October 2007 - Porsche Club of America – Northeast Region

Four Speeds & Drum Brakes
Tom Tate
Sometimes I stumble across the strangest
things looking in garages for old Porsches.
There is a fellow down the road from me with a
pretty good-sized barn alongside his house that
has always looked interesting. The weeds had
grown in front of the two doors indicating that
whatever lives there hasn’t seen daylight in years.
A few years ago I stopped by to see if the owner
wanted to rent out part of the space for winter
storage.
He showed me into the garage so that I could
see that there was no room to spare. The space
was occupied by what looked like a huge trash
pile. I could see grocery bags of empty soda cans,
and plies of newspapers just waiting for a Boy
Scout drive. The trouble is that the scouts quit
doing that back in the ‘80s.
There were at least a dozen leaf rakes stacked up
against one wall. Not a whole one in the bunch.
There were three old lawnmowers in a pile, a few
worn out sawhorses and lots of lumber in what
could only be called a recycle corner. Why do
I was told that under the largest pile was a 1953
Cadillac, that the owner had brought brand new.
He explained that it was driven daily until 1973.
we think that a strip of wood with termite holes
in it ripped off the back of a house will be used
again? An old dresser with two drawers missing
and all the knobs gone provided a surface for a
collection of empty oil cans and a yellow plastic
antifreeze bottle.
I was told that under the largest pile was a
1953 Cadillac that the owner had bought brand
new. He explained that it was driven daily until
1973. The two tailpipes that went through the
bumpers had failed and replacements couldn’t
be located. Because of that the car wouldn’t pass
Mass. inspection so it was parked with 73k on the
clock. He was always going to get a set of those
tailpipes and put it back on the road but just
never got around to it. It looked to be as big as a
boxcar and was very black. My knowledge of GM
products is pretty limited and I really don’t have
any plans to expand it so I just let that information
roll by. I did volunteer to make a regular stop
on Saturdays during my dump run to help make
some space. Over a period of a few months the
old pine boards became visible and the chrome
laden sides of the old Caddy emerged. The thing
was huge. I couldn’t pace it off because of the
piles that still held it captive but it looked to be
25 feet long anyway. It sat on four flat tires and
looked like a low rider from LA. The owner said
that a local chap had expressed an interest and
that maybe it would rise from the dead someday.
Two winters came and went and the weeds
were just as thick in front of the barn doors. A visit
in the spring of this year found the Caddy fully
uncovered but still hunkered down on the floor.
Summer arrived but the doors remained closed. A
week after the Endicott Estate Car Show I stopped
by to tell the owner about all the restored Cadillacs
that I had seen on display. The earlier prospect
had decided that his garage wasn’t large
enough for the big Fleetwood and the owner said
that if I knew anyone that wanted it to send them
by for a look.
I sent an e-mail out to local 356 Registry members
figuring that they may know someone who
is into Caddys the way we are
into old Porsches. I also went on
the ‘net and tracked down the
top three finishers that had ‘50s
Cadillacs at the Dedham show.
Two had an interest in adding
to their collection and to them
a Fleetwood seemed like a real
prize. I described the car as best I could and sent a
few photos along to what seemed to be the more
eager of the two. He wanted to drive down for
a look and agreed that $2500 seemed fair. I had
picked that figure out of the air. The owner said
the he’d be happy with anything over $400 but
I figured that the old Caddy should bring more
money. I know that restored cars of that type
are worth in the high 20s but I figured that the
restoration would easily run $25k. The chrome
plating on the bumpers alone would probably
cost more than a paint job on a 356. Besides,
the prospect was quick to agree that it was a fair
figure. I passed along the contact information and
stepped out of the picture. These guys were on
their own to work out the details.
Two days later I got an e-mail from a fellow in
Dallas, Texas who was related to a New England
356 owner, had gotten the message, and was
looking for a Fleetwood. I had to tell him that I believed
it was sold but that I’d check and get back
continued on page 38
page 6
N O R E A S T E R