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for Bill Refakis

Started by Yann Saunders,CLC 12588, September 29, 2006, 09:56:44 AM

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Yann Saunders,CLC 12588

Just stopped at Pioneer Auto Show and Antique Town on I-90 in Murdo, South Dakota 57559 (email PAS@pioneerautoshow.com, website http://www.pioneerautoshow.com TARGET=_blank>www.pioneerautoshow.com They have a 59 Biarritz. Contact Dave Geisler for VIN and body No.
Regards to all
Yann

Bruce Reynolds # 18992

Gday Yann and Gita,

Isnt that a wonmderful place to simply roam, wander, and just marvel at all the different "things" there.

Especially the "little Cadillac"

Bruce,
The Tassie Devil(le),
60 CDV

P.S.   I am not Bill either, just spying.

bill refakis #3171

Hi Yann,thanks for thinking of me,few weeks back old cars weekly ran a story on them,showed the 59,of course i was on it the next day,around the first of the year,i will do my first breakdown of option/color trim fiqures,to anyone who cares,buckets are at least 40percent of production,take care,bill

Paul Z







Bill....so hows the 59 Biarritz website going?

Any closer?

Regards from Oz!

Paul







Steven Hanley

For such an important and passionate project, have you contacted the GM Heritage Center and inquired if it will give you all the build records for your 59 Biarritz project?

Yann Saunders, CLC #12588

Have you any idea the time it would take to go through ALL 1959 build sheets to extract only the "Biarritz" models and then to prepare a package of 1,320 build-sheets ???

The Heritage Center is run by a couple of volunteers. Dont ask for (or expect) miracles.

georg pfeiffer #17399

so the old fairy tale that only 99 cars with bucket seats rolled off the assembly line is finally proven wrong. i never did believe that anyway... if you look how many bucket seats cars are still around.

Georg

Andrew Garnett

It is 2006!

I calculate 125 days without sleep to manually go through all the records.  That can be narrowed down if all the records were scanned and converted to excel and sorted.  Everyone knows that there were only 1,320 Biarritz Convertibles which are easily identified by its model number.  

Andrew

Quote from: Yann Saunders, CLC #12588Have you any idea the time it would take to go through ALL 1959 build sheets to extract only the "Biarritz" models and then to prepare a package of 1,320 build-sheets ???

The Heritage Center is run by a couple of volunteers. Dont ask for (or expect) miracles.

Paul Zanetti



As an interested 59 Biarritz owner, Bill and I keep in irregular contact. Recently Bill advised me there are only around 400 x 1959 Biarritz survivors known to, and recorded by, him (his research goes back to the 1970s I believe, through old car mag ads, club contacts, and recently the internet).  He is documenting all known facts and history of each car....WHAT A TASK!!!

Interestingly, and historically significant, one of the great myths of the 1959 Biarritz may be overturned. Of the 400 or so cars he has on record, 40percent have factory bucket seats. Even if he has found ALL the bucket seat cars, and the non-survivors are all bench seat cars, that still makes 120 cars supplied with buckets. If the percentage were spread across the 1320 production, that makes a possible 528 cars with buckets.

I have heard two myth numbers. The first, and more common number was that there were only 99 factory bucket seat 59 Biarrtitzs. I believe that number was confused with the total production number of the 1959 Eldorado Broughamm which was....99.

The other number I later heard was 70 bucket seat cars. The reason given to me for their unpopularity in their day as a non-cost option, was because the car lost a passenger seating, with bucket seats reducing passenger capacity from 5 passengers to 4 passengers. These days, the cars are sought after more for looks, flash and flair, and not for their practical and pragmatic purposes. Hence, the keen desire for the sporty bucket seats in collectable 59 Biarritz.

Thanks to Bill for doing all this work, for which he will no doubt be historically recognised and respected, along with Yann Saunders (and others not mentioned) immortalised as referenced expert historians on these cars we love.

Cant wait to see Bills website!

Paul Zanetti


Lou CLC 19028

Quote from: Paul ZanettiInterestingly, and historically significant, one of the great myths of the 1959 Biarritz may be overturned. Of the 400 or so cars he has on record, 40percent have factory bucket seats. Even if he has found ALL the bucket seat cars, and the non-survivors are all bench seat cars, that still makes 120 cars supplied with buckets. If the percentage were spread across the 1320 production, that makes a possible 528 cars with buckets.

I have heard two myth numbers. The first, and more common number was that there were only 99 factory bucket seat 59 Biarrtitzs. I believe that number was confused with the total production number of the 1959 Eldorado Brougham which was....99.

At Hershey there was a one family  Biarritz w/buckets there. The owner had his buddy take the car to the show. I started to talk to him about the color Persian sand & then we got to the factory buckets. He came out and said "yep only 99 came with buckets" so I mentioned Bills efforts to him and he was unaware of the findings. At this point I asked the gentleman if I could take a few pics of the car for documentation and he obliged. Pics of the car can be found here
  http://www.cadillaclasalleclub.org/cpg132/displayimage.php?album=19&pos=33 TARGET=_blank>http://www.cadillaclasalleclub.org/cpg132/displayimage.php?album=19&pos=33
http://www.cadillaclasalleclub.org/cpg132/displayimage.php?album=19&pos=41 TARGET=_blank>http://www.cadillaclasalleclub.org/cpg132/displayimage.php?album=19&pos=41

If Bill needs , I also took a picture of the tag .

Lou

Jeff Hansen, #4225

This car is owned by Frank Pinola, who is the President of the Central PA Region of the CLC.

Frank also donates his Hershey swap meet spots to the CLC so that we can have our hospitality tent there.  Thanks again, Frank!!

Jeff

Yann Saunders, CLC #12588

So, are you volunteering?  Contact Greg Wallace or Matt Larson to find out when you can start.  LOL.

bill refakis #3171

Hello to all,and thanks for all the help you have provided for the project. Mr Pinola has a very nice original car,one of the top 5 that i am aware of,and i have seen it many times.This winter,I really intend to try to track down the 100 or so that I have partial files on,as well as get to the balance of our club members.It has really been fun,and sometimes,i find cars that turn up after going missing as far back as the 60s!But,again,as of now,around 400,with 40percent buckets look like good numbers,a/c is proving to account for a much smaller total than i first expected.Will keep in touch,and if anyone out there has any photos taken at shows over the years,copies would be great,I can identify 90percent from tag numbers. Take care,bill

Andrew Garnett

If the records can be sent electronically, they can be converted to excel and sorted.

Quote from: Yann Saunders, CLC #12588So, are you volunteering?  Contact Greg Wallace or Matt Larson to find out when you can start.  LOL.

Yann Saunders, CLC #12588

I couldnt tell you.  The men to contact at Cadillac Historical are Greg Wallace and Matt Larson.

Somehow I dont think there is any easy way to convert microfoches to electronic format.