1957 Seville

[g-g-g0]

I am new to the Cadillac world as I have been associated with the Buick Club of America for a number of years and have Buicks in my stable. Recently I found a '57 Seville project car that I bought unseen other than pictures. It was delivered yesterday and today I was able to spend some time looking it over (Very well represented by the seller and no huge surprises). My first question is where is the vin tag/ID number located? I have been unable to locate it so far. In addition from my research to date it appears that 2100 of these beauties were built. Were they all dual quad carb set ups or was that an option. I am sure there will be other questions going forward but would appreciate any information as related to these particular questions.

Thanks,

Gary

[Guest South_paw]

Gary,

Congrats! The '57 Seville is a beautiful car. Yes dual quads was an option on Eldorados. The serial number of the car is located on the chassis rail and it is also on the engine. You may also find the oil change tag in the drivers door jam if it is there. Here's a page from the 56 manual. The locations are the same.

[g-g-g0]

Lou:

Thank you for your quick response and help. I did find the lubrication plate but do not think that will satisfy the sheriffs department when they come to do a vin check. I will have to find the one on the frame rail but now know where to look.

Is there any data as to how many of the cars were equipped with the dual quad option. Was it a factory install or a dealer install.

Really appreciate your assistance.

Gary

South Bend, IN

[Guest South_paw]

I don't think that you will find a definitive breakdown of how many came with the dual quad option. You can however confirm that your car came factory equipped with a dual quad engine. Here's how. On that page shown above, it shows the location for the engine unit number. A 1957 dual quad engine will begin with a 7Q. If yours has the 7Q thats half of the battle. Next thing is to match the engine serial number to the chassis serial number. If those match and you have a 7Q engine then you have a factory installed dual quad engine. (hope that makes sense)

[Ovalrace25]

Original VIN is stamped on the top of right frame rail between the firewall and the A-frame mounts. Starts with 57.

ALL Eldorado engines had the dual carbs.. HOWEVER-- Any dealer could remove the duals if requested by the buyer...

[WQ59B]

Actually, in checking & to my surprise; in '57 the 2x4 induction was optional on the Eldorados... at least according to factory brochures & the Standard Catalog.

[Guest South_paw]

Also unique to the '57 model is that the dual quad engine was only available as an option on the Eldorado. N/A on a standard 62 series or 60 Special.

[g-g-g0]

Thanks for all of the info. I have not located the number on the frame rail yet. I sprayed the area with some blaster just to lube it a bit and will spend a little more time soon. It is darn cold here in northern Indiana and I was not dressed properly. My hopes were that it would be readily visable but no such luck.

I am interested in a parts car that has a frame that is compatible with the '57 Seville. It appears to me that the frame may be unique to the Seville/Biarrtiz due to the heavy rear bumper brackets. Just a guess on my part. If I could find a frame I could start the restoration process on it prior to removal of the body of my car from its present frame. Appreciate any leads

[Guest Jim_Edwards]

Also unique to the '57 model is that the dual quad engine was only available as an option on the Eldorado. N/A on a standard 62 series or 60 Special.

Also unique is the number of those having been ordered with the dual quads by dealers or customers is that many, many of the dual quads were later taken off both the '57 and '56 Eldorados of both body styles at owner's request, and I'm sure expense, on discovery they were super gas hogs not too mention a bear to get the setup adjusted right and for it to stay adjusted. My '57 Eldorado Seville and '56 Eldorado Seville both have the dual quad setup, and those original owners back in the 1950s were right. They are unbelievable gas hogs. Not anything one wants to take on a long trip for sure. Good for a no choice gas stop about 150-160 miles down the road, if one is lucky and a conservative driver.

Jim

Edited December 19, 2010 by Jim_Edwards (see edit history)

[Guest Jim_Edwards]

Thanks for all of the info. I have not located the number on the frame rail yet. I sprayed the area with some blaster just to lube it a bit and will spend a little more time soon. It is darn cold here in northern Indiana and I was not dressed properly. My hopes were that it would be readily visable but no such luck.

