Tag Archives: Cadillac

Faster Than A Ferrari – Cadillac Coupe de Ville

In 1971 Cadillac introduced the forth generation Coupe de Ville with hitherto record braking 62 inches of front shoulder room and 64 inches rear shoulder room. Novel features included windscreen wiper blades that were hidden from view belw the bonnet / hood line when not in use.

Cadillac Coupe de Ville, Classics at the Castle, Sherbourne

A 375 hp 7.7 litre / 472 cui V8, carried over from the third generation Coupe de Ville, with three speed automatic transmission powered the 4,900lb vehicle that measured 225.8 inches from stem to stern.

Cadillac Coupe de Ville, Classics at the Castle, Sherbourne

Legend has it that the third placed Cadillac Coupe de Ville of Ron Herisko in the 1971 Cannonball Run, by dint of traveling a further distance between New York City and Redondo Beach, California had manged to average 82 mph for the journey as against the 80 mph Dan Gurney and Brock Yates averaged in their Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona. In 1972 Steve Behr, Bill Canfield and Fred Olds won the Cannonball out right driving a Cadillac Coupe de Ville.

Thanks for joining me on this “Faster Than A Ferrari” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Closing In On Packard – Cadillac Series 62 Coupé

In 1940 the Cadillac Series 62 replaced the Series 61 as the entry level model in the Cadillac line up.

Buick Series 62 Coupé, Classics at the Castle, Sherborne

Sales of 5903 torpedo bodied ’40 Series 62 models accounted for 45% of Cadillac sales.

Buick Series 62 Coupé, Classics at the Castle, Sherborne

For 1941 the Series 62 received a dramatic face lift gone was the rounded vertical grill and in came the the horizontal rectangular grill into which parking lights were incorporated.

Buick Series 62 Coupé, Classics at the Castle, Sherborne

The headights which were mounted on the wings / fenders of the ’40 Series 62 were integrated into the wings / fenders of the ’41 Series ’62.

Buick Series 62 Coupé, Classics at the Castle, Sherborne

A single rectangular louvre on the side of the bonnet / hood replaced the twin louvre’s of the older model giving the vehicle a fresher and smarter appearance.

Buick Series 62 Coupé, Classics at the Castle, Sherborne

The ’40/’41 Fisher body cars shared the same platform as the Buick Roadmaster/Super, Oldsmobile Series 90 an Pontiac Torpedo but had a 5 inch wider cabin space because the body was taken out to where the running boards were on the Buick, Olds and Pontiac models.

Buick Series 62 Coupé, Classics at the Castle, Sherborne

The 5 inches of extra width meant that the Series 62 could seat three up front and three more in the back.

Buick Series 62 Coupé, Classics at the Castle, Sherborne

All ’41 Cadillacs shared the same 5.7 litre / 346 cui L head V8 which produced 150 hp.

Buick Series 62 Coupé, Classics at the Castle, Sherborne

Sales of the ’41 more than quadrupled the previous years numbers to 24,734 which accounted for 37% of Cadillacs 62,290 sales just 7,000 short of premium market leader Packard.

Thanks for joining me on this “Closing In On Packard” edition of ‘Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

The Footman James Classic Motor Show – NEC Birmingham

Thanks to the generosity of Ted Walker I found myself making a trip to the National Exhibition Centre at Birmingham at the weekend for The Footman James Classic Motor Show, billed as ‘The place to share your passion for cars”, today’s blog features a random selection of some of the 1500 motor vehicles that were on display.

On the Daimler SP250 Owners Club stand was this unique 1960 AHC Daimler SP250 was rebodied by King & Taylor so that it could be used for a prototype electro hydraulic operated rigid roof that was patented by Anthony H Croucher in 1964.

After a six year hiatus in car production Lea Francis prepared the Lynx Roadster in 6 months using a chassis which dated back to the 1948 14hp Sports, a Ford Zephyr Mk II 6 cylinder motor with new rack and pinion steering and disc brakes in time for the 1960 Earls Court Motor Show. Seen on the Lea Francis Owners Club stand is the 2nd car of three built, which appeared on the Earls Court stand in this colour but sans motor. No orders for the ‘new’ car were taken and the Company went into receivership in 1963.

