The 1959 Caddy!

Had been looking for such a car since I was 14. When other boys of my age group were dreaming of Lamborghinis and Ferraris, I was thinking of a 1959 Cadillac... So now, after so many years, my friend who's passion is restoration of classic cars - Just discovered this!

Sure, it's not a soft top Eldorado, or a hard top Eldorado Seville, nor a Coupe Deville, but a 4 door Fleetwood, so a bit of a disappointment in that sense... But it's all that I can get my hands on! The current owner (my friend) is right now just tormenting me, by posting pictures of on his FaceBook page.

So what do you guys think? Should I try buying it from him? Or is thing going to turn into a headache for me down the road, (as maintaining/restoring classics like these takes a lot of time, energy, and dedication)...

 

I think that this car is close to what you have been looking for but... not exactly. If you know you will be happy with it and enjoy the labor of maintaining it then go for it. If you have doubts, then take a bit more time to think about it.

 

You know, that is indeed a very wise thing to say - Thanks! So I now think that I'll pass, as it's close to, (but not exactly) what I have been looking for... So next I thought that perhaps it would be nice if I just joined the restoration team. That way I'll gain some real experience of putting such a car back into service. Therefore when I will find exactly what I'm looking for - Making it roadworthy again will become very easy! But unfortunately, this car got sold to someone else yesterday. I read about it just minutes ago...

Well Frank, this car, (and many others like it) were sold here in large numbers. Specially in the late 50s to early 60s, as that was the time when Pakistan seriously modernized itself, under the leadership of President & Field Marshal Ayub Khan (our first military dictator). Today the late Ayub Khan is remembered as somewhat incompetent and lacking in vision, he is mainly criticized for copying USA in every way. So on the plus side, he initiated many grand projects, like building those giant dams, which gave birth to one of the largest man made irrigation systems in the world, (because of which even in the worst of times our agriculture is now impossible to fail) - I actually talked about this over here in the past too. See these links for example:

Tarbela & Mangla dams post:
http://www.gardenstew.com/threads/tarbela-dam-of-pakistan-video.31172/

And in this post you can see that very same irrigation system, almost a 1000 miles downstream:
http://www.gardenstew.com/threads/roadtrip-into-the-farmlands-of-sindh-province.32200/

So even though these projects came into existence after he was long gone, it is clearly recorded in history who set the ball rolling towards massive modernization of Pakistan. However not only that, but President & Field Marshal Ayub Khan is also remembered for giving India a bloody nose in the 1965 war!

http://playit.pk/watch?v=3JFkneHRUtc

But on the other hand, he is also criticized for copying USA too much, even when it did not suit us... For example, we gained independence from the British in 1947, after almost 200 years of colonial rule. So naturally, we (even today) have many common things with the British. Take the widespread use of the English language over here, because of which I have no problem communicating with anyone internationally (as it's like a first language to me). While in other areas of Asia and the Middle East, people really struggle to communicate and interact, even over the internet...

So this is how one day (for reasons best known to him only), [ ] President & Field Marshal Ayub Khan decided that in the future, Pakistan will switch from the British right hand drive system, to the American (where the driver sits on the left side). Therefore all future roads and highways will now be based on the left hand drive system - So everyone was given a date to convert. This (as expected) lead to massive imports of all types of American cars for a few years - Which no doubt is how this 1959 Caddy too must have come to Pakistan.

But the plan to convert from right hand drive to left hand drive was eventually canceled. As many people in the rural areas had raised/trained their animals (like horses, camels, ox, mules, and donkeys) to follow the British right hand driving method (which actually worked very well for us since the last 200 years). So this would have greatly increased the chances of fatal accidents between motor vehicles and animal drawn carts (as the animal would still be following the British system by instinct).

Still, the left hand drive American cars continued to drive on our streets, even though they became slightly awkward (specially for new drivers) in the right hand driving system. Because of this they lost a lot of their resell value too, as we decided never to convert to the American system. But the actual death blow for these cars came in the 70s, when the Arabs decided to raise petrochemical prices. So that's when majority of these fuel guzzlers where sent straight to the junkyards for scrap. Which is why today just a handful now remain roadworthy over here...

Anyway, this is how the Japanese cars took over in Pakistan, and today are also produced under license in the country. The Toyota Corolla for example is an all time Pakistani favorite, followed by Honda City, Civic, and Accord, as well as Suzuki. Nissan and Mazda are popular too, but only when it comes to heavy vehicles. Toyota Land Cruiser and Hilux are extremely popular 4x4s, - And when it comes to luxury cars, again, Toyota Lexus is considered as the pinnacle. Mercedes Benz and BMW are also thought of as luxurious, but not as popular as their Japanese competitors.

 

Exactly... Besides, there is another issue too - Which is that true purists (like my friend) would like to have it restored in exactly the same way it must have come out of the factory. Such people are so detail oriented that they go the extra mile to even buy vintage carpets (so it would match exactly). Whereas I would like to incorporate all sorts of modern technology in it, starting with a complete digital dashboard, full of LED display, and LCD computer screens. Which is actually the main reason why purists don't want to sell me anything, (as I "destroy" stuff in their opinion) - While I think that I am giving new life to classic objects...

By the way, you'll enjoy reading this:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1180952/when-i-bought-a-complete-mercedes

 

So, the 59 Caddy is already sold? That's a shame. The body looked to be in good condition and i was thinking you could cut off the top, gut the interior and have a big and really unique container garden

 

That's not really a bad idea... However, my secret motivation to buy a 1959 Cadillac Coupe Deville (call it an adolescent fantasy of mine) was to actually tie up all my enemies (which mostly comprised of my school teachers), line then all neatly on the street - And then drive over them all, one by one, (and that too very very slowly) in such a car!!! With just one teacher being exempt from this, (who should be in the passenger seat)...

But alas, we can't always have our way, can we? So instead I think I'll now just have to settle for buying a DVD of Death Race 2000...

 

well, yes, i think you have realized that perhaps your motivation for wanting this particular car may have been slightly flawed or perhaps just left-over 14 year old dreams that maybe don't apply anymore. At any rate, in most cases, i would rather purchase nothing than to purchase something that will, every time i see it, remind me that it wasn't really what i wanted in the first place but only an unsatisfactory second-best. When i make this mistake, i inevitably end up giving my second-best purchase away to someone who might appreciate it. Enjoy your DVD and i will enjoy imagining that 59 Caddy with a riot of plants, flowers, trees growing there. Those tail fins are nothing short of spectacular, but feeling a nostalgia for them is another thing.