Why I never have any savings in the bank
How it all started
When the virus infected me? Sometime in the 90s, partially through stories of my grandmother's brothers who live in America. When I was in school, I was 14/15, I wanted a 1958 Buick or a Plymouth Belvedere/Fury, Christine of course. I regularly bought the 'Old Car Trader', a sort of Classis Trader advertisement magazine, but in phone book format, nowadays we have eBay, but then you were happy with such a magazine. I had already selected some cars and wanted to have one shipped to us, my parents didn't think that was such a good idea, but I had already called some people and companies for info, you never know. Fortunately, my parents did go to car fairs and dealers with me. We visited Bert Plomp of Exclusive Cars in Purmerend more often, they had beautiful cars. Even ate a sandwich with them. When I almost had my driver's license they gave in and we went to Damwoude, to Bert Zijlstra of California Classics. There was a 1960 Cadillac Fleetwood for sale. Bert thought this was for my dad, when he understood that the car was for me he asked me if I didn't want an Escort or Golf. So no... Two weeks later we drove home with my dad. From then on it never got better....
This 60 Cadillac taught me a lot, especially that it's useful to know what's under the hood.... Most rides ended in a job. Blown gaskets, stuck throttle, leaks, power issues and much more. After this one ther were 4 more Cadillacs. First a much better and nicer 1962 Sedan de Ville. Bought at Peeters in Neer. It was an ex wedding car. Enjoyed it for a few years and attended a few events. Often with family and friends. I thought a 58er was much nicer. When I was looking for parts for the 62er I came across a beautiful 58er Sedan de Ville in Germany. This was in 2001. Just before that, I had already gone to see a 57er Fleetwood in Opperdoes (an old acquaintance of Exclusive Cars, only it was still black at the time) and then a '58 Fleetwood in the Cadillac museum in Hachenburg. Everything on the same day. Long live the lease car! Both were not good enough. It became the German 58. A lot has been done to this 58 as well. Interior reupholstered, paintwork and engine overhaul. It would stay... With my second girlfriend it happened afterall. I was going to sell it in connection with the purchase of a house. At that time I also had a 1972 Sedan de Ville as a daily that I was also going to sell. I was hoping the 58er would sell sooner so I could keep the 72er. Unfortunately that was the other way around. Two months later, I left her and met Wendy, my current wife.
Together we bought a 1964 Fleetwood in Damwoude, which I had seen there before. We didn't have to do much to it, we did enjoy it a lot. However, I fell under the spell of Mercedes Benz and at one point had 4 Benzes at the same time. Because of this, I decided in my infinite wisdom to sell the Cadillac and enjoy my S-Class 500 SE to drive on the weekends. This was disappointing because it didn't drive much different than the daily 260 E and 300 D Turbo. After having sold the 64er in 2011, it started to itch again in early 2012 when we saw and especially heard those 40s and 50s in Rosmalen. I HAD to have one again.
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I like many Americans, but since my wife likes the rounder 40s models better than the 50s models, we started looking for a 40s model in 2012. A few weeks before the Jukebox show in Rosmalen we had already seen a nice 1948 Buick Roadmaster, a bit to custom for our taste, but the search started. We drove around the country to different cars from the 1940s. The high point, and also the low point, was a 1937 Lincoln Zephyr V12. Beautiful model but it was a very dilapidated example, that would cost too much money and energy to restore. We didn't have the money, the knowledge or the space for that.
Pontiac Streamliner
Pontiac Specifications and Equipment
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Straight 8 / Line 8
249CI (4.1L)
Flathead 108 BHP / hp (High Comp. head)
6 Volt
Hydra-Matic 4 Speed Automatic
1 of 98,469 Streamliners 8 with Hydra-matic build in 1948, total production for 1948 is 235,419, baseprice $2,049 (Car+transmission)
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oil bath air cleaner
Venti-heat
Super DeLuxe radio
Electric clock
backup light
Luggage compartment light
Underhood and trouble light
fog lights
Handbrake light
Glove box light
rear window wiper
windshield washer
Directional signals
Passenger side mirror
Rear & front bumper guard and rail
Visor vanity mirror
Non glare mirror
License plate frame
exhaust deflector
Hull Compass
Fulton Sunshield
Traffic light viewer
We had already seen a beautiful 1948 Pontiac in Damwoude, now our purveyor to the royal household. Nice model, fairly good condition, but a bit too expensive. Went to have a look in September. The owner of the company, Bert, was not there and called back later to see if I was interested. Of course, but with trade-in of our Mercedes 500 SE from 1983. That was possible, we had to come by. No sooner said than done. At the end of September a beautiful Pontiac was delivered to our door!
