We have a new toy in the shed, its a 1959 Cadillac sedan de ville  flat top 6300 series

This one, we made the deal mind march and i have only just picked her up last weekend thanks to the lock down 

it was owned by my very good friend and neighbor for the last 30 years, before it was here in nz it was one of his cars in England and was exported to here in early 1990s'

My friend spent half the year here and the other half in the England for many years, and has a fleet of toys, but sadly his health is not too flash any more and he has sent many of his cars back to uk.

 And i dont think he will ever get back here again 😔

its had a pearl paint job, custom interior, nice sound system and air ride suspension fitted, the tires are brand new along with the whole brake system.

 engine is a 429 big block out of a 64 caddy and turbo 400 trans to stock diff. 

  

I only got her Last weekend and this weekend was a test drive down to the mountain and we went along with a few of my mates and stayed in a camp there, spent the night socializing and having a nice bit of a catch up along with a beer or 3 

She had a really ugly tow bar which was the first thing to go!😋

 story goes that back when she was in England my friend would  tow a caravan around the country 

Back in the 90's this was the first wedding my friend and i did together ( 56 was my girl)

We stopped at a cafe this morning and had nice brunch before heading home

Edited June 7, 20205 yr by 64 kiwi boni

Great looking car! I love the ‘59 and ‘60 GM “flattop” 4-foot hardtops.

6 hours ago, stratman said:

Great looking car! I love the ‘59 and ‘60 GM “flattop” 4-foot hardtops.

Thanks Stratman, i am really happy with it.

 

When a Cadillac was a Cadillac!! LOVE the front end AND the fins!! 😍

Edited June 30, 20205 yr by Stewy

Fins are the best part of any Caddy  

13 minutes ago, Ringo64 said:

Fins are the best part of any Caddy  

WHile I tend to agree with you Ringo. The Dagmars on a Caddy are also very cool too.

3 minutes ago, Frosty said:

WHile I tend to agree with you Ringo. The Dagmars on a Caddy are also very cool too.

This is also true. Found this article, not sure how much of it is true but interesting (and a little NSFW): https://www.curbsideclassic.com/design-3/design-history-cadillacs-dagmars-an-intimate-look-at-their-origins-development-and-namesake/

In my time at GM, and the handful of times I was at the GM Design studio, the term Dagmars was a staple for these bumperettes. I've heard of this story multiple times so I have to beleive there is a lot of truth to it.

My favorite story is still Bill Mitchell when he was developing the Mako Shark concept Corvette. He was inspired to build afer he caught a mako shark off the coast of Bimini, he had it mounted in his office wall at Design Staff in Warren. He claimed the Design staff was not capturing the essence of the fish no matter how many times they completely painted the car. So, in desperation, they broke into Mitchell's office late one night and they re-painted the fish. Once they did that, Mitchell claimed the team had succeeded in capturing the essence of the Mako Shark.

Edited June 30, 20205 yr by Frosty

10 hours ago, Frosty said:

they broke into Mitchell's office late one night and they re-painted the fish. Once they did that, Mitchell claimed the team had succeeded in capturing the essence of the Mako Shark.

LOL!

I know - its funny as hell - but it's apparently true too!

I went over the caddy yesterday in preparation for the Xmas parade and .... 

well I made a major stuff up.

i checked the oil , saw it was low, so I topped it up,

closed the hood and then the very first word was F— CK 

i had left the oil filler cap on top of the air cleaner 😡😡😡😡

which instantly put a dent in the hood .

by guessus I was pist at my self 😪

So lucky it’s not a major 

i think I will call the mobile painless dent guy and see if he can push it back down 🙄......hopefully 

am soooo pist at myself !

Damn! I hate that for you bro. At least its not to bad bud. Good luck, let us know what happens.

i hope you guys may be able to help me here! i know its not Ponti stuff , but with you great automotive knowledge back grounds, you may know where i need to look!

yesterday i took the 59 cadillac for a warrent of fittness and when i went to press the horn the chrome ring snapped clean off ! muck metal !!!!

i used mr google to try and find a repo or anyone who makes them.... caddy daddy.... dont stock , ebay was over 2k for a whole steering wheel. 

