Sorry I haven’t updated in a while I was in Austin Texas on a work/vacation. I have some cool stories I am working on including a post on the great looking T-Shirt Dave sent me. If you are thinking about getting a T-shirt from Dave I highly encourage you to do so. My next post will probably be a video of me wearing the shirt. Thanks Dave!
This weeks Cadillac story comes from Jared from Minnesota
I got my 1980 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham when I was 15. It was my grandmothers car until she passed away. At first my favorite car was the 1969 Dodge Charger but after seeing my grandmothers car in my garage day after day I started to like it and I did not want to see it go to the crusher so had my dad buy it from her estate for $750. The car sat in a pole shed for about 15 yrs before we hauled it home. All it took to bring it back to life was a new battery and a starter.
After my first oil chance on the car the rear main seal had to be replace because all the new oil I put in when right out the main seal in a few minutes. The car has suffered hail damage and some teenagers had broken into the pole shed years before we bought it and smashed out all of the windows and dented the roof, doors, and chrome trim. I have been slowly restoring the car over the past 2 years with the little money I have and lately I have not been able to do much because I am in college now learning to become and automotive technician.
I am not building my car to suit other peoples likes, the car will be built the way I want it to. Ever since I got the car I have wanted it to be a one of a kind Cadillac. I am planing on a frame off restoration. I want to put a 454 Chevy big block with dual quad carbs, headers, electric cut outs, and converting it to a six speed manual transmission. It is my favorite car and I never plan to sell it.
Well first off, its too bad you left the car sit so long & get damaged. I myself several years back bought a car from an estate, you should have replaced all seals, belts & flushed out all components of the car, I did this to the car I had bought, it ran like new. Its was an Oldsmobile. Second I strongly don’t believe you really care anything about Cadillac’s, because if you did you would restore it back to its original condition. Replacing the Engine, changing the transmission to a 6 speed manual, completely STUPID, PERIOD. I know your young and think what your doing is good, but you will lose all value and interest in this Nice Looking Caddy as you grow older and more mature. Not too mention the waste of time & money. No body is going to like it. But if your like my 16 yr old daughter, (who knows everything) then go for it.
I don’t know Lloyd I am glad to see a younger person take interest in an older Cadillac and what he wants to do with it is his choice. I do agree that as he gets older he may want to change it again. That is his choice. Not every Cadillac has to be an Original to be worth something. It doesn’t matter is Nobody likes it as long as HE does.
First off I do not think i am right about everything, I can see your point but you should also see mine.
I believe that taking a car and adding some custom features shows character and that the person who owns the car values it. Second I did not let the car sit so long or get damaged, my grandmother had alzheimers for the last 15 years of her life and my uncle just crammed the car into his pole shed and let it rot. When she died i did not want to see her car go to the crusher so i told my father to buy it. When i got the car i started replacing what i could with the money i had right away. I did all of the hoses and belts, serviced all of the fluids, replaced the radiator, water pump, thermostat, fuel pump, shocks, gas tank, fuel sending unit, tires, tie rods, brakes, and much more. There was a few things i had to change, the old quadrajet had a fuel leak around the fuel filter fitting on the carb and i did not have $600 for another quadrjet so i installed a holley street carb for $300, I went to 5 different part stores for a mechanical fuel pump and could not get one so I had to switch to an electric one. I am not completely changing the car. The body, suspension, and crush velvet interior will remain the same. It is my favorite car and nothing compares to a cadillac. It literally feels like drivivg a huge crush velvet couch on wheels. The only thing i want out of the car is more power. The 368 v8 it has only puts out 145 hp and trust me if performance part suppliers made performance parts for the 368 ( which they dont ) then i would keep it and just hop it up a bit. Last the car does need a paint job but im not going to put some ridiculus paint job on it, the old paint is faded and is starting to develop rust spots. I will also not be putting some ridiculusly huge rims on it, I would like to find or get a set of cadillac wire wheels ( the real ones, not the wire hub caps). I also fixed every vacuum leak in the engine compartment so the car runs like a clock. That 368 fires up perfectly everytime i start it, the only problem is that it eats a quart of oil every two weeks. Cadillac are beautiful no matter what you do to them, no other car has as much brilliant shining chrome, is as comfortable, or gets as much attention as a cadillac. My car turns heads everywhere I drive even though it is not as nice looking as some of the classic muscle cars I have driven by on the streets. It sucks when my freinds and poeple who dont appreciate old cars tell me my car is a pile of junk and that I should just junk it in a junk yard before i spend all my money trying to restore it. I want to restore this car so that i can enjoy it the rest of my life and stand up to the people who say it a pile of junk.
I agree and disagree with both of you guys, Loyd and vinny. I too bought a 57 cadillac Limousine, custom built by Derham, I did it my way when I was young and stupid. It had a 365 cu.inch engine, ran great. I made the crinkle top look like it was a convertable landau in the back of the old limo, it was neat to me and my school chum buddys but It looked so cheaply done and a sad looking classic relic I had at the time. oh ya, I put an extended continental kit on it I had made in welding class, it was the longest contental kit I have ever seen, it looked like a small patio with two chairs on it and a spare tire, neat to me at that time but the restorer removed it and put a regual kit on it just to make the limo ook good i guess, I had bubble skirts on it too, ugly from the top of an old VW bug. I sold it to a guy foor $2500.00 and he restored it as it is today, a fantastic custom built original Derham limousine, It was one of 3 that was built that year.
I wish I had that car now and the way it should have been restored the proper way when I got it originally. I learned by my mistakes and crazy ideas, and now I have a car that I like very much, and unfortuantly is not a Cadillac either, Vinny knows what I have, hahahaha lol
I like the colour of the 1980 cadillac, it would look great hand painted on a Ashe grey t-shirt.
Thats a nice car that young guy has, I think he will do what he wishes, but he should keep it the way it is for
memories of his grandmothers.
This young guy has a real nice original Cadillac, and if it was me with it, I would keep it, restore it to its original condition and just drive it.Besides 454’s eat to much gas anyways ,I hope he has a gas well in his pocket because it will eat gas fast.
Thanks vinny for the imput on the t-shirt that I made for you. I know it took a long time toget it done, but it is one of a kind, and I made it for you. Has 12 different Cadillacs and La Salles on it all hand drawn and hand painted.I have started a second one for you,it is the fin era, 1949 to ’59 Cadillac, 11 Cadillacs that I could squeeze on a XL t-shirt, I hope to finish it by July. I just finished doing 4 t-shirts (2 in white /2 in Ashe Grey) of Paul Oakleys ’59 Cadillac Sedan Deville, 2 for him and 2 for his son Blair. I have to just ship them to Paul.
I will be posting them on the Cadillac Country Clubs Automotive Art Forum very soon for others to see, and other ’59 cadillac owners to see. I also have to post several t-shirts I have been doing of the ’55 Cadillac various models and same ’56 Cadillac various models. those t-shirts that i did for display on here, most of them also are forsale if any member would like one.
Thanks again Vinny for creating this forum form e and any other member of the Cadillac Country club.
Dave beveridge,
Dave’s Cadillac Art,
carslovei@hotmail.ca
davesautoart@hotmail.ca
289-938-5155
Sorry Lloyd, I spelled your name wrong.I promise it won’t happen again.
dave Beveridge,
Dave’s Cadillac Art,
carslovei@hotmail.ca,
289-938-5155.
Dave,
I compliment you on your commitment
to your Cadillac
and making it yours
by doing it YOUR way.
Enjoy your ride,
Glenn
1991Coupe DeVille Spring Edition
I created and designed the image used on your 1980 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham VinnyO.