Would like to add a new family member, a recent yard find of a 1959 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible
She was sitting outside on the previous owner's property for years. The sheet metal and the roof structure is in amazingly good shape but she will definitely need floor panel patches. The trunk lid will need to be replaced and the hood has some more considerable rust on it. Engine and transmission are complete as she was driven to her last resting place and just left there. Dark green with all red interior and black top, at this point I am planning to restore her in the original colors. It's hard to read the odometer because of dirt between the glass but seems to be 71,xxx miles.
I will post more about as I am working on it.
Congrats on the find Tibor. I look forward to your progress on this :)
Thanks Jim, and thanks for sharing ideas!
Interesting colors... a Christmas car.
Quote from: Chris Conklin on October 15, 2013, 07:00:56 PM
Interesting colors... a Christmas car.
Maybe I should dress as Santa when I'll drive it around .. ???
I just talked to the previous owner again, he said the color combination was a special order so most likely unique. More the reason to keep it the same.
It had to be Santa!!! ???
Tibor,
You are one lucky dog.
That is my kinda car - rough around the edges but when restored - the Belle of the ball.
It looks like the dark green metallic color is #36 Kensington Green. - one of the most beautiful colors in that year's selections - my opinion.
I can't tell from the photos, but with the red leather it could be either #29 red Cardif (wrinkles not smooth) or if done in the Eldorado style #19 - a combination of red Cardif and red Florentine patterns (wrinkles and smooth).
I am envious of you folks living in the East with your spectacular barn finds, until I remember you also have snow.
By the way, would you like to sell the car and I can ship it here to CA. where the convertible can be put to good use - LOL maybe.
Have fun,
Steve B.
Steve:
Woof, woof!
Please leave the snow out of this. Snow is awesome! A white Christmas is always a treat. Plus I rather look out and see snow in the winter than another California hulligan driving by with the surfboard tied across the fins. :P
Jokes set aside, thanks for the compliments and you are right on the mark with the color coding 36/29. Yesterday I looked at the cowl plate and also took a picture of it. But if these are standard colors then why would it be special order? Were these not an option for the convertibles in '59? I'll take pictures of the seats but they're in sad condition.
Could someone tell me what the codes: 'Body FW 8569' mean and the other options 'ACC. ERY'? It does have the autronic-eye I assume one of those represents that.
I also ordered the build sheet from the Heritage Center, hope they'll have it.
The code BODY 8569 denotes this to be the 8569th Series 62 convertible built of the '59 run.
ACC- E= EZ eye glass
others will note in R & Y
I'm away from my data books...
No guarantee, but...
R = Radio, signal seeking w/pre-selection & power antenna
Y = Electric 6-way control seat
I think the R is actually a H - Heater.
Quote from: Blade on October 16, 2013, 10:29:46 AM
I just talked to the previous owner again, he said the color combination was a special order so most likely unique. More the reason to keep it the same.
It had to be Santa!!! ???
Tibor,
The car is an unusual order but not considered special order by the factory. The dealer would NOT have ordered this car for stock. I'm sure the customer wanted it that way & probably gave a deposit ahead of time. I would for SURE do it like it is.
HTH, Bob
Thank you for all the info from everyone!
I got a better picture of the name plate and Grant you're correct it is an H. Still not sure about the Y but Chris could be right with the 6 way power seats as it does have that option. Now ... the car also has the autronic-eye, those weren't included on the plates?
Bob: thank you for the clarification! My question is why would it be considered a unique order if these colors were amongst the standard choices in '59? Were these not available for the convertibles?
I will definitely restore it to original condition with original colors.
Tibor,
You're welcome. I said it was an unusual order, not unique. I'm sure there were other cars with that combination but there's no way of knowing how many. Cadillac had certain color recommendations. Your combination would not be one of them. That's why a dealer would not bring it in for stock. He'd bring in a white with red interior, a very common & recommended combination. Good luck with your car.
HTH, Bob
I see, that's what I thought. Thank you again Bob!
Little update on this: last night after soaking the joints in oil for two days the top finally came down - after 20 some years! It was some exciting time as she now does start looking more like a convertible. Also began the preliminary work on the body, cleaning rust spots to reveal the exact repairs needed later.
Lots of goodies found in the trunk: one backup light housing, the missing headlight housing with the bezel, windshield washer bottle with the lid, original jack with the base, three of the front bumper lights with the lenses (turn signal and parking light), the missing door sill, missing original hydraulic cylinder for the top and many chrome pieces. Also in front of the seats there were some of the trims from the front seat, one windshield wiper and even more small chrome pieces. Looks like she will be near complete.
