6219_Rules

I would like to say that while not original, the modern paints particularly the polymers, make sense for today especially since you can get them in the original colors. The only reason I could see for use laquer is to get the original color. I fully intend to paint the '47 the proper antionette blue and the '56's tahoe blue / cavern grey in a modern two stage paint. Sometimes advances in technology can be used without violating the value of the car. At least that is my point of view such as it is.

God speed, George Cagle. May you stay safe, work diligently and return home whole. My heart goes out to you for all you have done and are doing, and to your family.

Good idea, Geoff. It is called the R&R section. A thread would get too cumbersome very quickly. I am following this thread because I liked the sketches and models ... I would love to hear more about it. I think we all know the Packard history at least as far as I care to at this point.

Dave, as I am sure others have said, there are kits available for 6 volt systems that use a modified halogen lights. I read about them in a book on car restoration. It does require some modification of the tail light assembly...drilling etc but they are available. I like your solution better. If something as simple as foil works, I may try it on my '47!!! Now when it comes to the '56, I think you can get 12 volt halogen replacements, bulb and sockets, for those. I refuse to put one of those ugly third lights on my rear deck! Yuck. Studies have shown (back in the 80s) that these decreased sudden rearend engagments, which would have been avoided in any case were people to pay attention to their driving! Actually I find that early braking and care not to ride too close to the car in front of me, keeps people behind at bay...annoyed but at least aware. Good job, Dave! Ingenuity strikes a round tone once again.

Congratulations, Shawn!!!! This is wonderful news. We will await your posting of pictures with baited breath. I will be calling you shortly. Good luck on the new acquisition!!

Pontiac59, I will hazard a guess that you are seeing the effect of a poor economic recovery, and family households that simply do not have the time, interest or desire to rebuild an old car. Teens used to do this, as many noted, and they grew up to make the majority of the hobbiests today. But the cruel fact is that this hobby is terribly expensive and out of step with many people who are concerned with keeping hearth, family and self alive, well fed and progressive. In my family, I am, as my late uncle certainly was, seen as a 'car nut'. We spend valuable time and money on something that, admittedly, brings us great joy, but is extremely questionable as an investment. My father tolerates this hobby such as I am involved only because it DOES bring me joy, otherwise it is wasteful of monies needed to keep me alive and well. I wish I knew more to be able to advise you in this matter. I would hate to see good project cars go the way of the Do Do but unless you can make a go of part supply and doing what men like Cherlokian, Faust, and Cooper have been doing supplying parts to silly people like me, then I do not see what else you can do. If you got $100 for each hulk, minus towing or hauling charges, then you might be able to make some money. The last time I had to do that and lost a beautiful car, it profitted me less than $400 and that was applied to a rather sizable bill. Today most of us look for a running, well kept car as a project. My '47 would be a wonderful project car for an enthusiast wanting to restore it to original. It runs, is well kept, clean and most everything works. What could I get for it? Certainly not what I put into it. I would want at least $8500 to break even and finance my other project. But I doubt I would get it. I cannot see a rusty hull even complete being worth anything near a running, decent car. Perhaps the market is dead...I don't know. I do know there are deals out there for a pitence that work and look good. My '77 Eldorado at $1950 is an example, or the 1969 Olds 98 Holiday coupe, all original and in perfect running shape, for $2500. Or this 1956 Cadillac I recently acquired at $1500 which has turned out to be a real gem. Times are changing. It is sad to see beautiful examples crushed. The future is not forgiving to the past, that much is certain.

Hi Mr. Earl...you can open this thread, go to EDIT and from there delete it with a header to explain why. Its simple. I am sure PeterG will get to your question as soon as humanly possible. I suspect there is a glitch in the thumbnail creation, either a memory or permissions acception which will be relatively easy to fix. I have had the same problem and decided to supercede it by posting on another website until the problem is resolved.

Here they are. Go to : My '56! Hope you enjoy them! Thanks for the interest!

A terrible thing! I will be sure to keep an eye out as I search the web for Cadillacs. I have the VIN and will check when I can. Have you gone and posted on the CLC Forum at : CLC Forum If not, I would do so. My condolensces to your friend.

Welcome Mike! If you are a friend of Peter, you must be a great guy! I know you will enjoy the good folks here.

Thanks, Mick. I am taking my camera today. We are paying for the car and will haul it to our garage, then I will start a series of before and after shots. This will be totally documented as much as possible. More as it happens!

Thanks! I will post some on Friday evening. We are moving the car to the garage then. I am, to say the least, excited.

Try USA Parts Supply. They should have what you are looking for. Additionally there was a wonderful Olds part house in the midwest called Fusick which was a great help to me with my last Olds. Classic Olds Parts I hope that helps. If you still need to search for odd parts, I suggest you use a search engine like Google and search on antique oldsmobile parts. Good luck.

Got one. 1956 Cadillac series 62 sedan, fully loaded. 98000 miles, stored for 8 years in dry covered storage, one family car. Blue with white top. A/C equiped, 6 way power seat, Wonderbarr radio, power antenna (first electric version), fog lights, special interior with padded seats (I am not absolutely sure about this...I will clarify later), and AUTRONIC EYE. The car is a low #3, solid and straight, with little rust (all surface), sealed and dry, with completely intact electrical loom. The car was last driven just before it was put into storage. As of that time all electrical options worked except one window motor. Since July 4th, 2003 the Oldsmobile is gone. I may sell the 1947 Cadillac 6269 to fund the restoration.

Hi Joe42, The wheel base for the series 62 was 129.5" which had not changed in several years. The overall length was 220.9". You can find this information and more at : the Cadillac Database Nice cars. Good luck with it.

