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1957 Eldorado Seville in Norway - Rolling Restoration

Started by 57eldoking, March 14, 2014, 07:01:21 PM

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57eldoking

Bought a 57 Seville today after having wanted one for the past 10 years. Not new to 57 Eldos tough, my dad and I spent 16 years on a total restoration of a 57 Biarritz.

The Seville came to Norway in 1987 and has spent a lot of time sitting since then. The matching #s 365 was completely machined and rebuilt about 15 years ago and driven very little since. She was originally copper with a white top and copper Versailles cloth interior. At some point she will be returned to her original colors, but the priority right now is to get her road worthy again. The car is very solid in all areas except for the passenger floorboards which are badly rotted out. I hope to be able to tackle this rust during next winter.

She's well optioned with both AC (missing compressor) and Autronic eye (missing eye), havent been able to decode the block to see if it was originally a dual quad car.

I should be picking her up sometime next week, and will be posting more pictures then.



















She'll be spending a lot of time with our Biarritz!



1957 Eldorado Biarritz #906
1957 Eldorado Biarritz #1020 http://bit.ly/1kTvFlM
1957 Eldorado Seville  #1777 http://bit.ly/1T3Uo1c
1995 Fleetwood Brougham  http://bit.ly/20YwJV4
2010 SRX Performance

1946 Chevy 1/2 ton pickup
1957 Buick Caballero Estate Wagon (x2)
1960 Chevy Apache 10 Stepside
1991 Jeep Grand Wagoneer (x2)
1992 Pontiac Trans Sport GT

57eldoking

Picked her up yesterday! Despite a massive exhaust leak on the right manifold and brakes on no more than 2 wheels the 25 mile drive home was magical  8)

Big parts order for all new brakes, bearings, weatherstripping has already been sent. Looking forward to start tinkering with it next weekend!


A handshake and she's all mine!


Greatest view in the world!









1957 Eldorado Biarritz #906
1957 Eldorado Biarritz #1020 http://bit.ly/1kTvFlM
1957 Eldorado Seville  #1777 http://bit.ly/1T3Uo1c
1995 Fleetwood Brougham  http://bit.ly/20YwJV4
2010 SRX Performance

1946 Chevy 1/2 ton pickup
1957 Buick Caballero Estate Wagon (x2)
1960 Chevy Apache 10 Stepside
1991 Jeep Grand Wagoneer (x2)
1992 Pontiac Trans Sport GT

INTMD8


N Kahn


C.R. Patton II



Hello Henning

Congratulations on your acquisition!
All good men own a Cadillac but great gentlemen drive a LaSalle. That is the consequence of success.

59-in-pieces

Is it just me or are folks starting to look younger.
How can youngsters afford such nice cars.
Have fun,
Steve B
S. Butcher

57eldoking

#6
Thank you guys! Yes both the buyer and seller of this Seville are probably much younger than average. The girl I bought it from is 21 and inherited the car when her father passed away about 6 years ago. I'm 28 and spent all of my childhood helping my dad restore our 57 Biarritz, hence my great love for these cars and Ron Hill's outstanding rear end design on the 57 Biarritz & Seville in particular  :)

Below is a picture of me at the age of 7 helping pull apart the grille and bumper of our Biarritz.

1957 Eldorado Biarritz #906
1957 Eldorado Biarritz #1020 http://bit.ly/1kTvFlM
1957 Eldorado Seville  #1777 http://bit.ly/1T3Uo1c
1995 Fleetwood Brougham  http://bit.ly/20YwJV4
2010 SRX Performance

1946 Chevy 1/2 ton pickup
1957 Buick Caballero Estate Wagon (x2)
1960 Chevy Apache 10 Stepside
1991 Jeep Grand Wagoneer (x2)
1992 Pontiac Trans Sport GT

57eldoking

#7
Started tinkering a little this weekend. Pulled back the carpet and removed the wiring harness covers under the door sills. Turns out the floor is a little better than expected. Still needs some fresh metal but very repairable.



