10x12 - Cadillac Coupe de Ville

[bunniefuu]

This time on Wheeler Dealers, I
go hunting for a big slice of America.

You know what?
I feel like a bit of a movie star.

It's Yankee prestige on a shoestring,
but a small price means big problems.

Ed is gonna hate me.

This is just stupid. This
is a massive, massive

money pit. Are you
actually properly insane?

The body is ruined and the
cadet's suspension is destroyed.

There's no resistance whatsoever,
which is not good in a shock absorber.

But can we take a beaten up
caddy and make it turn heads?

Ed, look at the car. It's brilliant.

I buy classic cars way past best.

And Ed is the mechanical
wizard who turns back the time.

Then we sell them on,
hopefully, for a profit.

This is a Cadillac
coupe. The unmistakable,

pillarless lines speak of
an American luxury legend.

Cars usually say something about the driver
and the driver of this car has arrived.

The Cadillac is one of the
oldest car makers in the world.

They made cars with
electric starts a hundred years

ago and they were the
first to use climate control.

Dipped lights, heated and memory
seats, some roof and even the V8.

All this luxury kit is only
found on top models like

the De Ville spec, but every
single coupe shouts gold.

We need to get one. Where do we go?
Well, it's got to be the States.

Now the smart choice is an early 60s car.

They start at just a few thousand
bucks here in the US of A,

but over the pond they can
fetch over 15,000 pounds sterling.

I'm putting Coupe de Ville
into local search engines and

there are a few nasty looking
cars at the $3,000 Mark.

But for a road worthy
one, I need to spend more.

Even at $6,000 to $8,000,
I'm seeing cars that can't

be turned around without
spending a king's ransom.

It's tough, but eventually
I get a glimmer of hope.

Right, I found one here. It's a very
nice car. Early 60s, Coupe 2 door.

Looks all right in the pictures
and the prices are right too.

He wants $6,200, about 4,000 pounds.

Now it looks all together,
the car, so I think I'm just

going to jump straight on the
blower and find out a bit more.

Hello.
Yes, I'm ringing about your car for sale.

This car is sold as a Coupe de Ville. The
seller claims it's complete and very solid.

His plans to restore it have gone west.
It might be an opportunity for me.

He sent me loads of detailed pictures,
but it's hard to get a handle on the car.

Bye-bye then. Bye.

Well, he seems like a nice
fella. His name is Mike. He

said that the car is all
together and it's a runner,

but what they say on
the phone and what it's

like in reality can be
two different things.

But you know what
I'm like? I like to stand

in front of the metal and
make my own mind up.

So I'm going to hit the
road and see what it's like.

The next morning, I'm
travelling the five hours between

my mid-California base and
Culver City in Los Angeles.

With cars from the 60s,
especially ones on the cheaper side,

it's not unusual to find that they've
been sitting around for a while.

Sometimes years. Now this
can be a problem because

if they're not driven
enough, they go to seed.

Now with this car, I
need to make sure it's all

intact because I don't want
to be buying a money pit.

Well, I finally made it. It's
been a long journey, but let's

hope it's a fruitful one because
I'm very excited about this.

I'm in LA. The sun
is shining. I've got my

shorts on and I've come
all this way to see this.

Look at that. 1962 Cadillac Coupe de Ville.

Oh, looks like it's had a
battle injury in its life, doesn't it?

Well, let's go meet the
owner and get the story.

Right, here we go.
Number six. Here he comes.

Hi. Are you Mike?

I'm Mike. You must be Mike.

I am, yes.

Pleasure to meet you.

And it's a pleasure to meet you. What a
lovely day to come and see this Cadillac.

Yeah, it's a wonderful car.
I'm sure you'll like it.

Shall we go and have a look?

Let's go.

Tell me the story.
How did you come by this car?

Well, I've been restoring cars for the
past 15 years and, well, I wanted to rest

on my, this car, but I'm just a bit busy
working on some other projects right now.

Okay. So, let's have a good look round.

Sure.

Tell me about the ownership.
Who had it before?

Well, it was a one owner car.
He passed away.

One owner?

Yeah.

Wow.

It's an original paint
job on it. Original

hubcaps. I mean, it's a
wonderful, wonderful car.

Well, one thing you can definitely be sure
of, it is the original paintwork because

nobody's painted that in his life because
the paintwork's gone, hasn't it? It's a mess.

I'm desperate to see the
legend of these Cadillacs

because they've got a
vast trunk, haven't they?

Sure do.

So, have you got the key
so we can have a look?

Sure do. Here you go.

What's that? The key?

This is the key, yeah.

Is it broken?

The lock is not in there.

Yeah.
Well, I mean, this is, ah, there you go.

Look at that. Wow. Look at the size.

Yeah, the great thing about this car is all of the most
important parts of this car are very, very solid, like

the strut towers and the trunk pan floor. There's no rust,
no holes, no cancer. So it's a great car to start from.

It is nice and solid.
That's the good foundation of any car.

I think my first apartment was actually
smaller than that. Mind your fingers?

Yeah, be stopped.

Okay, another wing with
a dent in it. In fact, that's

the front Fender over
there, the rear one, the door.

