Well I stepped in with my big toe 1941 6267 D Convertible coupe 62

[Abe Lugo]

Well here is my purchase I'm the guy that ended up with the green '41 Cadillac from the back of the Feb Self-Starter magazine.
I’ll post more info here as I progress.

Overall I'm happy with my purchase.
I'm not a collector, I just want a nice running vintage car that suits me. I think I found it.

I was never expecting a perfect car, but also didnt want a jalopy. Especially not in Los Angeles
This was at the upper end of what I wanted to spend in a "what if" situation. and it worked out.

It runs and drives, there are plenty of cosmetic little things to look at.

SO if you guys wanted to know more about the car, you will probably read it here.

Im sure there are more than a few guys that wanted the car, in fact I saw it listed on FB by a Cadillac dealer in the New England area. I had a club member take a look at the car for me and then held my breath and got it just recently.

I actually have already enjoyed driving it, so as far as liking the car, its tops! Or No tops in this case.

Here are some of the modifications/notes
500 Cadillac Engine/tranny from a '71 Eldorado
70's Cadillac Commercial rearend installed. They retained the rear panhard bar system.
a kind of Wonky dual master setup installed, Already ordered and will be installing the Art Gardner style setup and fix the pedal bushing, which is shot
Rewired for 12 volt, voltage stepped down for the 6 volt accessories.
the Top works! The interior is totally usable
has the spotlights, fog light and backup light.

I found it needs some work in the front floors a bit and maybe some rust repairs needed in rockers.
At some point in time the car was hit on the driver side door so the bottom edge need some repairs if I were to restore it or clean it.


I'm having a good time learning about this car and have learned a lot by joining and reading here on the CLC  Forum and the Magazines.

I also want to order the build sheet for this, I looked up the info and it originally Black with red/white interior according to the code on the tag.  I don't feel the need to restore this, there are plenty of 80K '41 convertibles that other people are selling.  I'm hoping to keep this a while and enjoy it as much as possible. I just want to make it the most reliable drive possible and keep driving.

Updating the exhaust looking for a good bumper/chrome shop would be at the top of my list for now.

[Abe Lugo]

not sure why the double post, was adding an image.

[pmhowe]

That is a handsome car! Thanks for sharing the pictures. Please share more! 

My suggestion is that you make a list of the various cosmetic - and other - issues, make a deliberate and disciplined effort to maintain a balance between addressing all the faults and driving it for fun. Fix what is mechanically wrong and then, in the good weather, focus on the fun.

I'm going through the same process with my 1935 model. I find I am much happier if I drive a bit, address the mechanical issues, drive some more, and address the cosmetic issues.  The sunny days are drive days, the days immediately after drive days are fixit days. The rainy days are address the cosmetic issues days.

Phil

[G Pennington]

Engine/transmission from a '71 Eldorado?  Are you sure?  The Eldos are FWD.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Doesn't take too much to convert a FWD engine to RWD configuration.   Plus, it is 500 Cubes.

Bruce.

[G Pennington]

But he states he's using the Eldo TRANSMISSION.  Gotta believe he's using a TH400 out of a RWD car.

[Paul Tesone]

Nice !....  Drive it and enjoy your good weather . I wish I had better vintage car weather here in MA . ..... Paul Tesone CLC #6876

[G Pennington]

Either way, a good looking '41!  Totally stock exterior, even the wheels.  Great color.  Would love to see more pictures.

[Abe Lugo]

Hi Guys, Please don't be so quick to jump on my over the engine/tranny
In the notes book I received for the car it says '71 Eldorado, I just went and checked, the transmission is indeed a TH400. The car is still RWD, but like I said, I'm not a Cadillac collector like some of you that know every engine in every era car.
I have the engine block number but I still cannot confirm it being a 500 over a 472 without checking the crank# or measuring the stroke.
That said, since this is a "modified Cadillac" I may just post those types of things on the other forums. And post restoration type things here to historical reference.