Removed the passenger window and dropped it off at a glass shop.









Bottom of the b-pillars are getting pretty crunchy behind the vinyl.



I'll be driving it for a summer or two before taking on the roof project, no wet weather driving though!



Been waiting a while to be able to enjoy this view in the driveway  8)



1957 Eldorado Biarritz #906
1957 Eldorado Biarritz #1020 http://bit.ly/1kTvFlM
1957 Eldorado Seville  #1777 http://bit.ly/1T3Uo1c
1995 Fleetwood Brougham  http://bit.ly/20YwJV4
2010 SRX Performance

1946 Chevy 1/2 ton pickup
1957 Buick Caballero Estate Wagon (x2)
1960 Chevy Apache 10 Stepside
1991 Jeep Grand Wagoneer (x2)
1992 Pontiac Trans Sport GT

hudson29

What a wonderful project! Please do keep us informed of your progress.

This must be a very rare sight in Norway. Is the passion of restoring old cars strong there?

Vintage Paul
1939 Cadillac 6127 Coupé
1929 Hudson Town Sedan
1926 Hudson Anderson Bodied Coupé
1923 Ford Runabout

57eldoking

Yes there's a strong interest in Classic American cars in Norway. The American Car Club of Norway www.amcar.no which is our national umbrella organization for Classic American cars has over 17.000 members. That is an extremely impressive figure for a country with a population of only 5 million. I estimate there's roughly 10 57 Biarritzes and 8 or 9 57 Sevilles in Norway today.
1957 Eldorado Biarritz #906
1957 Eldorado Biarritz #1020 http://bit.ly/1kTvFlM
1957 Eldorado Seville  #1777 http://bit.ly/1T3Uo1c
1995 Fleetwood Brougham  http://bit.ly/20YwJV4
2010 SRX Performance

1946 Chevy 1/2 ton pickup
1957 Buick Caballero Estate Wagon (x2)
1960 Chevy Apache 10 Stepside
1991 Jeep Grand Wagoneer (x2)
1992 Pontiac Trans Sport GT

57eldoking

Thought I'd do an update although there hasn't been monumental progress since the last post. The main focus this spring was to get it road worthy again after almost 10 years of sitting. Probably put about 2000 miles on it this summer without too much trouble...


New brake linings and cylinders all around plus new inner and outer bearings up front were installed.


This explained the uneven brakes!


Replaced all 4 u-joints which took care of 90% of vibrations. Replacing the center support bearing this winter.


First trip of the season, doesn't get much better than the open road and a 50s Cadillac  8)


Can't complain about the view from the kitchen window!


Had some fun with the Biarritz this summer too, got to parade Carl Lewis around the infield of a field and track event in Oslo. He's the first person to ride on the parade boot in the 11 years the car has been done.


The rear axle decided to call it quits in the end of July!


:o :o The left axle broke while cruising steadily at around 50 mph on a dead straight road. At first I thought the transmission had given in but as it coasted to a stop and the driveshaft was still turning it could only be the rear axle. I found chisel marks in the axle housing around the bearing area so probably a bearing seized at some point and did a number on the axle. With time and fatigue the final break was probably inevitable. Got a hold of a used axle and replaced seals and pumpkin gasket which was leaking.


Decided to restore the lights to the dash and fix the speedometer as neither were working. A broken rheostat and corroded terminals on the headlight switch were repaired.


Success!


Did a mini fall photo shoot after installing some older white walls that were once on the Biarritz. Fresh tires will be installed next spring.










At the very end of the season the transmission started acting up not wanting to shift into 2nd or 4th gear. Finally had a day of dry weather today so got it on the trailer and hauled it out to our ranch property where we store and do the most of the work on our cars. Things to tackle this winter will be the transmission, door panels, dash and hopefully address roof and floorboard rust issues.







