1959 Series 62 Convertible yard find

[Blade]

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.

[INTMD8]

Congrats on the find Tibor. I look forward to your progress on this

[Blade]

Thanks Jim, and thanks for sharing ideas!

[Chris Conklin]

Interesting colors... a Christmas car.

[Blade]

Interesting colors... a Christmas car.

Maybe I should dress as Santa when I'll drive it around .. 

[Blade]

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!!!   

[59-in-pieces]

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.

[Blade]

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.   

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.

[jagbuxx #12944]

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...

[Chris Conklin]

No guarantee, but...

R = Radio, signal seeking w/pre-selection & power antenna
Y = Electric 6-way control seat

[Grant Owen]

I think the R is actually a H - Heater.

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

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

[Blade]

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.

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

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

[Blade]

I see, that's what I thought. Thank you again Bob!

[Blade]

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.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Sounds like all your Christmases are coming again and again, and again.

Bruce.

[joeceretti]

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.

[Blade]

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.

[mgbeda]

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