1958
D'Agostino, John (USA) custom 1958 Eldorado
Brougham, Emerald Mist. John D'Agostino's Kustom Kars have earned him a fine
reputation over the past 40 years and his creations have won many prizes at over 750
shows. Many are on display in the Petersen Automobile Museum in LA. This
car was exhibited at the Seattle Roadster Show in 2003. An advertising flyer
tells us that 400 of these 1958 Broughams were built (in fact, only 304) and that they
were built in Italy (the writer may have been referring to the models of 1959 and 1960,
assembled there by Pininfarina). The custom body work was commissioned from Oz's
Kustoms of Oroville, CA; it incorporates a modified front end, resembling the regular
Cadillac front clip for 1958. Doors are electrically activated by remote control. Gene
Winfield applied the Mint Pearl and Platinum Pearl paint job blended with Candy Emerald
and highlighted in Ice Pearl. Bob Devine of Martinez, CA did the interior which is a
combination of 1-inch pleats and 4" biscuits; the white pearl vinyl is offset with
sea foam green velvet imported from Egypt and there is an emerald Persian carpet.
 
  
All photos courtesy John d'Agostino, through Sweden's
greatest Brougham fan, Jerry Jansson
At lower left, the program of the 2003 Seattle Roadster Show, autographed by John
Derham (USA) This 1958 Cadillac Series
75 Sedan was ordered by the original buyer to be delivered to the Derham Coach
Company (of Packard & Duesenberg fame) for modification. It was then used by its
wealthy owners to convey the family around. It had a special low ratio rear end gear set
and was in service until 1992! The second owner used it from 1994 to 2000 for antique
limousine service.
  
  
 
Fleetwood (USA) 1956 prototype of 1958
model, front view of grille textured like 1956 models [see next entry photos]
Fleetwood (USA) 1956 prototype of 1958 Eldorado
Biarritz
 
Unrecognizable in the small, low-resolution photo
[left] are (from L-R) Bill Mitchell, Dave Holls and Ed Glowacke
[ Photos: Dave Holls collection - Self Starter annual, 1998 ]
Fisher/Fleetwood (USA) [???]
Cadillac Series 62 convertible, custom designed for Cadillac Design Studio's
Julio Andrade (one of the "fathers of the fin"); it featured inner and outer
trim fins on the upper quarter of the regular 1958 tail fins; similar fins were installed
on the rear quarter panels, extending into the rear bumper; there were also additional
rear bumper guards as well as a custom "V" and script on the trunk lid. I have
no indication if any modifications were carried out on the interior but I suspect the car
may have had leather trim and appointments similar to the Eldorado.
[ Photo: courtesy the Self
Starter ]
Fisher/Fleetwood (USA) [???]
Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz, special automatic convertible. Like 1950 Le Sabre,
the top and all windows closed automatically if a rain drop fell on a special sensor on
the rear deck. Five or six production units are said to have been built [McC says
five as does Bob Stevens in Cars & Parts, 3/98 ]; I've seen photos of two of
them, apart from the factory prototype; one of these was offered for sale by Kruse in
August 1996. Photo McC p.328. These cars were drawn from the regular Eldorado
convertible line (815 built in 1958). Two members of the Cadillac-LaSalle Club own one of
these rare cars: Don S. Pike and John W. Vandegrift [see 1997 membership roster]. According
to Cadillac enthusiast Stephen Nadon, a Mr. Rick Raciborski of Chicago owns one too. In an
article entitled The 'Thinking' Cadillac, Cars & Parts, 3/98, the
writer, Bob Stevens, attributes one of the cars to Thomas W. Lentz of Lima, OH.
Enthusiast Dick Heller said that this car was featured on TV's "Speed
Channel". I have it also from Russian enthusiast, Andy Chrisanfov of Moscow's Auto
Review newspaper that this car may be the one he saw on display (in 2003) at Classic
Corvettes and Collectibles, 304 S.Pinelas Ave., Tarpon Springs, FL. [Andy is
correct; the car was featured in the Al Wiseman collection at that location]. As
you can see, in the photos of the red car, below, it features a custom Goddess
hood ornament, unusual on a 1958-59 model. Also on display were one of the two 1938 V-16
White House security cars as well as a 1958 Eldorado Brougham. Late Extra [Jan., 2008]: The latter
collection was scattered at an RM auction in November, 2007. The red "rain-drop"
car fetched a whopping $330,000 ! Thanks to Mike Daly, President of the Central Virginia
CLC, for this update. Latest [Feb., 2008]:
Cadillac enthusiast Chip Lamb has written an excellent paper on the
"rain cars" for Sports Car Market issue of March, 2008.
 