Whilst I have never been a motor cycle man I do hope at some time in my life I might get to ride a Triton like this 1959 750 example, on a suitable piece of open track, these café racer specials combine a Norton frame said to be the best handling at the time, with a Triumph twin motor said to be amongst the most reliable at the time.

What do Porsche, Lamborghini and Ferrari have in common ? These names all appear on agricultural vehicles. Here on the Lamborghini Club UK stand is a 1960 Lamborghini 2241 R.

The Peel P50 was designed to take carry one person and a brief case to work, indeed a 6′ 5″ TV presenter once did exactly that droving through office corridors and driving into a lift to reach his office, in the worlds smallest production car a record it has held since 1962. I am not sure if the one seen here is a replica, one of the new one built since 2011 or one of the 27 known survivors from the original batch of 50 built on the Isle of Man, but it was used earlier this year for a chocolate TV advertisement.

The de Tomaso Guará was the last project brought to fruition by founder Alejandro de Tomaso. Between 1993 and 2004 around 50 are thought to have been built the one seen here on the de Tomaso Drivers Club stand being one of no more than 12 Barchetta’s.

Unfortunately when I was visiting the show was still not open to the public so many of the stands were unmanned so I did not find out anything about this Bubble Top Hot Road on the National Street Rod Association stand. If you know anything about the bubble top please chime in below.

A couple of weeks I made my first ever e-bay bid for a Wartburg 353, albeit for a 1/32 scale slot car racer. Seeing the real thing I regret not being more experienced at the time, the slot car went for just £8.00. This particular model on the Wartburg Trabant IFA Club stand started out life as a taxi in East Germany and has been restored to original colour and condition.

Perhaps the ultimate in bling is this 1931 Cadiallac 355 on the American Auto Club North West stand, according to the description it is covered in 23.5 carat gold leaf, has a mink over carpet, and 7 diamonds in each wheel ! The car spent many years in a German motor museum where it is described as having been the property of the pianist Liberace, who was very popular in Germany, however no one is able to verify the veracity of the claim but on the other hand who else could possibly have anything approaching such chintzy taste in motor vehicles ? If this floats your boat the car was for sale.

Several rare and storied Sunbeam Tigers were on the Sunbeam Tiger Owners Club stand, the one seen here is one of only 10 Right Hand Drive Mk II models built, the first 6 went to police traffic enforcement agencies and four more went to dealers, this one went to the Hatfield Rootes Group dealers W Waters & Sons and remained in the family until 2009.

This 1958 Elva Mk III is usually on view in The Technology Collection at the Bexhill Museum. Bexhill on Sea has a ‘disputed’ claim to being the birth place of British Motor Racing and was home to Elva until the company moved to bigger premises in Hastings where I believe this Mk III would have been built.

This March 75A Formula 5000 has gone through many changes the original ’75 Formula 2 chassis tub was swapped for a ’76 Formula 1 chassis tub in 1977, the engine was originally a 3.4 litre / 207 cui Ford GAA V6 before it got swapped for a 3.0 litre /183 cui Ford DFV V8 and then a 5 litre / 305 cui Repco V8 it has won races driven by yet to be World Champion Alan Jones in ’75, Damien Magee in ’76, Guy Edwards in ’77 and to sprint victories Terry Smith Brighton and on the Isle of Man in ’79 and ’82 respectively. 75A/1 is now fitted with an original spec Ford GAA V6 motor and the March 761 formula 1 chassis tub from it’s second 1977 incarnation.

On the Rolls Royce Enthusiasts Club stand there were several cut away items on display including this Rolls Royce Silver Shadow II.

This 1987 Ford P100, on The Mk III Cortina Owners Club stand, would originally have carried a Ford Sierra front end but it has been modified to carry older Cortina Mark III wings and bonnet and nose. It is fitted with a Ford Cologne 2.9 litre / 176 cui V6.

Austin’s Allegro replaced the various badge engineered ADO16s in 1973 with its curiously for the time rounded styling and a novelty ‘quartic’ steering wheel that was subject of much period derision. The ‘quartic’ steering wheel was quickly and quietly dropped. In 1975 Series 2 Allegros, like the 1977 HL seen here were introduced. I was recently at a talk given by Mike Nicholson who was a works British Leyland co driver who took part in the 1975 RAC Rally with Pat Ryan and he reckoned reliability issues aside it was not a bad car. The car above seen on the Allegro Club International stand was bought for parts in 2007 and when it was realised the body was still solid it was repaired and sold by the current owner to friend, requiring further repair the current owner bought it back fixed it up and took it on last years Rat Rod Rally2Romania, to find out what happens next you will have to read the Allegro Club International newsletter, Quartic.

