Hello all,
New to the forum just picked up my first Caddy yesterday. A unfinished restoration that stalled and was given to a son-in-law who also had no time to pick up the restoration. The cars engine had been removed disassembled and stored in the back seat of the car...... yup, exterior emblems and some trim was removed, interior was disassembled everything piled high in the interior of the car.
Hard to determine what was present and what was not but the Caddy seemed really solid from what was visible, small rot in lower left rear quarter , small area on one lower front fender, large dent in drivers door and small one in rear.
No visible numbers for vin, no title and he couldn't locate the last registration, lube plate was completely faded, couldnt get hood up without ruining hinges and hood to check for a data plate, and engine block completely buried for a number check.
So a low ball offer was accepted and i dragged the ol girl to the shop yesterday, today i spent 8-10 hours outside in the hot sun to clean out the Caddy.
The car was listed as just a 1954 Cadillac, after freeing up the hinges i found the data plate intact and was pleasantly surprised to find out it is a Fleetwood, Style No. 54-6019X, Y10 paint, norman grey top, cabot grey lower, Accys group P-H-R - power brake, heat and radio. pretty cool.
What was even better news is after completely removing all parts from the interior all parts where present except for the Fleetwood emblem on the trunk and the two Cadillac emblems on the fenders, and the hydro vac brake booster is MIA. an additional major bonus is I found the last registration from 2012, so now i can get a title here in mass for it, with minimal hassle.
The floors were really solid with no rot through and the trunk is rock solid very surprised for a north east Cadillac. Rockers, frame all look excellent.
Another first for me on this car was not as many mouse houses as i usually see probably because it was full of..... Snakes! Never had that one before! 3 that i actually saw during the eviction process!
So she needs a full resto, what the heck whats one more restoration gonna do kill me..... friends and customers who stopped by today said to me, why do you need a Caddy why are you restoring this. I explained my brother got into Cadillac collecting this past two years he has a 57 Fleetwood and a 62 coupe deville and well..... i cant just let that happen!, I want one too!
And hey whens the last time you bought a 54 Fleetwood for 900 bucks.
I look forward to getting to know the community!
Next take the body off the frame and let the fun begin!
Welcome!!
and that looks fun!
8)
You should have plenty of fun.
There is plenty of knowledge here for anything you could possibly want. Get a shop manual tho.
Keep us posted.
Jeff
Danial,
Welcome and sounds like you are a get your hands dirty - DIY - and my kinda guy.
Let the pictures roll.
Have fun,
Steve B.
thanks! manual is a must lots to learn about these kittys! learning curve ahead!
Cool car at a great price Daniel, congrats!
Take LOTS of pictures/video as the restoration process begins.
Where in MA are you?
\m/
Laurie
Welcome Daniel,
Have you looked at Mid-Century Cadillac forum. There is a lot of knowledge there as well. Looks like a great project keep us up to date.
Keep Cruzin,
Bob Kielar
Had a good laugh when you mentioned SNAKES! About 15 years ago, I sold a 1970 deVille Convertible parts car that I had laying around my back field, right next to the tree line. Fellow comes to look it over and pops the trunk. Well, "somebody" had been living in there! He wasn't at home, but was kind enough to leave a skin he had shed. Darn thing was five foot long with a diameter the size of my forearm!!! We had no idea if that big fella was still hiding in the car somewhere. Funniest part of the story was the buyer forced his buddy to sit in the car and steer while he winched it onto his trailer. Poor guy was three shades of pale when he finally got out!!!