Any 1957 / 1958 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham factory workers out there?

[carguyblack]

Perhaps the moderator will move this post as I'm not really sure where it should go. But, I was thinking as there were seemingly quite a few Broughams coming across my awareness for sale of late, the thought that wouldn't it be invaluable to capture some history while we are able to? Are there any actual factory workers who hand built these cars known to the CLC that would be willing to recount their memories of what actually took place in the factory back then and what it meant to hand build one of those cars? My thoughts are similar to those expressed about World War II vets who are passing away leaving none to convey the memories and details that only they know. I'd think it a beautiful thing to capture as much as possible while we have a chance as a backdrop to these magnificent automobiles.
Having taken 3 - 1956 Cadillacs apart to restore them, I just can not get my mind around how they were able to produce those things on a line production assembly. The Broughams are another quantum leap higher than even the cars I rebuilt.
Hope this can be (or is already?) written down and perhaps enhanced with some period photos for the next generation and beyond. Thanks for listening! Chuck

[BillR. CLC # 29203]

Chuck,
Excellent post.
A time does not go by that my son is doing something to his '59 with me watching and our talk goes to.... "wonder how the people that assembled this car did this or that" but more often "wonder what the people are doing these days".
According to my "calcs" the younger ones at the time could be in their later 70's today.
Thanks for sharing.
BillR.

[Quentin Hall]

Yes , a great topic. I often wonder not about the machine that rolled off the assembly line . . . but the machine that built the machine that rolled off the assembly line. The intricacy and complexity of these cars and the short comparative design and tooling time and huge laborious handwork involved.
Just working away on my 53 Eldos for years and understanding what was done makes me wonder how many men comprised the "crew " that just did the body alterations alone. My guess is that a minimum of 20 men just doing the Eldo bodies. 533 cars in a year and you could easily spend a year just repairing a body during restoration. 
   The Broughams well that is another story yes. I believe a couple of years back, Josh Ackerman spoke to Bob Sheelk  who was a principle designer of the Brougham and he was elderly and frail in a nursing home.

[Scot Minesinger]

As the story is told, the chassis were shipped to Italy and they were finished there and brought back here.  I wonder if any of the work associated with all the complexity was built in America or not?  The other thing is factory workers generally worked on only one facet of the car, and if they built 400 each year, that means about 2 each day.  A factory worker may be able to confirm.

There is a general sales manager at Capital Cadillac (Greenbelt, MD) that I was introduced to in October 2011 who used to work on these back in the day, I guess early 1960's or so.  He may be just the person you are looking for.  I remember him talking about how complex the power seat switch was for example.  There was a 1958 Eldorado Brougham at the show and he was discussing the difficulties he suffered thru working on these cars 50 years ago with the new owner.  Older Cadillac mechanics may  be an alternative.

[Chuck Swanson]

Just working away on my 53 Eldos for years and understanding what was done makes me wonder how many men comprised the "crew " that just did the body alterations alone. My guess is that a minimum of 20 men just doing the Eldo bodies. 533 cars in a year and you could easily spend a year just repairing a body during
 

FYI just to clarify there were also women on the line too, not just men.  Here is a pic from '65 for a '66 Fleetwood.  I actually have the original picture/press photo   Chuck S.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

As the story is told, the chassis were shipped to Italy and they were finished there and brought back here.  ........

Sorry Scott, that was for the 1959 and 1960 Broughams.

The '57 and '58's were USA built.

Bruce.

[Glen]

During the 1996 GN we toured the Arlington factory where they were building GM rear wheel drive cars.   The factory worker I remember and was most impressed with was a young lady putting parts on the dashboards.  The work space was a raised platform much like a stage.  The parts bin was center stage and the dashboards arrived stage left suspended from an overhead conveyor.  The young lady grabbed parts from a box on the parts bin, walked to the dashboard and started installing parts as she walked backward.  The conveyor never stopped.  She had the parts installed by the time she got center stage.  She then grabbed more parts and followed the dashboard installing more parts on the other side.  As the finished dashboard exited stage right she walked to center stage tossed the empty parts box and a fresh one slid down and the process started again.    The process took something like 30 seconds per dashboard. 

[carguyblack]

You are right about the women and it was an unintentional oversight on my part. I guess I was picturing the old days (at least how they were presented on TV!) where the mom of the house was dutifully at home creating wonderful things for dinner while the man was out "providing". It's still like that, isn't it?   
So, back to my original wondering, are there any men or women out there who worked the lines in the mid 50's and perhaps even built the Broughams? There's a sense of urgency to my inquiry to capture this while we can or, like a barn fire, we'll lose it for good. I really appreciate what those folks did and it would be great to honor them for it.   Chuck

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

I recall reading something like 10+(?) years minimum assembly experience required before an employee would be allowed to work on the Cadillac line. If so, any survivors would at least be in their 90s today. 

[carguyblack]

That's what's I was afraid of. Is there anything in the archives of the CLC already documented? I've seen pictures of the factories from that era and some promotional film, but never an interview with an actual employee. Wonder if there are any films made of the assembly by Cadillac themselves? One can only hope.....

[jwjohnson86]

Maybe people interested in collecting oral histories or doing research could put ads in appropriate publications or create ads on social media or Craigslist (in the areas where the factories were) soliciting input - social media might reach younger people whose older relatives were the workers.  Would be a great project for a college history student working on a senior thesis.  Great idea by the OP to preserve this knowledge and intellectual memory base.

[Roger Zimmermann]

I'm afraid it's too late. Beside that, most of the time, nobody is interested to the people working at the assembly line. Usually the designers are getting the attention, not the woman or man turning the wrenches.

[cadman56]

I have always enjoyed seeing the 57-58 Eldorado Broughams.  If there ever was anyone located who could tell stories I sure would like to read them.
Thanks, Larry

[David King (kz78hy)]

The '57/'58 Brougham's were assembled in plant 21 and were stall built.  They did not go down the main line in the assembly plant.

David