by: Caddy Wizard on December 14, 2021, 12:31:05 PM

Title: Is it a barn find if it is halfway done!? 55 Coupe "Dorothea"
Post by: Caddy Wizard on December 14, 2021, 12:31:05 PM
I've taken on a new project: a partially done 1955 S62 coupe.  It was about halfway through a quarter million dollar restoration when the elderly owner passed away.  I will finish it.  The car is Dresden Blue Metallic with a white roof (factory combination for this particular car).  It looks fantastic (and the underside looks as impressive as the outside).

I call the car Dorothea (after my late aunt, who had brilliant blue eyes). 
Title: Re: Is it a barn find if it is halfway done!? 55 Coupe "Dorothea"
Post by: Mike Baillargeon #15848 on December 14, 2021, 12:44:29 PM
WOW Art !   Looks great !   You have the fun part left to do....putting it back together....all the really hard work has been done...

I wish my projects looked like that when they came in....

Keep us posted on the progress...

Mike
Title: Re: Is it a barn find if it is halfway done!? 55 Coupe "Dorothea"
Post by: rwchatham CLC 21892 on December 14, 2021, 04:49:13 PM
Nice car too bad they didn't  do the floors in red oxide primer instead of body color .
Title: Re: Is it a barn find if it is halfway done!? 55 Coupe "Dorothea"
Post by: Caddy Wizard on December 14, 2021, 05:20:05 PM
Quote from: rwchatham CLC 21892 on December 14, 2021, 04:49:13 PM
Nice car too bad they didn't  do the floors in red oxide primer instead of body color .

They obviously were going for the "WOW!" factor, not the ultra-genuine, 100.00% factory-correct look.
Title: Re: Is it a barn find if it is halfway done!? 55 Coupe "Dorothea"
Post by: Lexi on December 14, 2021, 05:54:38 PM
Congratulations Art. Love your "new" car! Do keep us posted. Clay/Lexi
Title: Re: Is it a barn find if it is halfway done!? 55 Coupe "Dorothea"
Post by: The Tassie Devil(le) on December 14, 2021, 06:27:12 PM
Really sad to read that the previous owner didn't get to see the completed car, and enjoy driving it.

Bruce. >:D
Title: Re: Is it a barn find if it is halfway done!? 55 Coupe "Dorothea"
Post by: harry s on December 14, 2021, 07:28:54 PM
It's a beauty! I would say more a work of art than a barn find.   Harry
Title: Re: Is it a barn find if it is halfway done!? 55 Coupe "Dorothea"
Post by: Peter Cornwell on January 16, 2022, 07:19:13 AM
I saw that car for sale and was seriously tempted to buy, but the complexity of shipping the shell and all the separate parts to the UK put me off. Will be a fabulous car when completed.
Title: Re: Is it a barn find if it is halfway done!? 55 Coupe "Dorothea"
Post by: jwwseville60 on January 25, 2022, 10:56:55 AM
Super cool and neat-o!
Title: Re: Is it a barn find if it is halfway done!? 55 Coupe "Dorothea"
Post by: Caddy Wizard on March 21, 2022, 12:41:05 PM
I took the chrome and stainless to my preferred plater/polisher in Nashville, TN area a week ago.  The bill for that will be in five figures.  Ouch!


At least I don't have to pay for a paint job...
Title: Re: Is it a barn find if it is halfway done!? 55 Coupe "Dorothea"
Post by: Caddy Wizard on March 21, 2022, 02:18:13 PM
I've temporarily mounted the front fenders. So for now, it looks a little more like a car and a little less like a basket case...
Title: Re: Is it a barn find if it is halfway done!? 55 Coupe "Dorothea"
Post by: rwchatham CLC 21892 on April 13, 2022, 06:01:31 PM
Quote from: Art Gardner CLC 23021 on March 21, 2022, 12:41:05 PM
I took the chrome and stainless to my preferred plater/polisher in Nashville, TN area a week ago.  The bill for that will be in five figures.  Ouch!


At least I don't have to pay for a paint job...

Art chrome is getting out of hand a friend of mine just did a 59 and the bill was over 50k !
Title: Re: Is it a barn find if it is halfway done!? 55 Coupe "Dorothea"
Post by: Caddy Wizard on April 15, 2022, 09:27:08 AM
Quote from: rwchatham CLC 21892 on April 13, 2022, 06:01:31 PM
Art chrome is getting out of hand a friend of mine just did a 59 and the bill was over 50k !

My chrome bill for Dorothea will be a fraction of that.  But still, a chrome bill of over $10K is a fortune to me.
Title: Re: Is it a barn find if it is halfway done!? 55 Coupe "Dorothea"
Post by: The Tassie Devil(le) on April 15, 2022, 07:34:16 PM
Quote from: rwchatham CLC 21892 on April 13, 2022, 06:01:31 PM
Art chrome is getting out of hand a friend of mine just did a 59 and the bill was over 50k ! 
No wonder the fad of monochromatic vehicle modifications is still there.   Painting chrome work is a lot cheaper than chrome plating.

The chrome plating on my '72 was just over AU$5,000 if I remember correctly.   I think my brain has decided to edit the actual costs from the memory bank to protect my sanity.   I know that the bumper extension for the Continental Kit cost me an extra AU$500.00

Bruce. >:D
Title: Re: Is it a barn find if it is halfway done!? 55 Coupe "Dorothea"
Post by: Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621 on April 16, 2022, 09:44:52 AM
Fuel pump should be blue as well. Good luck with it.
Title: Re: Is it a barn find if it is halfway done!? 55 Coupe "Dorothea"
Post by: rwchatham CLC 21892 on April 16, 2022, 06:23:55 PM
Quote from: The Tassie Devil(le) on April 15, 2022, 07:34:16 PM
No wonder the fad of monochromatic vehicle modifications is still there.   Painting chrome work is a lot cheaper than chrome plating.

The chrome plating on my '72 was just over AU$5,000 if I remember correctly.   I think my brain has decided to edit the actual costs from the memory bank to protect my sanity.   I know that the bumper extension for the Continental Kit cost me an extra AU$500.00

Bruce. >:D

Bruce cheap chrome prices have gone the way of cheap 59 eldos , long gone ! Lol
Title: Re: Is it a barn find if it is halfway done!? 55 Coupe "Dorothea"
Post by: jwwseville60 on November 27, 2023, 02:46:00 PM
Its good to get chrome done sooner than later.
Theres talk of outlawing the business due to environmental concerns.
After that it will be spray chrome only.
Title: Re: Is it a barn find if it is halfway done!? 55 Coupe "Dorothea"
Post by: Cadillac Jack 82 on November 27, 2023, 03:46:09 PM
Ooof they better not touch chrome.  Why must they keep messing with the classic car industry?