This one, down the front as well. I mean,
every corner of this car has been smashed.

And as for the interior, wow, look at the
state of it. The dashboard, that's been baked

by the Californian sun. It's all cracked.
Rear seats are threadbare. Headliner's gone.

It's going to need a lot of
work inside here, isn't it, Mike?

But the originality is what's important.
This car is a matching number 62 Cadillac,

and that's what makes it very rare. Nothing
has been replaced. Everything is original.

Okay, let's get under the hood.

Sure.

There she is. Look at that. Okay,
what can you tell me about the engine?

Well, it's a matching number, original,
390 Cadillac motor, and it runs very well.

Does it? Yeah, I mean, it looks
like nobody's been under the hood

and fiddled with this engine since
probably 1964 at its last service.

We did a compression
check on it. Every cylinder is

firing the correct
compression it needs to, so...

Okay, it looks good. Any chance
I could take it out for a test drive?

Do you have a driver's license?
Of course I do.

Yes, a 62 Cadillac. Get in.

Right now, I want to give this Cadillac a
proper test drive, so I'm just driving it out

the suburbs, get it out into the countryside
a bit, and really put it through its paces.

Right now, the first thing that strikes you
about this car is it's absolutely massive.

It's got a huge hood, a great big
trunk, massive fins at the back, a

massive interior, and this car, it
suits these roads absolutely perfectly.

It may not look a million
dollars, but behind the

wheel, you know what? I
feel like a bit of a movie star.

Right, so let's look at the interior. First
of all, let's start with the dashboard.

I mean, it's got all the dials and
gauges, they're all present and correct.

Some of them are working, some of them
aren't. The radio's been pushed through.

As for the dash top, that has been
completely obliterated by the sun.

And the seats, well, they're
Fred Bear, the headlining's

gone, all the chrome is
dull, the door cards are shot.

The whole interior needs to be
chucked away and a new one put in.

So the thing is, do I like
this 62 Cadillac Coupe?

Well, let me tell you, I bought and sold
a lot of classic cars all over the world.

And I can tell you
one thing, and that is to

get the basics of the
car absolutely right.

And that's the chassis and the floor.
If they're rotten, you can walk away.

But this car, this
one's solid. All right,

the top half of the car
is a bit of a shocker.

All this stuff can be
replaced. I need to

get it off Mike just
that little bit cheaper.

That way, it's not going to
be too much of a gamble.

But then saying that, if I
do buy it, I'll expect the span

around the back of the head
if I get it back to the workshop.

Well, it does drive remarkably well.

It's the amount of work that this
car needs doing. It's everywhere.

But then saying that, it's got
a load of character, this car.

Yeah, it's a great car.
It's a piece of history.

But you want too much money
for it, I think. You want $6,300?

Correct.

I think it's worth $4,000.

Mike, I've been restoring
cars for 15 years, and that's

an insult for a 62 Cadillac
in this condition, Mike.

So what do I have to do
to have a deal with you?

You will have to go to at least at
the absolute minimum of $5,000.

$5,000?

$5,000.

Hold out your hand.

Great deal.

Yes, I just bought myself a Cadillac coupe.

Yeah, I hope you enjoy it.

I hope to enjoy it too because I
have to be honest, there's an awful

lot to be done turning this caddy
coupe into a car that would wow.

And I'm not sure Ed is going to get
with the program and fill my excitement.

Yep, she looks like
something out of a horror film.

But this wonderful 60s caddy
had a price tag of just $5,000.

That's too low to walk away from.

Yes, a 62 caddy coupe. Get in.

It's time for me and the caddy to start
on the long road back to the workshop.

The car hasn't done a long drive in
decades. I just hope it will make it.

Now I'm heading out of
LA on my way to the coast

to go and hand this car
over to a shipping agent

so he can put it in a silk container
and send it back to the UK.

Now it's only 200 miles
away, but out here in California,

almost round every bend,
you get a change of scenery.

And it makes the journey
even more worthwhile.

Well, as I rattle and
wheeze along in this car,

I've had a load of
time to think about the

numbers because this
motor was incredibly cheap.

I think it's a 62 caddy coupe.
It's really rare.

You know, we could sell
this car for 15 grand plus.

The only worry is the amount of work it's
going to take to get to that end result

because Ed's really going to have
to burn the midnight oil on this one.

But I know that if we can
make this car really, really

special, we'll be coming
away with a juicy profit.

Hey!

You alright?

Um, well, I don't know.

I know it's awesome, isn't it? Fantastic.

Listen, I went all the way to America
and I was going to get you a baseball cap,

but you're a big lad, so I got
you something a little bit bigger.

What do you reckon?

Um, would it be rude if
I got you to take it back?

What? Are you mad? No, I can't and I won't.

This is a 1962 Cadillac coupe.

That is a rare, proper icon of America.

Look at it. Look at the state of it.

Yeah, I mean, I like the fins.

I'll give you that.
That's a classic little feature.

I like that, but I don't like all the
scratches and dents around those fins

and the rust and the really rubbish paint
and another massive dent at the front.