Next I'll start working on the engine and put oil into the cylinders, for now at least I was able to turn the power steering pump and the generator; both turned surprisingly easily. Transmission shifts easily and since the previous owner said it was running fine when she was parked I am hoping no work will be needed on it at this point. Naturally later I will pull both the engine and the transmission and will rebuild them.
Sounds like all your Christmases are coming again and again, and again.
Bruce. >:D
This will be a great car for Santa Claus Parades! Seriously though, I love the color combination and must admit that I am envious. It is a wonderful feeling finding the missing parts are still with the car. Kudos to the person who knew enough to put the parts back into the car as they were removed.
Looking forward to following your work on this beautiful machine.
Thank you Joe!
There is a lot of work ahead before she'll be shining in her special original colors but I feel very lucky to be able to find a convertible still in original condition with most of the parts there; and especially finding out that the color combination was a special request from Cadillac. We'll have to deal with some rust issues but mechanically she should be good as the previous owner just parked it as a running vehicle. According to him he had plans to put it in his garage but he purchased other cars and the 59 was sort of forgotten and left outside for the past 20 years. I am working hard to resurrect her and put her back on the road, and hopefully bring her to some of the gatherings.
I also saw a picture of your gorgeous find, what a beautiful lady in red!
I'll have to think about the Santa parade, probably some reindeer power will be in order right now as the engine has not been fired up yet.
What a fantastic find! I love the color. One sees many '59s in red, white, black, and of course pink, but I don't think I've ever seen a kelly green one before. Enjoy!
-mB
Quote from: mgbeda on October 29, 2013, 02:37:04 PM
What a fantastic find! I love the color. One sees many '59s in red, white, black, and of course pink, but I don't think I've ever seen a kelly green one before. Enjoy!
Thank you Mike, yes I feel fortunate finding this car, especially because of the special colors. In my search so far I have seen just a very few Kensigton green cars but they all had the standard green interior so I'm hoping this one is going to be unique. I'll definitely continue my research.
I have also been following your restoration of Bessie, it's amazing and very encouraging watching you work on it and progress with it. For sure makes me work harder on my car too! :)
I just received the build sheet from GM, couple of things I can't decode: outlet code = ATT, order number=22 and also wondering why under date built it says YR=13? Anybody can translate these? Thank you!
Decoding of Data Plate
http://www.modifiedcadillac.org/documents/1950s/1959/1959%20data%20book/tn/1959%20data%20book-57.jpg.html
P. Budde
Thanks Palle, I had some of these code but not a full list yet. Thanks again!
Good luck with your new purchase!
Hi Blade,
How can I order the build sheet? What codes I need and how much this will cost? Is this an original copy (appereance) or is it just rewritten?
Thanks!
Antti
Quote from: Antti A on November 19, 2013, 02:31:25 AM
Hi Blade,
How can I order the build sheet? What codes I need and how much this will cost? Is this an original copy (appereance) or is it just rewritten?
Thanks!
Antti
Antti, here is the link to the order page, it will cost you $50 for the copy of the build sheet (well worth it if you ask me). It is a photocopy of the actual document, they have a sample page on their website that you can look at.
http://www.gmmediaarchive.com/?page=4
Let me know if you need any more information.
Blade~
Tibor,
I have not seen a posting from you in 30 days or so.
Have you started posting under another heading.
Do you still like the snow or were you mugged by a Callie surfer, skiing.
Jokes aside - I ran across these photos of a Coupe and Eldorado but with your Kensington Green paint and thought you might want to see them too - a glimpse of your future.
Have fun,
Steve B.
Hey Tibor, How's she moving along?
Mike
Hi Mike and Steve,
She is hybernating right now as my garage is unheated at this point and our winter temepratures do not allow many days to work out there, but a garage insulation and heater installation is in order next spring and then will also resume the work. I do work on it here and there but nothing considerable. I did, however brought in some smaller parts into the house and working on those as time permitting. The clock is running again and many small parts/chrome is shining again.
I am, however happy to see that it is just as the previous ower has described it, a running vehicle originally that was simply parked and forgotten for the past 25 years. Everything is/was frozen on it but after some oiling and moving once again coming alive again.
