Caddy started after a 32 yr sleep

[Thomas Bredahl]

Just got it started yesterday.... its been sitting in a garage since 1973, with a burnt wiring loom.
These things really are mechanical wonders. It started almost right up.... blew a mouse nest and a wide variety of nuts out the exhaust and then began to purr at a perfect idle.... im stunned, absolutely lost for words!
Only thing is the leaking rear main seal has to be replaced, so i guess ill pull the engine this weekend. Could have been a lot worse though huh?

My girlfriend has put together a page on her site, with some pics and "start-up" films..... enjoy!

http://www.egeskov.net/49caddy TARGET=_blank>www.egeskov.net/49caddy

MAN.. i love my 49 fastback!!

[P W Allen CLC#20193]

Now THAT my friend was Neat!! I loved the videos! Good luck with it.

Paul
53 Coupe
Dynaflow

[Bruce Reynolds # 18992]

Gday Thomas,

Well, congratulations on aa awakening.

You have a damned good battery there, and some really nice pictures.

Bruce,
The Tassie Devil(le),
60 CDV

P.S.   I hope the lack of hair wasnt due to continuous backfiring.

[Brian Daum, 18809]

Hi Thomas!

Great pictures of a great car! Where did you find it? Those 40`s fastbacks are one of my all time favorites!!

What are your plans with it - keep us posted!!

Regards

Brian
Norway
56 Fleetwood 60 Special
72 Eldo Conv

PS. You guys look like you`ve just won the lottery - but your girlfriend looks like she had been made to sit on the car by force - have you told her that you`re going to restore it yet?

[Mette]

Hi guys...

I guess its time for me to speak up, as Im the girlfriend ;-)

No force needed Brian, and believe you me, Im well aware of  the plans for the caddy. For now this is the look and I love that look. Full restoration, yeah Thomas will get around to it, but not just yet.

Have a nice weekend,
~Mette

[Jim Skelly, CLC #15958]

How cool.  This gives me encouragement for getting my uncles 64 Grand Prix started after a 35 year sleep!  I started working on it last weekend.

[Glenn #8092]

Great posting!

Congrtulations!

[Thomas Bredahl]

Thank you all...

Im so excited about it ,finally running. Next up is to fix the last of the usual "this  n that" jobs before inspection. Then i can go get my Danish license plates. Other than that , i am going to leave it as is, for now...... i really love that worn look that can only be a result of age.... and then i really need to save for the eventual proper resto.
Ive done a little research and it seems my Cad is the only 48/49 fastback in Denmark..... ( ive heard a rumor, but couldnt confirm) so thats kinda cool too.
I bought the car in northern California Mt. Shasta from a very nice guy who posted it for sale on here.
Not that many people at all with early Cadillacs over here, so if anyone is up for a chat now and then.... feel free to send an e-mail.

[Thomas Bredahl]

Oh and Bruce........ there was no backfiring ;-)

[Jeff Maltby 4194]

Congradulations Thomas. I owned a 48 fastback that hadnt run in 25 years and once we got it fired up, the old flathead simply purred like new.

Send me your mailing address and if your not a member of the clc 49er chapter yet ? Ill pay your dues for a year.

Jeffo 49 fastback :<)(>:~

[Thomas Bredahl]

Uhm...... Jeff? havent you got my e-mail address.
If you need my address ill mail it to you for future needs.
Sound like that 48 was quite the find too :-)

[Jeff Maltby 4194]

Mailing address not email adde Thomas.

Send it direct to me and Ill take care of the 49er chapter dues, seeing how Im late sending mine in also.

:<)

[Thomas Bredahl]

Ahh .. i get it . Sorry Jeff but have to get the terms right. You have to tkae into account that its a dane youre talking to ;-)
Mail you tonite with my address.
And thanx a lot for your very kind offer!!!

[Jay Friedman CLC # 3210]

Thomas,

Im the Prez(ident) of the Forty Niners Chapter of the Cadillac LaSalle Club Jeff Maltby referred to and also have a 49 2-door sedanette, club coupe or whatever they are called in Danish.

