1963 Cadillac Fleetwood
The front lower bumper ends had rotted through. I knew they would need doing eventually as it was a problem area when I bought the car and had already been filled. It's not a highly visible part of the car but but you know what it's like with these cars.
I also hope to have some new rear coil springs
fitted shortly.They arrived from the States a few days ago and this should
correct the ride height. I had new front coil springs and shocks last
summer which raised the front approx 2 inches which means I can now go
over most speed bumps. Before they were fitted it meant scraping the exhaust
box over each speed bump encountered - not nice. With new springs all round
I'll be ready to transport even the heaviest of brides with ease.
I knew from the day I bought the car that the
front bumper corners would need attention sooner or later.I decided to
monitor the situation as the majority of my driving is during the summer and
then only in good weather.Even so the cracks in the chrome became larger and
more unsightly so something had to be done.
The first idea was to simply replace them.I
traced a Cadillac specialist in the States and after sending a photo of a
page from the manual ( so we both knew which part was required as the
language barrier can cause some confusion!) (see photo Manual01) they
came back with a quote of $395 each plus shipping plus UK post! but they
only had one.This meant that to replace them both it would be almost £900
in all. I needed plan B
Next option was to take them off and repair
them. The manual explained that they could be unbolted and removed. Anyone
who has owned a 40 year old car will know that things rarely ' simply unbolt
and remove ' so after many hours of skinned knuckles it was on to plan
C - repair in situ.
After removing the front wheels and poking
large holes in the bumper ends with a screwdriver and a lot of wire brushing
it was clear that they had been repaired from inside before with filler.The
outside had been sprayed on the underside too and this repair had not
lasted.( see photos NS inner bumper & NS outer bumper ).
Filling the even larger holes would fix the
problem but not the cause.
Before Christmas I went to the NEC to
the Classic car show specifically to look at a low mileage 1964 Cadillac
Fleetwood similar to mine. The car belonged to a Scottish gentleman named
Jim Stuart and was one of the finalists in the Classic American car of the
year competition. This car is amazing and so original. Jim is a really
enthusiastic owner and a real nice guy. He let me look over the car in
detail and take lots of photos. I noticed that under the front wheel arches
were rubber splash guards that stopped all the muck being thrown into the
bumper corners. I knew then that if I was ever going to cure my roten bumper
problem I needed to make up some sort of wheel arch liner.
I shaped some steel to make a bracket to which I
could attach a protective layer.( see photo NS bracket ) First choice
was some rubber matting but I couldn't find anything that would bend
easily to attach to my bracket but still remain firm. Next I cut a section
from an old plastic water tank in
the loft which had a natural curve required for the wheel arch but it proved
to be too rigid.After thinking about it for a few days and making a
cardboard template to get the shape I decided to try some kitchen lino floor
covering we had left over. It worked a treat and secured with self tapping
screws, washers and a cable tie to keep it firm it has
moulded to the correct shape and stays firm.After trimming with a stanley
knife and a coating of underbody sealer in now protects the inner bumper
ends.
(The inside of the bumper was filled and coated
with black hammerite before the brackets and splashguards were fitted.) That
only left the outside. I am still in the process of finishing this. More
photos to follow.
Pics and words courtesy of American Style Weddings