Bert Gustafsson's 41 Cadillac Custom
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When I started my 39 build Bert was right there assisting with pics and info. He let me know he has a 41 Sixty Special that one day he would do some custom work on. About 6 months ago he casually drops an incredible photo of his car into the Tom Black thread and since then I’ve been waiting for him to divulge more. I emailed Bert and he sent me some tantalising other pics and “promised” to start a thread. I had a near death experience this week and I have to see more of this car before I die. . . . Over to you Bert. . . .
Absolutely, that has been my intention ever since the CCC started. Just wanted to reach a point where I feel confident that this is a build that I will finish up before I started to post since I know how incredibly slow my builds are, and with a couple of discontinued projects in my history. The current status is that the project has stalled due to other priorities but I hope that I will get back on it during the winter.
Anyway, here are a couple of pics of what I started with, in Texas where I bought it, when I picked it up at the harbour and finally in my garage.
To be continued…
Sorry to hear about your nasty accident and I really wish you a speedy recovery.
Didn’t mean to put you on the spot Bert. . . Actually, yes I did.
I don’t care if you take your time or if I take years.
Doesn’t matter. Just keep at it. I know full well that things in life can go unexpectedly. Shit, look at my last 2 years.
My accident this week was actually a miracle. Could have been so much worse and I might start a thread on workshop safety ( or stupidity) as well.
Maybe just acknowledgment from your peers will keep you inspired.
Anyhow, basically I’m selfish and I’m just wanting to see it, cos it is bloody sensational.
C’mon fellas.. Â I’m sure you could find bigger cars to customize if you tried!! Â Heh.
This’ll be another interesting build for sure.. Â We’re watching Bert.
Dave
Jus' creepin' along..
C’mon fellas.. I’m sure you could find bigger cars to customize if you tried!! Heh. This’ll be another interesting build for sure.. We’re watching Bert. Dave
Haha, actually, I think that can be tricky if you dont look into seven passenger cars, at least for that model year. And Cadillac proudly promoted their new seven foot long front fenders in the ads.
Come down Q, I’m sure you will be alive and well for many more years. So, here are some more on the background. It was not a coincidence that I bought a 41 Cadillac sixty special. I had become more and more interested in sport customs and some of the sporty one off coachbuilt cars. My absolute favorites were some of the Coachcraft cars and in particular the -41 Cadillac they built. I was a bit surprised when I found out that they had started with a sixty special which only was available as a fourdoor. We will never know why but my guess is that they made their choice based on the fact that 60s had retained the same body since -38. All other series had newer bodies with a more modern cowl area, probably less suited to their needs. I did a “photshop” version  of what I envisioned at the time and put it up on my garage wall. After some time I reached the point of no return where I felt that I really needed to start building something in a style inspired of these cars. I didn’t really want to build a copy but I figured that a -41 60s still would be the perfect start so I started my search. They didn’t made that many of them and I don’t think that I ever had seen one in person. I found surprisingly many cars for sale but most of them were restored and way out of my league. Finally I found this almost rust free project car for a decent price and brought it home in 2012.
The “photoshop” I made (in Paint), still in my garage.
To avoid problem down the road with the Swedish car inspection agency, it is a good idea to get an imported car registered before any changes are made to it. That includes making the car driveable and kind of road worthy with functional lights, brakes and such. Then, with all paperwork done and with Swedish licence plates, the fun could start.
I was very surprised when I first found out that the 60s had nothing but wood inside the stainless trim so I started with replacing that with steel. I don’t have any “after” pics now but will add that next time the car is up on the lift.
Then I moved the A pillar back 5″.
And sectioned the cowl 3″
And the doors.
And smoothed out the top of the cowl.
Also made a fiberglass copy of the cowl so that work with the window frame could be done without access to the car.
Outside to check it out from distance.
Started to figure out the shape of the trunk lid.
Early mock up that was later scrapped, think I did 2 versions before I was happy with it.
Wasn’t happy with this area so the radius was increased a bit.
Then Fadeaways.
Fender extended 5″
Was a bit hesitant on welding the fenders to the body but finally decided to do so after some discussions with Wolf.
And the hood, which was a real pain in the ass.
This was a bit awkward. I have shaved a few in the past but this was the first time I added a trunk handle to a smooth trunk lid. (Thanks Palle for the trunk handle).
Frame back from sandblasting and paint.
Parts all over the place.
Picked up the body from blasting and paint.
Body back on the frame.
Found out that I needed to replace a piece here that was super thin after blasting. Unfortunately I didn’t notice until after painting.
Made an aluminum template for the windshield frame. The frame is a long story and I will come back to that later.
Need to come up with a new location for the spare tire.
Amazing Bert.
So fantastic to see the early steps and how you managed to create such sweet lines from the square looking sedan.
And those fade away fenders… wonderful in shape and crafted so beautifully like they came like that from the factory… or perhaps even better.
Now… Imagine yours parked next to Quentin’s ’39!
Thanks for sharing the story.
Enjoy the beauty of Customizing
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