You could find them in many places but the place I used was Bumperfillers.com. The prices were reasonable and the result good. Good luck in your search.

In Colleyville, Texas (just outside Ft Worth), my son was arrested in a 1988 Camero (very red) by an over zelous police officer of the same town ( a small unincorporated township just north of Euless-Bedford with an average income of +$300.000) where his mother and he lived. The cop said he stopped him because there was no front license plate. Then proceeded to pull his gun and rough up the boy. We still do not know what percipitated the arrest other than the officers excuse that he thought he saw something being thrown out of the car. Or was it the missing front plate? Well, the up shot of this little episode was an apology from the mayor, the car being sold and the officer losing his job...he had a reputation apparently. Oh...and by the way, my son was innocent of any wrong doing...he just looked out of place in an old Camero, red of course, in a rich neighborhood. Hmmmm. Did I forget to mention the missing front plate?? The police car did not have one either. The experience led me to look into it for a bit and found that this law is used more often than not as an excuse or throw away to stop a vehicle when the officer is suspicious. I like to give them the benefit of the doubt (I support many Police organizations and have for years). In my view, this law should either be repealled or policed properly but not used in this fashion. Colorado has the same law and I suspect use it the same way. Bottomline...get that front plate or you too may be stopped one windy night for no apparent reason and later learn that "Well you did not have a front license plate, so...". <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Art, you said in a much more complete and intelligent manner exactly what I was trying to say in far too few words. I am not saying you, Packard53, are wrong to hold your beliefs. I simply wanted to say that Harley was a unique individual and a powerful hand in the design field. I do like much for what he did and what he was trying to do. You may dislike Earl, think he was a thief and a crank, or a brilliant stylist and driving force in the industry. As Art said, it really is a matter of opinion. No argument here on it.

Moepar, we need more gals like you around! <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I feel precisely the same way...OK I am an avowed crank...because I use a 1977 Eldorado as my daily driver, and my 1947 Caddy for fun but I am working on making IT my daily! Anyway, your Olds sounds wonderful. I had a 1969 Olds 98 Holiday Coupe as my daily until a drunk teen wrecked it last year. Oldsmobile is one good, solid car. Good luck with it.

I was very sorry to hear about your mishap, Sky. Mishap is such a light term for what those little monsters did. It makes me literally sick to think of it, and to know it happens all of the time. Children have no consequences to their actions any more. They are such a protected species that they grow up coddled and left to develop with no idea how to live in a society with other people. We look to the schools to educate them and keep them safe, to the law to bring them up, and to everyone else for blame when they fall. Through the very best of intentions, from the 60s on, we have bred a population of social relativists with no expectation of consequence for behavior other than jail or fines. Kids have always acted with disregard to others safety but at least adults at one time could teach them otherwise. Now you cannot for fear of reprisal. We have done it to ourselves. The inmates now rule the asylum. The very best of luck on your repairs. I hope all goes well so you can show and enjoy your Metropolitan this season.

Of course people will go after Harley's status...it happens with all great men who push the envelope and make a mark on the world. Earl was not the only man who made an impact but for some reason, probably good PR and personal drive, he stands out. How do you make such a claim, that one man does not deserve his reputation? It is a matter of history which we all know is part fact, part legend and part fantasy. Bill Mitchell deserves equal billing but rarely gets the lime light. Still he was there all of those years working with Earl, producing significant designs, if not beautiful ones. Have you ever seen the 1953 Bonneville concept? Oh my god. I think we give Harley his due out of respect for the powerful personality he had to push through ideas that might have otherwise been suppressed. He was a powerhouse...a real hard man to work for and a monster in so many ways, but like so many like him, look at what he was able to produce even in a huge company like GM? Too much credit? Perhaps. But after he retired, things certainly became less grand. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Welcome to the Forum, Ben! Nice website. Thank you for sharing.

Excellent post, Brian. I think you covered it totally. When I bought my 1947 Cadillac, I knew what I was looking for, but nothing about the car or its generation. So I used the best sources I could, and checked the car out by driving 600 miles to see it. I recognized that the car was whole, if not in perfect shape. My rule of thumb is that it will take generally $3000.00 above the price in getting a car up to safe reliability. Now the Cadillac took more than that, but it was mostly cosmetic. Mechanically the car was sound. I paid $4500 for the car, and another $5000 to get it into good shape for use. I suspect I have another $7000 to go including rebuilding an engine for reliability, and painting it. Maybe not show quality but certainly a #2. It all takes money. I was lucky because the car was well cared for and had very low use miles. Good luck in your search. I hope all goes well with it.

I'm not sure to tell the truth. I will look it up and let you know.

The heavy chrome trim is indicative of the Biarritz package. Those without, are Eldorados. The Biarritz package was brought back in 1977 as a replacement for the convertable. It was the top of the line for the production model, aside from some specialty packages like the Classico that were after-market. By 1985 Cadillac offered an Eldorado Coupe, the Biarritz, a convertable and the Biarritz convertable package, as well as the Touring Package for the Coupe. It was the last year for these offerings since 1986 model year introduced a new smaller body style. The retracting rear windows was common on many of the convertables to prevent the glass from breaking. To authenticate your car, check the VIN. The VIN is a 17 character number; the fourth indicates the car line with an "E", and the fifth the series with an "L"; the convertable body type is indicated in the sixth position with a "67". "57" indicates the coupe. You can find the full listing of the VIN number at the following link : 1985 Cadillac VIN Hope that helps. Good luck.