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WW2 years

1956

d'Agostino, John (USA - Probably the West Coast's best-known and mutiple-prize-winning customizer) This is a stunning example of the artist's work on the basis of a 1956 Cadillac Eldorado.

[ Image :  Internet ]

 

Darrin (USA) special Series 60 Special; photo in SSA, 1976, p.34

Derham (USA) special Series 60 Special; this car belongs to James Pittman and is featured in SS, 8/2000, cover and pp. 14-16. Without a doubt, a rare and beautiful specimen of Derham craftsmanship in a post WW2 Cadillac model. It was delivered in initially to San Francisco. James provided kindly a copy of the Cadillac build sheet for his car; it shows trim code #95 (a beige gabardine) but neither he nor I can find that code in any factory literature.   Anybody heard of it ?  The highest code # in the 1956 Data Book is #94 (Brown Bedford cord seat and seat back inserts, with beige broadcloth bolsters and trim (on the Series 75 sedans and limousines).

   

         
The license tag reads " 1 of 1 " (the tag on my '42  Black Pryncess read " 1 of  65 " !)

Derham (USA) special Series 75 limousine, originally owned by Martha Baird Rockefeller; owned  [2002] by CLC member Allen Smith in Knoxville, TN. Reported to have 55K miles and to need some work. Late Extra [3/2007]: the car was acquired in 2007 by enthusiasts Jim Jordan and Greg Pruitt of Oklahoma City who kindly supplied the photos, below. Gita, my better half, was interested to learn about this car as she is the step-sister of the widow of the late Rodman Rockefeller, son of Nelson and grandson of John D (in the seventies, Gita's late Dad married the mother of Rod's second wife, Sascha Von Metzler!

   

Derham (USA) special Series 75 limousine; this car was offered for sale on the Internet in December 2003. It was located at that time in Chatham, Ontario, in Canada. It was acquired by a collector in California

   

   

           

   

       
Photos [above two rows]: © and courtesy of the new owner 

 

Fleetwood [???] (USA) customized 1955 Eldorado (in 1956 Eldorado Biarritz guise), specially ordered by then Cadillac Design Studio chief, Ed Glowacke; the photos were taken in March 8, 1955.

   
Car has the name ELDORADO, in block letters, in the center of the hood "V";
twin tail-lights have red lenses; reversing lights are incorporated (clumsily)
between the outer pair of vertical chevrons on the rear skirt
[ Photos:  Dave Holls collection - Self Starter annual, 1998 ]

 

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 ]

 

Fleetwood (USA) Cadillac Castilian, was one of four mood cars shown around the Motorama circuit in 1956, based on the standard Eldorado Seville model for that year. On the reverse of the press photo issued at the Motorama is described the Old Spain interior, as follows: "CASTILIAN INTERIOR - The interior of this Series 62 Eldorado Seville Cadillac is styled in black and white calfskin, black leather and tooled silver. These materials are all complimented by the use of silver nylon cloth. A headlining of square perforated white vinyl with silver Mylar backing showing through the perforations produce a star-like effect." Exterior was Starlight silver and a white Vicodec roof was fitted. Photo McC p.317. The remaining three mood cars are described below;   these were (a) the Gala, or Wedding Car, a silver Series 62 Sedan de Ville with pearl white leather upholstery, (b) the Maharani, a specially appointed Series Sixty-Special sedan with built-in kitchen sink (!), and (c) the Palomino, a specially appointed Series 62 convertible with calfskin upholstery, carpets and door and quarter panel inserts.

         

 

Fleetwood (USA) Cadillac Eldorado Brougham pre-production prototype, first shown at Paris auto show in October 1955 then during the 1956 Motorama circuit. Lots of photos in JMR collection.  It started off in 1955 with only two headlights but grew two additional ones in 1956. It was a non-runner,.used strictly for development of the production prototype and related advertising.

