1958 Cadillac Series 62?

[iamsuperdan]

I've done some google searching and have come up empty, so I have a questions for the 50s car experts.

 

Has a 1958 Cadillac Series 62 convertible ever been kitted?

If not, is there any Cadillac kit that would make a reasonably close fascimile?

 

I'm no Cadillac expert, but i have an idea for one of these.

 

 

Thanks!

[StevenGuthmiller]

No.

The only '58 Cadillacs ever offered were the IMEX 1958 Eldorado convertible and hard top, and the Johan/X-EL 1958 Fleetwood 4 door hard top.

 

I actually owned a '58, 62 series hard top 1:1 years ago.

It was coral with a black top and a tri-tone rose, pink and black interior.

 

I would love to have a kit of a '58, 62 series or Deville, but none exist.

 

I believe that R&R resin may have offered one years ago, but that's history.

 

 

 

Steve 

[StevenGuthmiller]

Just looked back in the "archives" and it appears that R&R did a '57 Coupe Deville, but no '58 as far as I can tell.

Either way, good luck finding one!

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

[MrObsessive]

Ray did do a resin '58 Cadillac two door hardtop, but it was not accurate at all as the roofline was not correct and it had the incorrect lower trim intact.

I'd like one of these too...........I have an X-EL '58 Brougham 60 Special. One could take that and do some kitbashing, but man I'd sure hate cutting one of those up! They're nice to begin with (for the most part) so perhaps a very beat up one could be had sometime where I'd take one and do some "plastik surgery".

[ChrisBcritter]

Bill, does that '58 seem to have the same shortened proportion issues the '59-'60 Fleetwoods have?

[MrObsessive]

12 hours ago, ChrisBcritter said:

Bill, does that '58 seem to have the same shortened proportion issues the '59-'60 Fleetwoods have?

Chris, knowing Ray and how he did his masters, I doubt he changed a thing in regards to the proportions. I remember now where I saw the '58 coupe..........it was on eBay under the seller "MsMightyMouse". I'm not sure I have the name correct as I've not seen that seller list anything for some time.

[Tom Geiger]

5 hours ago, MrObsessive said:

it was on eBay under the seller "MsMightyMouse". I'm not sure I have the name correct as I've not seen that seller list anything for some time.

The seller is gone now,  ended when Ray died and stopped providing product.  The original seller was MightyMouse,  who died and his wife kept the business going as MsMightyMouse.

Ray / R&R Resin was one of our regular vendors at NNL East.  Ray was a bit of a character, a little gruff at times.  Ray had found MightyMouse as his eBay reseller and he stopped doing our show.  So I was surprised when I sat at the NNL East admissions table and Ray strolled up.  He declared he was there as a spectator, to see everyone, and he had an armload of R&R kits to donate as door prizes. I offered to let him in for free as a donor, but he wouldn't hear of it and paid the admission fee.  He was smiling and pleasant,  and told me that he had burned out at doing shows but once he found a reseller,  he could enjoy the part he liked,  pouring resin and producing kits.  I was happy for him.  Unfortunately he died around a year later!  RIP Ray!

[Mike999]

At the Los Angeles ValleyCon show back in 2012, I picked up one of Ray's '58 Cadillac 2-doors. As Bill said, the trim is way wrong. For one problem, the old JoHan "Fleetwood" lettering is still across the rear end. That only belongs on a 4-door, not on a Coupe de Ville.

I got the resin '58 in a package deal with an IMEX '58 Cad convertible. The seller told me he planned to cross-kit the two kits and make a fully detailed '58 Coupe de Ville with an engine.  He gave up on that idea. The R&R kit is on the small side of 1/25 scale, the IMEX kit is 1/24. The IMEX chassis might be stuffed under the resin kit but it would be a huge project. 

[ChrisBcritter]

9 hours ago, MrObsessive said:

Chris, knowing Ray and how he did his masters, I doubt he changed a thing in regards to the proportions. I remember now where I saw the '58 coupe..........it was on eBay under the seller "MsMightyMouse". I'm not sure I have the name correct as I've not seen that seller list anything for some time.

Oh - Sorry, Bill, I didn't mean Ray's master, I meant the Jo-Han/X-El original . Like how the '59-'60 Fleetwoods are shorter than 1/25.

