1955 George Barris Treatment to the 1953 Cadillac LeMans

[Charles D. Barnette]

George Barris, by orders of the "Shoe Mogul" Harry Karl, took the 1953 Cadillac LeMans Motorama show car (body number one and serial number 02) and made it runable and modified in or about 1955. Among other things he added a TV. Carla Tynes my legal assistant will post in the next post an original picture of the car in 1955 after Barris did his thing. I bought the original picture off ebay when member Jim Jordan brought it to my attention. Thanks Jim! Carla wiil also post a close up of the interior from the same picture. This car was totally destroyed by fire in the 80s. Charles D. Barnette  

[Ctynes57]

Here are the original and close up of the above stated wonderful picture of the 1953 Cadillac LeMans after the Barris treatment. Carla Tynes

[Charles D. Barnette]

If you look closely you can see the receiver of a phone near the TV with cord. Seatbelts too? Charles D. Barnette

[Charles D. Barnette]

Judging on this black and white photo and how new the Barris creation looks, I would speculate this photo was taken circa early 1955 immediately after Barris completed the project. Also judging by the well worn inside turntable (turning marks on the floor) on which the LeMans is sitting, I would speculate the photo was taken at the George Barris showroom in Hollywood, California, shortly before Harry Karl took possession of the car. Charles D. Barnette

[Cadcliff]

what is left of the car after the fire is still around

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

Cliff,
I know Johnny Crowel the owner of the car when it burned. He said that some time after the fire a guy came up from LA & hauled the remains away. The trail is probably pretty cold now but you could ask him.
HTH, Bob   PS: I'm surprised you haven't found it. LOL

[veesixteen]

Here's a color shot of Le Mans #2, following the Barris modifications. Looks like you could just walk over, insert the key and drive it away!

[Charles D. Barnette]

The Barris treatment was done all for the love of a woman. For Harry Karl, he wanted his wife, actress Marie McDonald, to have a ride fit for a Queen. He gave the car to his wife to really show a love for a woman. In summary, the car ended up in the hands of a car dealer, then taken to Ohio, then sold to a rich "hippie", then attached by a judgement against the "hippie", and then sold to the one who took it back to California and suffered the great loss of it by an accidental fire. At least in the above pictures the car was once again the center of attention as it once was during its Motorama days! Charles D. Barnette 

[Barry Norman]

Is this the same Harry Karl who later married Debbie Reynolds ?

[okccadman]

Barry.  That is the same Harry Karl.  I believe he married Debbie Reynolds in 1960.

[Charles D. Barnette]

Yann, the Barris LeMans is actually LeMans number one (serial number 02)-the Motorama LeMans. When I was assisting in the research on the 4 LeMans for author David Temple's 2006 book "GM's Motorama", the 1953 Cadillac CLC expert Matt Larson gave us the "key" to understanding which LeMans was which. That formula was that for the production year 1953, serial number 01 was given and belongs to the Motorama Show Car "Orleans". Thus the first LeMans was given serial number 02, the second LeMans (the one that is missing) was given serial number 03, and the third LeMans (relatively recently shown in Maryland at Capitol Cadillac and is privately owned) was given serial number 04. The fourth LeMans (now owned by GM and modified by GM in 1959) was produced later in the 1953 model year and its serial number is out of sequence with its siblings. Mr. Crowell always thought he had and lost the second LeMans, since the serial number on his contract of sale said 02. When I arrived on the scene in 2005, Mr. Crowell was kind enough to fax me a copy of his contract of sale on the Barris LeMans. It then became my bitter sweet duty to inform him that he had bought and then lost LeMans number one, the great Motorama Show Car. Be gentle in dealing with Mr. Crowell. He still weeps over the tragic loss of this great, irreplaceable Cadillac by accidental fire in 1985 in California! Charles D. Barnette

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

Charles & others,
I guess nobody paid to much attention to the burned LeMans in 1985. But, according to Mr. Crowell, one person did. Where is that car now???
We havn't heard too much from Mr. Frank on his clone project lately. Which  car # was he trying to recreate?
Bob

[Charles D. Barnette]

I believe Mr. Frank had decided to replicate the missing LeMans #2 (serial number 03). It was the one painted black and last appeared in late 1953 in Oklahoma City at a local dealership. I wish he would give us an update. Charles D. Barnette

[Charles D. Barnette]

In regard to the nature of the fire that destroyed LeMans number one as I understand it from my research, it was being stored in a rural building (barn like structure) with many other collectible autos. Farm workers had negligently stacked hay outside the structure against the structure. I am told that stacked hay is susceptible to a tremendous buildup of heat inside the stack. That is why you generally see hay stacked outside in the open away from man made structures. Thus it is thought that the LeMans was lost due to "spontaneous combustion" from the heat of the stacked hay. We can all learn from this! The extinction circumstances surrounding LeMans number one and number two are just as incredible as the survival circumstances around LeMans numbers three (still in stock form) and four (rear fins and quad headlights added in 1959 by GM). Why all this fuss about the 4 Cadillac LeMans show cars? Because to me, they represent the first true "Dream Cars" for Cadillac and the first "convertible sport cars" for Cadillac. Allante and XLR followed in their footsteps or should I say "wheelprints". Charles D. Barnette

