Restoration of a 1958 Cadillac Extended Deck Sedan

South Beach Classics — Miami, Florida

Steven — Sun, 06 May 2012 12:04:01 +0000

Mary Lee and I are enjoying our break from the nasty New England weather down here in sunny and HOT Boca Raton. It looks like it has been rainy, damp, foggy and cool since we left Massachusetts, but sure is nice here.

Yesterday, we took a short 50 mile trip down to Miami to visit Ted Vernon’s “South Beach Classics”. Ted’s business is the focus of a TV show by the same name that you can catch on the Velocity Channel on Friday nights at 9:00PM.

We spent much time looking over the collection of hot rods, customs and classics. Down here they run the gamut from garish to sublime. Many of the classics are modified and not to our taste but still done well. Those who know me know that I am an “original” classic type guy. Ted’s inventory is extensive and varied, we saw Chevy’s, and Ford’s, along with Dodge’s, Nash’s, Chryslers and everything in between including a Zimmer and several Rolls Royce.

I was kind of surprised at the number of un-molested Cadillac’s that ranged from the ’40’s on up. There were several nice Lincolns in attendance too! Once again, no 1958 Cadillac to be found, what are we, the “ugly step-child” of car collecting? Just kidding, we love the ’58 and always will. We made the trek back up to Boca without a new addition to the fleet, but it was a great day out.….

Back to Massachusetts on May 9th.……

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NE/NY Regional Cadillac LaSalle Club Meet

Steven — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:41:14 +0000

We had a wonderful day and met many new people at the Connecticut Trolley Museum in East Windsor, Connecticut on Saturday. Beautiful sunny day, a nice ride down, and the chance to view many classic Cadillac’s. That by itself is a rare occurrence, we do a lot of charity events and local cruise nights and only rarely get to see another Cadillac. A couple of stand-outs come to mind, a gorgeous 1933 V-12, and a very nice ’55 coupe along with a couple very nice LaSalle’s. The 1959 model year was very well represented with at least 5 examples there that day. We were the only 1958 on the property.

As always we surely have to drive defensively both to and from these events, I’m still amazed at the attention we get while on the road, with the horn honking, thumbs up, and picture taking, all while traveling at 65 MPH!! I’ll never get over the fact that people pull alongside us, roll down their windows and attempt to carry on a conversation while driving, what’s up with that?

All was well with our first trip out, the newly rebuilt transmission performed smoothly, but sadly we still have that nagging harmonic vibration throughout the car at speeds from 50–70 MPH. We balanced the torque converter when the tranny was out and replaced the drive-shaft center support bearing at the same time hoping we would eliminate it. Alas, it is not to be, and the vibration persists. We are running out of places to look, the drive-shaft has been trued and balanced, wheel bearings all replaced, motor and tranny rebuilt and still it is there. Some think it is an engine vibration, others think it is in the drive-line, not a major deal, but it is causing me to tear out what little hair I have left. We will find it and fix it, but I can see it is going to take some time.

I had a nice conversation with Ron Theroux of Classic Unlimited Video Productions who spent quite some time shooting video of the “Gray Lady” and I will get a link up to his site as soon as I have some spare time. Also, spent a lot of time with the guys from Fusick Automotive Products, a local vendor from East Windsor, CT, who specialize in reproduction parts and component rebuilding. Looks like I will fast become new best friends with this local vendor. Their link will be up soon as well.

Finally, we were honored to be selected as an award winner at the show, it’s nice to know so many others appreciate these fine vehicles as much as we do. Next up, this evening we are attending a new local cruise night at McCray’s Farm here in town, only because the weather is so great and I feel a need to just get her out and about after the long Winter sleep. Tomorrow Mary Lee and I jet off to Boca Raton for a short hiatus and will return on the 10th.

Till then.….….…..

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Here We Go Again…

Steven — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:25:51 +0000

Those of you who have been following our restoration project know that the car’s exterior trim is just about complete. We are still waiting to get the right tail-fin letters returned from the plater so that we can install them and be done with it.

Well here’s my story and I’m sticking to it.… Many moons ago when plating the bumpers, bezels, door handles, Vees, mirror and emblems with New England Chrome Plating in Hartford, CT., we were satisfied with all, until they returned our letter set with one “L” missing!!! Geez…you think anyone will notice if I spell Cadillac with an “L” missing? CADILAC doesn’t look quite right does it? They looked high and low and never found it, consensus is that if fell in the tank and with a 2,000 gallon tank they cannot retrieve it.

They didn’t seem to concerned, but did say they would make it right if I found another part. After a months long search I did find them in Hershey, PA, and while there visited New England Chrome’s booth and was told to bring it to the shop after the show. OK, things are looking up right? NOT, now they tell me they won’t touch it as they already lost one and don’t want the liability. Nice way to treat a customer who has already spent thousands in your shop. GREAT, what a bunch of A-Holes.….

The saga continues as I spend months trying to find another plater. Finally leave them with a shop in Palm Beach, FL (have to redo a whole set, not 1 letter, to make sure they all match) with a promise they will be back to me 2nd week of March. Anybody know what today’s date is? So here I am with the NERCLC show tomorrow morning and still no letters. I called them a month ago and they told me they were done, but 1 letter didn’t come out well and was in the process of being redone, further assured me I would have them in a week… Yeah right, called they again on Tuesday and the new excuse is; WE DROPPED A LETTER IN THE TANK, are you kidding me, am I really going to have to go through all of this again? They did say they had retrieved it and they are going to be ready next week. I told them to hold them and not mail them, because the way things are going the US Postal is liable to store them in the dead letter office for the next decade or so. Fortunately, I plan on being in Boca Raton next week, when my plater can have a face to face visit with a very angry customer.….