On the Ford Sidevalve Owners Club stand I found a manufacturer I have never heard of. Shirleys were built at the Monks Path Garage at Shilrley, Solihull outside Birmingham. Originally these GRP bodies were known as Kenmars. This Mark II with revised nose was purchased as a body believed never to have been fitted to a chassis in 2007, it now sits atop 1949 Ford Anglia chassis and running gear. Production of Shirleys came to a halt in 1962.

Silverstone Classic were represented by this 2012 Volkswagen Type 2 (T2c) production of which will be coming to a halt in Brazil next year.

On the MotorSport Magazine stand I found this Connaught Type A Formula 2 car, I’m not sure of it’s history but it will give me something to work on. If you know the history of this car please chime in below.

Finally on the Classic of the Year stand this Bristol 411 was on display voting is closed and the winner will be announced on November 21st. The Bristol was bought and restored by the present owner in time for him to take it to Amsterdam where he celebrated his 50th Birthday.

My thanks again to Ted Walker of Ferret Photographic for facilitating today’s blog.

Thanks for joining me on this “The Footman James Classic Motor Show” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Land Yachts – Danville Concours d’Elegance

Once again today’s photographs from the recent Danville Concours d’Elegance come courtesy of ‘California Streets‘ blogger Jay Wollenweber.

To get through the Great Depression Packard decided to produce a midsize vehicle known as the One Twenty, many think it was a mistake to use the Packard reputation for excellence for the venture instead of coming up with a new brand.

I mistakenly identified this pick up as a Terraplane, Jay pointed out that it is actually a rare REO Speedwagon. While it looks totally stock on the outside the motor axles and air conditioning are a mix of Chevrolet and Ford parts that allow this pick up to travel comfortably faster than the 35 mph it would have achieved when new in 1935.

First of today’s genuine land yachts is this low riding 1957 Buick Century Caballero Station Wagon. high production costs of this car featuring unusual, for an estate / station wagon, pillarless styling stymied production after just two years with the Caballero name remaining dormant since 1958.

Not quite in the land yacht category is this ’57 Ford Thunderbird, with the first series, last year of production, heavily restyled front bumpers.

If your in the market for a rare Cadillac then a 1957 Series 70 Eldorado Brougham might be a great place to start. Only 400 of these hand built cars were built in 1957, they cost more than a contemporary Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud.

1958 saw the Pontiac Bonneville launched as a separate model, with a standard electric clock, priced at less than US$3,000. The 300 hp Bonneville Convertible was chosen as the 1958 Pace Car for the Indianapolis 500.

The ‘aerodynamically different’ Avanti by Studebaker also got an early airing at Indianapolis in 1962, as the “Honorary Pace Car alongside the Studebaker Skylark Convertible ‘Official Pace Car’. Production of the Avanti was shut down in December 1963 with 2,500 vehicles still in the dealer chain this particular model above appears to have been one of those 2,500.

Pontiac Sales Manager Frank Bridge insisted on limiting production of the GTO option package for the 1964 Pontiac Tempest to 5000, by the beginning of 1964 10,000 had already been sold and the vehicle above is one of the 32,450 total first year sales. Surprisingly despite all the performance upgrades the GTO option offered it retained the standard Tempest drum brakes.

Jay tells me this 1965 Chevrolet Corvette C2 was equipped as an SCCA racer in the 1970’s and is fitted with a 5358 cc / 327 cui small block V8.

Last of today’s featured vehicles from Danville Concours d’Elegance is this understated, sports stripe option deleted, 1970 Fathom Blue Chevrolet Chevelle SS 396 which packed a 350 hp Turbo Jet big block V8 when it left the factory.

My thanks again to Jay Wollenweber for sharing his photographs with us.

Thanks for joining me on this “Land Yachts” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for a Danville Concours d’Elegance Ferrari Friday edition tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Coffee, Croissant & Cars #4 – Avenue Drivers Club

Last Sundays Avenue Drivers Club meeting filled Queen Square with another staggering selection of motor vehicles.