Far as the body goes most things are only covered with a heavier surface rust and aside from the floor panels, the seats (especially the front seat) and a little on the side that was facing south not much rust is present. The trunk lid will need replacing as it was dented, and the hood has some more considerable rust at the edges wich probably again best to swap out with another one rather than patching it. Frame, engine, transmission looks good, and even the front windows survived due to being left rolled down and the doors protected them. Thanks to 'CadCliff' I also have a replacment vent window with original E-Z-Eye tinted glass to replace the current window with broken glass. An aftermaket windshield is planned to be installed as I will be driving the car on weekends and couldn't imagine chipping/cracking an original glass.
Engine: removed the generator and the power steering pump and filled the cylinders with oil. Not planning to turn the engine but rather tear it down and restore it completely and also going to do the same with the transmission, as long as it's out of the car best to rebuild them both the same time. The 'frozen parts' on the carburetor are also moving again, but then I am also going to send that over to a shop and have it completely rebuild.
Steve: thank you for the pictures, I have seen the Eldo on the net before but not the Coupe yet; looks like she is one of ours? I continue my search and while I did find just a few Kensington green cars all had the standard interior colors, have not found another one with this color combination so I am still hoping she will be a unique order.
Attached is a couple of pictures from earlier this fall as she is getting stripped down -- sorry for the mess on the bench, I had to cut down an over hanging shelf in order to open the top and I just threw everything there ... :-[
I not sure what all the fuss is about the cold. Here in coastal, South Carolina it'll be up to about 64 degrees out, and I'll be tinkering with Mack the Cadillac in our garage. Hehe. Sometimes it's colder in my garage then outside, and I have to open the doors to let in the warmer air. Can you believe it, the hassle of it all. Jk. Have a good time at it. The old convertibles are still hiding out there waiting to be found.
Mike
Tibor,
Glad you are still tinkering.
I wouldn't worry about the mess on your work bench.
I would worry about working on car parts in the house at the dining room table.
I know my wife wasn't too happy about it and it rarely gets below 50 here in So.Cal.
Have fun,
Steve B.
Mike, Steve, please send us some of those warm temperatures over here, although currently we're in the 20s for daytime just a couple of weeks ago one day our highest temp was -17 with between -40 -50 windchill. :-[
I agree Mike, stuff still seem to be out there just need to be found.
... and a few more teasers.
Tibor, I'll swap you some of your cold for our heat. It's 110 degrees here in Melbourne, Australia. Combined together we would make a beautiful day for Caddy driving!
Greg.
Hello Greg,
How I wish we could merge the two, certainly would make it a nice weather to cruise around. :)
Quote from: Blade on January 15, 2014, 10:30:39 PM
Mike, Steve, please send us some of those warm temperatures over here, although currently we're in the 20s for daytime just a couple of weeks ago one day our highest temp was -17 with between -40 -50 windchill. :-[
I agree Mike, stuff still seem to be out there just need to be found.
Tibor, do you when those pictures date date from? Hard to believe they are less than 25 years old... who would let treasures like these fall to pieces these days?
Georg
The ones I know of are actually fairly recent pictures. The black flower car's owner just posted those pictures a couple of years ago, the very rusty eldorado I have seen someone just trying to buy maybe a couple of months ago, the white Seville was just sold late last year (it is now fully restored). The white series 62 convertible in the tall dry grass was used as a parts car then pushed into the ditch and abandoned (I am not sure where) and the white eldorado next to the Volvo is in Sweden and is not for sale.
Sorry, don't know anyting about the rest of them.
Hi there, I enjoyed seeing your pictures. I recently picked up a 1959 convertible project. Problem is the project is in many pieces strewn in boxes of parts. Where might I find a diagram of how and where all the pieces go together? Would it be possible for you to take some detailed photos of the top hydraulic mounting system. I found pieces but don't know exactly how it goes together or where it is fastened. Thanks G
Always makes me sad to see all of those 59s wasting away untouched. Its like someone spends their whole life looking for a 59 Eldorado, and then they find one crumpled up, hardly recognizable in someone's backyard. Makes me sick to think about. People always say there is less and less of these cars around. Now we know where they all went.....
G,
What is G short for
Where is G.
You might want to join the CLC and become an active posting member too - strongly recommend.
You should get a Master Parts Book and a Shop Manual - both paper - Disc is too unfriendly.
Glad to help with photos for a kindred 59 restorer - just let me know what area you want to focus on first.
As most members who know me, I know a photo is worth more than a thousand words.
Lots of folks here in the club with 59's who are eager to help.
Have fun,
Steve B.