[David Temple]

Most of Le Mans #1 is gone. However, parts of it survived simply because they were removed from the car before the fire. Evidently, the engine was out of it since it still exists as does the seat frame and miscellaneous parts (some of which are the Barris-made custom parts). The last known owner of these parts is Bill Pozzi, though he was trying to sell them along with the title to the car. I have not spoken to him for a few years, therefore I do not know if he ever found a buyer. I am uncertain what happened to the frame. Before the car was sold to Mr. Crowell a few parts were removed (perhaps years earlier) - these being the control levers on the dash and other small pieces. They were mistakenly not included with the Le Mans when it went to Crowell to California. Those parts later landed in the hands of our illustrious member, Charles D. Barnette. He later donated the control levers to the owner of Le Mans # 3 to replace a couple which were damaged. I believe Mr. Crowell has a few other Barris-crafted custom components, too. So, what remains of Le Mans #1 is scattered from one coast to the other. By the way, I read somewhere the custom top Barris created for this Le Mans was seen at a swap meet many years ago.

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

David,
Thanks for posting that information. Based on what you said, I think enough parts could be gathered to restore #1 as a legitimate car. Mr. Frank probably has the best chance to do it rather than doing  #2. The #2 car could still be found whereas we know what happened to #1.  Your thoughts?
Bob

[Cadcliff]

Bill Pozzi still has the parts.
I talk to him frequently.
I have no idea what his intentions are at this point.

Cliff Graubard

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

The only way any car could be restored as a "Legitimate" car would be if the Firewall of the original were in the completed vehicle.

Everything else could have been replaced over time, due to crashes, mechanical failures, and normal maintenance replacements, but just going off a Data Plate, and a few nick-nacks, would be very suspect.  

But, seeing as there is documented proof that the initial vehicle was destroyed in a fire, even though the engine and some other parts were removed, it would be very difficult to pass off any other vehicle as being the original one..

Bruce.

[David Temple]

I agree that using a few original parts with a replicated body does not represent a restoration of the original car. However, if the frame could be located (probably impossible) and incorporated into such a project then maybe one could make an argument for a restoration assuming a careful reproduction of the body and other major details. I vaguely recall reading about a rare car - perhaps a one-off - which was destroyed in a fire; its body was fabricated in fresh metal (aluminum or steel I don't recall) and it is evidently considered a legitimate, restored car (judging by my vague recollection of the context - a major concours show or auction). I have completely forgotten the make, but I believe it was a foreign. To my knowledge there is no observed standard for what constitutes a restored car vs. a recreation - never heard the cowl must be used in any such discussion until earlier in this thread. I have known of body transplants with the original VIN and other identifying tags carried over to the replacement body. In these cases the original body had rust in so many areas - lower cowl, floors, rockers, wheel lips & lower quarters, around the backlight, etc. - that body replacement was the only practical option. Then there are the restorations which include entire quarter panel replacement along with replacement of the trunk lid, rockers, floor pans, and doors which left only the front sheet metal, tail light panel (assuming neither had not been replaced after a long-ago collision), cowl, B-post, and transmission tunnel as original sheet metal. (I am recalling an old magazine article about a 1966 Starfire convertible in this case.) In the case of our hypothetical restoration of the original Cadillac Le Mans show car, fraud would not be an issue if all the facts about the car's history were provided to a would-be buyer.  However, there would be one significant part missing from such a car - its SO tag and/or its VIN plate as it was assigned a regular Cadillac serial number. I guess that brings us back to the meaning of "SO" - a discussion on this message board some time ago. In summary Bob Hoffmann believes it means "Special Order" (shortened from "Special Body Order") and I believe it signifies "Shop Order" - an old industry term.  I asked Chuck Jordan the meaning of the abbreviation during a recent phone conversation and he said with absolute certainty that it meant the latter.  As I recall, Bob based his belief - at least in part - on research involving a special 1941 Cadillac. Jordan began working for GM in 1949. Maybe that is significant. Maybe the use of "SO" as in "Special (Body) Order was dropped to be replaced with "SO" as in "Shop Order" at some point in the '40s or early-50s. But back to the original intent of this topic... Without the frame, in my opinion, there is no way to restore 1953 Cadillac Le Mans number one. Obviously, a replica could be built incorporating the original engine. I would like for the engine to be restored - cosmetically at least - and put on display.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

G'day David,

If the original Data Plate had been destroyed in the fire, then it would be illegal to create a new one, and attempt to pass off any recreated vehicle as an original.

My mentioning of the Cowl (Firewall) being used is that the cowl of any vehicle is probably the least likely major component of a vehicle to be totally replaced.   For a Firewall to be totally replaced, the vehicle must have suffered tremendous, irreparable damage, and as such would have been replaced at the time of the damage occurring.

In reality, any vehicle could be totally replaced, piece by piece and be still classed as an original, but that would involve every time a part was replaced, the vehicle was completed, and then the next part replaced, completed, and so on, till everything was replaced, even the firewall.   But, doing it all in one "operation" would not constitute the completed vehicle as an original.

Bruce.