57/58 brougham find/59 biarritz HELP!!!!!

[bill refakis #3171]

Nice to see all the excitement surrounding this discovery! I am amazed at hoe receptive brougham owners are to the roster of survivors as compared with my 59 biarritz project. I am trying to get info on the black one posted on our photo page,does anyone know anything about it,or who posted it???There was a silver one at meadow brook this summer,photos??? Also,anyway to get grand national video,or photos from 2002??? Need any photos of 59 biarritzs even if unidentified,and back issues of CCI magazine,old auction catalogs,etc.If you have an interest in the project,and would like to know any stats on color or equipment totals to date,let me know,ANY HELP IS MUCH APPRECIATED,ALSO NEED 59 BUILD SHEETS ANY MODEL WILL PAY ANY COSTS FOR PHOTOS,ETC,THANKS,BILL REFAKIS

[Bob Hoffmann CLC #96]

Hi Bill, I share your frustration. Some years ago I tried it for the 1953 Eldorados. Recently I tried it for the 1941 convertible cars. I got a LITTLE response, but for the most part, people wouldnt even take the time to RAISE THEIR HOODS & CHECK THE NUMBERS. I GAVE UP! Bob

[Randall A. McGrew CLC # 17963]

Hey I would help, if I had one of the cars you are interested in.  Now if people suddenly got interested in the most popular (at the time) and least valuable of the marque ... the indispensible yet humble Series 62 sedan ... I could be more than a help!!

I share your love of the 1957 Brougham and would dearly love to be able to adopt one, but they are in the leagues of former very special cars for very special personalities, not unlike the Bugattis of the past.  Same can be said of the Eldorado at least through the mid-1960s.  If I ever hit my fortune, my son would love a 1959 Eldorado Biarritz.  
They are the dream cars of the 50s and 60s.  The Series 62 is the work horse and its popularity was due to more than just lower price, it was due to solid, and precise engineering, and basic good quality.  There was no shame in riding in a Series 62 sedan with roll up windows ... because you knew you were in a Cadillac!  And it shows.

 

[Mike #19861]

 I hear you on the participation front! I have tried on many occasions to get things going that often requires the help of other people in whatever club it is. Often I get a less than apathetic response. For that reason, I have lost my enthusiasm for these things. Not sure why it happens, but so many are enthusiastic at first, then intrest wanes like being dropped off a cliff when it comes down to the actual particpation.

 I have noticed that about 5percent of any club are real doers, while the rest just follow along. It seems that is the fact of all clubs. Not to knock those that just enjoy the club experience, that pay their dues and are happy it is there. Its those that initially say that they will help, than suddenly drop off the earth.

 As for the kings of the Cadillacs, like the early Eldorados, Broughams included, and the Sixteen Cylinder cars, they are the providence of the rich and famous, and require vast resources to own, maintain and restore. Way out of my league. But, they are on the top of my most desireable list, if ever I aquire the means to own any of them.

 So for now, I enjoy the more common Cadillacs for myself, but still relish in the ownership of these cars. Perhaps my 70 Fleetwood is a little less common, but is nowhere close to the presence a 1931 Madame "X".

 Randall, you have a great and much desireable car, sedan or not. These are the cars that made the name for Cadillac. The ones that more people saw. The ones that made people aspire to ownership. The Eldorados and such were the halo cars that only the few could own. Not only because of price, but for their rarity.

 I always admired the man who bought a stripper Calais, when the same money would have bought a loaded Buick, Olds or Chrysler. He appreciated and understood what the ownership of a Cadillac really was. The engineering, the quality and heritage. And as relatively scarce as they are, I have often found that these cars were maintained and cared for very well, testiment to what these cars meant to their owners.

 Mike