Growing up in
Elizabeth in the ‘60’s, I had quite an interest in cars, especially
Cadillac’s. By the age of twelve, I knew the year of just about any
Cadillac driving by. The ’59 was the most memorable and would become one
of my favorite body styles. My Grandfather had a black ’64 Sedan deVille,
it was probably the first Cadillac I rode in. I loved playing with the
Wonderbar radio and the foot controlled changer. My other Grandfather was
the head mechanic & engine rebuilder at Clinton Square Auto in Morristown.
He taught me a great deal about servicing and tuning a car. He had a small
build and I remember he had to climb up into the engine compartment to
reach the distributor cap.
I continued to admire old Cadillac’s and dreamt about owning one; on
October 9th, 1977, that dream became reality. I was reading the
used car section of the Star Ledger when I came across a “1937 Cadillac
Sedan” for sale. It was located in Rutherford. I convinced my father,
who also loved Cadillacs, to take the 45 minute ride with me to see it. We
thought we were going to see a 60 series Sedan and we were trying to guess
what condition it would be in. We arrived and the owner walked us in the
back to an old detached garage. He opened the door revealing the front of
the car. He poured some gas into the carburetor and eventually succeeded
in getting the car started. He pulled it out of the garage and we realized
it was a 70 series Fleetwood. After
negotiating for a few minutes, we bought the car for $3,750.
We sent the car directly to Twin City Auto Body in Newark and for the next
two years, we watched the progress of the restoration. Twin City (now out
of business) took care of most of the work; a retired Elizabeth Police
Detective did the interior. We met a lot of helpful people and we learned
a great deal. The car was finally completed in April, 1979. It has
traveled 1600 miles in 30 years. In 2004, with a 25 year old restoration,
it won a 1st Primary at the National CCCA
meet.
I can’t imagine not being in the old car hobby. The memories are endless
and I have made friends with so many great people. See you at the next
show!