Photo, left, shows
flush panel over top boot. Right: model demonstrates automatic top operation:
(1) she holds a small pipette filled with water, (2) she places a drop of water on the
sensor, on the
rear deck, (3) the top boot cover slides back to reveal the folded top, (4) and (5) side
panels flip
open, (6) top arcs up and comes to rest on the windshield header, (7) top locks on to the
header bar, (8) front windows close automatically, (9) rear windows close automatically.
There are two known survivors; above, the interior of
one of them, with bucket seats front and rear, as
well as padded center console; the other car, below, has fins like those on the
1959 Cadillac ...only taller!
it was a special job for Cadillac head of styling, Harley J. Earl
 
This is one of the known survivors; photo
courtesy Lance Hirsch, TX
  
These 3 photos were taken when the car was still in
the Al Wiseman collection in Florida
  
Right: tail-fin of Mr. Earl's very special 1958
"rain-car", photographed at Meadowbrook MI, in 2005, in company with
"Corvette #1"
 
 
The second survivor is somewhat of a mystery; when I
first saw it I thought some nutty customizer had converted a perfectly good (and extremely
rare)
1958 "rain car" into a pseudo 1959 model. Later, however, in the
article by Bob Stevens, in Cars & Parts, 3/98, I learned that this is how the car
looked originally
(except that the original 1957-58 Eldorado Brougham turbine wheels were replaced
later with the sabre-spoke type). This one was used by (and built especially for)
Harley J. Earl
  
The tail-fins and dual "bullet" tail
lights, left, look like those of regular Cadillac models of the following year; in fact
they are pure custom; the "bullets" do not have the chrome
"crown" molding of the '59 cars; the fins also are
much taller; the photo at far right is a close-up of the custom built,
fifties-styled Cadillac "Goddess" hood mascot
which resembles that used on the bespoke Eldorado Brougham models of 1959
[ All photos: © and courtesy of Bob Stevens, owner and Robert Bacon ]
  
