Friday, January 17, 2014

Daily Driver: 1961 Cadillac Brougham by Pininfarina

Sometimes my pixel pushing just doesn't quite come in line with my visions. I like this mythical Pininfarina-bodied '61 Caddy Brougham, following on from their '59s and '60s. Besides deleting the fins, something all manufacturers were beginning to do by '61, I widened the greenhouse, the glass and roof structure. I did that to lessen the shoulder width, to give it more of an Exner-like early fuselage look, like the '60 Valiant and '62 B-bodies. The finless and sloping trunk now look a lot like the beautiful '61 Oldsmobile, but I'm pretty sure Caddy would never have gone with it. On the other hand, it has the look of the '57-'58 Eldorado without the fins.

I think that's where I got this chop wrong. I extended the wheelbase from the donor Series 62, and the straight-edged upper window line looks wrong. It should be more of a graceful arch. I'm pretty sure Caddy would have insisted on the straight upper though. I created a bit of chrome trim near the taillights, pretty much leaving all "jewelry" associated with the rocket exhaust taillights , bumper, and lower skegs.The center-opening door handles line up with a '60 Eldorado-like chrome-edged and paint-filled full length molding. A gold Cadillac crest adorns the roof's sail panel.

Daily driver, so I didn't clean the whitewalls, lol.

  • Bobf, this was done a few days before I read your last commetn out doing an Eldorado with a modified rear end. Great minds and all that, lol. I'm going to do a coupe or convertible though, a true Eldo next, per your suggestion.

2 comments:

  1. I glanced at this and thought 'How could he . ?' Then I read the text and then enlarged the photo. You know what? I like it a lot. The suggestion for the Eldorado was kind of a vision. A '60 Eldoado Brougham in coupe form with the greenhouse from a '57 Chrysler 300 and '60 Buick headlights turned vertically on a '64 Cadillac grill with body color divider. I have no idea where that idea came from but it was very clear. Strange. Very strange.

    Bobf

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    1. thanks! I hope everyone enlarges the photos, they show so much more detail usually! This one sat on my computer for months. I may have started it back in the late summer. I have to let them percolate for a while sometimes!

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