It's not been terribly
well looked after, has it?

Well, it's over 50 years old,

so it's going to have
the odd little bump

and scrape on it, but
don't worry about that.

Have a look at the engine.

The engine is the powerhouse of any motor.

And this one, well...

Look at the size of that bad boy.

Has it ever been serviced?

Well, I reckon the previous owner,

he probably serviced
it once the last century.

Maybe when he bought the car.

Yeah, possibly.

OK, I mean, it sounds like it goes OK-ish.

I mean, does it drive all right?

Well, there's a thing.

Well, it sort of drives OK.

It gets down the road-ish, but it
sort of just floats down the road

rather than grip the road.

Let me explain.

I reckon it's got something to do
with this because this one is like...

It's pretty bad, isn't it?

I mean, so a couple of
issues with the shocks.

It's a little bit low rider.

Obviously, you've been over.

quite a few rutted tracks in its time.

I reckon the suspension is shocked,

but if you can eradicate everything
you've previously learnt about this car,

I'm talking about the dents, the
scrapeworks, the paintwork, the suspension,

because the good news is
yet to come, and here it is.

OK.

Look at that interior.

Hey, that's like stepping
back into 1962, isn't it?

Oh, dear.

Well, the door cards are pretty nasty,

as is the dashboard,

as is all the bits
attached to the dashboard.

I do like the speedo.

What's the truth?

Look at the back.

A whole lot needs to be chucked away.

I mean, what's going on?

Yeah, don't worry about that.

We can get all of this stuff.

Where are you from?

This is a massive, massive money pit.

Are you actually properly insane?

Well, I can see you like it.

Oh, blimey.

You really are going into town on this one.

Come on, jump out.

Let me explain my head.

Come on.

Calm down.

All right, just calm down a second.

The car, Ed, cost only
$5,000, three grand, right?

Which means that we have got a free
canvas to do what we like with this car.

You can go mental.

If you want to put exhaust
pipes coming out the roof,

jacuzzi in the boot, I don't care, because
I know that if we get this car right,

we can make our money back tenfold.

It's going to cost us at least
tenfold to actually get it on the road.

No, we need to watch
what we spend on the car.

We need to do it properly,
but we need to earn a

profit at the end of the
day, if we can, all right?

Well, I'm still not convinced,
but I will give it a go,

but I don't know if it's going
to actually fit in the workshop.

It's very big.

I'm sure it will.

Come on, we get the tape measure out.

I reckon it's, what, three foot
shorter than the workshop?

Okay, so I may have been a bit sniffy
with Mike when he turned up with this,

but privately, between you and me,

actually it's pretty cool to have
a classic caddy in our workshop,

but in Mike's bid to get a cheap bargain,
and it is cheap, he's ended up buying a car

that is absolutely huge, and it needs
a huge amount of work doing on it.

To be honest, I don't
really know where to start.

I need to go back to basics

and assess how good this caddy actually is.

The good news is it's structurally
sound with rust-free seals,

which would be a
lifetime of welding to fix.

But it's not all good news.

Now, Mike was complaining
about this wallowy suspension,

and I think I can now see the reason.

Both the front shock
absorbers are really quite wet.

They're kind of weeping,
which is why they're not working,

which is why there's no resistance
to that bounce of the suspension.

They're definitely going
to have to be changed.

I just need to get to them.

Once the lower suspension arm is out of
the way, I can get my hands on the shocks.

Right, so here are our shock absorbers.

Now, you can see on the fronts,

there's a collection of dirt all over them.

That's because they've been
weeping for quite some time.

The dirt's collected,

and they're definitely
going to need to be changed.

But the rears are quite interesting.

You can see this little
valve on the top here,

and you can actually
hear movement of air.

Now, there's no resistance whatsoever,
which is not good in a shock absorber,

but the idea of this is there'd be a pipe

going all the way to the rear of
the car onto a Schrader valve.

Then you could actually
pump up your suspension

at a petrol station, for
example, with a little airline.

Now, the idea is to get the ride height

you'd like on the rear of your car.

Now, this gives me a bit of an idea.

On a car like this in America,

the fashion right now is to
fit air suspension all round.

Now, you can go really
crazy, kind of low-rider style,

and actually have it bouncing up and down.

You can also have a nice, comfortable ride

with a slightly simpler system.

And I think the kind of people who are
gonna buy this car are gonna be aficionados.

They're gonna want that kind of mod,
so I think we should go down that road.

To start installing our
comfort spec air suspension,

I need to dismantle the
existing setup and free the

Springs, as these will be
included in the upgrade.

First step is to
separate the upper ball

joint using a hockey
stick for extra leverage.

Okay, so here is our bottom arm,

and here is our air suspension.

So let's have a little look inside.

Here we go.

So we've now got our
replacement sort of front part.

So we've got here, we've
got the shock absorber,

and then we've got the
air bag around the outside.

So that's gonna replace
the original shock absorber

and the spring.

It's gonna be sat just in here like so.

But you can see it's a bit tight
between the threaded part here.

I'm just gonna remove a bit
of that metal, not all the way,

because you want to retain the strength

of this kind of radius
from the pressing there.

