Next to the shift lever its stamped 8L90 its the best trans GM puts out now.
We finished cleaning up the rims inside area & the back sides then painted them silver, then off to get the Coker 3 1/8 wide whites mounted. Starting to look nice just a lot more polishing for show quality.
After the boss got home from work I asked her if she wanted to go for a ride you bet ice cream time, so we went on a 15 mile drive. it runs pretty good considering the motor has been torn apart & not run for 27 years. The trans needs some work hopefully just some adjustments. We will have it at Goodguys Puyallup Washington July 29 & 30th 2016 if you are in the area & see us stop by & say high we try & park out in front of the show plex building by the blue gate.
Mud almost 1 inch deep in the front fender & hood.
Check out streetmusclemag.com the Goodguys 29th North West Nationals edition we are in there.
My original hood has a large bow in the center plus rust thru & damage on the left side & this one has minor metal finish reparable damage on the right side.
This is after the first round of trimming off the un needed sections.
The 5th cap is a mess so I removed the center medallion then carefully pealed the inner rolled lip on the back side so I could remove the cap to wheel retainer. Some on else had alredy tried to beat the cap back with out taking it apart so its a mess, it will be the test giney pig I cant make it much worse.
First off is the trunk floor & rear lower skaggs, this is a 62 section the floor is the same but the tail light area & it has an accent line the 61 dosent have that will be changed, along with a couple of custom touches.
Our supervisor cheering us & our Seattle Seahawks on.
Wheel polish time.
Our good friends Dave and Wendy Allison at
Legacy
Transmission And Gear
did a great job on rebuilding the old Jetaway Trans, it shifts like a Caddy trans should. If you live in the pacific northwest & need transmission service give them a call 253 221 1812
they are in Kent Washington.
We were at Goodguys again this year & we hit the magic number we were number 0001.
The rear lower & upper control arms will also get a freshen up.
We call this flow thru the floor ventilation. at least my lawn is green
WE always have a fun time at Goodguys its funny how people just have to run there hands over the bare metal finish, then ask when will it be done my answer when its done.
This will be a major high end turn key build, its our personal car so it will be slower then customer builds as they take priority over our personal projects. I have been gathering original Caddy rust free sheet metal to graft into where it is rusted out or needs repair. I want to be able to say it is almost 100 percent original Caddy sheet metal. I will hand fab what little original sheet metal I can not find plus be metal finished straight with a few custom touches.
I am not real religious but she is quite holey.
I have been kicking the idea around for a new LS motor & trans for the convert & have been watching Ebay for quite awhile for a low millage LS2/3/6 or 7 with a 6 L90E automatic well about a 2 weeks ago there was a L86 with a 8L90E trans yes 8 speed for sale. So I contacted the seller & we worked out a deal. I just took deliver its out of a 2016 Escalade with 1042 miles on the clock, factory 420 HP 460 LBS torque so it should move the old gal down the road pretty good.
AH yes the top notch show interior, Aka bare rusty metal & those high quality China freight moving blankets with a little foam in the holy sections.
The old gal was just screaming for some assent stripes to show off her lines so some not so cheap any more pinstripe tape. It just floats down the highway at 70, tons of looks, its a kick to drive, will see how much attention it gets at Goodguys this weekend, if you are there say hi. We hope to park out in front of the showplex building by the blue entrance gate.
I drove the old gal out of the garage today 7/12/2016 under its own power yahoo. I put about 4 test miles on our street.
The new used trunk lid has some very minor rust issues I will repair that section.
The old gal is ready for her first show with all her bare necessity's showing & then some.
At our house we are convertible lovers & we like big comfortable drivers. So I decided we needed to bump it up a notch or 3, I told my other half Catherine when we sell our LTD convertible we need to bump it up a notch. She said ok now what are you thinking well what I would like & what we can afford are 2 different things. I wood like a Roller or Bentley Convertible but basket cases start at 20k & I did not have that kind of $$ for a builder so I was thinking how about a Caddy Convert, her response as long as it has big fins go for it. About 2 weeks later I found this one on ebay about 500 miles north in Canada. I called the seller he had just pulled it & a Roller Convert out of a barn sitting with a few other vehicles for the last 25 years needing work. The Roller was out of my price range but we put a deal together on the 61 Caddy. I wired him a deposit then my Buddy Michel & I grabbed my truck & trailer & headed up north after making sure with customs I could get it back across the border with the proper paper work. This is what followed us home. Its rusty & will get a full top to bottom front to rear high end build.
Its bad enough having the supervisor standing over you every day but now his bigger supervisor is over us to 24/7 & lit up at night, no shinagians here.
All the worn out parts removed from the upper control arms.
A little later.
1961 Cadillac Convertible Barn Find Turn Key Build
Later I found a pair of doors with pretty decent outer skins. So between these & my originals I will be able to make some real nice metal finished doors.
Engine before mess
But the upper fins & lower skaggs are just plane cool. the lines on the car just flow together
Also the front lowers for rebuild.
Last but not least the custom show engine compartment.
At Goodguys Puyallup 2017
The wheels & tires just work on this car flashy but stock looking, 61 year old wheels on a 61 car it just fits. It adds to the classy look.
I have been messing around with the stock 390, bought a rebuilt carb, had the water pump rebuilt it was in the trunk & fuel pump rebuilt it had a broken arm with the broken section missing. So I had to pull the intake manifold, valley cover & timing chain cover looking for the missing arm section then ended up pulling the oil pan. then started putting it all back together. Also had to replace 4 block freeze plugs 3 were missing it gets cold in Canada. Filled it with fluids made a temporary fuel system as the fuel tank was destroyed. Then started cranking it with the valve covers off I wanted to make sure it was getting oil to the top youser it has oil Huston we have a go its fuel time. After some priming & getting fuel to the carb it started wanting to start & with a little more coaxing it started running YAHOO with the 25 plus year old plugs, wires & timing setting. it now has run about 2 or 3 minutes starts up pretty easy & idles down.