   

   

 

Fleetwood (USA) Cadillac Eldorado Brougham Town car, XP48 (special order #2491).  This dream car was crafted entirely in fiberglass; the roof of the passenger compartment was covered with polished black landau leather and the rear compartment trimmed in black and beige with gold-colored hardware; the so-called comfort and convenience items included a radio-telephone for communicating with the driver, air-conditioning, a vanity compartment, cigar humidor, thermos bottle and accompanying glasses. Because of the storage compartments built into the partition, a horizontal sliding glass divider was used. fiberglass body.  It was built with no engine and exhibited during the 1956 Motorama circuit.  This one survived and was recovered by Joe Bortz, Chicago.

 

Fleetwood (USA) Cadillac Gala [also known as the Wedding Car], a special, lavishly appointed pearlescent white Sedan de Ville, 4-door hardtop sedan shown at the 1956 Motorama. On the reverse of a 1956 press photo the car's interior interior was described thus: "THE GALA INTERIOR - A strikingly beautiful combination of silver and white sets the decor for this Series 62 Sedan de Ville Cadillac interior. The armrest in the two forward doors [the rear doors ???] contain short umbrellas with silver and rhinestone enriched handles. This interior contains pearl white leather, imported ribbed satin, silver pattern white nylon and white mouton fur. These materials combined with bright silver chrome hardware complete the impression of bridal festivity."

   

Model bride extracts silver-handled umbrella
from special compartment in RH front door arm rest

 

Fleetwood (USA) Cadillac Maharani. The "Maharani" is the wife of the maharajah, ruler of one of India's former native states, or a woman vested with the same powers as the latter.  The Cadillac Maharani is a special Series Sixty Special sedan, more recently nicknamed the Kitchen Sink Cadillac; it is one of four mood cars show during the 1956 Motorama circuit; it featured recessed toaster, folding table, hot-plate, cutlery tray, cooling unit (the compressor is in the trunk), coffee and water dispensers and a flip-out table; in addition the appointments include a small safe and a safety deposit box; outside color is burgundy/maroon , upholstery is snake skin and a satin print, carpeting is mouton fur; currently owned (1995) by Joe Bortz, Chicago. The press release described it as follows: A Series 60 Special Sedan styled in an exciting Far Eastern motif, the Maharani features a rich metallic maroon body with a contrasting soft maroon and gold interior with chased silver and carved ivory ornaments to further enhance the Eastern mood. This model is one of four specially appointed production show cars which are being displayed by the Cadillac Motor Car Division in the 1956 General Motors Motorama. About the Maharani interior the press release said: A specially styled roll-top cabinet occupies the right front compartment of the Maharani. The locker contains such appropriate touring conveniences as a folding table, a hot plate, a recessed toaster, a cutlery tray, a cooling unit and coffee and water dispensers which are supplied from tanks installed under the hood. A built-in combination safe and ladies vanity case are also in included. The car was mentioned in SSA 1979, inside rear cover, and again in OCW special issue, 27.8.92, p.37; good photos appeared in SS 8/91, p.10.

   
From the outside, the Maharani looked like a regular Series Sixty Special sedan, but with
gold-anodized sabre-spoke wheels.  In the trunk, however, was a large compressor for the refrigerator

       
Model raises sliding shelf to access the kitchen sink (center)
with plenty of storage space for cutlery, crockery and glassware

                   
The Cadillac "Maharani" (or "Kitchen Sink Cadillac") was on display
at the 2008 CLC Grand National
[ Photos:  © 2007 and courtesy of Joe Bortz, former owner, and  © 2008, Louis Commisso, Webmaster of
www.lidreamboats.org
Long Island Metro Cadillac LaSalle Club ]

Fleetwood (USA) Cadillac Palomino, another special mood car shown at the 1956 Motorama and based on the Series 62 convertible coupe. The interior was upholstered in a mixture of tan leather and calfskin [McC says Palomino hides]. The press release vaunted this as "A ruggedly-styled convertible with a shimmering beige metallic body that reflects the Western flair of wide-open spaces..." Photo McC p.317.

