Factory Custom 1955 Series 62 Convertible

[okccadman]

I ran across these factory photos of a custom 1955 Series 62 Convertible.  These were taken in the corporate garage at Clark Street by a GM Staff Photographer as the car was undergoing final reassembly or additional interior modifications.   Notice the extended quarter panels, continental kit and custom tail light pods predicting the 59 models. 

Does anyone know anything about this one-off?  Where is it now?

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

Jim,
I've looked at the pictures for quite some time. I'm not sure how you determined where they were taken or by whom.
It appears to have been driven a lot. It has all the earmarks of what the customizers were doing with fairly new cars at that time.  If it was a GM car, it would have manufactures plates. I'm interested in other opinions.
Bob

[okccadman]

Bob,

This was in an album full of assembly line and office pics as well as other cars being delivered in that same building.  There is a 55 Eldo witrh no fabric on the top in the next stall being worked on as well.

[okccadman]

I wish there was a way to trace the license plates!

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

Jim,
That car appears to be several years old. Look at the dirt on the rear bumper & the front of the rear tire. Dirt on the tire side & tread.
Also, it looks like the rear bumper has rub marks & light scratches. Your thoughts?
Bob

[Steve Passmore]

I'm inclined to agree with Bob, I know very little about 50s cars but doesn't the very fact it has a registration plate on it give the game away? No car in the plant still being worked on would be registered at that point would it?  even a custom special build would not be known to your  Motor Licensing dept at that stage in its construction surly ?? 

[R Schroeder]

In 1957 Michigan had white letters on a red backround. In 59 I think  it was yellow letters with a dark green backround.
Could be one of those two years.

[okccadman]

I really wish I had more info.  There is a 55 Eldo with no fabric top in the stall to the left of this car.  These photos were on the same page as photos of a gentleman taking delivery of a new 55 Series 62 Sedan and affixing 1955 Hawaii License Plates on it.  There are about 200 photos and these fall in the early part of the 1955 assembly line and factory pics.  I was thinking it might have been a custom for an executive or "friend" of GM Brass.  I remember reading Ed Glowacke had a custome white Cadillac convertible with blue interior around this time that he used to pull his matching Austin Healey race car.

[okccadman]

You can also see the open driver's door of a 1955 Series 62 Sedan to the right of the custom convertible.

[Walter Youshock]

That's definitely the Clark plant.  I have the 1957 edition of "the books".  A lot of the photos showed up in the "Cadillac Craftsman", the monthly employee newsletter.  If you can find copies of those magazines for 1955, you MIGHT get an answer to the story of this car.  I was able to find out who a lot of people were in the photos this way.  And these assembly line photos are invaluable for authenticity purposes.

It's possible the car was customized at the plant for an executive.  They would do just about anything back then.

[Tito Sobrinho]

What a contraption?  Tasteless with 4 tubes on the rear fenders + the Continental Kit!

[R Schroeder]

Short story in here about Clark Street plant.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.cadillac1956.eu/fotoindex/cad56garage01.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.gmsalariedretirees.com/GMplantHistory.html&usg=__4-fksQznqHWCCiSMkJ2Xan5wUGk=&h=462&w=700&sz=36&hl=en&start=25&zoom=1&tbnid=TSNkMZ2L9i5DtM:&tbnh=92&tbnw=140&ei=2NIcT76sIKjd0QGFuICzCw&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dcadillac%2Bclark%2Bplant%2Bmichigan%26start%3D21%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26gbv%3D2%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1

[76eldo]

Looks like the same building to me.

The rather ugly rear end re-style could be an employee's car which would explain the tags and the dirt and wear.

Brian

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Reading the link that Roy just put up, it is sad to read of all the plants that were operating, and then closed in the past 40 years.

Created employment, and wealth, for the local communities.

But, the upside, I suppose if there is one, is that other countries and shareholders, are profiteering from the opening of plants in their area.

Bruce.

[Gene Beaird]

Okay, I'll preface this with the fact that I'm NOT an expert on '50's era Cadillacs, but I seem to remember my Dad's 50 had the gas filler under one of the tail lights (IIRC, the right one).  How does one fill this car up?

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

Opening the taillamp up reveals the gas cap- just take it off and fill-er-up. I believe they were always on the driver (L) side.

[Barry Norman]

There does not  seem yo be a flip up tail lamp unless the pod itself does. Also, has the Eldorado boot cover and no wire wheels .

[okccadman]

I would sure like to know if there were any modifications to teh front of the car!

[Walter Youshock]

It looks like a standard '55 series 62 convertible with 2-tone interior and a metallic paint job, save for the Eldorado boot and the taillights and continental kit.  The '55 Eldorado wheels were chrome sabres.

The standard Cadillacs had the fuel filler under the driver's taillight.  The Eldorados had the filler behind a flip-up door on the driver's side where the taillight flare ended at the rear quarter.  It's possible this car was modified with an Eldorado-type fuel door, but we can't see the driver's side of the car.

The designers took great care in hiding hardware and obvious signs of imbalance from one side of the car to the other.  By '58, the twin side mirrors reappeared on the 60 Specials (although the passenger mirror was useless due to its location).

In my opinion, that was one thing that detracted from the Eldorados.  Even the Brougham had that door with the "GASOLINE" badge.

'57 Chevies and the El Moroccos had a filler provision in the lower fin chrome that slid sideways.  Maybe Cadillac couldn't employ this feature because the fin design was sharper than that of the Chevrolet line.