Mr. Artistic Precision Signing In.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

I personally witnessed the "bloody-mindedness" of a number of CLC Members in 2002, at Dearborn, when a beautiful Resto-rodded 1934 Cadillac Sedan drove through the Show Field, and was disgusted with the remarks that I heard.

Move forward to 2008, at Cherry Hill, and the rave reviews that the full custom Cadillacs received from everyone that passed them.   Never heard a bad word spoken about them all the time I was there.    It was pleasing to realise that thoughts had changed.

And yes, the Modified Chapter has been an accepted full Chapter of the CLC, and will be getting bigger and bigger as time goes on.

Bruce.

[76eldo]

That's a valid point.  If you look at vintage street rods and customs, the stuff built in the 50's and 60's now has a cool vintage look and a following of it's own, while the ones built in the 80's look dated and out of style.

If you look at some of the photos posted by "Artistic", I wouldn't kick any of those cars out of my garage.

The car he bought is really solid looking, no where near "unrestorable", but it's his to do with as he pleases.

There are rich guys out there that just want a turnkey car and the wow factor and that's his target market with this car.

Brian

[Artistic Precision]

Thanks guys. Did a little maintanence on the motor yesterday and got it running good. Something in the suspension or brakes needs work to realy be a strong safe driver. I may try to fix it for temporary driving, but I'm replacing it all with modern independent air ride suspension. All brand new components with disk brakes all the way around. It will drive like a dream. Sitting down with my friend Jose tomorrow morning to really look over the car thouroughly together and list out parts and labor needed to do everything. Figure out the exact body styling we want as well as interior styling and have a redndering drawn of the finished car. I'm trcking down a few parts and will be tearing it down in the next month. I'm excited, it's going to be fun.

[olds34dude]

I can suggest what was suggested to me a couple of years ago,

   "perhaps you should visit the modified chapter"

try modified Cadillac forum
dave

[Quentin Hall]

I also am underway on a 39 custom.  Mine was a parts car for another  39 restoration. Lots of bits were removed . I started researching the early custom movement that began just prior to WW2 and followed the slow demise of the coachbuilt era.
I have always preferred restored cars to modified cars, but found myself in a quandary with what to do with the 39. I have some high end early Eldorado  projects that require absolute authenticity and my present situation is not concussive to pursuing at that level. So I have decided to have some fun with the 39.
I found that I was drawn to traditional customs. That is customs that were built just prior and after the war, mainly in California. Alex Tremulous built a 39 custom for Eleanor Powell the actress. He later went on to Tucker fame. Harry Westergard was another period customiser who had great style and restraint. His goal was always to clean up the lines and styling often just by removing rather than adding. George and particularly Sam Barris very early on had very clean visions of improving the looks of their Cadillacs and Buicks. Many of the customs of the day looked like stylists illustrations. Devoid of extraneous add INS.

[Quentin Hall]

Having trouble editing on my Ph. Damn spellchecker has a mind of its own. Concussive should read conducive. Add INS should read add ons.
Further I am still not a fan of over blinged contemporary customs. Restraint is the key and the hardest to achieve. Le Corbusier said it best. "less is more"
Go to Danish historian Rik Hoving's "Custom Car Chronicle". Google "Harry Westergard Cadillac"

[Artistic Precision]

Thank you all for your input. When joining this forum I didn't know that your club was strictly about preserving originals. I have been in the classic car industry most of my teen and adult life but I am fairly new to the early Cadillac scene. Most of what I've worked on in my career has been 30's-60's customs. I have been in the kustom scene since I started, because I am an artist. These cars are beautifully built sculptures that were built before my time, and I enjoy being able to restore them and clean them up and put my own personal style and touch into, to build a one of a kind unique vehicle unlike any other.  I am well aware of the purists in every genre with every different manufacturer following. I came here out of respect for those who came before me. You guys, who know everything there is to know about these cars, where they came from, the history behind them, how they were built, and how to restore them. I appreciate all feedback and input and it all for sure helps me in refining my final design for the car, keeping these considerations in mind.