Photos left and right reveal the correct interior,
with four individual bucket seats in piped white leather; this car does not appear to have
the same center console as the other survivor; this is the only one
of the five (?) built that has 6-way, power-operated bucket seats and electric door
locks; in addition it has a fifties-styled Cadillac "Goddess" in lieu of the
"V" and crest; it was Earl's own car
1959 Eldorado Brougham hood mascot or
"Goddess"
| 
UNE ELDORADO BIARRITZ DE
1958 UN PEU PARTICULIERE
Malgré l'importante récession
qui frappe l'industrie automobile aux Etats-Unis en 1958, la General Motors fête
néanmoins son cinquantenaire et la Division Cadillac la fabrication de sa 2'000'000ème
voiture, une berline type "62". Il aura fallu pas moins de 47 ans pour atteindre
le premier million de véhicules, et 8 ans seulement pour le second !
Parmi les 125,501 Cadillac
sorties d'usine en 1958 (contre 153,236 l'année précédente) on peut admirer ce suberbe
cabriolet spécial sur base du modèle Eldorado Biarritz de l'année. Selon certaines
sources, cinq exemplaires ont été fabriquées, bien que les statistiques de production
de la firme ne font état que d'un seule modèle spécial de ce type. Il est identifié
par son numéro de "style", le 6267SSX, et la mention "Special Eldorado
Coupe". Toutefois, les troisième et quatrième chiffres ("67") en font
sans aucun doute un cabriolet.
Il animera diverses expositions
de voitures tout au long de l'année '58 et notamment le salon de New York, en janvier
1958.
La photo de presse publiée par
Cadillac à l'époque comporte un texte publicitaire d'accompagnement couché en ces
termes :
Supprimez le cache-capote
habituel des cabriolets Cadillac par un capot métallique affleurant la carrosserie
environnante et vous obtiendrez alors les lignes parfaitement lisses et continues de ce
merveilleux cabriolet Eldorado Biarritz de 1958. Ce capot entièrement réalisé en métal
se compose de trois parties [une partie centrale coulissante et deux parties latérales
basculantes]. Il ne s'agit là que d'une seule parmi les nombreuses caractéristiques
inédites de cette superbe automobile.
Un interrupteur [au tableau de
bord] permet de commander manuellement le dépliage et le repliage de la capote. Mais
attention, il y a mieux encore: le dépliage est également commandé de façon
entièrement automatique, sans intervention manuelle, dès l'instant où une seule goutte
de pluie vient mouiller le capteur que l'on aperçoit au centre de la zone située entre
le cache-capote et le couvercle de la malle, et que domine notre joli mannequin.
Une seconde photo, plus technique
celle-là, est accompagnée d'un texte qui donne toutes explications quant au
fonctionnement automatique de la capote.
La photo a été réalisée en
deux temps: une première exposition sous un éclairage de studio normal, puis une
seconde, en surimpression de la première, avec temps de pose important qui a permis de
décomposer, gràce à de minuscules faisceaux lumineux, les différentes phases
d'ouverture du capot, de dépliage de la capote et de fermeture des glaces latérales de
la voiture. Cette technique s'appelle le "light-line photography" ou
photographie par trait-lumineux.
Le texte est le suivant :
Nous avons procédé de la
façon suivante: tout d'abord nous avons pris une photo de la Cadillac avec sa capote
repliée, les glaces latérales ouvertes, le capot métallique en position fermée et le
joli mannequin à l'arrière plan, comme on peut l'admirer ici [...oh oui, oh oui, oh
oui!].
Puis on a fixé de minuscules
lampes-stylo aux endroits suivants: 1° à la partie frontale de l'élément central du
capot métallique, 2° sur le bord extérieur des parties latérales de ce capot, 3° au
coin extérieur gauche de la capote elle-même, 4° au coin supérieur droit de la glace
de le portière de gauche, et enfin 5° au coin supérieur gauche de la glace de custode
à l'AR gauche.
On a plongé ensuite le studio
dans l'obscurité, ne laissant comme seule source de lumière les minuscules faisceaux des