But I'm gonna have to do a little bit of
work just to get all this to fit together.

I'm cutting away metal to enlarge
the aperture on the radius arm,

but that's not the only bit
of modification I need to do.

The air bag needs extra
clearance in the upper arm as well.

I offer up the air bag,

use its outer edge as a
reference for a cutting guide.

A pencil and tape is plenty for the job.

Then I Mark the outline with a
series of center punch marks.

Now for the cutting.

I'm going to have molten
metal directly above my head,

and this calls for extreme measures.

This suede apron may not be cool, but it's
essential garb for welding and cutting.

First, I use a plasma
cutter on the aperture,

grind the edges,

and then weld the two seams
back together to retain strength.

With all that done,

I reassemble everything
and connect the air

lines which run through
the chassis to the boot.

And then I just repeat the
process for each corner.

So we now have all of our air bags in
position and the air lines coming to the boot.

So how are we gonna get air into them?

Well, we've got a compressor here.

That's gonna be compressing the air.

That's then gonna go
into here, which is the

reservoir, so it stores
our compressed air.

We have a little switch on there

just to let us know how
much air is in the reservoir.

We have a little feed that's gonna
go out of that into this little block here,

which is actually the manifold.

And you can see you've got four
little valves on either side of this block.

And the idea is that these
are like kind of electronic taps.

which allow air to go
in or out of our air bags.

Now to control that,
we've got a little brain.

And then to connect all of this together,
we've got a plethora of wires and pipes.

Now, obviously, there's a
lot of stuff to get into a car,

but we have exactly the right
size car for the job, which is great.

And even better than that,

we have a nice little shelf
in the back of the vehicle

which will just fit all
this stuff beautifully.

Our middle range kit was 1,800 quid,

and fitting by a specialist
would have been the same again.

It takes the best part of a day

to install the compressor
and all of its gubbins alone,

including the fitting of a
programmable remote control.

We've spent quite a bit of money and
time sorting out the suspension on our car.

But actually, you can't
really tell what I've done at all,

but we have been laying
down those foundations.

The car is now gonna drive
just the way you want it to.

Now, unfortunately, it's
just the tip of the iceberg.

There is still a huge amount of
work to do on our Titanic motor.

Yes siree, the Caddy's
body isn't a pretty sight.

So when I was in the USA,

I decided to find replacements for
the panels that are beyond repair.

Now our 62 Caddy Coupe is an old
car, and it needs absolutely everything.

I'm thinking you just can't
buy new original parts anymore.

Now I could go and buy a
load of cloned or copied parts,

but you can never be sure they would fit,
and they're always made of inferior metal.

What I want is the real stuff, original.

That way I know it will screw
on the car and work perfectly.

So I've come out to the desert
to meet a guy who reckons

he's at the top of the pile
when it comes to Cadillac parts.

He even calls himself the Cadillac King.

Tom has been out in the
California desert for 20 years.

and has literally acres of stock.

Ah, you Tom?

Yeah, hi, hello.

How you doing?
You're the Cadillac King, are you?

Yes, yes.

Well, I'm the guy that you
spoke to on the phone, Mike.

I need some parts of my 62 Caddy Coupe.

You're the man to talk to, apparently.

Over there you'll find about
a couple thousand Cadillacs.

Take a walk, see what you find,

come back and see what we can do for you.

Okay, super. Won't be long.

These cars might look awful, but
they may as well be made of gold

because the prices of
vintage spares are on the up.

The Cadis are parked in order of age

and it takes me half an hour
to locate the early 60s cars.

All right, here we go.

Look, some of the rarer bits
I'm looking for are called skirts.

They're the bits that
cover the rear wheels.

Apparently the ones on the
right-hand side of the car are really rare.

That's because this is sidewalk side or
curbside and they suffer a lot more damage.

Now, this one here is the only one
I can see in the whole of this yard,

so I'm hoping they've taken them off

and stored them elsewhere
because I need a pair of these.

The other thing I need is a pair of wings.

Well, after trying to work out which
part belongs to which car and which year,

it's been a long search.

I think I've found a good pair
because there's one down here.

It's the left-hand side and
the right-hand side, one here.

And the reason I've chosen these two out

is because it looks like somebody
has already had a go at restoring them.

They're in primer.

They're in really good shape.

So I'm going to Mark these two
down and get them put aside for me.

In the UK, a single Fender could
fetch more than a thousand pounds,

so I'm not expecting Tom to want
to give away any of these parts.

But I do need to reduce my costs,

so I'm going to try very
hard to win a package deal.

I see you've had my
parts gathered up for me.

Very good.

Yeah.

Now my two skirts and my two fenders.

I call them wings, but
you call them fenders.

How much is all this
stuff going to cost me?

Well, usually we're getting for the wings.

Let's just call them fenders today.

About $1,000 each, OK?

Yeah.

And skirts, how about 500 for the pairs?

So two, two and a half.

Two and a half thousand dollars.

They're so expensive,
these parts, aren't they?

But I suppose you can't buy
them anywhere else, can you?

Not that easy, not that easy.

What about 2,000 bucks?

