this is my 57 cadillac coupe deville matching number car
Where do i start
Ok well just over 2 years ago now my mum had past away as she was a elvis freak and elvis loved his cadillacs and mum loved classic 50,s cars this one came up for sale so i thaught well i cant bring mum back or elvis id bring back to life this beauty 57 cadillac and restore it in memory of my mum and elvis more mum though .
So it begun got the car home and said to dad lets bring this car back to life for mum he cried i ended up renting a factory as it was just to big to fit at home every nite after work me and dad went and started to strip the car down bit by bit i purchased a hand sand blaster and blasterd the shell once that was done i had my mums cousin build me a rotisery .
We took the shell off now that was a task and a half on its own .We got the shell off and bolted it to the rotisory and went over and under the hole car after we removed everything else from the shell it was bare we washed the bottom of the shell before we started said to dad fingers cross no rust under there please couldnt belive our eyes all we had to do is paint the bottom .
Then we re stone gaurded all in side and painted that then we went around the body and found i hole where the back window mould sat about a 5 cent peice thats all on the hole car couldnt believe it cut that out and put in a new peice .
We then sprayed red oxide over the hole shell again like it had before i blasted it we let that sit for about 3 mnths .in that time we started to pull the engine down thats when we hit a brick wall couldnt turn the motor to undo the ply wheel nuts to seprate the 2 it was jamed . Looked at my dad he looked at me i said there is no way we are changing the motor this is a complete matching number car so we started to unbolt from the bottom and unbolted the mains from the crank and eventualy turned the crank a bit at a time so we could undo the fly wheel it worked smiles all over .WE HAD TO BASH THE PISTONS OUT FROM THE BOTTOM . the carby wasnt looking good a friend put me on to a guy he looked at it and closed his eyes he took it he called and said all done he fully rebuilt it so glad its the same carby going back on smiles again
I orded a full rebuild kit from the states and this build kit came with everything i mean everything droped it all off to footscray engine rebuild they couldnt beleive what i got in the kit so $7500 later the engine was brand new again .
as that was getting all done we stripped totaly the chassy to nothing got it sand blasted and painted it black again .
as for the all the components i fully rebuilt everything used all the origanal parts and rebuilt it all .
then we started to put all the hubs diff and so on back on to the chassy after rebuilding it .
It,s rolling again we sat the motor and box back in after the box was fully checked and bolted back together we started to put all the engine back together yay looks like a half car again but new .Back to the shell rubbed the oxide then sprayed it with 2k 1 step
best stuff ever made left that sit for another three mnths .Then we started to rebuild everything else that had to be done and chassing ducting for the heater material for the trim painting bits and peices ready to go on the car .Well ill tell you this defently not a cheap car to restore prices arnt to bad for some of the stuff in the states the shipping is a killer .
Anyway started to go hunting for stuff that was missing from the car and got all that from the states .
i was amazed that i could get a fair bit of rebuild kits for everything on the car thank god for that
finally i rubbed the car back and painted the pink and white on the shell and left that to sit till now did that so in all that time it would do what it had to like shrink and stuff now it has a good base to paint on when that time comes we put the shell back on and boltted the rest of tha e hang ons back to the car now im at the stage of getting the rest ready so the hole car can be painted
well thats pretty much in a nut shell of rebuilding this car and bringing it back to life like it was at the dealer ship back in 1957
thank you for reading my story sorry it was a long one thank you for taking the time out reading it
Great car and great story. A tribute to your mother and Elvis
Hi Gary,
Well done to you and your Dad. Your Mom would be proud of you.
My car is quite similar. You may be interested in checking mine out.
http://forums.cadillaclasalleclub.org/index.php?topic=107762.msg146319#msg146319
Ken from Hervey Bay
hi ken
i bow my head down to you on a great resto on your caddy its awsome well done
Quote from: 57flw on December 27, 2012, 02:56:00 AM
Hi Gary,
Well done to you and your Dad. Your Mom would be proud of you.
My car is quite similar. You may be interested in checking mine out.
http://forums.cadillaclasalleclub.org/index.php?topic=107762.msg146319#msg146319
Ken from Hervey Bay
Welcome to the group! That looks like one aggressive restoration. I have the twin to yours--Mountain Laurel and Alpine white CDV. I see yours also has fog lights. Is it an air conditioned car? Only option mine is missing and I wish it had it.
Good luck!
no air con walter you should have the fog lights pretty sure thats standard on the coupe devilles
Quote from: Walter Youshock on December 27, 2012, 01:01:35 PM
Welcome to the group! That looks like one aggressive restoration. I have the twin to yours--Mountain Laurel and Alpine white CDV. I see yours also has fog lights. Is it an air conditioned car? Only option mine is missing and I wish it had it.
Good luck!
seats restored
engine rebuild
stripping the car
Your car sounds like the twin to mine. The only thing I did add that didn't come on it is the power trunk. I do wish I installed factory ac when I had the car painted but that is a major undertaking. Never had the body off the frame on mine, either nor have I had to have the engine rebuilt. Transmissions and carbs are another story.
