Fast forward to 1997.

Having decided that my next car would have to have fins, and needing a project to keep me busy, I began to look wistfully through the car ads in the local newspaper. I soon graduated to Old Car Trader, Hemmings, and other such literature. Soon I found myself making phone calls all over the country, even though I wasn’t sure that I even wanted to undertake an automotive restoration. But the more I researched, the more my desire grew to fulfill my childhood dream of cruising the highways in a finned wonder. I soon found myself focusing on a 1961 Cadillac Coupe de Ville located in Carlsbad, New Mexico. After many phone calls, photos and descriptions, the owner offered a price that I couldn’t refuse, so I put a deposit down, and decided to go take a look. Optimistically, I arranged a flight to Dallas, Texas, where I was to pick up a U-Haul type truck for the projected one-way drive to New Mexico. Moving-type trucks turned out to be FAR less expensive than cars to rent one way and then “dump” at the destination.

Arriving in Dallas, Texas, I took a taxi to the truck rental agency, only to discover that it was out of business, and the building was abandoned. I felt abandoned, too, in the middle of Texas with no return flight. A few phone calls connected me with another branch of the rental agency, and so before long I was on my way to New Mexico. Later that evening, massive thunderstorms moved through the area, and from my hotel room I watched as a tornado passed in the distance. Was all of this an omen, telling me to give up this silly idea???? Was it my fate to be stranded somewhere in the middle of Texas, with no way out and no way home??? This was my biggest apprehension.
The next morning, when I arrived in Carlsbad, I conducted a thorough inspection of the car. I noted a few flaws, such as non-functional speedometer and windshield wipers, no tail pipe aft of the rear axle, and a few small dents and spots of superficial body rust. These had been described to me prior to my decision, so they had been factored into the purchasing considerations. But overall, I found the car to be in excellent dry-climate condition, preserved right down to the original primer on the undersides of the floor pans. The car had been repainted twice and reupholstered once, due to the effects of the desert sun, and both would eventually have to be redone,. But overall the car was in fine shape, drove well, stopped as well, and I deemed it to be a good deal for the price, worthy of a restoration.

The owner and I took care of the paperwork, and then spent the afternoon installing new oil and filter, spark plugs, coil, distributor cap, etc… By late afternoon, Trusting in God, I embarked upon the Great Adventure.

Almost immediately, I felt that something was different from when I test drove it. The engine seemed to lack power, and ran rougher than before. Investigation soon turned up an unconnected spark plug wire, and after hooking it up, all ran well again.

The first challenge was to determine air speed velocity, so as to avoid meeting Texas’ finest men in uniform. By clocking the mileage posts, I kept my time at one minute per mile, perfectly adequate on interstates and secondary roads. I kept up well with traffic, and began to relax and enjoy the ride. The car floated along smoothly (if not quietly due to the missing resonator and, it turned out later, decomposed muffler). The Big Boat handled well, and really was a pleasure to drive. I also noted the first of many turned heads, cheery waves, and approving thumbs up signals.

East Texas brought the first raindrops, but they were sporadic, and the Rain-ex and highway velocity kept the windshield clear enough to drive safely. However, steady rain and road spray in Louisiana forced a rest-stop delay for several hours as a frontal system passed by. I took the opportunity to begin disassembling the dash so as to explore the non-functioning vacuum climate control system. Substituting some new vacuum hoses resulted in the sudden and fortuitous functioning of the defrost system.

The next day and a half were more of the same – hours on the road interrupted by delays as I apparently continued to catch up to the same slow moving weather front. Along the way I tested other “systems”, such as the power windows, power seat, vents, lights, etc… and began to make a list of things to do. The list was growing quite long.

My ego was boosted in Alabama, when someone at the motel offered to buy the car then and there, and later, during a traffic jam, when I struck up pleasant conversations with the drivers in the neighboring cars, all of whom had lots of questions about the finned wonder. Speaking of fins, it took a while for me to get used to the sight of the fins in the rear view mirror. However, I soon found myself looking at them frequently, and getting a warm, reassuring feeling at the sight of them, following everywhere I went, slashing the air in the wake of the car.