2,000 bucks for the lot.

I mean, it's a consignment order.

I'll be taking a lot away from you.

I know they're in good order.

But $2,000 and I'll take it.

You're a good order fellow
from Great Britain, right?

Yes.

You got it.

At just over 1,000 pounds, I've won a
nice price, but I'm not kidding myself.

This is the tip of the iceberg.

I'm going to have to spend
a whole lot more money

and a lot of edge time
before this car is going

to look and drive like a motor that
turns heads rather than stomachs.

Wish me luck.

I've been to America and
bought this 1960s Cadillac coupe.

I've got a load of character in this car.

Yeah, it's a great car.

Piece of history.

I absolutely love it, but I must
admit it does need a bit of work.

This is a massive, massive money pit.

Are you actually properly insane?

Well, I can see you like it.

But at 3,000 pounds, I
reckon I got a bargain.

But we're going to have to hold our nerve

and spend big if we're going to turn
this rusty relic into a showstopper.

Right, I can't put it off any longer.

I now have to attend to
perhaps one of the nastiest.

aspects of our Cadillac,
and that is the bodywork.

I mean, it really is a proper turn-off.

And when Mike first arrived at the workshop

with this car, I really
wasn't that impressed.

I mean, look at it.

You've got dense scratches.

You've got kind of pinholes.

You've got corrosion.

Even the lacquer's coming off.

I mean, it is not good.

It needs an awful lot of attention.

Ironically, the bits on
the car that look the

worst are the most
straightforward to sort out.

The massive grille has decent chrome,

but it does need a Polish, and that huge
structure needs to be sent off for that.

Mike's also got me some replacement wings,

so the original dented and scraped ones
can be dispatched, and these new ones

from an identical vehicle
bolt on with minimum fettling.

Early lunch for me?

No chance.

Despite how rough this car is,

underneath there's no rust to worry about.

And in fact, the panels on
the sides are also the same.

Okay, there are scratches and dents

and the lacquer's peeling
off, but there's no rust.

But weirdly, just this localized
area seems to have a few issues.

You can see some bubbles there,

and also you can actually
get your finger through

a hole there, and it's
actually quite a thin panel.

that looks like it might be double-skinned.

Now, there's a few more bubbles up there,

which is not cool, but perhaps the worst
bit is this flaky rust around the back here

and a hole, again, I
could get my finger into.

Now obviously, I need to see
quite how bad the damage is,

and to do that, I need
to get rid of the chrome.

Welding can be a
nightmare on cars of this age.

Until you start, you never
know what you're going to find

and how long it's
going to take to sort out.

Once the chrome trim and
rear window's out of the way,

I can get the grinder in to
expose the full extent of the rust.

So with everything cleaned up now,

it's a lot easier to see
the full extent of the rot.

Now, the work required at the back here
is a lot less serious than I first thought.

I mean, although there's
quite a big hole there,

the metal is actually
very strong and very

solid, so it should be
quite easy to repair.

So I'm going to start with
a slightly harder work here,

and you can see that
there's actually much thinner

metal involved, but also
there's lots of flaky rust.

So what I need to do first
is actually cut back away

all of the rot, and then
get rid of all that flaky rust,

and then work out exactly
what I need for my repair panel.

I'm using tape to define an area
outside the rusty area in good metal,

and I cut out the rot
with a thin cutting disc.

Now I start looking at the important stuff,

making a repair panel
out of fresh 16-Gauge steel.

Well, it's taking a while,
but we are getting there.

This is our repair panel.

Now, the thing is, if you imagine

this is your little bit of
bodywork that exists on the car,

if I was just to lap these two
together, you end up with a bit of a step.

Now, I could then fill that with
filler, but it would be a bit of a shame.

A much better joint is to
actually use a joggling tool,

end up with a sort of step in the
metal, and that way, you actually end up

with these two top surfaces
being pretty much flush.

But also, better than
that, it actually adds

strength and also
makes it easier to weld.

Now, to get that joint,
use a joggling tool like this,

and you can see that
when I crush this together,

these two little sort of
teeth here, these formers,

actually can help press in that
little step into the metalwork.

So here goes.

A joggler costs about 50 quid,

and it's a must if you want
your welding to be of high quality.

With the magnet holding the panel in place,

I can start welding,

but I've got a special product
to help me with the job.

Now, this is a handy top tip.

Because this metalwork is so thin,

it could really easily
suffer from heat distortion.

So if I put too much heat into
the car while I'm doing the welding,

then I could ruin this panel completely.

Now, this stuff has got a
really high water content,

and the idea is that it will
actually turn all that heat into steam

and therefore keep your panel
cool and hopefully stop the distortion.

Despite the putty being in place,

I still have to allow the welds to cool,

so do one at a time spaced widely apart.

While things cool down, I
get on with the other repair,

and that can be done by running
a line of weld along the seam.

And when my previous panel is
ready, I grind and Polish it back.

Quite a bit better, I think.

Well, it's still not exactly a show winner,
but with the replacement wings in place,

we're definitely going
in the right direction.

And I got away with just a little bit
of welding, which isn't so bad at all.