six petites lampes-stylo. Dans la pénombre, l'assistant du photographe a activé le
mécanisme automatique en laissant tomber, au moyen d'une pipette [1] tel que celle que
tient dans sa main droite notre joli mannequin une goutte d'eau sur le capteur [2] de
façon à simuler les conditions qui pourraient se produire lorsqu'on abandonne sa
voiture, capote repliée, et qu'il se mette soudain à pleuvoir averse.
Au même instant le photographe a
déclenché l'ouverture du diaphragme de son appareil en mode «pose» et l'a maintenu
ainsi en position ouverte jusqu'à ce que s'acheve le cycle de fermeture de la capote et
des glaces.
Ce sont alors six moteurs
électriques qui sont entrés en action. Grâce aux faisceaux lumineux émis par les
lampes-stylo on a pu saisir sur la pellicule [en surimpression de la première photo] le
mouvement parfaitement décomposé des diverses parties mobiles de l'ensemble, à savoir:
la partie centrale du capot métallique coulisse et se rétracte dans la malle (faisceau
n° [3]), les deux parties latérales du capot métallique s'ouvrent en basculant en
arrière (faisceaux nos [4] et [5]), la capote se déplie (faisceau n° [6]), elle se
vérouille automatiquement au niveau du parebrise (au point n° [7]), la glace de la
portière de gauche remonte (Faisceau n° [8]) et enfin la glace de custode en demi-lune
se referme elle aussi en décrivant un arc de cercle (Faisceau n° [9]).
On retiendra de cette auto
qu'elle reprend des idées déja esquissés en 1952, lors de la présentation de la toute
première Cadillac "Eldorado", un "show-car" exposé à
l'occasion du Salon Motorama de 1952 [exposition annuelle itinérante organisé par la
General Motors].
On lui remarquera aussi les
quatre sièges baquet, à la Cadillac Brougham, recouverts de cuir poli à la main, ainsi
que les enjoliveurs de roues dits à turbine, imitant à la perfection les roues en
alliage spécial de la Brougham, enjoliveurs repris et utilisés en 1959 et 1960 sur la
berline Sixty Special, le coupé Eldorado Seville et le cabriolet Eldorado Biarritz.
|
Fleetwood (USA) Special
Eldorado coupe, style 6267SSX. Has anyone ever seen a photo of this car???
Pininfarina (Italy) [Added to 1957
"Dream Cars" page in April, 2007 - is featured also in 1958 and 1959] Skylight
coupe and convertible. These stylish cars were shown first at the Geneva salon,
Switzerland, in March, 1958 (the coupe version) and at the Paris salon, in October 1958
(the convertible). Pininfarina asserted to me, in 1976, that the Skylight coupe
and convertible models had been mounted on Cadillac chassis, standing at 130 inches.
Since the wheel base of the 1958 Sixty-Special chassis is 133 inches, the chassis
could NOT be from a 1958 Cadillac "60-S". Regular 1957 and 1958 Cadillac
models used a chassis with 129.5" wb (close enough to PF's stated WB). The chassis of
the 1959 Sixty Special and the restyled Eldorado Brougham both have a
wheel base of 130 inches; but then the car could not have been shown in Geneva in March
1958, because the '59 chassis were not available until the fall of 1958. Initially,
I had assumed in error that the coupe version had made its debut at the Paris show in
October, 1958; in fact it was at Geneva. Late
Extra (6/2005): Michael W. Schultz of Houston TX sent me a
startling ad from the December 1970 edition of Hemmings Motor News (p.1324).
Offered for sale for $5,000.00, in a ¼-page ad, is what appears to be the
light-colored coupe (shown below) with the hood scoop. The text reads: Unique Cadillac
- 1957 motor, chassis, 1959 [1958?] custom body by Pininfarina, Torino, Italy.
Perfect condition. Can be inspected at Vicmar Garage, 8 E. 83rd Street, New York, NY
10008. Mileage over 50,000 - Asking $5,000.00. The text was "signed" H.v.
T. Schwier, 342 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10017. The phone number 697-4639 was listed.
When I corresponded with Fredy Valentini of PF's PR department in 1976 (i.e. some six
years AFTER publication of that Hemmings ad), he did not hint that the Skylight