I am interested in a parts car that has a frame that is compatible with the '57 Seville. It appears to me that the frame may be unique to the Seville/Biarrtiz due to the heavy rear bumper brackets. Just a guess on my part. If I could find a frame I could start the restoration process on it prior to removal of the body of my car from its present frame. Appreciate any leads

If you are familiar with GM's "X" frame experiments I can understand wanting to get swap it for a ladder frame. Doesn't take much to knock an "X" frame out of square. But I will suggest you'll be venturing into the deepest abysses of hell in the shop and totally screw up the value should you desire to sell it later. Assuming you manage to cobble everything together with no pieces looking for their home in the aftermath, it just won't be right. What I'm saying is you really want to understand the underside of that beast and do a lot of measuring before thinking about anything other than enjoying the car for its uniqueness in design on the frame it has, unless you have rust issues beyond repair. A '57 or '58 Eldo will draw a crowd in a heartbeat.

Jim

[g-g-g0]

Jim:

Totally agree with your thoughts. I was not suggesting alterating the frame but to have a frame that I could start to work on (restore) prior to disassemble of the present car. With that in mind are the 57 Seville and Biarritz frames the same as all other coupes or are they unique?

Do you have pictures of your Seville that you would share.

Thanks,

Gary

gggholson@comcast.net

[Guest Jim_Edwards]

Jim:

Totally agree with your thoughts. I was not suggesting alterating the frame but to have a frame that I could start to work on (restore) prior to disassemble of the present car. With that in mind are the 57 Seville and Biarritz frames the same as all other coupes or are they unique?

Do you have pictures of your Seville that you would share.

Thanks,

Gary

gggholson@comcast.net

Gary I misunderstood your motive with the frame. Makes good sense if you can come up with another Cadillac frame that will work. The '57 Cadillac frame was unique to '57 however, the frame from a '57 Series 62 Coupe DeVille will be the same. Though looking nearly identical in appearance aside from quad headlamps nothing in '58 interchanges.

'57s have other unique aspects as well. If you don't already have a shop manual, your going to need it for sure.

I'm going to have to take some new pictures of my '57 as the hard drive I had my pictures on decided to give it up a couple of weeks ago. I'd go out and shoot some new ones, but I'm in the process of prepping for a re-paint and it looks like hell!

Jim

[Guest South_paw]

Swapping out the chassis is not something I would recommend. As we discussed earlier in this thread, your serial number is stamped onto the chassis. Another chassis will throw everything off, numbers wise. Registration, insurance will have to reflect the replacement chassis. If you ever decide to sell the car and someone runs the serial number through GM archives it will show the info from whatever car the replacement chassis came from. While we are on the subject.... for $50 you can order the built sheet for your car. It will tell you every option that your car came with from the factory and also which distributor the car was sold too. www.gmmediaarchive.com

[g-g-g0]

Thanks again for the input. I do understand South-Paws point. Jim, also good to find out that a '58 parts car does not help. I have located a 58 Seville parts car but no need to pursue that any further! I do not have a shop manual yet but did manage to win a Cadillac master parts book (56 through 60)on e-Bay yesterday. I have found the parts books to be extremely helpful.

Good stuff gentlemen! Thanks for your guidance.

[Ovalrace25]

Here is a picture of the VIN on a 57 Cadillac. The area where I have scratched the paint is where the numbers are. Right frame top just behind the upper control arm.

[g-g-g0]

Just got back from spending a few hours with the new gal! I did find the serial number on the frame and block and confirmed that it is a "numbers match" car.

Thanks for everyone's assistance. I am going to need a hood and a pair of front fenders so if any one has any leads let me know.

Gary

[Ovalrace25]

There was a guy looking for 57 fenders a few months ago.. I told him about a VERY nice set I had looked at. BUT they are up in Oregon. Long way to send a set of fenders! The guy that has them specializes in Cadillac parts. He is John Morris 503 357 1725. He posts on the Cadillac forums.

[Guest South_paw]

Yep, John is a straight shooter. Give him a call. You can send the fenders via greyhound shipping. I had a set of fenders sent from the west coast to the east coast that way. It was less than $100 to ship them both. The down side is it took about a month to get em.