Edited December 13, 2019 by ChrisBcritter

[stitchdup]

On 12/11/2019 at 11:40 PM, iamsuperdan said:

I've done some google searching and have come up empty, so I have a questions for the 50s car experts.

 

Has a 1958 Cadillac Series 62 convertible ever been kitted?

If not, is there any Cadillac kit that would make a reasonably close fascimile?

 

I'm no Cadillac expert, but i have an idea for one of these.

 

 

Thanks!

The imai/amex/various other cadillac might give you a good start point. the front end is all there but the rear would need some work. If you get the convertible version you might be better off too as the hard top version has fit issues with the roof being too short. The glass is a poor fit too. This is the one i have (now stripped and dissassembled) If you look past the blanket inteior its all stock and thats the stock kit engine too. This is also lowered as far as it was possible without cutting into the chassis. The convertible and hardtop both pop up pretty often on ebay and you should find one fairly easy if you decide to use one.

 

 

[iamsuperdan]

Thanks everyone!

 

Leslie, I'll have to search for one of those, as I think that's close enough for what I want to try. Roof line is a non-issue, and I'd be cutting that off anyway.

 

 

[MrObsessive]

12 hours ago, ChrisBcritter said:

Oh - Sorry, Bill, I didn't mean Ray's master, I meant the Jo-Han/X-El original . Like how the '59-'60 Fleetwoods are shorter than 1/25.

Chris I have one of those X-El '58's and yes, it does appear to be a bit smaller than 1/25. As you know, Johan was notorious for sizing their kits to be able to fit in a certain size box. The Caddy to me appears to be more 1/26-27th scale. It's buried along with a bunch of other stuff since I moved, but I had it on display alongside a Johan '59 Plymouth for example. They were about the same size even though in real life the actual car is noticeably LARGER than a '57-'59 Plymouth.

@stitchdup I have also the Imex '58 Eldorado and a dream project for me would be to take the roof section of the '58 Chevy and then "stretch" and "shape" the roof to suit the C body proportions. That's one of the things that's kept me from building it. Getting the roof contours right, and then getting the A pillars to "rake" at the proper angle as the '57-'58 GM B-O-C two door hardtops and convertibles had a steeper rake to the windshield pillar than the four hardtops and sedans.

[Carmak]

Jada just released a diecast 1:24 scale 58 Series 62 convertible as a Freddy Kruger star car. I found one at Walmart. It's not perfect (the dutchman panel is shaped all wrong) but it could be a good starting point. Way better than the Fleetwood based resins I have seen.

Edited December 23, 2019 by Carmak

[StevenGuthmiller]

On 12/13/2019 at 8:32 AM, iamsuperdan said:

Roof line is a non-issue, and I'd be cutting that off anyway.

Not necessary.

There is a hard top and convertible kit, both exactly the same kit with separate tops.

No cutting required.

 

 

If you're planning on building a convertible, look for the convertible kit.

It comes with the boot and a somewhat cheesy, but possibly salvageable up top.

The hard top kit does not include the boot or soft top.

 

 

 

Steve

 

[misterNNL]

On ‎12‎/‎23‎/‎2019 at 12:21 AM, StevenGuthmiller said:

Not necessary.

There is a hard top and convertible kit, both exactly the same kit with separate tops.

No cutting required.

 

 

If you're planning on building a convertible, look for the convertible kit.

It comes with the boot and a somewhat cheesy, but possibly salvageable up top.

The hard top kit does not include the boot or soft top.

 

 

 

Steve

 

Who made those two kits you mention above?

[SfanGoch]

ARII/MicroAce originally produced the '58 Biarritz convertible/Seville hardtop kits. They were also sold under the Imex, Lee and Heller (Biarritz convertible) brands. The only 1958 Series 62 presently available in 1/24 is the JADA 31102 Hollywood Rides "Nightmare On Elm Street" 1958 Cadillac Series 62

[Mike999]

Don't get a LEE or HELLER kit of the '58 Cadillac.  Those are cheap copies of the ARII kits.  They include motorizing parts, like a battery tray, and other changes from the original kit, all of them bad.