Finally, I was in North Carolina, stuck in yet another rain shower, but this time at a truck stop. I sat in the smoke-filled Big Rig driver’s lounge, watching a NASCAR race on TV until the skies cleared yet again. I was getting fed up with the delays, but was not smart enough to try the local auto parts stores for a new windshield wiper motor. By fits and starts, 20 miles at a time, I finally drew closer to Virginia. The midnight conversation with the creepy guy at the rest area convinced me to move on regardless of the weather, until I reached Petersburg, where I could no longer see enough of the road to drive safely. I pulled over at yet another truck stop, locked the doors, and tried to sleep through the rain.

Before long, something told me to wake up. What was happening? Was Creepy Guy back? Were those stars? Yes! The skies had cleared. Wasting no more time, I took the opportunity to drive the final 90 miles to my home in Gloucester County, which borders the Chesapeake Bay.

Home at last, without major mishap, after an epic cross-country trip in an unfamiliar car in unknown mechanical condition. If, as they say, God rides a Harley, then who is the patron saint of cars with fins? I owe him a couple of candles.

Since this time, I have gotten to know the car much better. Of course, it has been named the BATILAC, and fortunately that license plate was still available here in the Old Dominion. I have learned much about the originality of BATILAC by sending for the build sheet and data books, which are available from the Cadillac Historical Services. I recommend that any owner of an older Cadillac obtain these. They will provide the specific information for your car, if you provide the serial number.
I have dutifully worked down my “to do” list, which never seems to completely go away. Most recently, I completed the biggest project of all, repainting BATILAC back into her original special-ordered Eldorado color code 98 – Topaz Metallic, which is a light copper/pink hue. I removed every bit of trim, we removed all the old paint right down to bare metal, and built her up from there. She was in the paint shop for 6 months, but it was time well spent, as the shop did an excellent, professional job. In all this time, the BATILAC has been a pure pleasure to drive, and has brought my wife and I many happy adventures. I took my daughter to her first car show in it, when she was 3 months old. Now, four years later, she makes it very clear to spectators at the shows that BATILAC is HER car! It always attracts attention, and I have lost track of the number of offers to buy it. It is an ongoing project, which provides me with much pleasure and satisfaction, and it has been the medium through which I have met many great and helpful people. I plan to keep it basically stock, with the standard 390 CID engine and Hydramatic transmission.

My membership in the Cadillac-LaSalle club has been of invaluable help, and my connection with the Cadillac Mailing List has introduced me to like-minded friends from around the world. I never imagined that there was such a core group of helpful, friendly, and dedicated people, willing to share advice and resources virtually instantaneously.

As the BATILAC restoration progresses, my admiration for the engineering design and quality of craftsmanship of the Cadillac Division in 1961 grows and grows. I drive the car to work at least twice a week, and have shown it to my history students. They never fail to marvel at it’s size and features, and are incredulous that a car of this vintage had so many technical advances. I enjoy preserving this small slice of automotive history, but even more so, I enjoy turning heads and getting those approving thumbs up!

I will be more than happy to hear from others of like interest, and would be happy to assist with advice and experience, minor though it may be.

Thanks for your interest in the BATILAC.
Best wishes,
Your friend in fins,

Jim Eccleston
November, 2005

The BATILAC
1961 Cadillac de Ville
Two Door Hard Top Coupe
serial # 61 J 091528
built Thursday, March 30, 1961
for dealer code 730111

Standard Coupe de Ville equipment for 1961 included:
390 CID 4bbl engine
Jetaway Hydra-matic four speed automatic transmission
Power steering
Power brakes
Power windows
Cigarette lighters (front and rear)
Electric clock
Back-up lights
Automatic courtesy and map lights
Automatic luggage compartment light
Glare-proof mirror
Remote outside mirror
Front & rear center armrests
Windshield washer
plus much, much more

Dealer ordered factory options on this car include:

Air conditioning
Heater
Six way power front seat
Guidematic automatic headlight dimmer
Wonderbar signal-seeking AM radio
Shaded and tinted glass
Whitewall tires
Dor-Guards
Rear license plate frame
Front license blanking plate
In addition, this car was ordered with special Eldorado paint, code 98 – Topaz Metallic

Now also equipped with:

Power door locks – vacuum operated
Remote electric trunk release and pull-down
Power ventipanes
Cadillac Perfect Circle Cruise Control
Dealer option rear window defroster

Note: Click here to see the Album of Jim’s BATILAC

Enjoy the pictures of Warren’s Maybelline in this album.