Fleetwood (USA) (???) factory prototype with quad headlights (SS, 1/96). This car may be the one used by Richard Nixon when he visited Latin America in the late fifties [1958 ???].  Such a car has been reported seen in Perú.  More information is awaited.

           
Four of the above photos were supplied kindly by Fernando Murga, a lawyer friend and Cadillac enthusiast from
Lima, Perú; the remainder came from the car's current owner (2002).  This dusty, custom '56 Eldorado Biarritz with
quad headlights is said to have been used by Richard Nixon during a state visit to Lima  (before his US presidency
began?); these quad headlights were not legalized in the USA until the following year; according to the owner, the
modification presumably was done in the USA [at the factory?];  indeed, I have another photo (below) of a quad-lighted
'56 Cadillac, found in the factory archives and published in the CLC's  Self Starter magazine

Fleetwood (USA) Here's another.

Factory photo of quad set-up on 1956 model

Fleetwood (USA) And yet another...

   
From side and rear, the car looks like a stock 1956 Eldorado...

       
...but from the front, the car features these unusual quad headlights and '57 Cadillac (black rubber) bumper tips

Fleetwood (USA) (???) Here's another custom Eldorado Seville with rare quad headlights; these were outlawed in many states until 1957.  According to an ad in Hemmings Motor News [Dec. 2007?], this is "...possibly [the] rarest Cadillac ever produced". It was purchased in 2006 from a Cadillac collector who owned about 20 very rare and special models. The previous owner t had it for nearly 30 years; he said the car was originally built for a GM Design Executive [perfectly plausible]. 1956 was the first year for the Eldorado Hardtop and this car has many unique features not available at the time; for example rubber-tipped "Dagmar" bumper guards did not appear until 1957 and quad headlights until 1958 - except on the bespoke Eldorado Brougham of 1957. Indeed, this car has similar quad headlights to the prototype Cadillac Eldorado Brougham of 1956; the only other car to have had that feature in 1956 is the Eldorado Brougham Town Car concept vehicle, both shown first at the Paris Salon of 1956; the latter Town Car was sold for over $780,000 [commissions included] at the RM auction in Boca Raton, FL, in Feb. 2006. The vendor's ad refers to this page of the Cadillac Database.

This Eldorado Seville, with quads, was on sale on eBay in May, 2006

   
It reappeared in Hemmings, Dec., 2007 [?] with a price tag of $175,000!

 

Foose, Chip (USA) Well known car customizer, with his own TV show, Chip once worked on this 1956 Eldorado Biarritz for an unsuspecting client!

That's Chip in the orange golf shirt

 

GM Styling (USA) Labeled Cadillac Futuristic Design, this is one of two prints prepared in 1956 (the date shown is 05.01.56). The artist/stylist is not identified but I see a resemblance with the work of Bob Scheelk.

[ Information and photo: courtesy CLC and Steve Wolken ]

 

Hess & Eisenhardt (USA) Custom View-Master station wagon on the 158" wheelbase chassis, with imitation wood paneling on the sides; they could be ordered also without the wood paneling. Twelve units were built in 1956; about half are believed to have survived, including car #4. The latter was delivered originally to the Cadillac Motor Car Division. In my quest for info about this model I came across a few photos and also two "for sale" ads, one by Arizona Classic Cars in Tucson, AZ (early eighties ???), the other from Automobile Fine Art Limited at Pall Mall and St. James in London, England; the latter car was white with blood-red upholstery; it had a special roof rack, whereas the Arizona car had none. Late Extra [1/2005]:   Stewart Homan, who has owned  that one for the past three years, contacted me by eMail to say that the car was in his safe-keeping;  he will be sending more information about it and about other cars in his collection [check out Stewart's Web page: www.dreamcars.co.uk].  Note that I have a photo of a similar car, but with a different type of roof rack (call it style "No. 2") and painted in a dark color (photo McC p.317). More photos CAM {*}, SSA93, p.36, SIA 4/86, pp.40-43. H&E apparently were not alone in shaping station wagon bodies on the Cadillac chassis.