This 1968 Vauxhall Viva SL 90 has some go faster stripes, but not just any go faster stripes, these are replica’s of those that were originally supplied as part of the over the counter Brabham tuning kits that were available from 1968 to 1971 when the HB Viva was in production.

Like so many popular cars you do not notice them until they are almost all gone. This 1983 Lada is one of a fast disappearing breed, first time I have seen one slammed, modified with extreme lowered suspension.

This is certainly the first Toyota GT 86 I have ever seen on the road, it comes with rear wheel drive and even more unusually a 4 cylinder boxer engine !

Continuing the sports theme was this 2007 Caterham 7 with a 50th Anniversary Paint option.

Among the vintage vehicles present this 1931 Alvis Silver Eagle sold with the strap line “The Freedom of the air comes to the road with the Silver Eagle”

Staying with an ornithological theme further round the block I found this 1936 Riley Nine Falcon Special.

Only 25 Crossley 2 Litre Sports Saloons were built this one, chassis and engine #16/103 was the third built in 1934, and is thought to be the only one that is still road worthy.

Cadillacs are rarities in Britain what ever the age this is a Pininfarina designed 1988 Allanté Roadster, the only option available for it when new was a ‘cellular phone’.

Harking back to the zenith of the Muscle Car Era was this 1968 Dodge Charger, about the only option missing was Miss Daisey Duke !

A little humour from the owner of this Harley Davidson Road King.

A couple of months ago I met Rich and Matt and related their tale of an adventure going to fetch a left hand drive Volvo 121 from Sweden, this is one of Matt’s cars a tidy 1971 MGB GT.

Finally as it was time to head home this 1977, Chrysler powered, Bristol 412 came purring past.

Thanks for joining me on this “Coffee, Croissant & Cars #4” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”. I hope you will join me again tomorrow with the first of my Goodwood Revival 2012 posts. Don’t forget to come back now !

Shopping Around #2 – Cadillac 6 Window Sedan

Last week I looked at the Cadillac Series 62 4 Window Hard Top Sedan, by coincidence just after I finished preparing that blog I came across this 6 Window Sedan at Easter Compton.

Unsurprisingly from the front the Flat Top 4 window and six window sedans look almost identical.

However from the side the difference can be seen in the sloping rear roof line of the six window model.

It was only when I got home that I realised that today’s featured car is missing the tell tail the small badge below the arrow behind the front wheel on the front wing / fender which distinguishes a Series 62 ‘6229’ from the ‘6329’ de Ville 6 window Sedan which would be identified by small chrome ‘Cadillac de Ville’ lettering above the chrome arrow on the tail wing / fender.

The difference in the basic price when new between the two models was $418, if you know what the extra cost gave you apart from a difference in the badges already mentioned please chime in below.

Thanks for joining me on this “Shopping Around #2” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again for Ferrari Friday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Shopping Around #1 – Cadillac Series 62 4 Window Hard Top Sedan

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Shopping Around for ideas to mark the 35th Anniversary of Elvis Presley’s passing I thought it would be interesting to look at one of the few Cadillac models that evaded the King on his notorious Cadillac buying sprees.

Bill Mitchel was responsible for the design of the 1959 13 model Cadillac range, 11 of which shared the same chassis with a 130″ wheelbase, the Fleetwood 75 Limousine and Sedan shared a chassis with a 149.5″ wheelbase.

A 6.4 liter / 390 cui V8 was used to power all of the ’59 Cadillacs, which weighed between 4690 and 5570 lbs, all tuned to produce 325 hp with the exception of the Eldorado which had 345 hp.

Differentiating the ’59 models from the exterior can be quite easy, if all of the exterior trim is attached.

We can tell this is a base 6239 model by the small badge below the arrow behind the front wheel on the front wing / fender.

Popular options for the ’59 Cadillacs included radio with rear speaker for $165, or radio with rear speaker AND remote control $247, a six way power seat came in at $89.

The 4 window sedans with their distinctive wrap around rear screens are also known as ‘flat tops’.

It may seem strange that Elvis, a well documented Cadillac enthusiast, never bought or owned a ’59 model, which is so clearly identified with the rock’n’roll era. Until one realises that he was doing his duty for his country at the time, serving with the 3rd Armoured Division in Friedburg Germany where he enjoyed the delights of his VW Beetle and BMW 507 convertible while keeping a lowish, by his standards, profile.

Thanks for joining me on this “Shopping Around #1” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !