Above 1200 Sq/FT Swanny's Garage Expansion Project

[Swanny1953]

Well, I did it again. Lori couldn’t get my mouse away from me quick enough and I bought another car.

It’s a 1949 Cadillac Series 62 coupe. It rides on a bagged Roadster Shop chassis and is powered by a LS376/525 hp engine with Jim Inglese 8-stack fuel injection. The body has more than 60 mods, including 2-1/2” front and 5” rear top chop, shaved drip rails, pancaked hood, reshaped & tucked bumpers, custom grill (looks nothing like stock), etc. The car is really solid - there are no squeaks or rattles when driving and it rides and drives really well and everything works, including the A/C. It was Street Rodder Magazine’s 2017 Street Rod of the Year and Goodguys 2018 Custom of the Year. I got a ton of info with the car, so I’m not searching the internet for manuals and the like. I know I paid a s$&t ton less than the owner invested in it, and I’m happy to be its new caretaker!!
Very few things to be changed up here - the rear view camera aim is way too high (can’t see the ground behind the car), but a cursory investigation says I may have to live with that. Also, want to get some more robust filtration for the fuel injection system and have sound something I think will work better than the existing mesh screens. Finally, the hood latch is electric and only releases intermittently.

 

[zmotorsports]

Beautiful looking car Gary. Congratulations on the new addition to your already impressive stable of cars.

 

[Swanny1953]

Thanks, Mike! I’m so blessed - now have another one to get out and exercise regularly!!

 

[LXCam]

That baby is gorgeous Gary. Congratulations!

 

[Swanny1953]

Thanks, Cam!!

 

[Mr.zippy]

Stunning! Just beautiful!

 

[Swanny1953]

Thanks. It just needs a clay bar treatment and some wax.

 

[zanyad]

Va-va-voom!

 

[bugnut]

Gary, stunning car, enjoy!

 

[Xti04]

Wild ride there Gary! Looks awesome!

 

[Swanny1953]

Va-va-voom!

Gary, stunning car, enjoy!

Wild ride there Gary! Looks awesome!

Thanks, guys!
I got a lot of info with the car, primarily manuals for all the aftermarket stuff they used in the build. Included were some pictures of what they started with. I’m told there’s 3,000+ hours of bodywork in the finished car. Seeing where they started, I can appreciate that -

 

[Swanny1953]

Didn’t get a lot done yesterday as I had a squamous cell growth removed from my ear first thing. They got it all in the first pass, so no skin graft was needed.

Finished up applying Griot’s Garage Best of Show spray wax on the ‘60 Corvette and got started on the hood and roof of the Caddy. I was told by the Griot’s rep at Barrett-Jackson last January that it has micro polymers that will fill in light swirl marks.

 

[zmotorsports]

Gary, I've had very good results with Griot's Best of Show Spray Wax as well. While I don't use it a lot, it is great for a quick touch-up between deep detailing jobs. I used it quite a bit on my snowmobiles, sand drag quads and especially my Harleys as it was so easy to use and provided pretty good results for a wax that was easy to use as say something like a detail spray.

 

[Swanny1953]

In all the stuff I received in the car were a few build photos. I thought these might help demonstrate the amount of metal finishing went into this build.

According to the Street Rodder Magazine article, the owner worked alongside the builder on the car, doing a lot of the welding, wiring and even some interior work.
I took the Caddy to a local car show yesterday and came home with Best of Show for 1979 and older cars.

 

[Swanny1953]

Well, ****!! A buddy and I went to the Legacy Classic Cars shop to pick up our SEMA badges. On the way back home, traffic was backed up in the oncoming direction and there was a concrete barrier on the passenger side. All of a sudden, a Camry appeared right in front of me, having come out between two of the cars going the other way. I had nowhere to go, couldn’t stop and got caught between the side of his car and the barrier. So, I guess my repair shop gets another opportunity!



Tire on the other side got caught between the wheel and barrier so has a big cut in it.
Now I get to deal with insurance again!!

 

[Mr.zippy]

Oh geeze, not again!

 

[LXCam]

Damn Gary

 

[Swanny1953]

Oh geeze, not again!

Damn Gary

My sentiments exactly!! As the repair shop owner told me, maybe I’m not meant to have nice things!!

