FE-FC Holden Discussion Forum

Hi everyone,

This not a F@#D, its a Lincoln. Here are some shots of a 1956 Lincoln Capri I have just acquired. It is Glacier White over Summit Green. Fairly rare, they made 4,355 of the Hardtops for 1956 and this was a Christmas present from a Colorado Springs man to his wife. Paint and trim are original. Motor is a 368 ci V8, 3 speed auto, power steer, brakes and automatic lubrication. Weighs 1950 kgs and is 19.25' long. All things being equal it should be here in a couple of months.

(http://i53.tinypic.com/257g3r8.jpg)
(http://i54.tinypic.com/2dv6hwo.jpg)

Cheers
John

Damn John, that's some fine looking American steel.
Congrats on the new addition.
I hope it turn out to be everything they say it is.
Looking forward to getting a closer look some day soon.
Regards
Alex

Hey John,
Looks like a classic if i ever saw one. Well done, hope it arrives safely.
Cheers,
Graham

not an FE or FC, but what a fantastic car!!

more pics when available, please John!

John,

That's a very NICE addition, how many is there in the stable now?

Cheers
John

I see that you're still holding true to Nev... Very 138.   :D

A nice addition to your collection Nev, I hope that it turns out to be all that you expect

Keith

very nice ride, John.   saw this while browsing...http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Orig-1956-Advert-LINCOLN-Premiere-Coupe-YELLOW-/380281197865?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item588a869529.   thought you might be interested.    Mike.

Hi John
Very nice addition to the stable how many is that now?
Cheers
Brett

Just beautiful 8)

Hi all.

Well the Lincoln deal fell through. Funny isnt it but both my Dad (was) and I am a GM guy so I guess it wasnt unexpected.

Still we keep moving on and here are photos of one that I have concluded. Its a 1948 Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty Special, in Sage Green with Green Bedford Cord and Black Leather trim. This is another landmark design from Bill Mitchell, following on from his ground breaking 1938-41 Sixty Special. This was Cadillacs top of the line series for most of the 50s and 60s. Aside from the famous first ever tailfins inspired by the P38 fighter this pioneered the modern greenhouse to body ratio. Despite the fact that its nearly 19' long compare how modern it looks compared with most 1948 cars.

It is powered by a 346 ci (5.6 ltr) side valve V8 (last year) and four speed Hydramatic (goes back to 1940!) and hydra lectric windows and front seat. Windows are hydraulic and used brake fluid to operate them! These have been converted to ATF, not before leaking cylinders damaged some of the door paint. 33,000 miles recorded, I dont know if its correct.

Here are a few photos;
(http://i51.tinypic.com/2v67c.jpg)
(http://i52.tinypic.com/2ekos3m.jpg)
(http://i56.tinypic.com/w8xffa.jpg)

Cheers
John

 

You sure can pick them........................ looks great hope it lands safely.

Cheers Wayne

She's a beauty!!
I hope you're cruisin in it soon.
Regards
Alex

Thanks guys.

She's not as glamourous as the Lincoln, Alex, or the Buicks, or even the FE! But she is from that narrow window for US cars between about 1939 to 1953 when styling had matured but they were still "relatively" restrained, senior Cadillacs were understated. Fleetwood Sixty's had little chrome adornment and before power steer/brakes etc., became common and when cloth trim was the sign of quality. My 53 Riviera is right on the cusp of this change with its brash colour scheme. From 1954/55 on the US went beserk with colour, power, fins and chrome.

All good fun.

Cheers
John

 

 

Beautiful. Well done, John.

The 60S arrived bang on time from Savannah Georgia, 29 days door to door. Cleared customs and AQIS with no problems or extra cost. In all - aside from the fact that it cost money :P  -  it was painless.

Car is exactly as described by the vendor no surprises whatsoever, we charged the battery and she fired straight up and runs and drives beautifully. Even the wipers work! One of the Hydro-lectric windows seems to have a mind of its own, but that seems par for the course with these. The colour is actually Cavern Green and the trim is black leather and what was originally a light green broadcloth, its now faded to a light grey. Some restoration will be required to preserve where the leather has shrunk and pulled the stitching but largely its good. I need to address the paint on the bottom of three doors where the brake fluid has leaked from the window cylinders and wrecked the paint but other than this and some minor chrome work the outside is also pretty good.

Car passed rego this morning. I have a ticket for Eastern Creek, so hopefully she will be there.

I have a few jobs to do which I knew about when I bought it, looking forward to actually driving her. My engineer says she drives better than my 53 Buick  :(, but that's on cross plies and this is on radials :).

Cheers
John

Look forward to viewing her on Sunday.

Cheers
John

John That is sooooo Cool ......FC427......

Glad she arrived safetly John, she looks like a beauty.     Dave

I like Cadillacs, but I never really wanted to own one... 

until I saw this one 8) 8) 8)

 

I think you might need 2 tickets to park that at Eastern Creek John  :o verrry nice by the way, hope you can make it, look forward to seeing it

Regards, Gary

John - I saw you on the M7 as I headed home in the opposite direction.  I hope to get a proper look some time, but you looked mighty fine on the road!

Cheers
David

Thanks David.

Here she is next to an older and (only slightly) larger cousin.

(http://i51.tinypic.com/208fcc8.jpg)

It was a great day yesterday, weather was fantastic after Saturday. I didn't get around to saying hello to everyone as planned, the FE/FCs looked fantastic.