My car was built the last week of May, body #5762096834. What's your vin #? Wonder how closely our cars went down the line.
my body number is 5762049513
ive been looking at putting the power trunk to when i got the car looked like it was parked up and sitting for over 25 years plus
when the motor was pulled down the guys at the shop said its never been opened
looks like it done a head gasket was never fixed and seems like was parked up and never fixed
well its fixed now $8000 latter to have back to the way it was new
Quote from: Walter Youshock on December 28, 2012, 09:26:24 AM
Your car sounds like the twin to mine. The only thing I did add that didn't come on it is the power trunk. I do wish I installed factory ac when I had the car painted but that is a major undertaking. Never had the body off the frame on mine, either nor have I had to have the engine rebuilt. Transmissions and carbs are another story.
My car was built the last week of May, body #5762096834. What's your vin #? Wonder how closely our cars went down the line.
Your car was probably built in early May--1st or 2nd week. Mine was built on the 21st.
what colour was your engine when you got it mine was red
Quote from: Walter Youshock on December 28, 2012, 03:32:49 PM
Your car was probably built in early May--1st or 2nd week. Mine was built on the 21st.
what body style number is on yours walter
My car sat from 1969 to 1993 when I bought it. Still had 2 of the original tires on it with a set of wide-white snows on the back. The spare is one of the original 5 that came on the car. It showed 24,510 miles on the odometer, so nothing had been touched on it. The engine was the correct Cadillac blue.
You and I have basically the same car--Mt. Laurel and Alpine white Coupe deVilles.
its shows 15,372 on the odometer on mine
so pretty much was bugger all to do on yours by the sound of it
brother and sister cars haha have you got pics of it i cant see any on here
Quote from: Walter Youshock on December 28, 2012, 03:56:36 PM
My car sat from 1969 to 1993 when I bought it. Still had 2 of the original tires on it with a set of wide-white snows on the back. The spare is one of the original 5 that came on the car. It showed 24,510 miles on the odometer, so nothing had been touched on it. The engine was the correct Cadillac blue.
You and I have basically the same car--Mt. Laurel and Alpine white Coupe deVilles.
more pics
Here it is a few years ago at a show outside Hershey, PA.
very nice hey you know where the door knob is dose it have a chrome ring on that pannel for the knob to go up and down
If your engine was red, then it has definitely been out of the engine bay, unless they painted it whilst still in there.
Maybe the Odometer was on its' second time around?
Bruce. >:D
the red was defently factory there was no blue under it at all there was no sign of the engine been taken out dont know matbe it was orded in red
It was definitely repainted or replaced at some time. ALL Cadillac engines were painted the same blue. Does the number on the block match the number on the chassis?
all numbers are matching walter even the service tag
engine components red
Hi David, your coupe looks great and is a credit to you, your dad and your mother!
I live at Mornington Victoria now, and have a 1970 DeVille convertible. In 1987 I bought a drivable 1957 Cadillac coupe DeVille whilst in Los Angeles, drove it around then shipped it over here. It was baby blue with a lighter roof. Such a cool car to own and drive. It's long gone now, but the memories rushed back when I saw your photos.
I was wondering whether you'd know any where I could buy a 472 Cadillac V8 to suit my convertible, or even a 500 cuber as someone said it'd bolt up. Any tips?
Thanks
Rob Warden -0419 752604
nice car. I am just starting to strip my 60 coupe to do a full resto.
Do you still have your rotiserrie ? If so...interested in selling it ? I am in Shepparton, Vic.
I am going to try and do most of work myself. Your story is inspiring !
hi rob i have a friend near berwick who may be able to help you with an engine or know someone who may
his name is paul this is his number 0422001111
Quote from: Cadillac Ranch on January 14, 2013, 05:15:00 AM
Hi David, your coupe looks great and is a credit to you, your dad and your mother!
I live at Mornington Victoria now, and have a 1970 DeVille convertible. In 1987 I bought a drivable 1957 Cadillac coupe DeVille whilst in Los Angeles, drove it around then shipped it over here. It was baby blue with a lighter roof. Such a cool car to own and drive. It's long gone now, but the memories rushed back when I saw your photos.
I was wondering whether you'd know any where I could buy a 472 Cadillac V8 to suit my convertible, or even a 500 cuber as someone said it'd bolt up. Any tips?
Thanks
Rob Warden -0419 752604
hi hayden thanxs mate sorry but its not for sale
Quote from: Hayden P on January 14, 2013, 06:22:09 AM
nice car. I am just starting to strip my 60 coupe to do a full resto.
Do you still have your rotiserrie ? If so...interested in selling it ? I am in Shepparton, Vic.
I am going to try and do most of work myself. Your story is inspiring !
No worries.
Would you hire it out ?
No problem if not - just looking at all my options.
Thanks again. Hayden.
love to help you out but a friend is shortly going to use it for a while to do his car have you looked at buying one on ebay there not that expensive
Seen em on eBay and in local magazine ads... Just concerned about quality.
just make sure you get the thicker steel frame one
http://www.pinnaclewholesalers.com.au/images/car%20rotisserie.jpg
rear bar now on
Stunning, great job.
thanxs hope to have the front bar on soon
Quote from: 57caddy on February 11, 2013, 02:55:49 AM
rear bar now on