My 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Seville Restoration Project

[Seville1957]

Hello all,

Glad to be a member of this forum, I'm the proud new owner of a 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Seville with what appears to be 43,000 original miles. I have a ton of questions for those who are familiar with these vehicles! Supposedly the car sat since 1974 and I'm told apart from the exterior paint and gas tank, it is all original. Floors and frame are in great shape for a 60 year old vehicle. Surface rust on under carriage but it actually looks cleaner than our 2003 Dodge Caravan underneath. Wondering if I should rebuild the original engine, runs strong no leaks whatsoever? I had a guy say that if it in good working order leave it alone. Thinking of pulling the motor to give it a fresh coat of Cadillac blue! Ok here are the questions, does anyone know of a place that can reproduce the upper dash? Does anyone know of any documentation that shows how to remove upper and lower dash? Any recommended chrome shops that can re-chrome the rear bumpers? Were gold sabers an option for 1957 models? Any idea where i can find the material to wrap the new dash when I find one? My power antenna motor works, but the mast is broken, anyone who can install a new mast? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

feefee7376@aol.com

[57eldoking]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations with the purchase of a very nice Seville! I will try to answer some of your questions:

-Buy a shop manual for your car, it is completely necessary when working on these cars and will tell you how to take apart the dash. Here's one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1957-CADILLAC-SHOP-MANUAL-ORIG-BASE-BOOK-FOR-THE-1958-SERIES-60S-62-75-86-/231840028141?hash=item35fabe15ed:g:~TkAAOSwe7BWuPck&vxp=mtr

-If the engine runs fine I'd leave it alone and concentrate on making other improvements first.

-The dash pad is not being reproduced but two good restoration services exist: http://www.justdashes.com/ in California and http://autoline.se/?lang=en_us in Sweden. Be sure to let them know yours is for an Eldorado as it has a different texture than standard 57s.

-The rear bumper including the license plate surround are cast aluminum and very hard to re-chrome. Yours look pretty good, usually they are peeling and flaking all over the place if they are originals. The only place I can recommend is http://paulschrome.com/. They did the corners on our Biarritz and came out great.

-Gold sabers were not an option in 57, 56 was the last year

-The restoration of the dashpad requires a heat/vacuum forming process, You cannot recover it yourself and get a good result. Better left to the pros!

-I believe you have a snapped drive belt in your antenna mast. The antennas are not being reproduced and they are tricky to rebuild. There are some threads on the subject on the forum somewhere, I'll see if I can dig it up later.

-From the pictures it looks like your seats have been re-upholstered at some point. The original leather was a coarser textured "Buffalo Grain" which was matched by the vinyl "Elascofab" material covering the dash, upper door panels and arm-rest door pulls.

I'm compiling a database of known survivor 57 Sevilles and Biarritzes. I'd love if you could post a picture of you body data tag located on the top of the cowl, driver's side so I can add your car.

Good luck!

[Cadillac Jack 82]

Nice yet another 57 to the group!  Look forward to seeing future posts of your new ride

[Ralph Messina CLC 4937]

Willie,

Welcome, you have a beautiful car. You also may want to consider joining the CLC. There’s a wealth of knowledge here beyond the Board that can be invaluable.

If the engine is as good as you say, I’d just clean and paint it and enjoy using the car.

Let me add to Henning’s comments. Definitely buy a Shop Manual. It will be it’s worth its weight in money. I restored one years ago so my comments are from memory. The lower dash and steering column nees to be loosened and lowered about 2 inched to remove the top - SM explains how and why. If you don’t you may damage the edges containing the window switches. I had my dash top done by Just Dashes with excellent results. They used the vinyl  top material from a ’76 Buick Century which was almost and exact match. It will have to be dyed  - painted actually- to match the red color. Of all the materials I’ve used, I find Color Plus to be the best : https://colorplus.com/. It is water based, can be brushed or sprayed and is incredibly durable. They can also match colors exactly. If you need lacquer touch up paint for you dash  try Reading Paint & Lacquer Dist.; Ephrata, PA. 717-859-2500. A few years ago, they were still able to mix to factory formulae.

