http://www.di-customcars.ca/04_1_current___58%20Caddy.php
Guys, I'm not an expert on late 50s Caddys, but isn't this an Eldorado Brougham they're messing with?
Cheers,
Gunnar
CLC 24532
1973 Eldorado Coupe
Boy, after reviewing the photos, it was all I could do to keep my breakfast pop tarts down. To think of taking such a nice example of a rare car and converting it into something so stupid, it is beyond words. Talk about throwing away money, first for the car, then the work, and when done, it's only fit for the crusher. I would not have wished this fate for either of my 58 parts cars.
It really is to bad, another Brougham destroyed.
David
I am at a loss for words.... Someone should go to jail for that!!!! what a shame
Again we see people with more money than sense.
Kinda like whomever purchased the '63 Tempest for over $226,000...and it is missing ht emotor and trans.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Pontiac-Le-Mans-TEMPEST-63-PONTIAC-LeMANS-TEMPEST-1-4-MILE-CAR-W-O-MOTOR-TRANS_W0QQitemZ110306170567QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item110306170567&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=72%3A727%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Pontiac-Le-Mans-TEMPEST-63-PONTIAC-LeMANS-TEMPEST-1-4-MILE-CAR-W-O-MOTOR-TRANS_W0QQitemZ110306170567QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item110306170567&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=72%3A727%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Pontiac-Le-Mans-TEMPEST-63-PONTIAC-LeMANS-TEMPEST-1-4-MILE-CAR-W-O-MOTOR-TRANS_W0QQitemZ110306170567QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item110306170567&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=72%3A727%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Pontiac-Le-Mans-TEMPEST-63-PONTIAC-LeMANS-TEMPEST-1-4-MILE-CAR-W-O-MOTOR-TRANS_W0QQitemZ110306170567QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item110306170567&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=72%3A727%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318)
Good Grief! You would think the guy would have purchased a series 62 or something to do this since the fact that it's a brougham won't have any bearing on the final product.
What do you wanna bet he sends the roof to the scrap heap instead of selling it to a brougham restorer?
Forrest, the SS top would not be a great loss. There are several of them that have been saved. Odds are one in a million to get a buyer. Also a bear to store. Bob
Well wa-da-ya know? I would have thought finding a top for one of those would be difficult. It still sucks to see one of those cars in such nice condition to begin with butchered beyond recognition.
My vote for modified car of the year. What a waste.
Quote from: ottoskorzeny on November 16, 2008, 01:22:22 PM...butchered beyond recognition
.
Unfortunately NOT beyond recognition. There's the rub for us collectors ! If they would turn it into a Ford or Chrysler lookalike, then it wouldn't hurt so much to look at !
Talk about a Frankenstein project! Sheesh.
We'll probably see this on ebay someday advertised as Harley Earl's personal project before he retired.
Forrest, I thought it WAS! LOL, Bob
Guys,I am the first to admit I am an avid lover and also an owner of a custom car.Being a State colonel for the nations' largest custom car club.But when you take a 58 Brougham and do that to it,than even I am upalled.That is just SACRILIGIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!! Joe
Looks to me like these people build custom cars for people that need wheelchair access. Many nicer cars have been lost for lesser reasons.
I think they specialize in cars for owners who need mental health access. Next car in line is a 53 Eldo! LOL. Bob
"My vote for modified car of the year. What a waste."
As a member of the Modified Cadillac & LaSalle Club Chapter I don't think anyone in the chapter would want to vote for this car as "modified car of the year"! I do believe there would be general agreement however that it is certainly a terrible waste. We MCLCers do have SOME taste, a modicum of class, and an appreciation for Cadillacs after all! This car evidences none of that.
I am trying to think of something polite to say . . . . It is hard to believe that they could start with a car that was in very good order and condition, let alone the fact that it was a Brougham. The fact that it was a Brougham makes it near criminal. Someone please tell me it was some kind of joke done in photoshop or something.
Let's just hope the owner does't also collect Picassos and Pollocks.
"Oh honey ? . . . I have a great idea to make a funky montage out of that old Picasso in the foyer"
Crass beyond words.
I always thought that no matter what one's situation is in life, people in to old cars, especially Cadillacs were thinking people that understood what it meant to be a custodian of one of these great vehicles.
I guess I thought wrong.
I won't dignify this abomination by talking about it any more.
Unbelievable.
Stupidity + money + Cadillac = huge pile of crap when finished.