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It was my first car with a flathead straight 8.6 volts, a lack of power, no electrical/hydraulic toys (well you can't break it either...) and no wings.​ The first ride showed that it braked quite well without power brakes, but that it was of little use if the car doesn't go faster than 80... Steering was hard, so a large steering wheel, and people didn't know any better. The first power steering was not available from Chrysler until 1951 and 1952 from Cadillac. It also turned out that several parts were so outdated that I had to look for new ones. If you touched the wiring harness it instantly pulverized. Also, the mounting point of the accelerator pedal appeared to be cracked and thus did not operate the carburetor properly. Hence the 'top' of 80. Through Marktplaats I got to know Thijs Vogels. He rented out his 48 Pontiac and I was allowed to come and see how it should be connected. The same afternoon we went to Best. Of course it quickly became clear what was wrong. Later Thijs helped me enormously by selling his spare engine to me when it turned out that my block was cracked.
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Fortunately, there are many companies in America that can supply parts (see also 'parts & links') and eBay is also useful. It took several evenings of sniffing around, but everything was soon found to get it up and running again. ​
Little was known about the history of the car. It is produced at the GM factory in Kansas City, USA. According to tradition, it would have had only 3 American owners. This Streamliner was already driving in the 1970s in Arizona, where the last owner also lived. Silent witness were the red gravel stones in the chassis and the red dust....
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The title address in the USA
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The condition of the car was good. It was actually still largely original with small signs of wear all around, restyle dents, lacquered scratches, polished spots etc, but this is all part of the charm of such a car. The engine, gearbox and many other technical parts were eventually completely overhauled. The interior was still partly original except for the carpeting and upholstery of the benches, which were renewed in 2008 with original SMS upholstery.
In the 6 years that we had the car, a lot of work has been done and the electrics of the car have become a lot safer, the fuel supply has been renewed, the carburettor has been overhauled and many other small things have been done. The winter of 2013/2014 was the winter of the technical overhaul. Engine and gearbox were then completely overhauled. He also still drove 80, only now that was in miles instead of kilometers! Look at the section 'did anything else?' for more information about the restoration. The car was sold in the summer of 2018.
We saw the Pontiac in Damwoude, for example, as a proud showpiece in the showroom!
From Straight 8, via four banger to the fabulous V8
Thanks to my father's urge to switch, we had a variety of cars at home, of which the Peugeot 504 stayed with me the most. I therefore wanted a second classic and after an extensive search I found a nice one. But yes, 4 cylinders... While replacing the spark plugs, Wendy kept tackling the 4th spark plug cheerfully. She was so used to 8 cylinders by now!
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We both missed the sound of a real V8. For years I wanted a woody station and so the Peugeot was sold and a woody had to come. We looked at everything that seemed interesting. Two Ramblers, two Torino's, several LTD's and, due to lack of it, almost no GM's except for a beautiful Buick Sport Wagon with windows in the roof, but it was too bad.
Hudson Specifications and options
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Straight 6 / Lijn 6
262 CI (4.3L)
Flathead 127 BHP
6 Volt
Hydra-Matic 4 Speed Automatic ($176)
1 of 17.792 Hudson (super) Wasps build in 1953
Baseprice $ 2.642 (Car+transmission)
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Oil bath air cleaner ($8)
Weather Control heater ($76)
Rectungular bumper guard ($24)
Direction indicator ($24)
Glare proof mirror ($5)
Exhaust deflector ($2)
Cigar lighter ($4)
Outside rearview mirror ($6)
Eight tube radio ($100)
Wheel trim rings ($15)
Window shades ($18)
Two-tone paint ($31)
Twin-H setup ($85.60)
Door handle guards
Tissue Dispenser
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Until one Friday evening an LTD from 1970 was offered in Harderwijk. Emailed immediately and called in the morning. Right there. When we got back, the Buick dealer happened to be there too. But too late! haha! We had already bought it. Paid a fair amount as there was a tap in the engine. So it became a 1970 Ford LTD Country Squire. We prepared this car for inspection and not much later we removed the engine to overhaul it and provide it with some extra horsepower.
The address of one of the previous owners
The Ford had a stack of booklets with some bills.
If you don't know Wally World, you should watch the film 'National
Lampoons Vacation' just have a look.