Just loved the video of the motor starting, particularly the chapter entitled "Awakening" where you could hear the motor wanted to start, kept trying and finally did.  I applauded at that point.  

Send your mailing address to me by email or post and Ill send you copies of the 49 Times, our quarterly newsletter.  

Jay Friedman
1530 September Chase
Decatur, Georgia 30033 USA

or jaysfriedman@yahoo.com

[Richard Sills - CLC #936]

Thomas, when you get your Danish license plates, you should make sure to keep the old black California plates (and the accompanying registration card, if you have it) to document the history of your car.  They are very early plates in the series first issued in 1963, indicating that the car was registered in California at least that far back.  

Richard

[Thomas Bredahl]

Richard<  The guy i bought the car from , in northern California , actually went through a lot of trouble so that i could keep the old blackplates. I think it is a great piece of my Cads history, so yes i will take good care of them.
Here we can keep the cars on their old plates, if they still have them but if not , since the late 90s we have the option of ordering a set of new license plates made as exact replicas to the old ones. Even if i get a barnfresh car out of registration, if i can somehow get proof of the old registration # , either as an old photo or maybe old tax bill , i can have the original # on a set of new "old" plates.
This system has helped a lot to get the cars looking old too.... it all counts.
Please fill me in on some history on the old american license plates, either by by own knowledge or a link if you have one. Id like to know more.
Thanks.

Thomas

[Quentin Hall (Australia)]

Thomas and Mette . . Gday from Australia,
             a friend sent me your video and I must say that I sat there at the computer with my accelerator foot pumping the gas just waiting for that brilliant moment when she burst to life. I think I cheered as well.
             I recently had the same wonderful experience with my 53 Eldo which had sat since 1968. (also a black plate Cal car) It was siezed but three weeks of eucalyptus oil and a large tyre lever managed to break it free. Once I got it rotating by hand,it was just a formality to give it some new plugs, points and gas. I reckon it took no more than half a dozen cranks. . .
              I was of two minds as to how to best approach my 53 but now I am fully into a resto.  I truly love your car as it is and that wonderful patina of age that cannot be gotten back once it is restored.
              Enjoy .
              Regards Quentin.
                       
             

[Richard Sills - CLC #936]

Thomas,

There is a club called the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association, or "ALPCA".  Its website address is "www.alpca.org".  It publishes a magazine six times a year, with articles about license plate history as well as current plates.  It covers license plates from all over the world, as well as the United States.  Each issue of the magazine features license plates from a different state or country for an in-depth article, tracing the changes in that states (or countrys) license plates from the earliest known issuance through the current time.  If one is specifically interested in the license plates of a particular state (such as California), it is usually possible to purchase a copy of the back issue that focuses on the plates of that state.  

California cars are often sought after because the climate is relatively mild, and the cars are not prone to rust.  California is one of only a few states in the USA that issue license plates that remain with a car permanently, regardless of changes of ownership.  (In Pennsylvania, where I live, the license plate stays with the owner, not the car.)  I have seen some vintage cars advertised as California cars, but their California license plates are of very recent issue, suggesting that the car may have lived most of its life elsewhere before being registered in California.  By contrast, the early "black plates" on your car establish that it was a California car at least as far back as 1963, which was the last time the state issued new license plates for all cars registered in the state.  

I have always found license plates to be an interesting adjunct to the antique car hobby.  As you noted, the right vintage license plates on an old car help to establish the authentic look of the time and place when the car was first used.

I hope this information helps.

Richard


   

[Thomas Bredahl]

Hi Quentin :-)

Oh god , i laughed hard reading your post.... pictured you pumping that pedal cheering it on.... at your desk.
Priceless , and something that tells me youre a true enthusiast. I have taken my Cad for a couple of short drives these past days to test the brakes and gearbox and everything works. Only things i cant seem to wake up is the radio and antenna. Radio light is on but no sound.... and the antenna prolly just need a new O-ring or something minor.
I really love my cars patina aswell so ill drive it just like that for the next 3-4 years , till my pockets are full of change for that total resto.

Later...  Thomas

[Gerald MacPherson]

Hey Quentin !  How about getting hold of your Bangkok Buddy at this email address.  53 Eldos forever, Mac