1957 Eldorado Biarritz #906
1957 Eldorado Biarritz #1020 http://bit.ly/1kTvFlM
1957 Eldorado Seville  #1777 http://bit.ly/1T3Uo1c
1995 Fleetwood Brougham  http://bit.ly/20YwJV4
2010 SRX Performance

1946 Chevy 1/2 ton pickup
1957 Buick Caballero Estate Wagon (x2)
1960 Chevy Apache 10 Stepside
1991 Jeep Grand Wagoneer (x2)
1992 Pontiac Trans Sport GT

Rob Troxel

What a great car!  It appears no problem stops you from taking action. Best of luck on the restoration of this car.  Are you near Oslo?

57eldoking

Thanks Rob, I try to do as much of the work myself as possible, both because labor over here is extremely expensive and the satisfaction feeling of doing the job yourself is great! I live in a suburb about 20 minutes northeast of downtown Oslo.
1957 Eldorado Biarritz #906
1957 Eldorado Biarritz #1020 http://bit.ly/1kTvFlM
1957 Eldorado Seville  #1777 http://bit.ly/1T3Uo1c
1995 Fleetwood Brougham  http://bit.ly/20YwJV4
2010 SRX Performance

1946 Chevy 1/2 ton pickup
1957 Buick Caballero Estate Wagon (x2)
1960 Chevy Apache 10 Stepside
1991 Jeep Grand Wagoneer (x2)
1992 Pontiac Trans Sport GT

Rob Troxel

We love OSLO however I do understand about what things cost there.  Sure glad you can do much of the work yourself.  What will it cost to rebuild your transmission?

57eldoking

Since it's not going into second or fourth the issue is most likely leaking spaghetti seals on the front unit. I'm pretty sure it was rebuilt together with the engine in the late 90s and only a few thousand miles have been put on it since. I'll have a crack at it myself first. A total rebuild at a reputable shop would be 4-5 grand over here...
1957 Eldorado Biarritz #906
1957 Eldorado Biarritz #1020 http://bit.ly/1kTvFlM
1957 Eldorado Seville  #1777 http://bit.ly/1T3Uo1c
1995 Fleetwood Brougham  http://bit.ly/20YwJV4
2010 SRX Performance

1946 Chevy 1/2 ton pickup
1957 Buick Caballero Estate Wagon (x2)
1960 Chevy Apache 10 Stepside
1991 Jeep Grand Wagoneer (x2)
1992 Pontiac Trans Sport GT

Belgium1958owner

Nice restoration project.
I see copper color in the boot (trunk lid), was the car originally copper painted ?
1958 Eldorado Seville, body 481
1956 Eldorado Seville, body 1968
1958 Eldorado Seville, body 612 (parts car)
Member of : 1958 Cadillac Owner Association
CLC # 29119
1956 Packard Four Hundred Coupe, body 3002
1956 Packard Caribbean hardtop, body 81

57eldoking

Yes it was originally 98 - Copper, with a white Vicodec vinyl roof. Eventually it will be redone in its original colors.
1957 Eldorado Biarritz #906
1957 Eldorado Biarritz #1020 http://bit.ly/1kTvFlM
1957 Eldorado Seville  #1777 http://bit.ly/1T3Uo1c
1995 Fleetwood Brougham  http://bit.ly/20YwJV4
2010 SRX Performance

1946 Chevy 1/2 ton pickup
1957 Buick Caballero Estate Wagon (x2)
1960 Chevy Apache 10 Stepside
1991 Jeep Grand Wagoneer (x2)
1992 Pontiac Trans Sport GT

Rob Troxel


ohhteriiii

At the very end of the season the transmission started acting up not wanting to shift into 2nd or 4th gear. Finally had a day of dry weather today so got it on the trailer and hauled it out to our ranch property where we store and do the most of the work on our cars. Things to tackle this winter will be the transmission, door panels, dash and hopefully address roof and floorboard rust issues.???
GuL

chris cunliffe

Very strange posting from ohhteriiii  perhaps its his way of asking for any updates.
So Henning any updates?
1957 Eldorado Seville #967