A special detail is the story of the last known American owner. This was a man with a somewhat murky criminal past. Perhaps that is why the car ended up at an auction. Anyway, the car had hardly been driven since 2001. The invoice of the still new tires was proof of this. In the meantime, I had started to itch again and I still wanted a Cadillac instead of the Pontiac. One that drove easier, offered a better overview, had brake and power steering and a bit more power than the Pontiac. Oh and it had to be a light color, save washing, and it had to be a hardtop. The choice quickly fell on a 1956 Sedan de Ville, the first year with a hardtop sedan at Cadillac.
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We viewed and drove 3 copies and we almost opted for a model with revised technology, but which had to be painted and partly re-chromed. Until I looked on Youtube at other 1956 Caddies for a nice color I saw one in the same color in an American driveway. When I watched this video, it turned out that they were photos of a specimen that was brought to the Netherlands in 2006 and that was located in Dieren (where I grew up). Sent a message via Youtube and there was an immediate response. Indicated that I had one in mind and I had to answer quickly, I was told to take a look at this one for fun. He couldn't have imagined that I was on the sidewalk the next evening and immediately bought it after a ride and a check on the bridge! The brakes needed some work and I was able to pick it up two weeks later. When I called that I was coming the salesman said 'are you sure?' He didn't necessarily want to lose him! Still, the Cadillac went with me and came into the garage next to the Ford and the Pontiac. The Pontiac cleared the field not much later. There may be space in the garage, but not in the bank account!
The 2006 Cadillac in America with the previous owner, Paul Wegman.
According to the sticker on the windshield, the Cadillac had its last American service in 2006 in the town of Elma, New York, at Pinta's Auto Service. Nice detail; I have an aunt named Elma!
The car comes from Buffalo, New York and was painted by the previous owner. Bill and Phylis were the last American owners. Most of the chrome has been redone by them although it was quite a job, some had been lost due to the chromer. The sofas have also been reupholstered by them, unfortunately not with a strong beautiful fabric. We are going to have this done with original SMS upholstery. The automatic transmission (a double-coupling Hydra-Matic) would have been overhauled. Understandable given the reputation. The last (Dutch) owner did a few small things and drove it little. After a lot of hassle with the brakes and ignition, we attended many events with the Cadillac from mid-July to the end of October 2017. Nice car! I could, however, make it a bit more beautiful and I wanted to carry out major maintenance. This resulted in a frame-off restoration.... See 'something else done' again for the project. It is now 2022 and he is almost ready to be aligned.
At the end of 2019 there was another search for a V8 sedan with which I could drive to work in nice and reasonable weather. Before the winter, another Mercedes 190 had arrived, which was allowed to go through the brine. Several cars passed by. The Cadillac Seville from the first series turned out to be a nice driving model and we almost bought one that needed a bit of work but because we were on vacation for a week it passed us by. After the holidays we went to see a late 70's Ford LTD but it was too bad. Through the now defunct site 'Speurders' I came across a 1967 Ford LTD. A nice car but without a story. So we went to see for ourselves and it turned out to be a very neat and good car that we bought. Due to a problem with a cooling water hose, we had a hot tube. The result was that the heads had to come off and with that, everything and anything was tackled right away. Many fun rides and even drove a single event during the smooth period of corona.
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In the fall of 2021, another dream came into view. A Hudson step-down model. This car was for sale in the Netherlands and the price was such that we could buy it if we sold one of the Fords. We immediately went to see but the car was sufficient did not live up to the expectations that the price suggested. Wendy wasn't impressed either. It wasn't that bad, it reminded me of the Pontiac, but rather too expensive for the condition. I dared, after all, it was the luxurious long Commodore with a line 8 from 1950. On the way home we decided not to do it. Well, once something like this is in my head..... then I will look further. This time eBay offered little solace, BaT (Bring a trailer) also had no offer. Hemmings, however, does. We saw a neat Super Wasp from 1953. When it turned out that he was only a 2 hour drive from our American friend Mark Duggan, we took the plunge and he went to look for us. The car turned out to be as described and we bought it. It stood in Massachusetts at the garage of R&D Classics for a while after which it was taken to the harbor. At the beginning of February he went on the boat and on March 15 he was delivered to the garage. Exciting to buy remotely. Yes. Unfortunately, the paint is less beautiful and the gearbox shifts a bit strangely. We have something to do again.... About 25 step down models have been registered in the Netherlands. So this will be number 26 0f 27 because R&D Classics also brought a red Hudson Coupe to the Netherlands earlier this year. See who gets it registered first!