Read on and see how a magnificent 55 CDV found it’s way to Warren Hawtin, Sydney…

Having been an owner of a 1986 Cadillac Brougham dÉlegance for 10 years now, I decided it was time to make a change for another Cadillac. There are so many great years and memorable models to choose from but I decided to make a definitive selection and try and hunt one down. I chose a 1968 Cadillac Deville Convertible. The reason was that it was the last year of the vertical twin headlights and the first year of the mighty 472 cubic inch engine free from any pollution control restrictions. My criteria was for an original model with matching numbers and with factory matching colour and interior. Try as I may for over 2 years I failed to find a car to meet these specifications. I must have checked out every 68 convertible on the market in Australia during this time and every one of them either had a different year engine, had been repainted a different colour or had the interior re-upholstered in either a different colour and non standard pattern and material. In May this year we took and 4 week holiday road trip in the south west USA and in Bolder City met members of the local Cadillac LaSalle Club show day. One of the members who sources Cadillac’s for buyers was particularly familiar with the 68 model and offered to look for a model for me as well. Most of the models he found that were for sale also suffered from the same problems as the ones I was looking at in Australia.

Nearly six months later I was browsing the Australian Cadillac LaSalle Club web site message board and there was an ad for a 1955 Cadillac Coupe Deville in Adelaide. Now 1955 is my all time favourite year for Cadillac and the only reason I did not select this year for my original search was that I did not think that I had a chance of finding one that would be both suitable and affordable. This particular 55 CDV was imported from Vancouver Washington State in 2004 as a drivable car which had been garaged and not driven since 1990. The original owner has driven 96,000 miles and this coupe was indeed rare in that it is equipped with every factory option available at the time. Options include E-Z Eye tinted glass, push button radio, Autronic Eye headlight beam dipper, electric windows, electric seats, power steering, power brakes and factory air conditioning which is situated in the rear parcel shelf. The owner Andrew in Adelaide and stripped the car back to bare metal and repainted her and re-upholstered the interior in matching factory colours and material. Andrew had also completely restored the brakes, steering, suspension and installed new shocks and twin exhausts.

Items still requiring attention is the engine heads and a noisy lifter and re-gassing the air-conditioning unit. None of the blower fans were working nor the vacuum wipers. I reached an agreed price with the owner and proceed to make the transport arrangements to truck the car from Adelaide to Sydney. The following Friday my 55 Coupe Deville arrived by truck from Adelaide. The transport company TNT shipped it up on a road freighter and then delivered it to my house from their depot on a large tilt tray. They said that it took them 3 attempts to find a tilt tray large enough to avoid the car scaping at the rear. Of course the battery was dead when it arrived so I had to jump start it and parked it in the garage so I could put the battery on charge over night. The car was unregistered to drive and still had the Washington centennial plates attached so on Saturday it was a few laps around the local neighbourhood. Although the tappets are noisy she is still drivable and will be a rolling restoration and hobby for me once it is registered. She was very dirty after the 1200km overland trip but came up immaculately which a chamois clean. On the Monday morning I took her to the auto electrician for a new battery, leads and total check over in preparation of a registration safety inspection. I need to restore the demister and vacuum wipers to pass the rego test and I installed a McVeys RH side mirror only to find that it does not tilt far enough to the drivers vision line. Once the car is registered I will take her to somewhere beautiful for a photo shoot.

Last Friday my new 55 CDV passed the blue slip inspection for registration so the following day I drove her to the local park for some photos which can be viewed above.

I have decided to call her Maybelline after the famous Chuck Berry song which came out in 56 and was written about a 55 CDV just like mine.

Three of the 4 blowers were restored and the fourth one has a ceased brass bush on the armature shaft. I propped the shaft vertically and sprayed WD40 on the bush a few times over night and this morning the bush came loose enough to be removed. I can see a dull spot on the shaft where it was stuck so I might try and polish it up with some emery paper and reassemble the blower.

I can now drive Maybelline to the mechanic to assess the noisy tappets and lifter. I added a bottle of Nulon Lifter Free additive which did in fact quiet the tappets down noticeably.

Some of the distinguishing features of Maybelline, which set her apart are the huge dagmars on the front bumpers, the rear a/c, rear fins and protruding tail lights, the left one with the hidden fuel filler, twin exhausts through the rear bumper bar, classic sculptured lines and modern comfort features. Maybelline certainly turns a lot of heads in the few short drives I have taken her around my neighbourhood.

