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"New" 1942 series 63

Started by 48firetruck, January 08, 2019, 12:31:17 PM

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48firetruck

Hello, (first post) I recently found an all original 1942 series 63 in good driving condition with automatic transmission. Car has 31,000 miles (believed to be true and condition shows it), original paint and interior and totally rust free. Still has the original spare tire in the trunk. The only thing I could see bad other than 76 years worth of minor paint aging is the rubber stone chip guard on the drivers rear fender is cracked and missing some pieces. Are those available anywhere? How rare is this car?

Advise, guidance?
Thanks

harry s

Chris, Hope you made your daughter happy and came home with it. They only made that series for '41 and '42. The '42 production was somewhere in the 1700s so it is rare even for 1942. Of course just because it is rare it doesn't make it super valuable. Considering your description it sounds like a really nice car to be preserved and enjoyed.  Keep us posted.     Harry
Harry Scott 4195
1941 6733
1948 6267X
2011 DTS Platinum

35-709

Congratulations!  There are a few of us here that own '42s, welcome to the "smallish" group.
Any '42 is rare since they were introduced in September of '41 and production halted in February of '42.  Your model's production numbers were lower than most, there were only 2 other models with lower numbers.  You might enjoy reading more about the '42s here ---

https://www.100megsfree4.com/cadillac/cad1940/cad42s.htm

and then here for Page 2 ---

https://www.100megsfree4.com/cadillac/cad1940/cad42sa.htm

I don't have my Steele Rubber catalog with me right now, but try them at ---  https://www.steelerubber.com/   and order their 1942 Cadillac catalog, you may well find your stone guard there.

A "toy"?  Hmmm.  Remember, no power steering (read heavy), no AC, and the early version of the Hydramatic which were much improved after GM's wartime experience with them in tanks.  Learn about your Hydramatic and its idiosyncrasies, there are those here familiar with them.  Some have converted their pre-war '41-'42 Cadillacs with Hydramatics to post war Hydramatics.  Fortunately (to my way of thinking), mine has the 3 speed manual but your automatic makes your car that much more rare.

Hope you will join the club, the knowledge and wisdom you find here will be invaluable and note also that only a small percentage of the total membership enjoy or use these forums.     
1935 Cadillac Sedan resto-mod "Big Red"
1973 Cadillac Caribou - Sold - but still in the family
1950 Jaguar Mark V Saloon resto-mod - Sold
1942 Cadillac 6269 - Sold
1968 Pontiac Bonneville Convertible - Sold
1950 Packard 2dr. Club Sedan
1935 Glenn Pray - Auburn Boattail Speedster, Gen. 2

Barry M Wheeler #2189

I had a nice reply posted, but for 1941s instead of a '42. Unfortunately, no one is making these stone guards at all. If you have "most" of yours still usable, you might consider restoring what you've got with liquid rubber. Gary Griffen will probably chime in as he is in the same boat for his 1942 Series 67. In any case, don't throw them away or damage them further. And be ultra careful with the rear fender strips (chrome) as you could put your daughter through college for what they want for replacements. (You might even wish to mention their rarity to your insurance agent to consider them "separately.")

It sounds as if your daughter found you a nice car. Nice Mack. I passed one everyday on my way to work for years and then someone picked it up, hopefully to restore.
Barry M. Wheeler #2189


1981 Cadillac Seville
1991 Cadillac Seville

Tom Boehm

Is there a steel backing on those stone chip guards?

BJM


TMoore - NTCLC

Yes, the 1942 stone guards have a steel backing plate, covered with a ribbed rubber, which is often cracked at this point.  Finding the correct rubber is going to be a challenge, and Barry's suggestion of using a liquid rubber or other filler might be your best option if you are going to try to salvage the existing one.

The 1942s are a good car - most of the kinks had been worked out of the Flathead engine by that time, and the 1942 Hydramatic is improved over the 1941 first year (although, the were lots of additional improvements made in the transmission during the WWII period), but can be reliable transmissions.  They can be switched out for later Hydramatics with minor modifications.

Yes, they are big, heavy cars - and should be driven with care (drum brakes with no power assist, and no power steering), but they can make fine touring cars - post some pictures - there are not of lot of the 1942 models that are still around.

Jeff Hansen

Chris,

Good on your for finding a nice survivor!  Should you decide to purchase it, a number of us here own various models of 1942.  In addition to those who've chimed in already, I own a series 75 and a good friend (who does not frequent this board) owns a series 62 convertible. 

To expand on the answers about the rear fender stone guards, I concur that nobody is making new ones.  These rubber guards interchange with those on other models from 1942, 46, and 47:


  • 1942 series 61, 63, and 67
  • 1946 series 61
  • 1947 series 61 (early production cars)

The bad thing is that should you find ones from another car, they may be no better than what you have now.

The last option is to find a METAL stone guard from a later production 1947 series 61.  These were, I believe, stainless steel.  Not totally authentic for a '42, but they would fit and look great!

One benefit of membership from joining the Cadillac & LaSalle Club is our membership directory.  It shows specifically who owns what cars (so long as the member is willing to share the information) and you can easily see who else owns the same car you do.

Again, good luck should you choose to go after the car!  And we ALWAYS like photos!   ;)

Jeff
Jeff Hansen
1941 6019S Sixty Special
1942 7533 Imperial Sedan

Oliver Betker

Hello John,
Here is a late reply to your post !! ;)
As Jeff said, there are hardly any stone guards to find. I've been looking for them for 2 years and have not found anything, not even scrap.
I own a 1946 Cadillac 61 Coupé, which is very similar to the 1942 model. But also there a lot of differences, especially the trim parts. The grill in 46 has one bare less and is made by zinc diecasting, the bumpers (1942 without edges arround the fenders) and rear fender spears (slightly longer than the type 1946 because of the bumpers), which was unique in 1942.
I also have the rubberized stone protectors with metal base behind them and also had problems with cracked surfaces and missing pieces.
Since the rubber is quite thick and shaped, I have not found a factory that can coat rubber or plastic in that thickness. I have the same problems with the runningbords. The original coating is specially shaped and not only has stripes, that you can restore with conveyor belt rubber. I had to do it in this way, because I coudn't find others.

regarding the Stone guards:
That's why I decided to chrome my stone protectors, which is not original, since only the higher priced models had blank stone guards, like the bigger ones from the model 62 in 1946.
As it was allready said, it's made of stainless steel, in my opinion.

With the chrome, the ribs look good, the metal base itself is shaped, not just the wrapping.
I ad some Pictures to look at.
1946 Cadillac Series 61 Coupe
1958 Chevrolet Bel Air 4door Sedan
1958 Wartburg 311 4door Sedan 900
1961 Wartburg 311 4door Sedan 1000
1963 Trabant 500 2door Sedan
1989 Trabant 601 2door Sedan
1966 Bulldozer T 100 MGP
1968 Bulldozer T 100 MGP
1998 Nissan Pickup Navara
2015 Ford Ranger Pickup
1978 MZ T 250/1
1992 Harley Davidson Fat boy

Tom Boehm

There are two companies in Canada that do custom recovering of runningboards with rubber.

www.runningboardrubbermats.com     This guy did the runningboards on my Lasalle about 10 years ago. very good quality, high price.

www.runningboardrubber.com    separate company in Canada does the same thing.

I think there is a very good chance these guys could use their process to recover the fender guards also.