And i was justA hoping you could possibly know of a supplier 

Post a picture of yout Caddy's steering wheel and ring and we can be on the look out for one. Swap meet season will be starting up soon here in Michigan with the snow gone and hopefully COVID restrictions lifted enough to hold some.

18 hours ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

i hope you guys may be able to help me here! i know its not Ponti stuff , but with you great automotive knowledge back grounds, you may know where i need to look!

yesterday i took the 59 cadillac for a warrent of fittness and when i went to press the horn the chrome ring snapped clean off ! muck metal !!!!

i used mr google to try and find a repo or anyone who makes them.... caddy daddy.... dont stock , ebay was over 2k for a whole steering wheel. 

And i was justA hoping you could possibly know of a supplier 

Ya know, 1st thing I'm thinkin is JB Weld.   Caddy parts are stupid expensive IF you can find them.  Sorry bro, that sucks.  They passed the car though?

6 hours ago, Frosty said:

Post a picture of yout Caddy's steering wheel and ring and we can be on the look out for one. Swap meet season will be starting up soon here in Michigan with the snow gone and hopefully COVID restrictions lifted enough to hold some.

Ah good idea frosty 

I will do that , will be next week ,

3 hours ago, JUSTA6 said:

Ya know, 1st thing I'm thinkin is JB Weld.   Caddy parts are stupid expensive IF you can find them.  Sorry bro, that sucks.  They passed the car though?

that was my first thought too justA 

but !!! I can see it’s a very small section to glue AND that’s why it broke ! It’s a weak point in the design ,,,,, I will pull it off and take some pictures .... as far as the passing of the warrant was concerned .... they want my led lights removed ... they claim that they don’t comply as the car never came with them !!!! 

So I will take them out and show them for the re check .... then simply refit them 😀😀😀

the reason I have them is for safety , if I use what was stock for 1959 I might as well run in front of the car with a kero lamp and it would light up the road better 

other than that there was a bit of play in one top ball joint and one drag link joint 

but I am justA going to grease them for now 

and once the Bonnie is complete I will do a full rebuild of the front end on the caddy justA for my own peace of mind . 

Every other one I have has had that treatment and I know , with how much I drive them that I will never need to do them again 

On 4/2/2021 at 6:18 AM, 64 kiwi boni said:

i hope you guys may be able to help me here! i know its not Ponti stuff , but with you great automotive knowledge back grounds, you may know where i need to look!

yesterday i took the 59 cadillac for a warrent of fittness and when i went to press the horn the chrome ring snapped clean off ! muck metal !!!!

i used mr google to try and find a repo or anyone who makes them.... caddy daddy.... dont stock , ebay was over 2k for a whole steering wheel. 

And i was justA hoping you could possibly know of a supplier 

Construction adhesive is pretty damn strong-why not try that first and next time you use the horn ring, honk gently.

I remember my father (who had a sharp temper in traffic) honking someone in his 67 Falcon and snapped the horn ring right off. Hilarious.

Oil cap under the hood-tragic!

JustA, i think you may be right mate ! i think i could jb weld a small flat plate inside the hidden part of the break, which could add some strength to what to me looks like a blood poor designed muck metal horn ring..... gees here i am thinking Cadillac had the top of the self quality parts ! 🙄.... and the more i hunt for a replacement.... the more i read about this 59 horn ring being a bit of a lemon.... whats the world coming to ! making car parts that wear out after 62 years !!

 

 happy Easter guys... day light savings finished here yesterday, so that means its gona get warmer where you are......... and colder where me n fitzy are .... (maybe for fitzy ????)... JustA makes it easier to keep the beers cool 😜

 

 

Edited April 5, 20215 yr by 64 kiwi boni

Anything's worth a try. 

When this Caddy was built, GM had a whole division dedicated to making pot metal parts. It was called Ternstedt Division, it later became part of Inland Fisher Guide Division.

Edited April 9, 20215 yr by Frosty

Loading up for a long weekend 

heading 3 hours south to join in with the Wanganui rod clubs weekend run 

more pics to come 🍻

Some pictures from today’s cruise 

And found a cool shop that had 8 tracks for sale ... o would have grabbed them if I owned a 8 track player !!!

And this cool display