So now it's down to the
magic of the paint shop,

and I've got a fantastic colour in mind.

Ed, you all right, buddy?

Yeah.

Wow, look at the size of this car.

It barely fits in this workshop.

It's almost sticking out the door.

It's got to be the biggest motor we've
ever had in the garage on Wheeler dealers.

I think I have to agree, but of course,

that means it's also a huge
amount of work to do, as always.

Well, I can see you've been working quite
hard to see you've stuck my new wings on.

What else have you been up to?

First of all, I saw that horrible
ride that we had with the car.

So we've now got a full air
suspension all round, which is fantastic.

Unfortunately, I haven't
been able to test it yet

because I'm still doing
the bodywork, and as you

say, I have put your wings
on, done a bit of welding,

so it's looking pretty grim now, but it's
going to look fantastic when it's finished.

Fenders.

I'll have you know they're called fenders.

Yes, indeed.

So what about the colour then?

We ain't going to leave it like
this battleship grey, are we?

Now usually, we would
argue about the colour,

but yes, we're having that.

The caddy has been sent to
the body shop with our new wings,

and it's been treated
to a five-star paint

job, costing a rather
stomach-churning £4,500.

That's down to the sheer size of the
car and the quality of the paint itself,

which promises to set
this car apart from the rest.

I've gone for a very
special sugar apple green,

which, as time passes, feels
more like a risky strategy,

and now the time has come
to find out whether I've done

something rather clever,
or, well, let's just not go there.

Choosing the right colour scheme for this
car was always going to be a bit tricky

because we could go in
so many different directions.

Now, it's a big car.

It's going to have some big impact anyway,

but I thought, let's go crazy
and go for the really big splash.

Now, I have been slightly controversial.

Some people think that green can be
an unlucky colour, but I think this choice

is actually going to make
people green with envy.

Well, I think you'll
agree this is a pretty

awesome paint job, and
in fact, in the daylight,

you're going to see some little kind of
prismatic flecks that are in the lacquer

that are really going to
zing when the sunlight hits it.

And as if that wasn't enough,
there is one more trick up my sleeve

which many custom paint
jobs actually end up with,

and it takes this car to a whole
new level, and it's called pinstriping.

I've called in a mate of
mine, Simon, who's got more

than ten years under his
belt as a custom pinstriper.

Pinstriping in its crudest
sense is a kind of car tattoo.

I'm hoping this one-off
detail will add extra visual

focus to the caddy's
already outlandish lines.

Oh, Simon, that is beautifully ornate.

That is amazing.

But it's not actually paint, is it?

Is that actually a glue?

That is.

That's the gold size that goes on first,
and then we apply the gold on top of that.

OK, so the gold just sticks to that?

Yes, what it is, it's this.

It's a leaf of hand-beaten 24-karat gold.

Oh, wow.

That's amazing.

So that's actual gold?

Pure English gold.

So how do you make that?

You beat it out of a nugget.

That's amazing.

So how much is that, then?

Well, a whole sheet, working sheet,

so about a pound a sheet.

OK, but that's because it's obviously so
thin and therefore doesn't weigh very much.

That's it, yeah.

Wow, OK, so then how
do you then apply that?

Well, I've got, because you can see,

it's very flyaway.

I've got it actually on a transfer here.

OK.

So what I do is I put it down and
then just rub it down onto the sides.

That is amazing.

For now, tacky glue grabs hold of the gold
leaf and then the edges are cleaned up.

Then Simon lightly buffs the gold
leaf to give a kind of turned effect,

and that's then treated
with a thin varnish.

Then Simon supports his
hand using this mile stick

and then uses enamel
paint to trace an outline.

He can remove smudges with thinner,

but most of what he does is in
one extremely accurate pass.

That is gorgeous.

It looks amazing.

We're not finished yet.

That's just the centrepiece for the design,

which is going to go up the
centreline of the hood there.

Oh, that's so cool.

This is really Simon's trademark look,

and using two colours, he's
creating some ultimative art.

The usual cost for something
like this is around £500,

and since we're working on a top coat,

it can be polished off if the
new owner doesn't go for it.

With the centrepiece complete,

Simon adds some subtle
pinstriping to the boot,

side panels, and even around
the aerial and door handle.

The entire process takes six hours.

This outlandish green
was the perfect canvas

for Simon's masterpiece, and
now the painting is complete,

I've just got to put the rest of
the car back together again,

and on a car this big,
it's going to be an epic job.

We're going great g*ns on the Caddy,

and its transformation
from a cool but well-batted

classic into a carnival
stun is coming together.

But we spent more than ten grand,

and the Caddy still
doesn't have an interior.

This is a classic Caddy.

The first thing that strikes you about
this car is it's absolutely massive.

And it's undergoing
something of a transformation,

from beaten-up bruiser
into something that

will grab attention and
hopefully open wallets.

We're definitely going
in the right direction.

It's now the over-floaty ride,

he's taken on the bodywork repairs and
found a colour scheme that shouts cool.

Yes, we're having that.

But before we start
counting the pound notes,

the Caddy needs an interior.

