Newbie Looking for opinions

[Thorntons1956]

Hello All,

My father, wife and I are working on a 1956 Cadillac Coupe De Ville, two door - hard top (our first project.) We are currently taking her apart for a frame-off restoration.  Our goal is to keep the exterior and interior looking original, while upgrading the suspension, engine, and transmission to give her updated performance and handling.  However, we are debating whether we should keep her all original or not.  Ultimately, we will sell her, and as such want to build in as much value as possible.  I realize this is a broad subject and that opinions vary, but I would like to know your thoughts and considerations for the subject. 

Also, If we did decide to change the motor and transmission out, what would be a suitable suitable substitution.

Thanks,
Stacy

[Joe Manna]

Stacy,I read your post.My honest opinion,I would keep the car 100% stock.In the event you sell her,you would most likely make you money back and then some.I myself am into Hot Rods and custom cars,but when it comes to a Caddy of any year,I would leave her alone.

Joe

[Fred Zwicker #23106]

Stacy, 

You may want to ask the same question at the Modified Cadillac Forum. 

http://www.modifiedcadillac.org/forum/

From my experience, if you are looking to make a profit on either an original or modified, it will probably not happen, especially if you add in your own time at a minimum wage rate.  Most of us are in this hobby for the love of it, not to make a profit and those that think they will be making a profit are usually disappointed.

Fred

[Johnny]

Let me echo Fred's thoughts.  The vast majority of people that are able to profit financially from the hobby are the vendors and "professional" collectors and restorers.  Those IN the hobby profit much more in fun, and having a hobby we can ride around in.

[Bill Podany #19567]

Stacy,

I recommend keeping the car 100% original and document everything including a sizeable library of pictures to verify the details of the restoration.  Having a restored car with matching numbers adds value and validity.  Keep all invoices from suppliers, technicians, mechanics, and vendors.  Research its ownership from the dealership and its owners if possible.  My experience has shown that significant alterations to a Cadillac's originality/authenticity makes it more difficult to enhance value.  This of course excludes re-coloring a car's exterior and interior to enhance its beauty and design.

I also agree with the previous posts regarding your hope to make a profit on your project.  Making a sizeable profit from your restoration effort is an uncommon benefit; the enjoyment of ownership and participating in the hobby is the most common benefit.  Good luck on your effort.

Bill Podany
Knoxville, TN

[TJ Hopland]

I was with you till you said sell it,  I think a modified car will be a hard sell and it will take a lot of custom work to make it work and look nice.  That work will cost one way or another.

If you were going to keep it...   70's cad drivetrain 472/500/425 with THM400.   Or even more fun (and $$$) Northstar with 4L80e.  For suspension I would look for something that has a huge aftermarket so you have more choices and support.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

G'day Stacy,

Firstly, congratulations on wanting to make the rebuilding a "Family" affair.   

And, I too would recommend that if you are planning to sell it at the completion, to gain the most return on your investment, KEEP IT STOCK.

I have found that when altering anything, what alterations that are done will not suit every prospective buyer, whereas an original rebuild will suit everyone as some will want an original car to keep original, and others will want an original car that they can rebuild to suit themselves.   There is nothing worse than wanting to sell something, and limiting the market by changing things makes things harder to sell.

Not knowing what you are starting with, it will usually cost less to "Restore", than to "Hotrod", but the decision on how far to go until it is ready for sale is up to you and your family to decide.

Bruce,
President of the Modified Chapter of the CLC.

[2danreed]

Keep it stock.

As an owner of a '56 Cadillac, I would say there's certainly nothing wrong with the performance and handling of a stock '56 Caddy. That said, radial tires do improove handling, but that's not altering the car itself. 

Dan

[Joe Manna]

Bill,There is nothing wrong with any modifications,as long as the car can be returned to stock if need be.

Joe

[Eldorado_64]

I would certainly say keep her stock bnut if you want to keep it for a bit before you sell and want some mild performance upgrades, concider easy drop in Cadillac mods, such as an Eldorado dual quad intake w/ carbs or at least a try-power. They are actuall better on city driving then the duals anywayz. wider tread tires. If you do anything more, try to keep it to things you can swap back before selling.

And I agree, it's hard to look at profiting on one by one restores on a small acale. You have to be into it and be able to keep the cost of restore down by doing a lot of your own work and cutting out the middlemen. I used to make more money buying and or trading cars of vintage but only cleaning them up and getting them on the road. Some good as daily drivers and others ready for a later restore and still a mark up over what I invested and what very little put back in.

On the other hand, just selling it to move on to another project and just getting the fair market value and having had fun doing so is worth it to me too. It truely can be a family afair.

[Thorntons1956]

Thank you for all of the great responses.

This caddy is actually one of 5 that my father owns.  He also owns two 199?'s models, a '58 that was fully restored before he bought it, a '58 that is complete and drivable (great shape, ) but needs to be restoration, and the 1956.

The 1956 is my favorite.  I'm actually providing free labor, for the experience and because I enjoy turning wrenches.   It is very relaxing to turn the radio on to some "Oldies" and work on her; very satisfying.

I don't think my dad will make much, if any money off of her, but I think the real value is that my dad and I have the opportunity to spend some quality time together, which we have never had the time to do until now. 

Personally, I love the car and would rather not sell her. 

Thanks again for the responses.

[Bill Podany #19567]

Joe

I agree, and thanks for making this additional comment, as it is valid.

Bill Podany

[Barry M Wheeler #2189]

To quote Colonel Pickering (My Fair Lady), "I'm dashed!!!" I was going to be the first respondee to the post yesterday, and being the old fogie that I am, was going to suggest keeping the car all original. Then I had second thoughts and backed out of responding, thinking that "everyone" that responded would "agree" with modifying the car.
To my very pleasant surprise, most, including the gentlemen from the modifying camp, suggest leaving the car stock, or mostly so. Having driven a '56 Fleetwood for years as our "regular" car, I agree that it will keep up with modern traffic.
Even updating a color and/or interior can be fraught with peril. I saw a '47 convertible recently done in modern white pearl. Beautiful paint, but it's gonna' be really tough to turn if need be. It just plain doesn't look right, compared to the "Dusty Gray" or whatever Cadillac called the nearly white light gray in '47. We found that color is very important in trying to sell my friend's '41 convertible sedan a couple of years ago. It was too "white" against what buyers eyes were expecting, which was Dusty Gray. If the car had had that little extra bit of light tan shading in the gray, we would have turned it much more easily.  Good luck on the project in any case, and welcome to the site.