Regards

Warren Hawtin

It was parked there in the forest imprisioned for a couple decades. We live in an airid dry part of Alaska. I was suprised the condition it was in. It’s burried under this winters snowfall.

Next spring we plan to start to an inventory of what we can figure out is missing on the car. It appears to be mostly there. It was spray painted black and looks awful.

We would like to take it back to it’s original pink color. If anyone could give us some advice on where to start this restoration project please emai l us at cmbowman@cvinternet.net.

(Posted for Owner by Lars Schenk)

Pinky has attended car displays, raising funds for various causes, as well as transporting friends and family to events.
She is booked to carry brides to their weddings in the future, as well as being the venue for my “PINKY PARTIES”. ( cruising with a bunch of fun people, listening to cool music and consuming pink wine, pink food and pink cocktails )
She has also been chosen as the car that’s the “best of the ’60′s” in a local event called
“100 Years of Motoring in the Bay of Plenty” – to be held in December.

A very full life, and lots of fun!
Barb (posted by Lars Schenk for Barb)

   

More pictures can be found in the album:
http://www.pink-cadillac.de/gallery/1970convertible_dvd

Published by Lars Schenk for Dirk van Dorst.

Even today I think the year 1956 is my favorite Cadillac year – even when collectors prefer the year 55 and 54 because the 56 models should be besed with mechanical problems. But in my opinion Harly Earl (the designer at GM) and his crew spended the model year 56 the best desgin in the line of 54, 55 and 56.

As I fullfilled my dream of a 56 Coupe de Ville I started to dream from a lower and “newer” looking Cadillac – in 1992 I got my Cadillac sedan extended deck build in 1958.

That´s my story and why I´m Cadillac crazy. Born on 15-jun-68 in Lübeck, Germany, I was grown up in the back of my parents ’59 Opel P1 convertible that is even today owned by my parents. Only a handfull were build by “Authenriet”,a company that handcrafted the convertible based on the coupe. The car was influenced by the design of American dream cars more than all other German cars: It has a panoramic (wrap around) windshield, white wall tires and a grill that looks like a 57 Buick (mouth with teeth). Even the chrome trim at the side of the car has the same curve that was so typical for the Buicks. Front and rear bumpers borrowed from the 56 Chevrolet and chrome wherever you look. The ’59 Opel P1 looks like an American car just with German dimensions (it´s a very smal car compared to a Cadillac). So the Opel P1 was a German dream car for a moderate price that not only the top 10,000 could afford!

And the convertible was the last cry even in the times when I was a baby: It had two seperate front seats (like the rare optioned bucked seats in the 59 Eldorado Convertible), leather interior, an improved frame in order to cut off the top, stretched doors – they were longer than the doors of the coupe – and all these changes were handmade for less than 20 cars. I have heard that there should only 3 convertibles of that type be builded but that´s hard to belive. Click here for pictures of the 59 Opel P1 convertible together with my 56 Coupe de Ville

I guess this 59 Opel P1 convertible is the reason why I felt in love with cars and especialy with the design of the American dream cars. The first contact to a real American dream car was in 1984 as I was 16 years old. I mentioned it above. You must imagine that German cars never had such dimensions like the Americans used to have. So my first impression to the 56 Cadillac fleetwood sixty special was only “wwwooowww – what´s that”. I think it´s normal for a German boy and even for other Germans that see my cars today. They have often never seen such a car in reality; perhaps in movies. Back to 1984, the first year I heard the sound of the 365 cu. in. (6 liter) V8 engine that from now on became a part of my heartbeat. I asked all the questions that I was asked today: how long is it? what does it weigh? what sort of gas mileage does it get? (Ok, to be correct: in Germany we do calculate how much gas you need for a 100 km trip) And the highlight of that day in 1984 was a ride (I sat in the back of the car behind the driver) that I will never forget. By the way, as a German boy it was my first ride with a automatic transmission, as well.

Everyone want´s a pink 59 convertible coupe.The most people I have talked and written to do like the Cadillacs of 1959 most: everone seems to want a 59 convertible. I can understand that – but my personal favorite is still the 56 – perhaps because it´s my first &”lady” and I have done so much to her – I can´t count the hours I spended with her – driving and restorating. I think the 56 don´t has the cool desing like the 59 and 58 – but for me it has a little bit more soul – but that is my very personal opinion.