Vinny O'Hare

I know it has been a while since our last newsletter. I have been kind of busy rebuilding the house. I am now 90% done and am waiting for more insurance money to come in so I can finish. The hurricane was the easy part. Dealing with the insurance company and the bank was the hassle. I am back in Arizona taking a break from it all.

Cadillac Auto Show Pictures:

I still have to upload all the pictures that I took at the NY auto show. I just haven’t had the time to resize all the pictures for the web. I shoot in really high quality and it takes some time to do the post processing. This year I decided I will be showing all the pictures. Will probably put them up on our forum plus on Flickr.  Will work on that this weekend.

EVENT ALERT:

Got an email from our friend Dan from the XLR Club

Hey Vinny,  Dan here with the 2005 Cadillac XLR. Just wanted to let you in on the information for the 2003 to 2013 Anniversary of the 1st 2004 XLR off the line in Bowling Green Ky. On the end of September of 2003. Our www.xlr-net.com club group is organizing a trip to Bowling Green Ky. The Corvette Plant  is putting on an all vehicle car show {VETTES & PETS}  at the Corvette Plant on September 28th 2013 from 8am-3pm. Some of the group is coming in early on Thursday and staying to Sunday to make a trip event out of it and visit the (NCM) National Corvette Museum and cruzin the country side driving and dining while there. Just thought I’d let you in on the information in case you want to post to the Cadillac club members. Stay tuned in at the club web site www.xlr-net.com

Our club usually grows slower when I don’t make post and send out newsletters but the last month we have seen growth in our member base at record levels.

New Members:

Norman Kraglund from Alberta, Canada 1951 Series 62 2Dr Hard Top Coupe

We had started to restore this Caddy approximately 2 years ago. This Caddy is an off body restoration. We are having it professionally done locally by VC Customs. So far we have been very satisfied with their work. There was very little body work to be done compared to many I’ve seen. We lucked out. The frame is now powdered coated, motor rebuilt, transmission rebuilt, upgraded front suspension, upgraded front brakes to disc, power steering, plus it will have other upgrades to follow (6v to 12v). When this Caddy will be finished it will have the outward appearance as being original. It is scheduled to be painted inside and out in two weeks. I look forward to seeing it come to this stage. Soon I hope will be interior upholstery plus chrome refinishing, some is stainless steel. In the past I have also obtained the original sales brochure, 2 glove box manuals, workshop manual, original paint charts and chip samples as well as the wiring schematic for this “51”. When I learn how to send pictures, I will be doing so.

Richard Ziemer Richard from Pennsylvania 1952 “62” sedan

Keep it Moving; Use it! Richard C. Ziemer, Ph. D., Professor Delaware Valley College
Doylestown, PA 18901

Soon after I joined the Cadillac-LaSalle Club I read with interest a question submitted by a member whose 6-volt battery required recharging, and that every two years he needed to buy a new battery. I believe the suggestion was made to drive the car more frequently. That is good advice. I was somewhat disappointed by the question because I was looking for a 1953 sedan—the first year of the 12-volt battery for the very reason of his concern.

It made me reflect that on the strawberry farm in Oregon where I grew up all our tractors, Chevy cars and trucks were powered by 6-volt batteries; they always started and ran well. I also reflected on my first car—a 13-year-old 1950 Cadillac sedan–which I drove from Oregon to South Carolina to college, and drove weekly at college, and the battery never failed.

Pity the car that emerges from the garage only at show times and needs to have the battery charged, and when the car starts, it emits blue smoke for a few minutes. “Use it or lose it” applies to many things. So does paying attention to small things with our cars. My most recent car is a 1952 sedan, which I bought in June 2005.

I invite my mechanics to tech seminars run by Cadillac-LaSalle Club and RROC. This is a congenial way to find out some tricks of the trade and educate younger mechanics how to keep these old machines running. As I drive by the garage and toot the horn, the mechanic smiles to see his handiwork.

A set of 4 Michelin radial tires—225 x 15—keeps the original Cadillac sedan rolling down the highway as if it’s on a bubble, and the power steering makes handling the car as nimble as it does on my more modern Buick. One push on the accelerator sets the choke and the car starts on the first turn of the key. I use it as a backup or sometimes daily driver. It is not a showpiece because the original paint is fading. In the areas of Eastern PA it attracts attention of the curious, going from point A to point B and back to A very well.

The old resistors in the radio were replaced with modern ones by a skillful old-school electronics technician, and the original radio plays loudly and clearly and the Selector works well with the new manual 6-foot antenna. And the rebuilt clock ticks fine.

New Cadillac:

Along with the new design of the Cadillac CTS line in NY they also had the new Cadillac Electric car the ELR. Here is a good video showing it along with some background information on Darren Geese who is in charge of  production.

I guess that is it for now. I promise I will send out our newsletter more frequently now that life is getting back to normal. I can never express how much I appreciate the support you guys have sent me over the last few months.