I have not used Paul’s Plating but friends have. Their work may be a bit more expensive, but it is excellent  and completed when they promise it. I would also just do the center, bar unless you’re going to show the in AACA or CLC judged shows. If that’s your goal, you need the correct back up lens and bullets for the lens and exhaust ports. McVey’s use to have them but not certain they are still available.

HTH,

[harry s]

Welcome. Very nice car.      Harry

[chris cunliffe]

Hi Willie, always nice to see another 57 Seville on the forum.Check out Rockauto for manuals I have a paper one but also use the excellent CD version from Detroit Iron  http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/cadillac,1957,series+62,6.0l+365cid+v8,1320679,literature,repair+manual,10335?a=Search%2Bfor%2BUBP

I'd also recommend leaving the engine alone if it's running good,just pull the anciliaries off and paint the engine .Best recommendation for correct paint match- Bill Hirsch
http://www.hirschauto.com/ENGINE-ENAMEL/productinfo/EE-QUART/

Also don't forget to repaint the valve covers gold to match the air cleaner.

If it is all original and has sat for 40 years I would certainly be checking the brakes ,My own Seville sat for 19 years and I ended up rebuilding the complete braking system .

Your car would also have left the factory with a Vicodec vinyl roof

It would be interesting to decode the data tag and see what color it left the factory,my own car was originally Olympic White with a black roof but ended up "resale red" before it crossed the Atlantic.

[Seville1957]

I really appreciate all of the info, you guys rock! Eldoking, I am thrilled that you are tracking the survivor Sevilles and Biarritzes. I saw that there was a guy doing that with the Broughams but always wondered how many Sevilles and Biarritzes survived. I have attached some pics to assist you, if you need anything else just ask! As far as the top dash, are you saying Just Dashes will need my old one to rebuild? If so I'm screwed cause it's in bad shape!

[Seville1957]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations with the purchase of a very nice Seville! I will try to answer some of your questions:

-Buy a shop manual for your car, it is completely necessary when working on these cars and will tell you how to take apart the dash. Here's one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1957-CADILLAC-SHOP-MANUAL-ORIG-BASE-BOOK-FOR-THE-1958-SERIES-60S-62-75-86-/231840028141?hash=item35fabe15ed:g:~TkAAOSwe7BWuPck&vxp=mtr

-If the engine runs fine I'd leave it alone and concentrate on making other improvements first.

-The dash pad is not being reproduced but two good restoration services exist: http://www.justdashes.com/ in California and http://autoline.se/?lang=en_us in Sweden. Be sure to let them know yours is for an Eldorado as it has a different texture than standard 57s.

-The rear bumper including the license plate surround are cast aluminum and very hard to re-chrome. Yours look pretty good, usually they are peeling and flaking all over the place if they are originals. The only place I can recommend is http://paulschrome.com/. They did the corners on our Biarritz and came out great.

-Gold sabers were not an option in 57, 56 was the last year

-The restoration of the dashpad requires a heat/vacuum forming process, You cannot recover it yourself and get a good result. Better left to the pros!

-I believe you have a snapped drive belt in your antenna mast. The antennas are not being reproduced and they are tricky to rebuild. There are some threads on the subject on the forum somewhere, I'll see if I can dig it up later.

-From the pictures it looks like your seats have been re-upholstered at some point. The original leather was a coarser textured "Buffalo Grain" which was matched by the vinyl "Elascofab" material covering the dash, upper door panels and arm-rest door pulls.

I'm compiling a database of known survivor 57 Sevilles and Biarritzes. I'd love if you could post a picture of you body data tag located on the top of the cowl, driver's side so I can add your car.

Good luck!

Hey Eldoking,

how can you tell what color vinyl top the car came with? I didn't know they all came with vinyl tops!

[Seville1957]

Hi Willie, always nice to see another 57 Seville on the forum.Check out Rockauto for manuals I have a paper one but also use the excellent CD version from Detroit Iron  http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/cadillac,1957,series+62,6.0l+365cid+v8,1320679,literature,repair+manual,10335?a=Search%2Bfor%2BUBP

I'd also recommend leaving the engine alone if it's running good,just pull the anciliaries off and paint the engine .Best recommendation for correct paint match- Bill Hirsch
http://www.hirschauto.com/ENGINE-ENAMEL/productinfo/EE-QUART/

Also don't forget to repaint the valve covers gold to match the air cleaner.