I happen to be able to appreciate both type off vehicles either restored of modified. One thing I did want to seek out here is anyone who knew the previous owner or the owner before. I received a small notebook with some of the services changes done to the car in the last 10-15 years. I believe this car had been done this way since the mid 1990's.

One other thing, I'm not here to make waves or tring to change things but I got excited about my first posting about the car I forget people here are about restoring or upkeep to their stock or restored Cadillac.

If you want to follow my progress, I may just post on my IG account @abelugo and you may see some cool exciting things at @matchboxworld , Regardless I basically use the same username Abelugo on the HAMB and Modifiedcadilllac and the AACA and most all other forums. Im no longer on FB.

I'll keep posting here about it when I get a chance.

FYI this car was in the Cadillac Calendar either 2013 or 2015, I forget.

her are some of the sale photos.

[Brent Hladky #21519]

Beautiful car.  Enjoy!

[harry s]

I like it. Very nice & true to it's pedigree.    Harry

[Matt CLC#18621]

That is a very good looking ride, congratulations and best of luck!

Matt
CLC#18621

[carlhungness]

  I am pretty interested in knowing what kind of gas mileage you will be getting. I just picked up my 500" Cadillac engine, (1974 I believe) and ordering my Tremec 5 speed transmission next week, so I'm trying to figure out what rear end ratio I want. I'd sure appreciate you posting your around town and highway mileage as soon as you get the figures.
   Enjoy the ride, she is fabulous looking.
   My engine is stock other than having a set of $3,000 heads that have been extensively re-worked. It also has an after-market aluminum intake manifold and I see the runners are 2 1/2" wide along with a double-pumper carburetor, so it is built to use a lot of fuel. It has the widest rocker covers of any V-8 I've ever seen, probably an inch and a half wider than stock and they're cast aluminum which means they are my new pallet. I have to do something unique to them.
    I am hoping to get one of the new EFI fuel injectors, just as soon as I get my hood, radiator shell and front end to fit as it should. I attended the Louisville meet and was happy to see a pair of 37 LaSalles there, but neither one had a properly fitting hood. Both cars had the hood sides splayed out where the hood meets the radiator, and I am determined to have a precise fitting hood.
   

[Abe Lugo]

Carl
It has a manual choke Edelbrock carb on it.  They also added an electric fuel pump.  At some point the fuel system was gone through to get it running well again.  From the looks of the notebook I got with the car,  they determined about 10/11 mpg.  I have yet to drive it enough to determine the accuracy of that.
  The fuel gauge is a bit jittery. It has an aftermarket Sun gauge pod with the new fuel gauge. I may have to run it dry one day and test to see how many gallons the tank holds. I didn’t want to overfill the tank and not know how much was previously in there.  I think an aftermarket Repop tank was added but not sure if it was and exactly reproduction or just one that fits the same area with the tub in the correct side.

If I keep the electric fuel pump I definitely  want to add a return line. Also a cut off switch.

[carlhungness]

If memory serves me correctly I got about 12 with my original flathead so you haven't suffered too much at 10-11. I am looking into the EFI fuel injectors that replace the carburetor and thus far all reports are magnificent regarding performance and gas mileage.
  Fill it up, drive a couple hundred miles and fill it up again and you'll get a pretty good sense as to how much fuel you've used.
  My optimistic attitude tells me I want to get 15 mpg with my streamlined  '37 coupe that weighs a lot less than the '74 Cadillac the engine came out of but I may have to pretend I'm on the old Mobil Economy run with highly pressurized tires and a lot of coasting. Then again I will have an overdrive with my 5 speed Tremec so it may help.
   I was just hell-bent on putting a Cadillac engine in the car as opposed to a nice little Chevy that would probably do a lot better on mileage. I seriously looked at the 49 onwards V-8's and settled on this monster '500' which doesn't even say Cadillac on the valve covers, yet.
   I'm having an awfully good time putting my old coupe back together so I shouldn't worry about minor things like money spent and cost of operation.