1957 Coupe de Ville

[John Maglia CLC#23063]

I've posted current pictures of my 57 Cadillac on Flickr. To access, search for www.flickr.com/photos/johnmaglia/ using Google search engine. I finished this project at the end of 2011. 2012 was a year of working out some small issues, almost inevitable when you do a major restoration. Now I am confident that she will go almost anywhere under her own power and that
she has seen her last ride on a flat bed.

I bought this car about 8 years ago from a dealer in FL that many of us have grown to hate. Being a trusting old sole, I bought the car site unseen. It still astonishes me why anyone in their right mind would spray black rattle-can over the entire engine compartment, grease and all.

Anyway, I was in love and couldn't leave her looking as she did. Having attempted to restore a 55 Ford Crown Vic many years prior, I learned what not to do when restoring a car and fortunately had the good sense to document every little detail of the dis-assembly with written descriptions and tons of photos (thank you digital cameras). I would recommend anyone starting a restoration to get an old computer to hold all your pics. Also it is wise to develop a naming convention for your photos for easy reference (eg "Enginecompartment-firewall-left-blower" "Enginecompartment-fender-right-horn relay" etc) It takes time but it will be invaluable during the assembly process. I also documented each piece I removed noting the type and size of every nut, bolt, and washer. so that when this hardware came back from the plating shop it could be sorted into plastic bins similar to fishing lure boxes but see-thru. These bins are available at Walmart for cheap money.

I planned on a 2 year restoration and decided that I would limit my efforts to a cosmetic restoration; just a repaint and new chrome. Yuh, Right!! There was no way I could leave the rest of the car looking as it did after investing in new paint and chrome so off came the front clip and the dis-assembly of the entire engine compartment began. But as luck would have it, not too long after I dis-assembled the front clip and removed all of the engine compartment components I started to develop a twitch in my left baby finger which over a period of a year or so turned into a pretty hefty tremor in my arms and legs. I had gone to a couple of Neurologists but not until I visited the third doctor did I find out I had Parkinson's. I thought "boy is this going to be fun restoring my 57 caddy with Parkinson's".  Anyway, to make a long and boring story short, I labored on. It only took an additional 5 years to finish the project but it was well worth the strain as you will see in the photos. I hope you enjoy. By the way, the trunk is restored but I don't have a picture. The interior is original in pretty good shape with the exception of the dash pad which needs replacement but we'll leave that to the next owner. My restoration days are over.

John Maglia
Boston

[JoeKarasinski]

Wow! That's beautiful!

[N Kahn]

you stuck to it, many kudos.

[52Cadillac]

Your stick to ittiveness is to be admired Sir. Thanks for sharing.