If it is all original and has sat for 40 years I would certainly be checking the brakes ,My own Seville sat for 19 years and I ended up rebuilding the complete braking system .

Your car would also have left the factory with a Vicodec vinyl roof

It would be interesting to decode the data tag and see what color it left the factory,my own car was originally Olympic White with a black roof but ended up "resale red" before it crossed the Atlantic.

Good stuff,

Thanks for the link on the engine paint! Any links for the valve cover gold paint? Yes, I will rebuild the braking system,the car was delivered to my house on a trailer. I drove her into the garage and it took a bit of leg muscle to bring her to a stop.

[57eldoking]

Pretty much every original dash pad looks terrible after 60 years of exposure to the elements so you're not alone. They need the old one, it has a metal backing panel. They strip off all of the old foam and vinyl down to bare metal and apply new foam and vinyl in a heat/vacuum process. They come out looking factory new!

Thank you for the body plate photo! Your car was originally Olympic white with a black Vicodec vinyl top. The Kiowa red and white interior is correct for the car.

[Cadillac Jack 82]

That brings up a question for me and my 1957.  Has anyone dealt with the guys in Sweden who remake the dash pad?  They are only asking 950 shipped but I'm not sure if they need my metal upper dash to complete the task.  I vaguely remember talking with Just Dashes and they said they make everything without the need of the core.  Is this true?  I'm about ready to tackle the dash pad monster here in the next 8 months or so

[Walter Youshock]

They need the core.  Just Dashes did mine 15 years ago and it's as perfect as you'd want.  I seem to remember it was $500 or $600 then.  Doubt I could afford to do it today...

[Cadillac Jack 82]

Yeah Just Dashes is 1300 for the color that I need.  I'll ask the guys in Sweden if they have a COR if not I'll send them another one other than the one I have on mine.  I don't want to be completely dashless for 3 months while they build the thing

[57 Eldo Seville]

Welcome to a fellow 1957 Olympic White Seville owner.  You have a very nice car.  It looks like all of your questions have been answered so far and you can find a great amount of information by searching this forum.  Joining the Cadillac LaSalle Club and getting the Authenticity Manual and build sheet for your car are essential steps.  On my car the engine compartment needed the most work but I have concentrated on cleaning and removing/painting components as opposed to removing the engine.  My next step is Bill Hirsch blue on the power steering pulley and bracket.

Dave Morris

[Seville1957]

Thanks 57 Eldo Seville,

Engine compartment on your baby is coming along. Did you pull the motor to paint it?

[57 Eldo Seville]

Thanks 57 Eldo Seville,

Engine compartment on your baby is coming along. Did you pull the motor to paint it?

No but that probably will occur sometime in the future.  My car currently has 56K miles.  The Authenticity Manual was the greatest help in getting the colors and decals right.

[Seville1957]

57 Eldo Seville,

Where can one find a Authentication Manual for the correct colors and labels?

[chris cunliffe]

You can get the authenticity manual from the CLC club store $40

http://store.cadillaclasalleclub.org/category_s/1818.htm

The gold for the air cleaner and valve covers -a good match is Sherwin Williams 1996 Chrysler Drama Gold 51525  I used this on mine.

I also noticed that you are missing door jamb switch ( available on Ebay for around $19) and also the front speaker which sits under the dash on the transmission tunnel.

I also noticed your body number is 950,mine is 967,  so they could both possibly have been built in the same week

[57eldoking]

That brings up a question for me and my 1957.  Has anyone dealt with the guys in Sweden who remake the dash pad?  They are only asking 950 shipped but I'm not sure if they need my metal upper dash to complete the task.  I vaguely remember talking with Just Dashes and they said they make everything without the need of the core.  Is this true?  I'm about ready to tackle the dash pad monster here in the next 8 months or so

The Swedes need the core. I've seen their work, its really top notch and better than the dash Just Dashes did for our Biarritz 15 years ago. I'm having them do my Seville's dash next winter. They may actually be doing more 50s Cadillac and Buick dashes than Just Dashes at the moment considering the large number of these cars being restored in Sweden.

[Walter Youshock]

Very interesting...  and you may be onto something with the number of cars over there...

I do think the Just Dashes grain is a touch more shallow than the original.  You may also want to consider matching material for the upper doors and rear seat.