59-60 Authenticity Manual ?

[JoeKarasinski]

Is there an  Authenticity Manual  for 60? I was just looking in the "store" and I'm not seeing it. My wife and I have decided to restore our 60 4dr 4 window 62 series and I'm thinking something like this would make sense to get if its available.

For the most part the restore looks pretty common sense but it looks like all the hardware and hinges under the hood are supposed to be plated silver or goldish color and I have no way of knowing. I don't know if I have any detailed pictures of the one my dad had.

[quadfins]

At the GN in St Augustine, I spoke to one of the committee members, who told me that it was being worked on. I don't know if any progress has been made, or who the members are, to contact.

For the time being, you might use the manuals for the prior and following years, at least for some minimal guidance.

61 hinges & underhood hardware are zinc dichromate (gold-colored cadmium) plate.

Jim

[JoeKarasinski]

OK, thanks for the reply. I was looking through the restoration corner last night and found a post that mentioned the same. And I found Jeff Wilk's thread with some great detail pics of his beautiful 59 and several others with more great info.

[quadfins]

Jeff has done an excellent job on the engine compartment of his '59. His attention to detail is praiseworthy, and his car is beautiful, even though it is unfinished. Between his pics and the class 19 manual, you should have adequate guidance for your '60.

Jim

[Alex60caddy]

Thanks for asking this question I have been wondering the same thing. I have a 1960 Cadillac series 62 convertible. Were you able to find out any other info on the authentication manual for the 60 Cadillac?

[76eldo]

With the popularity of the 59 and 60 models it was also surprising to me that there is no authenticity manual for these cars.

There are a number of members here that can answer specific questions for you so hopefully you can get the correct info.

Best of luck

Brian

[Jon S]

Very good points.  A car is "original" only once, and documentation is so important.  My all original 1981 Corvette was photographed and many pictures/write-ups of it are included in Richard Prince's Corvette 1968-1982 Restoration Guide, 2nd Edition for others to follow. 

The format and narrative style Mr. Prince used would be a good template for our Cadillac Authentation Manuals to follow.

[76eldo]

Generally, the technical authenticity manuals are compiled from original cars and it's a painstaking process.

There are some excellent examples of original cars that are known and could be really useful in assembling the information.

Brian

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

Joe,

Pending publication of the 59/60 authenticity manual, by all means post any restoration questions here as they arise.

As C R Patton is fond of saying, "We exist to assist." 

Eric

[Dan LeBlanc]

Eric has quite the reference piece sitting in his garage also that would answer most any question you have.

[Jeff Wilk]

Joe, Jim, thanks so much for the compliments on our '59 Fleetwood.  My Son Noah and I spent about 4 years bringing it back to life after sitting idle in my garage for over 20 years untouched.

CDV Chumley, I can certainly appreciate your comments on how many restorations are done.  Rest assured that we took many photos of everything prior to disassembly and restoration.  The beauty of digital is that they are "free".  We stopped counting at over 1200 photos.  We also made sure we restored back to original specs.  Right down to purchasing our own plating system so we could zinc and "Cad" plate every single nut and bolt back to original.  Where we had questions about originality, we had the great fortune of some super members in the Raritan River Region of the CLC, with a special "hats off" to Joe Puleo who has the most amazing '59 collection including originals from which to base the answers to our questions on. And of course, so many other members from this forum including Dan, Eric, Quentin, Jeremy, Tony, Grant, Jon, and the list goes on of those who answered questions, sent pictures, or helped source original parts.

As to the comment that we have not "finished" the car......well I pose this question......."When are we ever really done?"

But seriously, my Son and I decided early on to keep the car original, and restore the parts/systems to make it safe and reliable.  We also wanted under the hood to look pristine.  We cleaned up the interior and dyed the leather/vinyl where needed, had an authentic and correct headliner made up (as opposed to the wrong ones everyone sells for the Sixty-Specials), had the paint wet sanded and the roof repainted, polished each and every piece of the grill which still had the anodizing on it, and put on correct bias ply tires.  So for us, it is now "done", even with the original undercarriage which is pristine (this was a Las Vegas car prior to my purchasing it from an Estate in NJ from James Ragsdale in 1981 (see attached picture - and yup that's me with the long hair and high heal platform boots!!!!! - - -wish I had the hair still......glad the boots are gone!)

My pride and joy are my children......and the cars are just a hobby......as far as our '59 goes.....even though it was disqualified at the Grand National.........my signature line says it all..........and here is a great faux studio compilation and the best shot ever .......Noah and I at the GN this past summer.

Jeff

[JoeKarasinski]

Jeff, Is this the plating kit you got? http://www.caswellplating.com/electroplating-anodizing/zinc-plating-kits.html , I noticed you said you did it yourself. Is it hard to do? Is it something I can set up and leave up for weeks or months and do the bolts as I get them apart and cleaned up?

We have a plating company down the street from my shop that I think my dad used for his cars but I'm all about as least expensive as I can get while stilling doing every thing right on this car. We're hoping to do this whole project in less than year so we can drive it to Vegas for the GN.

[Jeff Wilk]

Joe that is the exact kit.  You will also need the power supply rectifier.  I got the 3amp model, but would recommend the 5 amp instead.  You can set this up once and leave it set up for a looooooong time.  Mine was set up for over a year for exactly the scenario you stated below.  Here are a couple of pictures........

[JoeKarasinski]

Excellent! Thanks! I'll order it up soon.

[David King (kz78hy)]

Hey Joe,

Let me  know when you are setup.  I was thinking about this as well and when you are done, I could buy it from you, or go in now.

David

[JoeKarasinski]

Ok Dave, Thanks I'll let you know when I get it up and running.