I love customs, but there are certain "purist kustomizers" as well. In the kustom scene your car can get laughed at and won't be respected by the hardcore period correct kustomizers. The guys who do the kustom modifications that the original guys were doing back when these cars fist came out, like mentioned before, Westerguard, Barris, Winfield, Hines, the list goes on. I take my inspiration from the godfathers of the Kustom scene, even the wild stuff from Big Daddy Roth. These guys had a HUGE impact on the car scene and the world as a whole. If they wouldn't have began kustomizing, there would be no Batmobile, no Munster Mobile, or any of the other countless movie cars. Period correct kustomization is my goal. Some guys even go as far as to keep alive the old processes by welding all their sheet metal with an oxy acetylene torch and filling and shaping with lead, using only tools and equipment prom those periods. On the opposite side there are the more modern guys with all the fancy equipment and a shop full of employees, that have no money restrictions and just build shiny mash ups of new and old. Those cars can bee cool when done right, but a lot of them I don't like when they use modern body or interior parts from modern cars.

My plan is to hand build and hand form all the sheetmetal for repair work, and for the kustom touches, as well as draw up and design a fully and built interior, using as much original interior parts as possible but restyling more artistically and stylish. As With the outside. Using all original parts, just de trimming it, smoothing out the body, making the lines flow smoother. My goal is Barrett Jackson, if I don't sell it before then at a car show. The 39 C Hawk concept is a ridiculous kustom, that I don't completely like myself, sold at the last auction in Scottsdale for over 235,000. In today's economy. My friend sold his kustom '60 Cadi roadster for 165,000 last year at the same auction.

This car has none of the original drivetrain in it. So I'm already screwed if I was trying to build a period correct numbers matching original out of it. The bottoms and the edges are rough and have a decent amount of cancer needing to be fixed. A lot of times it is easier and faster to just cut out bad metal and re make your own parts the way you want them to be than to take the extra time work and labor to make it exactly how it was originally. I like finding cars that are a little on the rougher side to save and turn into rolling works of art. Take car out of the place they have been sitting rotting away, clean them up and breathe new life into them. If people can't respect the time, labor, dedication and love that goes into these cars, then that is their own personal issue. There is no way to please everybody so why try? I hope I can build this into a car that you guys can appreciate. If not, then after I sell this one I can find one to do original style to sell to one of you. The labor, the work, and the love is all the same no matter the design of the car. It's still all just wrenching, hammering, sanding, and painting no matter which way you look at it. 

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

One of the problems that we all face when restoring (working on an older car) is the availability of replacement parts from parts cars.

Years ago, parts cars were plentiful, now, not so.   The plentiful cars are those that are so new that they aren't worth restoring.   Read as ugly and cookie-cutter cars.

I remember when I was a kid, old cars were the norm, but now, old cars are antiques, and the old cars for the kids of now days are what we ignore.

As we get older, things change, and the same goes for cost.   We want to fund our retirements, and the cars that we purchased cheap, and now beyond our finances.

Bruce.

[Artistic Precision]

If I was to put a factory period correct motor and drivetrain back in it, and find all the missing parts, repair all the rust, fully body work and re paint the entire car a factory color and re do the apholstry to factory re do all the chrome & polish, fix the suspension and brakes, would it still be as desirable as original since it isn't the motor or drivetrain that came in that car, and some parts will be from other cars? It had some ugly 60s or 70s seats in the front and a 90s chevy steering coulumn and wheel in it. With floor shifter.

[Artistic Precision]

I have the factory steering column, was planning to buy a re finished original steering wheel. I'm replacing the grills with better condition ones, I'm looking for an original front seat frame, I found this place www.allcads.com and gave them a list of parts I would like. The running boards I have for it are trash. I want to build a nice car. Building a full blown kustom is going to be expensive to build, with all the new suspension and motor, and all the time and labor into the body modifications. I'm thinking building this one original would be cheaper to build and could be built in half the time, but would it be able to be sold enough to make decent money on after. If so I could take that money and invest in another car to build as a kustom. My friend is coming by tomorrow to go over the car with me and figure out the direction we want to go with it.

[C.R. Patton II]

Hello Mr. Porrino

This is Henry Kissinger again.