I thought I'd have a bit of a sit-down
before I continue with the enormous task.

of putting this car back together again.

Now, when Mike first
turned up with our Caddy,

you may remember that the
interior was completely shot.

All the framework and structure was OK,

but just the covering
was just completely ruined.

So we've gone for a nice
new white vinyl to match

the roof, but also got
this lovely green piping

which kind of picks up some
of that mad green exterior paint,

and we've even gone over the
metal parts with the exterior colour.

And just for that right amount of kitsch,

the tops of the door cards
have also been covered

in this beautifully textured
ostrich skin effect vinyl.

It's going to look
fantastic when it's all in.

I didn't set out to build a show car,
but the more I put into the vehicle,

I can see that's where
this Caddy is headed.

In that kind of environment,
the interior is absolutely key,

and that's why I've gone for
something that's great looking.

rather than a darker colour
that might be more practical.

Now, one of the things that
makes this car look so cool

is the fact that it
doesn't have a B-pillar.

And obviously, to accentuate that,

you've got electric windows all
round because it is such a luxury motor,

so I must remember to connect
up the wires for all the switches.

So the inside of the Caddy is very cool,
but the cost isn't going to please Mike.

This level of craft and
style comes in at £4,000.

More than Mike paid for the car.

Now, with the paintwork looking this good,

it would have been wrong just to
put on that gnarly old brightwork,

so some of the chrome has
been sent off to be refurbished

and some of it has been replaced, but we're
now ready to bolt on the face of the car.

Now, our Caddy has got a huge smile,

so it is very heavy, so it's
going to take two people.

Unfortunately for Mike's pocket,

the large amount of polishing
and straightening on the chrome

also came in on the
heavy side, almost £2,000.

But we're in the zone now
where any weak element to this car

is going to bring down
the rest of the vehicle,

so I don't feel I had a choice.

It's top-end finish all the way
and great attention to detail.

With the grille bolted into place,

we now need to bring
some bling to the corners.

Now, the original steel wheels
look OK with a bit of paint on there,

but the original hubcaps
look absolutely stunning

with the body colour in those inserts.

Absolutely fantastic.

Mike's Fender skirts
or spats from California

have been chromed up on the
lower edge and look fantastic.

Just the four distinctive
headlights to go in

place at the front and
the Caddy is reborn.

This massive car has been
a massive amount of work.

When it came into the workshop,
it was an absolute beast,

but with a huge effort, we've
managed to turn her into a beauty.

Now, our Cadillac has been
cooped up indoors for far too long.

It is high time this gorgeous
new paint job sees the light of day.

Ed, you all right, sunshine? I'm very good.

Now, I know you've got a flair
for this fixing your car up malarkey,

but you've really gone
and done it this time.

So you mean I'm in
for a bit of a telling off?

No, completely the opposite.

Ed, look at the car. You've transformed it.

It's absolutely amazing.

It's gobsmacking.
This is just the best work yet.

Ed, it's brilliant. Wow!

I mean, I am lost for words.

I might even give you a day off.

Whatever's going on in
that mad head of yours,

just keep it going,
because this is just...wow.

There's a kind of accepted
look for a 60s caddy,

and this car isn't it.

This one has taken expectations and
flipped them, and that's why it works.

I don't think either of us knew
how good this car would turn out,

but from the brutish face
to the lovely fins at the back,

there's no question we've
ended up with a magical motor.

I bagged this car for about £3,000,

a bargain for a one-owner,
matching numbers caddy.

And that's what makes it very rare.

To start with, Ed was not best pleased

with the condition of this American legend.

This is a massive, massive money pit.

The floaty ride was fit for a clown's car,

so Ed installed programmable
air suspension all round

for the caddy to give it
a more controllable ride.

The bodywork was a major headache,

but I got Ed some replacement
wings from a 60s car.

You got it.

Ed fitted them, sorted
out the rust on the body.

It was a lot less serious
than I first thought.

Dial in some incredible bright green paint.

Yes, we're having that.

Some custom pin striping.

It looks amazing.

Polished chrome and a
very cool custom interior,

and you end up with a show winner.

Ed, look at the car.

Wow.

So, to the folding stuff.

The caddy cost me £3,000,

but shipping, body
panels, chrome polishing,

air suspension, paintwork, and a new
interior added to pound notes at every turn.

We came in at close to £20,000,

which is big money, but
the results are stunning.

So let's program in the perfect cruising
height and take the caddy somewhere special.

Wow.

Ed, this time I'm properly speechless.

I'm gobsmacked.

This car is amazing. It's stunning.

It's awesome.

I'm going to run out of words, but I'll
never run out of enthusiasm for just how good

this car looks on these roads.

Mate, I reckon it's the
best one yet, so well done.

Well, thank you, sir.

That was the kind of
effect I was looking for.

I mean, it's always a bit of a
dilemma with a car like this.

Do you keep it traditional, or do
you go a little bit more off-piste?

And with those wonderful
fins, those fantastic retro lines,

I figure we had to go a little bit crazy.

But I think the thing is, it's not just
about the looks, it's also about the ride.

So with that air suspension,
we've got that lovely, smooth flow.