Factory Photo

   
These two photos are from the March 1957 issue of Mechanix Illustrated  
(for more information on H&E wagons, check out the Dream Cars section for 1955)

   
These 3 photos are from Internet; the car was offered for sale on eBay (again), in September 2004

     

   

   
Photos (top row, right) and next two rows show one of these
wagons that was offered for sale at auction, on e-Bay, in April, 2003

This one, with the wide white-wall tires features a roof rack slighly different to the one on the white Hess & Eisenhardt Custom Viewmaster, below. The above
car belonged in 1983-84 to a Alfred Strati of Baltimore, MD; he mentioned in Cadillac Connoisseur (magazine of the Cadillac Club International of Palm
Springs, CA -  Vol. 24:1) that the car had been acquired new in Rockville, MD.   At that time it had only 37K miles on the odometer;  Mr. Strati was the 2nd owner

           

       

      
The Homan car (England) is for sale; it is said to have been  built for screen star, Debbie Reynolds;
despite the luxurious exterior appearance, interior accommodations were somewhat spartan

This green one was offered for sale by RM Classics
at the annual Amelia Island Concours d'Elégance in 2001

   
Is this the RM car ?

   

   
One of the two cars in these three rows was offered for sale on EBay in December, 2005;
the other one (on the truck bed) was going to be restored by its owner

This one was found in a barn in Maryland and acquired from the "little old lady" owner for $8000;
photo was taken at the Baltimore Streetcar Museum where old car meets are held regularly
[ Photo and info:  Collectible Cars, letter to the editor from Lee Weldon, Baltimore, MD ]

 

[Unknown, USA] Possibly from Steel Craft comes this nicely proportioned continental kit seen here on a  1956 Sedan de Ville model painted in the new and attractive hue called "Mountain Laurel".

 

[Unknown, USA] Possibly from Steel Craft, again, comes a Biarritz with continental kit; again the color is Mountain Laurel

 

[Unknown, USA] The Solid Gold Cadillac   Eldorado Biarritz;  this gold-plated (?) model was  featured in a 1956 movie of the same name, starring Paul Douglas and Judy Holliday.  The movie is in black & white, up to the final scene, when the screen flips to full color as we see the principal protagonists driving off to a happy end.

 

[Unknown, Finland]  I'm sure our Cadillac friends from Finland won't mind my including this shot of a 1956 lead sled owned by one of their members.

Photo: © Cadillac Club of Finland

 

[Unknown, USA]  A Cadillac was a reliable power train for a camper; I have seen or heard of a half dozen of them in the last 40 years. A tip from Louis Barlow, a Database user, mentioned in October 1999 a 1956 model that may have been built in Elkhart, IN (home of many RV builders). The one illustrated below belongs to CLC member Warren Rauch;  it was converted from a hearse by a trailer manufacturing company.  Warren says these campers were done by several companies; among them Van Bibber, in Anderson Ind., Twin Oaks of Three Rivers,Mich., and Great Dale Housecar of Denver,Co.  Warren has also a 1957 camper that was custom built on a new Cadillac chassis for a doctor in Connecticut. Its body was built by a ship builder:  Jackson Motor Yachts. Superior Body company also built a New Holland camper (housecar).

 

[Unknown, USA]  A similar rig, built on the Cadillac commercial chassis, was offered for sale on Internet in July, 2004.

[Unknown, USA] In May 2000 I was contacted by a Mr. John Gates (jgates3370@earthlink.net) who passed on some interesting information about a special 1956  Fleetwood Brougham (?). In the mid-60s John was negotiating to buy this rare sedan; it was a Fleetwood with quarter windows and with an Eldorado rear clip (the taillights were at the base of the fins);  they looked like Olds [tail-lights?] encased in chrome tubes. The car had a.gold anodized grille and sabre-spoke wheels; it was painted white with a red top.  Inside were vacuum cigarette snuffers, front and rear, as well as flower vases in the rear. The last time he saw the car it was painted gunmetal gray.  The owner at that time (Earl Sheib) passed on and his son took the car to Los Angeles. Could it still be out there?

