Better Beaters - Building Cars and Daily Drivers

Thinking about old Cadillacs... again.

The face that only America could love.


It's all about the base.

In my opinion the 1963 model of the Coupe de Ville displays the perfect roof and fin line.
I found this particular car on Craig's list for 7,800.00. If I had the space ( and the money!) I'd buy it in a minute!

It's not that Cadillac ever completely disappeared from my consciousness. My relationship with Cadillac goes back a very, very, long way.

My Uncle Fred  had a '49 fastback back when I was a kid in kindergarten. He sometimes gave my Mom and I a ride to run some errands when we visited my Grandmother in Berkeley. At this time the car was only a bit over ten years old, as this was 1959. My first impression was that it was kind of plain inside for a Cadillac. It must have been a lower trim level as it had manual windows and simple, cloth upholstery. It didn't look nearly as jazzy as my parents '59 Impala, but it was a Cadillac!

Fast forward to 1964-65 and were now living on 21st. St. and 11th. Ave. in Oakland. Back in those days kids would routinely walk ten or fifteen blocks to school, unaccompanied, if you can believe that! At this time all Cadillacs were held in very high regard and even older models would be maintained and driven with pride. There were two such cars on my route to school. One was a 1960 Coupe de Ville and the other was a 1959 four window Sedan de Ville. These cars were parked at the curb in front their owner's houses.

I would study these cars as I walked past, oftentimes stopping to peer through the window at those amazing interiors. The dash was padded and the instrument panel was heavily chrome plated and filled with knobs and buttons. The radio had a signal seeking bar, that was labeled "more stations."     ( Could the radio produce more radio stations on it's own, like magic?) In front of the driver on the left side of the dash was the "Autotronic Eye" headlamp dimmer. It looked a ray gun out of the War of the Worlds' movie. The seats were big and thick like the armchairs at my Grand Ma's house, upholstered in a intricate brocade cloth with leather bolsters. The door panels were likewise finished with a chrome door strap and power window buttons. Of course there was plenty of room inside. Both models were adorned with gigantic fins but the '59 had the advantage of the jet pod tail lamps!

This book was quite the critique of 1950's American car design.

As I would walk alongside the car my finger would trace the path of the chrome piece that highlighted each fin. What a delight! Even in my young mind I knew that these cars were just five and six years old but that automotive design had moved far beyond the space age fantasy of these vehicles. The intricate chromed bumpers and grilles were now out of fashion with buyers, but not with fifth grade boys with active imaginations. Here was a car that could take me anywhere that there was a highway, street, or back road. Believe me, that's where I longed to be! One of these Cadillacs could be my ticket to independence and freedom.

Lucky for me the owners never came out and chased me away while I was admiring these insolent chariots. These cars were in immaculate condition; washed, waxed, with spotless interiors and glass. They were both obviously cherished by their owners. They were actually quite typical of the slightly used Cadillacs  that were very common on the streets of Oakland.

Yes, there was definitely some subconcious imprinting going on. Like a baby duckling waddling after it's mother, my psyche became enmeshed with these incredible cars, and my intense gaze followed them whenever they appeared.

Another very telling episode occurred three or four years later, on a trip to an auto parts store that I took with my Dad. It must have been a Sunday because we ventured over to Oakland's Chinatown, to the only parts store we knew that would be open on a Sunday. There was a gas station next door. As we parked at the curb I immediately noticed a sinister looking vehicle lying in wait next to the building. It sat there looking massive and low slung like a Komodo Dragon resting in the shade. Though it's heavily lidded eyes were almost closed, it remained cunningly alert. It was a 1956 Cadillac hardtop Sedan de Ville. And it was for sale!

I eagerly pointed it out to my Dad and he agreed that we could look at it after we took care of our business.

Oh! To have been the kind of folks that bought these things when they were new!

Exiting the store we approached the old Cadillac and I was impressed by the massive blunt hood and ferocious bullet over riders. Standing next to the driver's door I took in the gentle curve of the "Florentine" rear window effect. This was the first year of the four door hardtop design, GM introduced it through their entire line up of models. From Cadillac to Chevrolet. The lack of a center post and window frames left a spacious opening for the wind to spill inside. Even today I maintain a very soft spot for hardtops. My Dad opened the front door and I slid behind the wheel. The interior remind me of those Cadillacs that I walked past a few years ago, the family resemblance was apparent. The same chrome plated dash and controls, the same slim steering wheel rim. The same thickly upholstered seats. But this time I got to inhale that intoxicating old Cadillac fragrance! 

As I slid behind the wheel I knew, I just knew, that I'd possess one of these beasts....Someday.

And wouldn't you know it,"Someday" did finally come! Though not until I was in my Fifties.

My first Cadillac was a '64 convertible, white over gold. I found it on a used car lot near Broadway Avenue in Oakland. The bus stop was right in front of the car lot. I saw the Caddy parked in the back row as I was exiting the bus. 

The '64 convertible was a straight, tidy, good running car, I'd replaced the cloudy plastic rear window, and really rubbed out and waxed the bodywork. I was proud of the car and thought that it looked pretty good. Unfortunately a man driving by my folk's house saw it parked on the street and had the same opinion. He offered to buy it. I hadn't really considered it, but he kept raising his offer until I caved at 650.00. 

That sounds pretty cheap now, but consider that I'd only paid 340.00 dollars for it out the door a couple of years earlier. I was almost doubling my investment. With all this profit I became involved in an unfortunate ownership experience with a '66 Lincoln sedan. I'll leave that story for another time.

I was getting the Cadillac itch again and I scratched it with a '70 Coupe de Ville. Another nice tidy straight, good running car. The seller had been using the car for family vacation trips, but was now looking for something that got better fuel economy.  Fuel prices had started to rise by the mid 1970's when I bought this car.  The car had more plastic in the interior due to safety regulations, but had the most incredible set of high back front seats. They were like leather armchairs!

Now, That's what I'm talking about!
These are very similar to the seats in my 2007 F150.

I drove this car a lot and pretty far. It never really gave me any problems. I drove it out to Fresno to attend "Low Rider Happening #1."  I skipped out of my swing shift job at General Motors Fremont, at lunch time with several of my buddies.  We all met at Centennial Hall in Hayward and caravaned down to Fresno. My buddy made his wife drive their '64 Impala while he decided to sleep in the back seat of the Caddy! Life was so much simpler when you were young. 

I also took a trip down to LA with my younger brother and his buddy to visit the newly opened Universal Studios attraction. The car made the trip without any problems. Those big Caddys were great road cars. 

I bought and rebuilt my first Harley Davidson at this time. A chopped '70 Sporster XLCH. 

Why did I ever sell that car? I was attending community college and I wanted to quit working full time and transfer to a four year college. I decided to get something that got better gas mileage and maybe I could cut down on my expenses. I don't remember selling the '70 or how or much I got for it. But I paid cash for a two year old Chevy Vega clone, the Pontiac Astre.  I guess I still had a pretty healthy savings account.

It seemed like the right idea at the time. 

Well, it wasn't that good an idea. I needed to change my major so I would have more flexibility once I transferred to San Jose State. That led to another year and a half working for GM. That turned out okay, as I traded my chopper in on a brand new Sportster Cafe Racer XLCR. 

I also decided that good gas mileage wasn't all that it was cracked up to be.  I sold the Astre to my buddy and went looking for another old Cadillac. Luckily I found one.