Also, we can change the height,

so we can slam it into the weeds
and make it look even cooler.

Well, let's see the caddy
effect first hand, shall we?

Because I've managed
to get me and you some

VIP tickets to the UK's
premier USA car show.

And I reckon the folks there,

they're going to drink in the
lines of our wonderful caddy.

And you never know, we
could even find a buyer.

Well, it'd be right at home here

because Rally of the Giants,
held at Blenheim Palace,

attracts 500 cars and
2,000 people every year.

And considering how rare some
of these vintage US motors are,

it's the destination for our caddy.

It's a proud moment, isn't it, putting
our car on display at this show.

Oh, I think it looks
pretty fitting, isn't it?

Yeah, and there's so much to see, but it'd
be quite nice to find a customer for this.

But first of all, I reckon me and you,
we should go and have a look round.

The show began as a 30s to 50s event,

but now it's open to much
later 60s and 70s cars too.

People flock from all over Europe
to display their classical metal.

Every make and model here, that's a Ford.

This one's a Studebaker.

Look at this beautiful Cadillac.

Hello there. Is this yours, sir?

Good afternoon.

I'm Mike.

I'm Steve.

Steve, lovely to meet you.

Thank you.

Now, that is amazing.

Just tell me about it.

What year is it?

1929.

1929 Caddy.

That looks remarkably like a Rolls Royce,

and back then, Cadillac was sort of a
Rolls Royce of American cars, wasn't it?

That's correct, yes.

Their motto then was
the standard of the world.

Standard of the world.

That's right.

Yeah, very good.

Now, Ed's tracked down a Caddy
that's a bit closer in age to ours.

Hello, John. Good to meet you.

Now, this beautiful car here,

is it a 59, would that be right?

Yes, a 1959 Cadillac Coupe de Ville.

And this would be one of the
original kind of pink Cadillacs.

This is really where the song
kind of came from, I guess.

GM did two pinks.

They did Desert Sand and Rosewood,

and this is Rosewood, which
is the original GM colour,

which is still available today.

Awesome. And how long
have you owned this little beast?

I've had it five years.

And do I dare ask the
dirty question of money,

what kind of money would
one of these be worth?

I think you'd have to pay 35, 40,000
pounds for one in this condition now.

Okay.

They are getting
extremely rare and valuable.

Right, so if a classic 50s
Caddy can fetch that money,

we'll see if we can scoop
25,000 pounds for ours.

That's pushing the market for a 60s car,

but I think our Caddy is worth it.

This is our wonderful car.

It's our 1962 Cadillac Coupe,

and ultimately, we're
really pleased with it.

It's a cracking looking car.

Hopefully here today,

there's somebody who's
looking to buy a car just like this.

And if there's anybody
here that's genuinely

interested, you can
come and talk to me, Ed,

one of the members of the crew, and
you can come and buy this car off of us.

The Caddy could probably sell itself,

but I'm a Wheeler dealer,
and I love to work a pitch.

In the market for one?

No, I've got a 55.

Have you?

Sell that place at the 60s car.

During the afternoon,

two USA car nuts make serious inroads,

and I nearly score a deal.

Well, Ed, every car
show there's always a star,

and I've got a funny feeling
this has been the star here today.

Absolutely, and people have been around
this car all day long, and rightly so.

It's a fantastic looking motor.

Well, the good news is I've
had a lot of interested parties.

Nobody's actually come up with the cash,

but I've taken their details,
and I reckon I'm going

to secure us a deal within
the next couple of days.

Fingers crossed.

Now, I've got lots of interest
from the American Car Show,

but nobody actually come up with a cash.

But then I got a call
from this guy behind me.

He's called Milosh, and actually
he's an American car dealer.

He sells this kind of car, and
he's really keen on our caddy.

Let's see if I can put a deal together.

So then, Milosh, you do like it, don't you?

Yeah, Mike, I think it's fantastic.

Probably the best one I've ever seen.

Seriously?

Yeah, lovely.

Oh, it's really kind of you to say so.

You like the interior?

I think it's great.

And this colour is just
eye-popping, isn't it?

Different, definitely.

It really is different.

Yeah.

Well, all it needs now is a
new owner, and I know that

this is the kind of thing
that you like to put in stock,

so it all comes down to
the numbers, I suppose.

I'm after 25 grand,

and that really is my
bottom line on this car.

Do you think we could do those numbers?

I think I can do that.

Yeah?

Top work.

Lovely.

You've got yourself a caddy.

Thank you very much.

Well, the result of adding big style to
this incredible caddy is a profit of £5,000,

and we've well and truly given
this car another lease of life.

You can't say fairer than that.

Now, who would have
thought when I bought this

car thousands of miles
away in Los Angeles,

that beaten up old Cadillac, it would
turn out looking anything like this.

This has been an absolute
treasure to have in the workshop.

It's also been the biggest car
we've ever had in the workshop,

and also quite possibly the loudest.

That's in terms of color.

Also, it's returned us a decent profit.

If you want to see more classic cars like
this being turned around by me and Ed,

then join us again soon on Wheeler Dealers.

Tala!