[Unknown, USA] Here is another interesting custom on a 1956/1976 Cadillac base. According to enthusiast, Murray Pfaff, who kindly sent the photos,  this 1956 Sled de Ville is mounted on a 1976 Cadillac drive train (500 ci engine with TH 400, etc.) as seen in the RH photo, it shoots out 12' fuel injected flames. Here's also a You Tube video devoted to the car.

   
[ Photos:  courtesy Murray Pfaff ]

[Unknown, USA] This 4dr convertible was offered for sale on the Internet in November 2002; it was suggested the car might be a factory original 4-door convertible sedan.  I seriously doubt it!

   

 

[Unknown, USA] Cadillac sleuth, Paul Zanetti of the CLC, Australian chapter, found for sale on E-Bay (the Internet auction site) a 1956 Coupe de Ville "Salon Special". The car features retro-fitted tail-fins and tail light units from that years Eldorado Biarritz and Seville models. According to the vendor, nine were built this way [by whom ?].  B&W photos are included in La Cad,  the Australian CLC's club magazine, for Spring 2002. The remains of a similar car to this one, but built apparently on the 1955 Cadillac chassis, may be seen in the Dream Cars section for 1955).

   

 

[Unknown, USA] Here's another "mystery" Eldorado Seville (or is it the same car as above?) that appears to have been converted from a Series 62 Coupe de Ville.  It was offered for sale on Ebay in October, 2008. Bidding climbed to $9,500 but no sale ensued owing to thye vendor having a higher reserve on the car.

   

   

   

 

[Unknown, USA] Another Database visitor, "Al" from Montreal in Canada sent this picture of a similar car that he bought in spring 2004. He writes:  The rear end is an extended '55-56 Eldorado clip. The fins look like '58 model because they were raised when installed. (I assume it was because so the two "spears"on each side would not interfere with each other). I recently talked to the guy who sold me the car, and he told me the body was modified by the place GM sends the cars to make hearses, funeral cars, etc. I forgot the name of the company [possibly Hess & Eisenhardt?]. The taillights are aftermarket '59 Cadillac. I installed them myself. The original lights ('56 Eldo) were rusted out and I thought the '59's would enhance the rear end. I also put a '56 Olds' spinner on the continental spare, as the original cover was missing. Aside from that, the car is bone stock.  Note how the original  "through-the-bumper" exhaust ports have been blocked off and how the dual exhaust pipes now are located under the bumper.

  
[ These two photos show Al's car without its rear wheel skirts ]

   
Unlike the previous car, this one has add-on
"bullet" tail light lenses from a 1959 Cadillac
[ Photos:  © "Al", the owner ]

 

[Unknown, USA] This would-be Eldorado Brougham convertible was featured on the cover of Motor Life for October 1956. As you can see from the size of the gentleman at the wheel, it is a much smaller car than the Brougham.  In fact it is built on the chassis of a 1956 Ford Thunderbird.  Still, if you saw it cruising by, you would probably do a double-take !

Eldorado Brougham convertible?
No;  it's a "Thunderado" (half Thunderbird and half Eldorado)

 

[Unknown, USA] This one was brought to my attention by Philippe, a French enthusiast and member of the American Car Club de France. It' an interesting pick-up conversion on what appears to have been initially a 2-door coupe model.

[ Photos: courtesy "Philippe", ACCF ]

[Unknown, USA] Another Cadillac pick-up consisting this time of a 1953 Cadillac front and a custom1956 flat-bed rear

[Unknown, USA] Another "wild" custom with an unusual tonneau cover (...for a 1956 Cadillac!)

       

   

       
[ Photos:  Internet, 2008 ]

 

[Unknown, USA] "Two-Way Cadillac"; like me, sometimes it doesn't know whether it's coming or going!

   

 

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

 

Pick one   >

WW2 years