had survived, even less that it had been sold. If the ad is true, I wonder where that car
is now? Did it find a buyer? Is it still around? A Google search in June, 2005
revealed that there is still a Vicmar Garage Corp. operating a parking garage at
8 E. 83rd Street, New York. The telephone number listed is 212-650.0675 ...if anyone is
interested! Later still (4/2007):
Australian enthusiast, Ron Wilson kindly went through his extensive auto history files and
sent me some pertinent information from period magazines in his possession that put a
definite time-line on the story of these two PF customs. Ron was able to confirm that the coupe was exhibited first at Geneva, in March
1958. He included a photo taken at that show and published in The Autocar for the
week ending March 21, 1958. The caption reads: A sleek Cadillac by the same master
[the previous caption had referred to a PF-designed Alfa Romeo]. The article describes the
car thus: A new Farina work is a sporting saloon on a Cadillac chassis, commissioned
by G.M. [???]. Externally this is sleek considering its vast dimensions, and its
functional and delicate grille treatment is an object lesson for transatlantic stylists.
It has a more capacious living room – trimmed in pale blue leather – than the
Buick he showed at Paris and Turin, but there is evidence of compromise. Thus the floor
level is high relative to the waistline [the belt], and the front seat backrest
has had to be curtailed [kept low] to maintain this line. The steering-wheel
looks oddly high in relation to the lower screen rail [what is the "lower screen
rail"?], but cannot be lowered without jeopardizing clearance above the seat
cushion. In line with other current Farina creations, there are very deep front and rear
windows and side windows of curved glass. I have my doubts about G.M.'s
"commissioning" these customs from PF, even despite the special brochure edited
by Cadillac, in collaboration with Pininfarina, in 1999, on the occasion of the Concorso
Italiano staged in conjunction with the annual Pebble Beach event in California. PF
said that both these Pininfarina designed coupes featured a taut line that created an
impression of slenderness in spite of its [the Cadillac's] large frame
[chassis?]. The 1959 version [suggesting there had been an earlier - 1958? -
version] presented some changes such as a hood scoop and an altered waist line.
While the added air-scoop is visible in the later photos, there are, in my opinion, no
noticeable changes at the belt line. Ron suplied also a photo of the convertible version,
taken at the Paris Salon in October, 1958. That photo was published in The Autocar for
the week ending October 10, 1958; that is the week preceding GM's release to dealers of
the new, 1959 Cadillac models (an early released 1959 Fleetwood Series 60 Special
was also shown at that Paris show). Ron remarked that the instrument panel of the PF
custom job appeared to resemble more closely that of a 1958 Cadillac than a 1959 model;
indeed, an enlargement of the Autocar bird's-eye-view confirms Ron's opinion. The article
goes on to describe the car as a cabriolet version of the Cadillac coupe exhibited at
Geneva last March – another example of [Pinin Farina’s] work as
consultant to the styling department of General Motors [???]. The tail fins are
thin and mostly horizontal; the front grille is a clean simple design, also with a
horizontal motif and the four head lamps blend nearly [neatly?] with the styling.
Ron theorizes that the same chassis
[one from 1957] was used for all "three" cars: first, the dark-colored coupe
with white roof [Geneva show, March 1958], the convertible [Paris Show, October 1958] and
the light-colored coupe with the new hood scoop [1959?]. The latter is the car that was
offered for sale in Hemmings, in 1970. For want of a better explanation, I will
go along with Ron's theory. What we need now is to find the light-colored coupe with
the hood scoop ...and put it under the microscope!
  