Gary, that's twice recently that I've seen your brother's Packard, next I'd like to meet your brother ;D

Cheers
John

Very nice John, very grand! What was it like to drive?
Brett

Contrary to the great myth of incompetent American cars, she drives very well. Heavy and ponderous at low speed as you would expect but if you press on she drives very well and is quite able to deal with modern traffic. No lack of torque and a four speed Hydramatic, but only the top three are used in normal driving and excellent brakes. Because there's no steering power assist she's easy to place on the road, although you're always conscious of over two tons of car. Good high driving position, comfortable seat, a really good cruiser. I would argue that what really ruins American cars of the mid 50s to early 70s is the attrociously light power steering, fix this and the cars are quite competent.

The great thing is being able to look in the windows of large 4wds as you travel along.

Regards
John

Sadly no Holdens in the garage at present, however I have been active in tidying up "Bess" my 1948 Cadillac Fleetwood 60 Special. These were expensive and not common. The wheelbase at 133 inches was seven inches longer than the Series 61 and 62s and the car is 19' long and weighs about 2200 kgs. To my knowledge there are two in Australia. Mine is a fairly early car, number 945 of 6,561 made, failrly low production for a US Car. Sir Robert Menzies had a '49 model as his official car so there is an Australian connection.

In late December we set about rectifying paint damage to the lower doors caused by brake fluid leakage from the "Hydra Lectric" windows. This comprises windows (and the front seat) that are electrically actuated but operated by a hydraulic pump on the firewall that originally used brake fluid for the window cylinders. Needless to say when they leaked or failed (which they often did) the brake fluid ruined the paint and rubbers on the lower doors. Over Christmas last year we spent three weeks stripping all of the lower half paint and repairing some rear dog leg and lower front guard rust. The biggest job, though was rust around the front fog lights that had been apallingly repaired. Here's what we found.Note the filler in the first two photos.
(http://i46.tinypic.com/33ym5nn.jpg)
(http://i45.tinypic.com/283w9i.jpg)

Heres what we did;

(http://i45.tinypic.com/2n1vxjd.jpg)
(http://i49.tinypic.com/1zdyamv.jpg)

Here's how it looked

(http://i46.tinypic.com/2qjzxns.jpg)
(http://i46.tinypic.com/2qjzxns.jpg)

And here how she looks now

(http://i47.tinypic.com/2niqgs9.jpg)

Not much apparent change and some mechanical stuff to be done. Apologies for it being non Holden, but she is in the family - you can see the FX/FJ in her.

John

Top job John. The car looks great. Who did the work?
Cheers,
Graham

John
Nice to have you back on the forum i feared we had lost you!! You are a great purveyor of quality cars and this thread is no exception! Is the Cadillac a Dark Grey or a light Black?
Thanks
Brett

Thanks Guys, a bloke who restored one of my Alfas some years ago Graham.

Brett, the Caddy is actually dark green.

I just bought this one, its on its way from Oregon. Its a 1947 Chrysler Windsor Highlander and yes that plaid interior is correct and mostly original.

https://picasaweb.google.com/pagoda113/1947ChryslerWindsor?authkey=Gv1sRgCOKC8MDSh9np6AE#

Regards
John

Wow - that is fabulous.  What is its history?

David

Looks like another worthy addition is on it's way to your stable John

The Caddy looks good, although I thought it looked impressive before he work

Have you changed the hydraulic fluid in the windows to a more paint friendly type?

Regards, Gary

Firstly, I hope the forum doesn't mind me roaming off topic with this stuff, I'm happy to desist if it's a problem.

David, it's a one family owned car first purchased by a Doctor in California who owned it until 1982, then it was passed to a nephew in Ilinois who worked for a Chrysler dealer and who sympathetically maintained it until now.

About half the paint and most of the interior is original. it has the Fluid Drive gearbox which is a cross between a manual and automatic - only more complicated. The gearbox is four speed but you can drive it as a conventional auto or as a manual without using the clutch much. I don't properly understand it myself yet but I will need to learn it. The car has just over 100,000 miles recorded and the engine and gearbox have been rebuilt.

Gary, the Caddy looks much better now and rather than the original brake fluid the hydraulic system now runs ATF which won't hurt the paint. It drives really well and is a lot of fun.

I look forward to catching up with you guys next Sunday.

Regards
John

John
fantastic as always and dont dare stop taking about your vehicle stable as it is always a thrill to catch up with the latest! What are the red bracket things on the front floor? Looks a great old girl!
congratulations
Brett

John,

I am glad Brett asked about the red bracket things, because that had me puzzling as well.

Have you seen/driven her or is this a long distance love affair?

Cheers
David

Just looks like carpet binding to me.. and a red handbrake handle.


regards

Weddo

Hey Johns,

There is a specific area created just for you!! You are free to add all of your photos and any information there... we would love to see them and hear all about them.

Cheers JB

Nice car there John,
I sold you the FE a few years ago from Glossodia, just wondering by any chance would you be interested in selling it back as I missed it as it drove ou the driveway.
Cheers Dennis

Hey Deno,

Bad news I'm afraid.

John had two FE Special Sedans, one 2T Blue, the other Tan over Cream, and both have moved on again. I know where the latter one is (it's actually owned by a bloke called Dennis, as it happens), but the whereabouts of the other I don't know exactly. I have an idea it was sold to a collector in WA, but couldn't swear to it.

We haven't seen John on the forum here for years.

Thankyou so very much, yes it was the 2T Blue that I should have never had sold.