Till next time…

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Transmission is Back…

Steven — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:13:58 +0000

After a long Winter hibernation, and an extended stay at the transmission shop, the regal old gal is back and somewhat ready for action. It’s nice to be able to park her in the garage again without having to mop up a lake of tranny fluid. Now I can begin her Spring clean-up and ready her for the season debut which is currently scheduled for April 28 at the NERCLC event at the Connecticut Trolly Museum.

All went according to plan except we modified it a little during service, after the tranny was removed. We pulled the Torex and sent it to New York for service, we found it to be a little out of balance, with a bad seal and a couple of bent internal fins. With those issues repaired, and no apparent internal issues we decided to replace just the front, rear and side seals, put it back together and re-install it. Road tested, she shifts smoothly, glides effortlessly and above all does not leak! All is well with the world!

Now the real work begins anew as we buff, polish, clean and detail her for the season ahead. I’m still waiting for the right side tail-fin letter set to come back from the plater, but all in all we are in good shape. While she sat up on the lift at the shop for more than 10 days I took the opportunity to detail and touch up the paint on her underside, a rare opportunity and a difficult job while she is on the floor.

We are looking forward to a new “cruise night” this season. McCray’s Farm here in town has scheduled a cruise night every Monday night throughout the season, we are looking forward to meeting many new friends there.

Till then.….…

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Happy Easter & Passover Too!

Steven — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 12:53:47 +0000

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Cadillac/LaSalle Club Inter-Regional Meet

Steven — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 15:47:28 +0000

[ujicountdown id=“CLC Regional Meet” expire=“2012/04/28 10:00″ hide = “true”]Saturday, April 28th from 10:00–2:00, the New England Region Cadillac LaSalle Club in conjunction with The Lower Hudson Valley, NY Cadillac LaSalle Club are sponsoring an Inter-Regional Meet at the Connecticut Trolley Museum, 58 North Road, East Windsor, CT. It’s a “rain or shine” event and as long as the weather is OK, we’ll be there.

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It Was A Beautiful Day

Steven — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 01:31:11 +0000

High 70’s, dry as a bone, could not resist.…. Rolled up the cover, topped off the tranny with 3 quarts of fluid, fired her up and went out for a ride. Almost forgot what fun it was to sail that “boat”, tooled around town, took a jaunt down the highway and all is well except for that darn leak!! Can’t wait for April 2nd to roll around and get it taken care of so I won’t have to worry about it anymore.

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We’re Back…

Steven — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 14:24:09 +0000

As the “Winter that never was” fades off into a distant memory, we have made the long slog back from South Florida to our “real” home in Western Massachusetts. The “Gray Lady” has not seen the light of day since early January, but with the weather getting better and better (it’s going to be 70 today) she will be out soon. Throughout last season she had been leaking a bit of tranny fluid, but the situation has gotten much worse, and so with the transmission the only component on the car that was not re-built she goes into the transmission shop on April 2nd for a complete rebuild. We all believe that it really is nothing more than a bad front seal, but to get to it means a complete dis-assembly so she probably will be up on the lift for about a week.

We have also been experiencing a nagging thruming vibration that cannot be identified and suspect that there may be one or more vanes in the tourque converter that are bent. This will give us the opportunity to really inspect that component too.

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Not Exactly A Classic Caddy But.…..

Steven — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:56:52 +0000

While taking our traditional break from the New England weather at the southern command post here in sunny South Florida, we have so far managed to avoid the Winter that never was… Back home the temps are in the 50’s, my brother had his harley out and everyone seems to be enjoying a very, very mild winter. Looks like it will be a very early Spring in the Northeast. Fingers crossed, as you can tell I’m not exactly a cold weather fan.

This week at the Boca Municipal Airport, right here in that slice of paradise called Boca Raton I had a chance to view and tour a few beautiful old planes that were in town for a few days. On the tarmac were a B-24, a B-17 and a P-51 Mustang, all beautifully restored. What a treat to be able to climb aboard and inspect these vintage war machines, not only that there were a couple veterens present who actually flew on these babies during the war. Hard to imagine what it would have been like for these young guys flying around in these tin cans, my hat’s off to each and every one of them!!! I hope you enjoy the photos even half as much as I did actually seeing them in person!! Click any image for the full size version.

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A New Year Dawns

Steven — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 14:18:50 +0000

After the Winter we suffered through last year, who would ever have thought we could be seeing weather like this. I’ll admit our weather the last 12 months has been more than challenging, what with a Tornado, Hurricane, Blizzard, Hail Storms and Micro-Bursts, even an Earthquake!! Who could have imagined we could see 60 degree temps in January!! Yet here we are, yesterday I couldn’t resist and pulled the “Gray Lady” out of her slumber, took her out for a spin, topped off the fuel tank, turned a few heads, finished up by cleaning her and recovering her.

Turned up an issue while out, we have been having a minor tranny leak all season from the front seal. Now with her laid up for a while it seems to have gotten much worse and my be more than just a seal. The only issue with the car we never dealt with was the transmission, we’ve run it a thousand miles, and now we have no choice but to rebuild it. Ahhh well, we debated doing it when the car was apart, but everyone said to just put it in and run it. Just delayed the inevitable I guess.

Problem is, this past week I also found that I need to rebuild the tranny in my GMC Savana 3500 too!!!! Geez…looks like it won’t be a pleasant Spring with about a 5K expense to start the year with. Could be worse I guess, but for now both of them are put away for the rest of the Winter and early tomorrow morning I hop in the Chevy HHR for the 1400 mile trek down to South Florida. We’ll try to take in a couple shows while there and I will pop in if I turn up anything interesting.

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