 

[Mr.zippy]

My sentiments exactly!! As the repair shop owner told me, maybe I’m not meant to have nice things!!

Might be a good idea to limit drives in the new Cadillac to lonely country roads. I'd be happy to store it here in the boondocks for ya, we have like zero traffic! Course, I would need to exercise it periodically.

 

[Swanny1953]

Might be a good idea to limit drives in the new Cadillac to lonely country roads. I'd be happy to store it here in the boondocks for ya, we have like zero traffic! Course, I would need to exercise it periodically.

Appreciate the offer, but this was a “country” road!!
And besides, what’s this new Cadillac you speak of??

 

[zmotorsports]

Well that ***** Gary. Best of luck dealing with both the insurance and repair shop and hope they get it repaired properly.

 

[Swanny1953]

Thanks, Mike - me too!
I was talking with another Corvette owner at a donor appreciation event last night who recently suffered a collision in his Vette caused by the other driver having passed out. The other party's insurance company noticed a Door Dash bag on the floor of the wrecked car, and denied coverage as they have a stated exclusion in their policy that they don't cover any damages incurred while driving for hire.
In my case, the other driver had a passenger in the back seat and confirmed to me that he would call his insurance company after doing an Uber drop off. I'm just sitting here waiting for that shoe to drop!! I'll be pleasantly surprised if it doesn't, but with my luck . . . . . . . .

 

[Swanny1953]

I took delivery of 2 pallets of New Age cabinets last Friday. From what the delivery driver told me when he made the appointment (he said I probably wouldn’t accept delivery), I was expecting some pretty banged up stuff. One of the pallets was in great shape, the other not so much. After taking lots of pictures and noting the damage on the BOL, I took delivery and began unboxing everything. Happily, there was no damage to any of the cabinets, not even a scratch.
Yesterday I got everything installed. I’m messed up initially, as I cut the baseboard for where I wanted the cabinets to go without making sure the studs would be in in the right place relative to the cabinets. I had to move everything an inch or so and recut the baseboards. Oh well, live and learn.

Now to attack my FSD and get things arranged. They also shipped a slat wall backsplash that I will be installing.

 

[zmotorsports]

Looks awesome Gary. Nice addition.

 

[Swanny1953]

Thanks, Mike. I really like these cabinets as I have a bigger set in the original section of the garage. I was just out of room there.

 

[zmotorsports]

Thanks, Mike. I really like these cabinets as I have a bigger set in the original section of the garage. I was just out of room there.

The cabinets over my workbenches are New Age and I have been pleased with them for the past 8 or so years I've had them. Seem to be holding up well.

 

[HogDude]

I took delivery of 2 pallets of New Age cabinets last Friday. From what the delivery driver told me when he made the appointment (he said I probably wouldn’t accept delivery), I was expecting some pretty banged up stuff. One of the pallets was in great shape, the other not so much. After taking lots of pictures and noting the damage on the BOL, I took delivery and began unboxing everything. Happily, there was no damage to any of the cabinets, not even a scratch.
Yesterday I got everything installed. I’m messed up initially, as I cut the baseboard for where I wanted the cabinets to go without making sure the studs would be in in the right place relative to the cabinets. I had to move everything an inch or so and recut the baseboards. Oh well, live and learn.

Now to attack my FSD and get things arranged. They also shipped a slat wall backsplash that I will be installing.

Using your best Billy Crystal voice (inside voice) "they look marvelous".

 

[LXCam]

Looking great Gary. Which model did you go with?

 

[Xti04]

I like that setup Gary. Looks great.

 

[Swanny1953]

Looking great Gary. Which model did you go with?

Thanks, Cam. It’s the Pro series. I wanted the heavier gauge construction and the soft close drawers and cabinet doors.

I like that setup Gary. Looks great.

Thanks. I’ve been really happy with the 11 piece Pro set I bought in 2017, so it was the natural first choice for this addition.
They also shipped a slatwall system for the backsplash. Pics to come.