I was always bad at math...
Brian
I kind of like some of it. Not the looks, but the purpose and some of the consequenses:
-A lot of hard to find parts in good condition will be offered, parts we may need one day.
-Someone will feel like a King for a day until his reality comes
-The remaining 58's will be even more unique and perhaps of greater value
-I guess there are people getting paid for the work, money keeps the world go round
-If this project can inspire the next generation to one day restore a car of their own, something is gained
A bit sad they took the easy way to build a Kustom people talk about. The rarest piece they could find - in really swet condition just to save time in the building process - and annoy many Cadillac owners at the same time. They made it.
Just goes to show that no matter how much money you have , you can't buy good taste !!!!
Phil
I'm not sure I agree with you JK about valuable parts being offered to restorers. These guys don't strike me as the type to waste time trying to make a few extra bucks on the leftovers when they're probably getting a couple hundred grand for that monstrosity.
They clearly have no respect for the intrinsic value of that antique car. Why would they have any for a few old parts?
In spite of their ignorance, and the fact that they could have started off with any 58 Cadillac Sedan, their craftsmanship is quite impressive, if you look at all of the pics.
Brian
I do agree with that. It doesn't mitigate their bad behavior, though.
You are probably right Otto, but I'd be surprised if any parts did not find the way to e-bay.
Guys with that good hands can't be too stupid. Probably loves old cars as much as I do.
Still, parts of me wishes they got a couple of hundred years for that monstrosity. ;)
Take a look at the rest of their website.
Here's another victim: http://www.di-customcars.ca/04_2_current___39%20Caddy%20Limo.php
Oh the humanity!
For those of you who are interested, I received the following email from the man in charge of the Brougham transformation. I told him about our club and our site in case he has parts he wishes to sell. His contact information is listed in case any of you guys are restoring one of your own.
Hi
After the car is complete I will send you a list of what is left over from the 1958 Eldorado.
Clay Hepburn
Distinct Images - Custom Auto Builders
T: 905.353.9216
F: 905-353-9145
W: www.di-customcars.com
M: clay@di-customcars.com
That's very good, but if I was him, and read these comments, I would make a bonfire with the leftover stuff, and video it, and put it on YouTube...
Ever see the Monster Garage episode where Jesse James takes a mint 71 El Camino, shreds it and turns it info a big lawnmower or something like that? The, as he is literally ripping mint parts from the car, and throwing them in a pile on the shop floor, he laughs and says "I guess the guys in the Chevy club with there little club jackets and stuff wouldn't like this too much".
Granted a 70 El Camino is no 58 Brougham, but same thinking....
I am a live and let live kind of guy, like nice rods and customs, but taking that Brougham and using it for an abomination like that is truly sickening.
Think the vanity items and owner's manual are in the dumpster behind the shop?
Brian
Quote from: 76eldo on November 19, 2008, 04:49:47 PM
Ever see the Monster Garage episode where Jesse James takes a mint 71 El Camino, shreds it and turns it info a big lawnmower or something like that?
- I don't even watch MG anymore with all that fake 'attitude' - JJ is a nob of the highest order!
It's not on anymore anyway. He hit the lottery when he married Sandra Bullock, millionaire movie star.
Brian
Quote from: 76eldo on November 20, 2008, 12:00:28 PM
It's not on anymore anyway. He hit the lottery when he married Sandra Bullock, millionaire movie star.
Brian
That guy married Sandra Bullock? Maybe he'll give her a nose job and a boob job, change her hair length and color, and a few extra toes, and put some laser beams in her eye sockets, just like on the show ! lol
Well, you can't blame the coach builder. He is just doing what he was hired to do. I'm sure many of his guys are crying as they work on this car.
I have no problem with a PWD (person with a disability) converting a classic to make it accessible. But there was no need to start with such a rare car.
As said earlier, why not take a more common series 62 sedan and stretch it?
But once I saw those extra rear wheels and repaint I knew this person was not a Cadillac person at all.
I was up at R&Ms shop in Ontario and saw them dropping a vintage mid 60s Rolls Royce limousine body onto the chassis on a brand new, All-wheel drive Chevy Astro van. They said the owner wanted all-wheel drive for the dessert and the looks of a classic Rolls Limo. When finished the car looked factory stock. I saw no trouble with that. And I'm sure that limo was made in fewer numbers than the 58 Eldo Brougham.
It isn't always what you do, but how you do it.
And that 58 Eldo is a....... crying shame.