Build what you like.  The LaSalle automobile does not have a fad or trend market flow.  The people that purchase, restore and keep this brand are generally speaking aficionados that are affectionate to the Harley Earl concept and styling.

If you asked me a model to acquire to modify I would suggest a Ford, Chevy or Mopar.  Perhaps one of fifties Olds or Buicks but not a LaSalle.

Carpe Diem.  You could be the pioneer to start a trend?

[Artistic Precision]

If you asked me a model to acquire to modify I would suggest a Ford, Chevy or Mopar.  Perhaps one of fifties Olds or Buicks but not a LaSalle.

Ford, Chevys, Mopar, Buicks, etc, have all been done,  so many different ways. It's the rare unique cars that really turn heads in the kustom world because they stand out. For many kustomizers Cadillacs are up on the top of the list of favorite cars, and the older the better. I am for sure not starting a new trend. There have been a handful built, but they are costly to build full kustom which is why it isn't done as often, that, and they are more rare than the other mass produced cars. The more Rare the car is, the more prized and honored it is to kustomize it, only if it's done correctly. I've seen a lot of frankenstine butchered hack jobs, and I guarantee this will be the complete opposite side of the spectrum. The pictures I posted previously are current cars in the show scene that hit the scene hard last year and are touring the world wining shows. That's the quality of car I'm looking to build, a best of show winner. Who knows maybe even a Riddler contenter. I've been researching originals, and it wouldn't be worth restoring this car to original. The money involved and the time put in wouldn't allow for a lot of profit to be made. This is my business and my career, I have to do what makes the most sense financially. If I put more into it and make it a high end custom I can double or triple my money. And kustom is what I love building. I will enjoy it a lot more, than a restoration.

[Artistic Precision]

All good men own a Cadillac but great gentlemen drive a LaSalle. That is the consequence of success.

Great quote by the way.

[Quentin Hall]

Check out the 1940 Cadillac custom that sold at Mecum Anaheim 2013 for $85k. Had a lot of money spent and was on Ebay just prior for double that. This was a nice car. A couple of niggles but very nice.
I admire your enthusiasm. Think and dream long enough and the correct answer will always surface. You haven't said what drivrtrain you presently have. Mine has a41. Which is fine coos I am trying to keep a late forties period build time as a guide. Personally once you go modern drive train you are heading into street rod territory. Bling 20inch wheels and it is all over red rover. I have pics of a really nice traditional 41 period custom with a chopped Carson but can't get it to post.

[Quentin Hall]

And don't do it like the 40LaSalle coupe on Ebay right now.....

[INTMD8]

Personally once you go modern drive train you are heading into street rod territory. Bling 20inch wheels and it is all over red rover.

Oh no, I've struck out on both counts! 

Further I am still not a fan of cover blinged contemporary customs. Restraint is the key and the hardest to achieve. Le Corbusier said it best. "less is more"

Agreed and well said.

And I'm usually not into chopped cars or heavily modified aesthetics but that D'Agostino car is very pretty!

[Quentin Hall]

Jim, your work is an example of artistic precision. Personally I wouldn't have done it but you have the skill, determination and single minded focus to prove me wrong. You need to post a link to the work you have done. The work of an artist. Now stop playing with the 59 and back to the Brougham.
I feel like such a fool.... It was Another famous architect of the 20th century, Mies van der Rohe who said "Less is more". Le Corbusier once said "Honey, have you seen my keys and wallet?" ....in French of course.

[INTMD8]

Aah Quentin, thanks, you are too kind! 

And yes I've been welding and grinding on the Brougham all day but I did get to drive the 59 to buy a new band saw blade 

[Artistic Precision]

The red coupe on ebay is hideous. I am modeling my car after Diagostino's mint green 40 that I posted earlier. Same style, just subtle differences and different color. Same stance, roof line, wheels and tires, etc. I would never put chrome wheels on a classic unless it was a slammed 60s Cad or Lincoln.

I'm not into street rods. I'm into elegant customs like Diagostino's cars. As low, and smooth as possible.

[las39]

I'm looking forward to see what parts you're going to sell.