As we had a nice sunny, dry winter day today I decided to re-arrange the cars in my garage so that I can start doing some work on them during the remaining cold winter nights.

The following work is planed for the next few months before the cars will be put back on the road in May 2012.

1971 Mark III

• new vinyl roof (the original one was damaged during transport and the insurance will pay for a new one)

1967 DeVille

• needs new front wheel bearings (I already have the spare parts)
• will try to find a rebuilt OEM Bendix master cylinder and vacuum booster. These are very difficult to find. Everybody seems to offer Delco Moraine parts only. I have replaced my original booster and master cylinder 2 years ago and I´m not quite happy with the power assist of the new units. It seems that the after market master cylinders from Delco have a smaller bore diameter and therefore you will have to depress the pedal with more force. There is a discussion going on on the topic of finding the correct booster and master cylinder in the CLC forum - check it out for more detail! If you know where I could find a correct Bendix booster and master cylinder or where I could get my original core rebuilt, please let me know!! The parts number for the Bendix Master Cylinder is #1489981 and for the Bendix booster it is: #1489071
• re-adjust the gear indicator as it's slightly out of line.

1967 Eldorado

• I will remove the starter motor and have it rebuilt - it sometimes is acting up

1958 Eldorado

• It needs some new front wheel bearings as well. I already bought the parts.

I will of course post the repair progress here on my website

A new garage?

The biggest planned project for 2012 will be to find a solution for my storage problem. I hope to be able to build another garage or to rent one. I will have to find a solution until the spring of 2012. I´m dreaming of building a building which can hold 8 Cadillacs, but I do not know yet if I will be able to afford it...

Car Shows

I hope to attend and visit the „Klassikwelt Bodensee“ from May 17th to 20th and of course the best meeting in Europe - the Cadillac BIG Meet August 25th to 26th. I will also hopefully make it to some local shows here in Austria.

as we had a dry winter day I took the cars out of the garage - they fired right up after some months of sleeping

the Mark III was moved to the back of the garage, so that I can start working on the other cars first

little Elliot loves Daddy´s cars as well ;-)

Tags:2012, Cadillac BIG Meet, 1958, Eldorado, 1967, 1971, Bendix, Master Cylinder, Vaccuum Booster, Delco Moraine, Gear indicator, Garage, Klassikwelt Bodensee, Front wheel bearing, Starter Motor, Rebuild, Vinyl Roof, Restoration

I got a call from national Austrian television that they would like to do a short report for the upcoming Cadillac BIG Meet at the Kremsegg castle. They needed some Cadillacs there to do some interviews and to shoot some footage to promote our upcoming event. Of course we had to use this chance to promote our show on air.
My friends Christl, Christian and Willi and I made it there with our cars, on what must have been the hottest day this summer, and we could do the shooting for a 2 Minute piece at the Kremsegg castle.
We had Cary Grants former 1960 Eldorado Biarritz there, which now belongs to my friend Christian, which was the star of the report. The report aired 2 days before our show on national television.

I drove my 58 to the shooting and while sitting in heavy traffic it suddenly cut out while I was in the left lane. Eventually I made it to the right shoulder and I tried to make it run again without any success. Unfortunately I had no tools with me - so I had to call the automobile service club to help me out. They arrived about 20 minutes later. I asked the guy who helped me out to unscrew the fuel line and blow some compressed air into it, as I suspected a clogged fuel line. We reconnected everything and it ran beautifully again. So I safely made it home again. I wrongfully assumed that everything must have been fixed now and that I should clean the tank soon... (see the report about the Cadillac BIG Meet 2011to see what happened)

stranded at the Autobahn


Cary Grants former 1960 Eldorado Biarritz was the star of the show

the TV team with the show host Simona Pindeus and Willi Hofmann on the steering wheel

Tags:Cadillac BIG Meet, 1958, Eldorado, Seville, Car Show, ORF

The Cadillac BIG Meet is Europe’s biggest Cadillac meeting - held every year at the last weekend of August.
My wife and I are part of the organization team together with some good friends. At this years addition we had the theme “Cadillac meets Lincoln“ and so we invited Lincolns to the show field. My own Continental Mark III just got ready for the show a couple of days before the show, so I drove it there along with my 1958 Eldorado Seville which was piloted by my friend Tayfun.
On Saturday there is always a cruising tour limited to 40 preregistered cars. When we arrived at the host hotel lots of people were surprised seeing me arrive in a Lincoln ;-)

30 minutes before the tour started, suddenly the 58 cut out and did not want to start again. I once again suspected a clogged fuel line and we blew the line through. Unfortunately it did not help at all - the line was free. With the help of Lucky (a fellow 1958 Biarritz owner) we disassembled the fuel pump and found out that the valve inside came loose and was no longer in its seat. Lucky put it back and the car ran beautifully again. It all was fixed in 15 minutes and the 58 was ready for the cruising tour.

At the show on sunday 133 Cadillacs and 11 Lincolns participated. There were many awesome cars on the show field, like one of the worlds best 1953 Eldorados, a spectacular 1958 Eldorado Brougham, lots of 59 Eldorados and everything else ranging from 1921 to 2011. The show was once again spectacular.

You can find all the pictures of the show here:
http://www.cadillac-meeting.com/english/pictures/pictures.html


My 1971 Continental Mark III just before the start of the cruising tour.


The cars are gathering for the cruising tour


Lucky repaired the fuel pump of my 58 Seville 30 minutes before the start of the cruising tour - Thank you Lucky!!!!


