I'm the owner of a 1953 Series 62 sedan waiting for the moment to be paintankingly restored. I purchased the authencity manual and love
to look for pictures of cars who claim to be really "survivor", "very low mileage", "stunning original"... that inspired me to do the right.
Today I visited a site with a car like mine with a very good shape. https://www.classiccarsllc.com/vehicles/205/1953-cadillac-series-62-4dr-sedan.
Comparing this one with other cars I see some differences in some things like the engine bay sticks, upholstery or paint under the car (gas deposit ie).
So I thought that it would be a good idea to make a section on this topic in which the fans could upload the photos of "very original" cars and comment
on them looking for non-factory details, a kind of judging among us.
The 53 for sale looks to me to have the following non-original items:
paint (repainted)
chrome (rechromed)
fuel line leading to carb
electric fuel pump
electric wipers
wiring
vacuum hose connections
fresh air hoses
auxiliary horn
dash paint (instead of solid paint in middle of dash, I think there is supposed to be a decal that looks like bird's eye maple)
On the other hand, to my eye, the interior fabrics and patterns look fairly correct.
Original wiring, chrome, vacuum hose and fuel line are part that are nearly impossible to keep at least if you want to put your car on the road.
With regard to dash paint, do you mean this one that has a pattern?
(https://forums.cadillaclasalle.club/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi66.tinypic.com%2F154d4qe.jpg&hash=d0338dab4c2e5b35894cd40ea2ff4cc5cf630c69)
I also missed the jack instructions on the trunk door
(https://forums.cadillaclasalle.club/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi67.tinypic.com%2F2lddfu9.jpg&hash=160d7411432472cd07fa291c27cedfd9a5baa22f)
In other hand, the upholstery seems to be original but if I'm right I saw some green units with a light brown one.
Nice car, but not even close to being an original survivor car. This car has been done over, with a lot of things done incorrectly. Center dash paint for one. Should be a much lighter green. See photo. But still a nice car.
Quote from: july76 on May 01, 2019, 04:58:31 AM
With regard to dash paint, do you mean this one that has a pattern?
Yes, that is the pattern that is unique to 53 models.
Quote from: Caddieman53 on May 01, 2019, 07:15:53 AM
Nice car, but not even close to being an original survivor car. This car has been done over, with a lot of things done incorrectly. Center dash paint for one. Should be a much lighter green. See photo. But still a nice car.
Yes the center dash is the most obvious. What other details have you noticed? What about upholstery is this the original style for all models and it was some factory mats?
The interior style looks correct, but upper part of the seats are the wrong color. They should be dark green. As far as factory floor mats, none were offered in 53 that I know of. The ones in my car are aftermarket. This style interior was standard in the Model 62 Sedan and the 62 Coupe only. The Model 62 Convertible and Coupe De Ville had a much nicer interior trimmed in leather. The Model 60 Special Fleetwood sedan, had it's own style of interior.
The lower portion of the fog light housings are painted body color... they should be chrome. The baffles that fit between the fog lights and the bumper should be matte black, not body color.
Caddieman53 I agree that every model has its interior style. Here is a great Coupe DeVille that has the upper side of the seats in leather.
The dash board patter is also different
https://www.vintagemotorssarasota.com/listing/1953-cadillac-coupe-deville/
Thanks G Pennington for your great comment, that is a detail in which I had not noticed
july76: that's just because I happen to be putting my fog lights back together right now. That's a beautiful '53 CdV ypu posted. Even has the A/C. Good hi-res pics. Already noticed some details that will help me completing my restoration. Hope the link stays up for a while.