These photos show the dark
colored "Skylight" coupe that was on display at the Geneva salon in March 1958;
the car in the row below (photos supplied by Pininfarina, in 1976) is painted a
lighter hue (possibly the same color as the
convertible below it; an air-scoop has been added to the hood (there is none on the hood
of the convertible); the convertible appears to be a similar,
light color to the second (?) coupe, that appeared for sale in Hemmings Motor News
in 1970; that car was located in New York
and according to the ad wase mounted on a 1957 Cadillac chassis; it is now believed that
all "three" PF custom jobs
were mounted successively on THE SAME 1957 Cadillac chassis.
[ B&W photo (above, left): © The Autocar, week ending 21 March 1958,
courtesy Ron Wilson ]
 
The PF Skylight convertible on show during
the Paris Salon, October 1958
 
[ Sepia photo (left) and enlargements (center and
right): © The Autocar, week ending 10 October 1958, courtesy Ron Wilson ]
 
The color photo of the PF convertible
shows it to be painted a light metallic gray with bright red upholstery;
that color scheme was confirmed to me by Pininfarina in 1976.
[ Color photo and enlargement: © 1958, Pinin Farina,
courtesy Revue Automobile, 1958-59 ]
 
It is highly likely
that the dark-colored coupe on display at Geneva in March 1958 and this silver gray
convertible shown at Paris in October 1958 were one and the same car
[ Photos: © 1958, Pinin Farina archives, courtesy
Fredy Valentini ]
[ Image: © 1958 The Autocar, week ending 14
November 1958, courtesy Ron Wilson ]
 
I got these two photos from the PF archives
in Turin; they show a light-colored coupe, apparently with a metallic paint finish
and (again) with a white roof; it features an air scoop on the hood; both this car
and the Geneva coupe have Borrani spoked wheels
[ Photos: © 1959, Pinin Farina archives, courtesy Fredy Valentini ]
This image is from a
classified ad in Hemmings for December, 1970
WHO HAS GOT THIS CUSTOM
COUPE TODAY ?!?!
[Unknown, USA] Cadillac low rider
 
[Unknown, USA] camping car conversions (2
different) on 1958 Cadillac chassis [photos]
[Unknown, USA] This awful,
customized interior was installed in an otherwise stately 1958 Fleetwood "75"
limousine that was offered for sale on e-Bay in 2001. Yuk!
[Unknown, USA] This
pick up on the 1958 Cadillac chassis is aptly named Camino de Cadillac; it was
seen in the November 1998 edition of Mike Kelley's Cruise News, Florida's
favorite automotive enthusiast magazine
 
[ Photos: Ken Darrin ]
[Unknown, USA] I
consider all Cadillacs fitted with Continental kits as "customized". This
one, from 1958, was photographed at a meet of the American Car Club de France
(ACCF), in France.
© 2002, ACCF
[Unknown, USA] This
odd-looking Cadillac was offered for sale on the Internet, in August 2004
 
[Unknown, USA?]
Currently owned by a Norwegian collector, the owner heard it was a 1958
prototype, built in 1958, and that it toured with GM in 1959-62 as the Caddy Sports car of
the future. It was titled, registered, and street driven in 1963 in PA, USA. It is titled
as a "Special Construction" vehicle under Pennsylvania state Law, owing to the
fact that it never went into factory production. It has an all-Fiberglass body built on a
1958 Cadillac chassis shortened by 25" and narrowed by 8". It is powered by a
1958 Cadillac engine bored out and modified to 450 ci. It features roller rockers and a ¾
street cam, with a 4 "Quadrajet" carburetor and manual choke. The car has
power steering and power brakes and a manually operated, roll-down rear window.
Originally white, the car features magnesium Keystone Classic Rims, a Hurst Dualgate
shifter with lock-out. It currently has non-original tail-light lenses and radio.
 
  
Cadillac identification marks include the renowned
"V" and crest on the grille
as well as a large crest on the sail panel, with the letters "GT" ( Gran Turismo
)
[ Photos: courtesy of the owner ]
[Unknown, USA?] Here's
another strange looking Cadillac; it's a custom roadster that was offered for sale in the
early seventies by a Paul Bell of Jacksonville, FL.
Is it still around?
[Unknown, USA?] Camper
conversion on funeral car chassis (this one was offered for sale on eBay in May, 2006)
  
 
Dig those rare and slightly anachronic bucket seats
[ Photos: Internet, 5/2006 ]
[Unknown, USA?] Hot
rod conversion of 1958 Cadillac 2-door.
[ Photo: Internet, 6/2008 ]
Van der Stricht, Patrick (Belgium)
Patrick is a devoted Cadillac enthusiast. This is his artist's proposal for a
1938-39-40-41-48-49-51-53-54-55-56-57-58 custom Eldorado coupe (...and I may even have
missed a couple of years in my speedy examination of this delightful drawing!
Drawing courtesy of Patrick Van der Stricht
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