Now I need to fix the brakes as the pedal goes to the floor master cylinder froze, booster shot & all 4 wheel cylinder froze. I replaced the master cylinder & 4 new wheel cylinders & had the power brake booster rebuilt by Dewy power brake rebuild in the Portland Ore area great guys to deal with & installed a new fuel tank plus sending unit. it just would not go very far on a 6 gallon boat tank. We are getting close to being able to go for a test drive so keep watching, remember the old gal sat in a barn for about 25 years in Canada & I have had it here for 2 years not bad for sitting with out running for that long.
At Goodguys early Saturday morning before the crowds the old gal got lots of looks in all of her rusty nakedness. My goal for next year at Goodguys is to have most if not all the sheet metal work done. so check back on the build progress.
Rust bondo blisters high light the body lines its a mud sculpture at best, but it has great fins & the lines just flow.
I just got in 5 new center Cadillac crest medallions.
There was a piece of plywood just sitting to cover the hole in the floor
I found a bunch of rust free Caddy sheet metal in southern Oregon 850 miles round trip made for a long day. So my Buddy Michel and I hot footed to get what was available. We came home with a rust free floor pan & rockers, rear body clip for the lower skaggs, trunk lid & hood.
The trunk lid more rust & damage coverage by the mud sculpture artiest.
Sitting out side on a sunny day while finishing the building remodel. The walls & ceiling are done plus painted now to finish the paint booth section.
It will be a cool ride
Well we drove it 900 miles till the transmission started leaking so bad it wasn't worth the fluid cost & the chance of messing up the transmission. Now I will get that fixed plus try and get some metal work progress over the winter. Lots of looks being in bare naked metal fun to drive.
The seller supposedly had it running 2 weeks before I bought it no way
The rusted thru rocker was covered with sculpture material
You do have to admit she dose have some great lines
If you wish to discuss your current or up coming car or truck project please feel free to call shop phone 425 433 0294 Best Way minor projects to major turn key builds.
Danny Pascoe
She still has some of the sculpture material left.
The old inner fender tubs were also removed.
Time to start stripping it down to see how bad it really is.
Now its time to get all 5 cleaned up the 1st one after de rusting
As usual long distance buys are dicey well its real rusty but its big with great fins & the seller did say he had it running. What a crock, the carb was froze solid closed, no way it ran recently maybe 25 years ago. I am not complaining just giving you the real facts. I wanted it & this is what I got.
This is a 4 wheel drive trans so I will have the transfer case removed & do a 2 wheel drive conversion, I have already been to the Caddy dealer & have figured out what parts I need no big deal, yippee.
Replacement upper control arms for rebuild.
In the last 2 weeks, 14 days we have put over 400 miles on the old gal & its a kick to drive plus we plan on a lot more before this years driving season ends just as you see it. Once the winter hits then we will start working on What ever I have time to squeeze in on, customer work comes first. so check back & watch her get a freshening up.
A little pre show wipe down.
The rear clip is off of a 62 but the lower rear skaggs are the same which is what I need.
The sumptuous interior just a little ticky tacky it will be all new over time..
Missing motor parts in the trunk.
I had another person working on polishing the 5 Sabre wheels they got a good start at it but not to the quality I want for these wheels so I will be finishing them up over time my self I am a stickler quality not quanity.
I just received the 5th Sabre wheel.
The Caddy Sabre wheels add class to it not the hotrod look which is what we want .
Is the car for sale sure but only as a in my shop high end turn key build it wont be cheap & the owner then will get to pick how they want it finished from what ever stage it is at when bought.
Well there not show car concourse quality yet but they are definitely high quality street drivers for 61 year old wheels, next year they will be show quality.
I talked to Justin at
Speartech Fuel Injection Systems
I had them wire me up a 3 wire plug & fire wiring harness for the 2016 Escalade direct port injection motor, with the drive by wire throttle pedal, reflash the factory computer with a hop up & add the computer for the 8L90E transmission. Super sano looking harness. If you need a custom fuel injection harness give them a call 765 378 4908
A lot of people would say why bother it's so rusty, I like a challenge & when done it will be a real fun & cool ride. plus not a lot of 61 Caddy converts running around. This will be a high quality driver.
Well its been awhile but its time to start slowly getting some progress on the Caddy build every week .
I found a set of the center hub caps for the Eldorado Sabre wheels 4 are in so so condition & 1 is a disaster. They are gold anodized aluminum, will be straightend, stripped then the bare aluminum will be polished.
The rust mites attacked the floors also its worse then it looks.
The back side looks better then it really is.
The right side was just as bad as the left.
New used wheels for the old gal 1956 Eldorado Biarritz at present they are gold anodize that will be removed then they will be polished aluminum.
A lot more hand polishing but for 61 years old wheels they are getting nice, but not show quality yet.
Its drive time & the tranny leaks like a sive so off to the transmission shop for a rebuild.
I bought a rebuilt Carb off the internet & with a little mickey mousing a fuel system my buddy Michel & I got it to start & run for a few seconds twice.
For the last 3 years my shop building has been under a major expansion & remodel along with buying a few pieces of expensive state of the art sheet metal forming equipment the building inside is almost done just a couple of things to finish but now we can really focus on minor projects to major turn key builds including build our Caddy Convert.
Quality custom & restoration sheet metal work & repair
Just about ready for lots of road cruising.
We are talking the fine art of mud sculpturing up to 3/4 of an inch deep so far & wright over the heavy rust thru fall out.
dannypascoemetalshaping.com