Greetings from London, a brief introduction about me and my cadillac. My name is Darius and i'm 22 yesrs old. Around 5 months ago I heard of "a big old American car" that lay abandoned in a derelict factory. Long story short, I rescued this 1975 eldo convertible from where it had been abandoned and vandalised for over 20 years. Unfortunately the building was leaking heavily and it was only when i got the car in to the daylight for the first time since 1998 that I realised how bad some of the rust was. Nonetheless I have taken it upon myself to get this beast on the road again. Shes a 75 convertible, appeared to have originally been red with a brown coloured interior and later painted its current shade of burgandy and fitted with cushion seats from a later eldo, 42k on the clock. My aim is to get her going as cheap as possible, I know the welding around the windscreen will take up some money. The original interior was destroyed from yesrs of water and vandalism and I have been lucky to find rear seats in blue along with all of the door cards and trim, leaving me needing only the front seats or a very brave restoration of the originals which I had to cut up to remove as the bolts under the seats were so corroded. Vandalism included smashing the windscreen, cutting the wiring loom from the engine bay. Stealing the radiator and alternator and destroying the trunk lock to open it. Here are some pictures, this is my first ever car project however I grew up working on small 2 stroke motorcycle engines so I know the basics. So far have confirmed that the engine is not stuck and i'm hoping to try and start her up soon. J
Afraid the pictures are in no order. Right now the interior and windscreen are out. Floorpans, quarters, windscreen surround and boot floor all need welding.
Well, That'll keep you busy for a while. A long while! >:D
I second and third that.
That rust is horrendous. It is a pity the graffiti artists didn't cover everything with paint as that would have protected a lot.
Bruce. >:D
Ah, but the joy that will be had bringing it back to life.
Best of luck on your restoration. I am restoring a 75 eldo convertible so I know what you will be going through. Parts seem to be available but watch which vendors you use. Tony
At least you won't have trouble finding it in a parking lot.
Most importantly--- have fun!!
Jeff
Here's what I recommend.
Take a trip to the U.S. Take a week or two and look at a few cars. Buy a good one here and have it shipped back to the UK. You'll save a lot of time, money, busted knuckles, cursing, etc. You should be able to find something on our east coast that will keep shipping costs down.
Even a good running and driving old car will keep you busy.
That's what I recommend.
Quote from: chrisntam on October 07, 2017, 07:35:01 AM
Here's what I recommend.
Take a trip to the U.S. Take a week or two and look at a few cars. Buy a good one here and have it shipped back to the UK. You'll save a lot of time, money, busted knuckles, cursing, etc. You should be able to find something on our east coast that will keep shipping costs down.
Even a good running and driving old car will keep you busy.
That's what I recommend.
Good advice.... this car is history.
That car belongs on (in) the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas.
;)
Shipping from the West coast may cost more but better chance of getting solid rust free cars on the West coast also.
I shipped my Lanchester from England to Tacoma Washington and as I recall it was about $2,000
Flying to LA and shipping from LA to Europe may cost 3 or 4 thousand more but what is "Rust Free" worth in our cars?
Put it here!
So glad to see that someone chimed in to abandon that car! I didn't want to take the wind out of a "newbie's" sails, but when I saw the pictures I was bemoaning all the work that was seen and all the unseen stuff yet to be discovered in the process. No car is hopeless, for a price, but even if you had all the money in the world, the sheer frustration of setbacks right out of the gate would have made anyone walk away from this project and swear off to ever attempting another. Make your first car something solid and tired but restorable and have some fun with it in the process. Speaking from experience, even a "good" car can really beat you down certain days. But this car looked eager to do that before you even started. Good advice to start with something solid as well as how to find that better car. Hope this helps before you're in too deep. In the states we call that "upsidedown"!
Chuck
I would be advising the purchase of the '74 in the For Sale Forum, as the price is good, but I can remember back when I was first into cars, I couldn't afford to buy anything better than what I could afford, and this taught me everything I know about automobiles, electrical, plumbing, etc.
When I started Drag Racing, I would never have got into it if I had waited long enough to buy a good Dragster, so I built my own, then gradually upgraded as I could afford it.
Bruce. >:D
Dazaa,
Here's a lead for you!
http://forums.cadillaclasalleclub.org/index.php?topic=147211.0
Quote from: chrisntam on October 21, 2017, 03:48:49 PM
Put it here!
More like put it back there! ;D ;D ;D
Bobby