1958 Eldorado
Biarritz
1960 Eldorado Seville
1960 Sedan De Ville
1961 "62" Convertible
1961 Coupe de Ville
1962 60 Special
1964 60 Special
1964 Fltwd. Eldo. Convertible
1965 De Ville Convertible
1970 DeVille Convertible
1975 Eldorado Convertible |
Medley
Stripay
Coleman
Blott
Stewart
Hollins
Magliaro
Hirsch
Blott
Hobart
Cantrell, Jr. |
Also,
even though Bob Kraitchar's '47 convertible is still in
restoration, he spent the whole day with us.
I Drive the Series 72
While
setting up on Friday, the 8th, I was entrusted with the
key to Mark Kilworth's magnificent 1940 Series 72
Imperial 4P Sedan of which (according to Maurice Hendry)
only 100 examples were made. The 72 Series line was
produced for one year and served as a smaller companion
to the "75."At some point we decided to use the
car as an outside exhibit so I got nominated to drive the
car off the showroom to an outside position. After
several cups of coffee and the worries attendant with
putting on a show, the thought of my driving such an
august vehicle through the small door and down a ramp
made me feel akin to Don Knotts in Mr. Chicken Meets
the Ghost. Let's see, if my foot slips off the clutch pedal, will
I go out the plate glass window or ram an exhibit? It's
been a long time since I drove a "three on the
tree" and the first thing I had to do was locate the
starter button, which on Chevys of my era was to the left
of the steering column, but this
was no
Chevy. I finally found it, an art deco square hidden by
the ignition switch.Later outside, we decided to park the
two '40s in a V configuration behind the Catera so I got to go back up the ramp and through the
|
small
door again—in reverse! When safely berthed, the
Rowalds and I checked out the differences. The
"72," as you might expect, is a study in
detail. Little luxuries like designs on the back of
mirrors on the side mounts and chrome-plated interior
window frames. The "72" has exterior door
hinges while the La Salle's hinges are hidden, giving a
streamlined, less formal appearance. Odd at first glance
but remember the LaSalle was Harley Earl's styling baby
and I'm sure he wanted something reminiscent of the slick
Cord look.There's nothing more boosting to the ego than
to drive a car while looking past dual side mounts and
over a hood that comes to a point and is crowned with a
Cadillac goddess. Thanks, Mark! When you get done
restoring the houses, the invitation to join the club
will still be there. The Cadillac glides into Overdrive
Our November meeting was held in the Party Shack adjacent
to the famous (infamous?) Cadillac Bar. While I made allowance
for non-RSVPers and ordered food for 35 people, over 60
attended, making this meeting our largest yet. There were
some cars we hadn't seen before - Dr. Joe Shirley's pink
'59 Coupe de Ville and Frank Raymond's '62 "62"
Convertible,. Most interesting was Tom Dunk's original
pale blue '56 Sedan de Ville with optional Eldorado
engine. I don't know how many of those examples were made
but it can't be many. Mark Blott said it best: "It
was made for someone who wanted a fourdoor with lots of
power." If a record crowd, beautiful weather, neat
Cadillacs and a great presentation by Neil Bland wasn't
enough— we went to the Crestwood Glencove
neighborhood party where we were treated to
|