 

[Swanny1953]

Today is first round of playoffs for my grandsons in football. The youngest just won in overtime to advance to next week. The older’s game was supposed to start about now, but the games are running late. So, I decided to escape and grab some lunch. Our favorite gyro place, Yia Yia’s House of Gyros is just down the street from the stadium and I haven’t had one in quite a while, so. . . .
As good as I remembered!
So now, back to football. At least it’s not monsooning like it was yesterday at this time!!

 

[Swanny1953]

Picture of New Age cabinets with backsplash installed. They also send enough dividers for 2 or more drawers.

 

[Blackbyrd]

Stinks about the collision, hopefully insurance comes out in your favor.

Love the newage cabinets, they make great products!

That raw sheetmetal pic of the caddie........ there's a lot going on there! I think the amount of work done to restore old metal bodies is lost on most. Did the lead the seams?

 

[Swanny1953]

Stinks about the collision, hopefully insurance comes out in your favor.

Love the newage cabinets, they make great products!

That raw sheetmetal pic of the caddie........ there's a lot going on there! I think the amount of work done to restore old metal bodies is lost on most. Did the lead the seams?

Still waiting to hear back from the insurer, but heard another couple of horror stories around the same "driving for hire" facts over the weekend, so not real hopeful.
Yes, New Age are great cabinets. Expensive, but I like the heavy construction and soft close features.
The Caddy had more than 60 body modifications, including a 2-1/2" front/5" rear chop, "b" pillars leaned forward, hood pancaked and opening revised, '55 Cadillac front bumper cut in 30 places to get shape & fit desired, drip rails shaved and reshaped, etc. The BAT listing said more than 3,000 hours in bodywork alone. Once the custom shop did all the metal bending, fitting and tack welding for the mods, the car owner did a lot of the welding and hammer finishing and grinding. I'm not aware any lead was used, although one of the mods was to weld the quarter panels to the body where there are normally welts. When he told me what he had invested in the car, I was surprised the number was as low as he quoted - I'm guessing he didn't put a value on his time!

 

[Blackbyrd]

I dont think most do count their time when working on them themselves. Thats custom custom, but so much subtle stuff going on you really need a side by side to really get a handle on all the changes. Thats the kind of stuff I love about classic restomods, when its not just a catalog build, but real thought and imagineation was applied. Thanks for sharing it! Its beautiful for sure.

 

[Xti04]

I couldnt imagine all that work and letting it go cheap.

 

[zmotorsports]

I couldnt imagine all that work and letting it go cheap.

You get used to it. Happens to me all the time.

 

[Mr.zippy]

You get used to it. Happens to me all the time.

Im not laughing at you Mike....I'm laughing with you. That's a mee too on the, buy high and sell low..

 

[CGohring]

Im not laughing at you Mike....I'm laughing with you. That's a mee too on the, buy high and sell low..

What ^^^ said !!

 

[Swanny1953]

I couldnt imagine all that work and letting it go cheap.

Sometimes the owner and builder get caught up chasing an award. That was the case with my ‘40 Chev. Builder told me he wrote off $100k of his time chasing the award they won, and that after the owner put more than $300k in the build. The owner really took it in the shorts when it sold at Barrett-Jackson the first time in 2016 as it hammered south of $100k!!
The Caddy owner said he watched a buddy’s family go through selling a custom after his death and he said he didn’t want to put his family through that. I still paid way less than 1/2 his monetary investment, not counting all the time he committed to the build.
Short answer - the only one who makes money on a custom build is the guy billing his time!

You get used to it. Happens to me all the time.

I hear you, Mike. I bought my ‘60 Corvette restomod pretty right, then decided to update it - LS swap, redo interior, new brakes, wheels and tires. However, scope creep (read unanticipated issues), “while we’re here we might as well”, and 2+ years of shop time later, I have way more invested in the car than I could ever get out of it. However, I love the finished car and have no intention to sell and one of the kids will enjoy it once I’m gone, so I don’t think about the over-investment.

Im not laughing at you Mike....I'm laughing with you. That's a mee too on the, buy high and sell low..

That’s me on the 2023 Corvettes. I think the girls paid $20 over sticker to buy the Stingray for me for my 70th birthday, and I “only” got $70 for it as a trade in 2-1/2 years later when I traded it for the Z06. Don’t get me wrong, the trade in value was fair, just the bloom came off the “have to have” rose on the C8’s!!!