Elegant decay aka the "Ratty Caddy."

[Torchie]

My buddy bought a full set of seats off of marketplace for his wagon. Dirt cheap and they look good. Power and heated. They fit very good .

Keep in trucking. This is so cool!

Thanks LB.
My plan is to recover the originals. At least at this point.
Im thinking either the tried and true mexican blankets or Harbor Frieght moving blankets.
Torchie

 

[lowbudget50]

Thanks LB.
My plan is to recover the originals. At least at this point.
Im thinking either the tried and true mexican blankets or Harbor Frieght moving blankets.
Torchie

I run a black and red blanket style cover in my Chevy. My dad always had them in his trucks lol. Either way it will look good

 

[Torchie]

Felt so good to be out in the shop working on the Dodge I shared some love with the Cadillac, too.[cl
Since I had 2 bags of blasting medium delivered I busted out the blaster and went after the rocker panel skin and the the outrigger. (Plus it's supposed to rain tomorrow.)
Cleaned up decently. I will give the back side of both pieces a good coating of chassis saver.
The last picture shows the bottom of the DS rear door. You can see where the outrigger fits . I'm darn lucky that some one bothered to save these pieces. They aren't available anymore and I have yet to see one come up for sale. They would be a PITA to make.
I need to make a supply run tomorrow. I'm out of large cutting discs and the upper hinge for the drivers door should be back from the machine shop.
That's it for today.
Keep on keeping on.......
Torchie

 

[Torchie]

I got the second hinge back from the shop Yesterday.
New bushings and pins.
All pressed back together.
Torchie

 

[Old Iron]

A lot of people miss putting the new bushings in to make the doors more stable and close better.

 

[Torchie]

If I did it as factory it would be steel to steel. OI.
As with the Dodge hinges i had to some mix and match with parts but they are nice and slop free now.
I am surprised by the size of the hinges given the weight of the door.
Its like closing a vault door when you shut them.
Torchie

 

[Torchie]

Well. I guess if I lived long enough it would happen one day.
Torchie may have bitten off more then he can chew.
I knew the DS rocker was a mess on the Caddy. Just how bad a mess....well not quite.
Started by cutting out the rust. Not much left but the sills.....
The A and B pillar areas are still solid. The C pillar on the other hand......
That rusted out pice I'm holding is whats left of the factory rocker extension.
I started to trim the replacement s3kin as it's just a generic one. More or less.
Got that screwed into place and then went to the rocker extension that fits under the bulge in the rear door.
It's shear luck that these were in the trunk along with the trim and a couple of new dog legs.
None of them are made any more. As far as my research has shown.
I will start by rebuilding the C pillar bottom and dog leg.
Then I will move forward and get the rocker skin on. Then the extension.
After that I will move inward to the floor.
That's the plan. One bite at a time.
Oh.... Did I mention I need to be on the floor to do most of this work.
We shall see.
Keep on keeping on......
Torchie
p.s. Lucky my brother has his 52 for reference. This is what the C pillar/dog leg should look like.

 

[soltz]

Never a dull moment with old cars

 

[Torchie]

Lol indeed.soltz.
I just came in from the shop. If I stare at something long enough. I usually find a way to overcome it.
We will see tomorrow.
I doubt things i do sometimes. But looking at whats for sale at the price i paid for this I still think I got a deal.
I saw a 37 mopar coupe that a barn roof had fallen on.There wasn't an un damaged panel on it including a crushed roof. The guy was asking $1800. Now he’s down to a grand and it has a pending marked on it.
It was just the main body. No front sheet metal at all.
Hmmmm
Good night all.
Torchie

 

[DozerII]

The can of worms is always fuller than we thought. [P[P

 

[Old Stuff]

Well. I guess if I lived long enough it would happen one day.
Torchie may have bitten off more then he can chew.
I knew the DS rocker was a mess on the Caddy. Just how bad a mess....well not quite.
Started by cutting out the rust. Not much left but the sills.....
The A and B pillar areas are still solid. The C pillar on the other hand......
That rusted out pice I'm holding is whats left of the factory rocker extension.
I started to trim the replacement s3kin as it's just a generic one. More or less.
Got that screwed into place and then went to the rocker extension that fits under the bulge in the rear door.
It's shear luck that these were in the trunk along with the trim and a couple of new dog legs.
None of them are made any more. As far as my research has shown.
I will start by rebuilding the C pillar bottom and dog leg.
Then I will move forward and get the rocker skin on. Then the extension.
After that I will move inward to the floor.
That's the plan. One bite at a time.
Oh.... Did I mention I need to be on the floor to do most of this work.
We shall see.
Keep on keeping on......
Torchie
p.s. Lucky my brother has his 52 for reference. This is what the C pillar/dog leg should look like.

You are tenacious. This is going to be one killer Caddy. Compared to the hardest/most challenging build you've done, where does this one fit on the 1-10 scale?

[P[P[P

 

[MercuryMac]

The can of worms is always fuller than we thought.
Dozer, words to live by.

 

[Torchie]

2 parter with lots of pictures.

One bite at a time........
I am going to fit this all together then I will tack it.
Once tacked I can remove it and do the full weld up.[ [
Pics tell the story.
Torchie

 

[Torchie]

Part 2...

The dog legs I found in the trunk were of no use to me.
Not even close to fitting what I needed, so I will make my own.
There needs to be a mounting point at the front of the skirts as the OG one is mostly rotted out.This should give me what I need. I can always trim it down if necessary.
Lots of cutting and welding yet to go but I think I'm in the ballpark.The skirt goes back on so that's a good sign.[cl
That's it for today. I did all this while sitting on my rolling seat. No having to get down on the floor work so that is a bonus.[cl
Keep on keeping on.....
Torchie

 

[soltz]

Your getting it done [. It all looks great as well [cl
I do my best welding setting on the Rollie chair
Keep at it!

 

[earthman]

For interior material i like the idea of army blankets. Real wool and wool blends. Foreign blankets have interesting stripes and markings. Many colors beside green. The back seat in the shoebox is just just bare springs now. I plan to just make separate pads for the bottom and back tied in place much like replaceable cushions for wooden dining chairs. Cheap and easy rat rod style.

 

[Torchie]

I considered those, eman.
I would have to get them online are one surplus store is totaly out and doesn’t know when they will be getting more.
Im still kicking around interiors.
Torchie

 

[Burgerman]

You been busy Torchie. How much trouble to make an adapter to run the Nailhead with a T350/400.

 

[Torchie]

Probably too much hassle

I have no equipment to do that sort of fabing.
Torchie

 

[Burgerman]

Hey Torchie. Here is a front clip for your barn find coupe.