My friends Claudia and Tayfun drove my 58 Eldorado Seville


one of the many awesome cars at the show - 1958 Eldorado Brougham # 535 - my dream car


a small overview of a part of the show field at the Kremsegg castle

You can find all the pictures of the show here:
http://www.cadillac-meeting.com/english/pictures/pictures.html

Tags:1958, 1971, Lincoln, Continental Mark III, Eldorado, Seville, Cadillac BIG Meet, Car Show, Fuel Pump, Restoration

This years Cadillac BIG Meet had the special theme „Cadillac meets Lincoln“ and so I wanted to take my newly acquired Continental Mark III along with my 58 Cadillac Eldorado Seville to the show. As the car return from the technical inspection on wednesday night I only had 2 short days to detail the car for the show.
Luckily my buddy Tayfun volunteered to come to my garage for 2 full days to help me getting the car show worthy. Without his help I would not have been able to get the car ready in time. Thanks Tayfun!!!!
As I ran out of garage space my other great friend Richard helped me out and lets me store my 1967 Eldorado at his cool garage for a while - thanks Rick!!

My 67 Eldorado is temporarily stored at my friend Richards garage until I find a solution for my storage problems - thanks Rick!

The Mark III needed the full treatment as it was very dirty from its long journey from the United States to Europe. It needed a complete interior treatment along with lots of paint detailing to look great again. So we worked until 1am in the morning each day. During these few days we had the highest August temperatures ever recorded, so a lot of sweat was produced...

My friend Tayfun in the garage polishing the paint - around midnight...


in the middle of the night - we set up some film light...


Tayfun wet - cleaning the interior


Tayfun cleaning the interior


wet-cleaning the interior


the hubcaps were cleaned in the dish washer - my wife was not very happy about this...

Tags:1971, Lincoln, Cadillac BIG Meet, Continental Mark III, detailing

The Cadillac BIG Meet is Europes largest Cadillac Meeting and it is held each year at the last weekend of August in Kremsmünster, Austria. Its already the 8th edition and it's a great show for everybody.
The date for 2011 is August the 28th 2011. I´m part of the organization team together with my Cadillac friends.

This year we would also like to invite Lincoln Owners to the Cadillac BIG Meet. We would like to do a special presentation on the venue with these fine cars. This years theme is “Cadillac Meets Lincoln“.
Of course we will hand out a special award to the most beautiful Lincoln as well. To be able to organize this special presentation we would like to welcome as many Lincoln Owners as possible. If you want to participate with your Lincoln, please let us know in advance - so that we can arrange things on the venue.

Tags:Lincoln, Cadillac BIG Meet, Car Show

Despite the bad weather the Cadillac BIG Meet 2010 was a great event. We took part with our 1967 DeVille this year as the theme was “The Cadillac Convertibles“. You can find a huge image gallery on the Cadillac BIG Meet website with hundred of pictures. Check it out!
I´m already looking forward to the Cadillac BIG Meet 2011 on August 29th 2011.

the first cars are gathering before the start of the Cruising tour


During the Cruising tour


a special area of the show field was reserved for convertibles only


the 67 at the show field...


A report from the local newspaper “Rundschau“ - click for larger view

Tags:1967, Cadillac BIG Meet, Deville, Cruising

Today I finished a short video clip of the Cadillac BIG Meet 2009. This is Europes largest and best Cadillac Meeting held every year at the last weekend of August. The next one will be held on August 29th 2010. More info about the meeting can be found here.
I did some filming at the 2009 event and posted the video in the video section of my website. Enjoy this nice short clip with some fantastic cars.

Tags:Video, Cadillac BIG Meet, Car Show

I just returned from the Cadillac BIG Meet - Europes largest Cadillac Meeting where I am in the organization team together with some friends. Its held in Austria every last weekend in August. This year we had the sixth edition.Thanks to all participants - the 2009 Cadillac BIG Meet was a huge success once again! 140 Cadillacs made it to the show this year. As we celebrated the 59 Cadillacs 50th birthday, we managed to get 17 of them parked side by side. 9 of them were Eldorados, ranging from 6 Biarritzes and 2 Sevilles to the super rare Eldorado Brougham of 1959.Some of the other highlights among all these beautiful Cadillacs which made it to the meeting- were a perfect 57 Eldorado Brougham and 2 1953 Eldorados and many other awesome Cadillacs.Visitors came from Austria, Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland and Norway.While the driving tour on saturday, which was limited to 40 cars, had some terribly rainy weather, Sunday, the day of the show was just splendid.I took my 1958 Seville to the show. But look for yourself and check the image galleries with more than 800 pictures my wife made this year.
http://www.cadillac-meeting.com/english/pictures/pictures.html

on the picture above you can see the venue - in the front there is my all-time favorite car - the 1957 Eldorado Brougham. This one was in perfect condition.

Tags:Cadillac BIG Meet, Brougham

The Cadillac BIG Meet 2009 will happen this weekend - August 30th.
Its held for the 6th time this year at the Kremsegg Castle in Kremsmünster in Austria. This is the biggest Cadillac Meeting held in Europe and about 150 Cadillacs are expected.
For more info click on the image below - which was taken at the show. This years theme is “The Cadillac Fin” and the 50th birthday of the 1959 Cadillacs. I will take my 1958 Eldorado Seville to the show, as it is the only Cadillac I own which has fins.

Tags:Cadillac BIG Meet, Car Show

The DVD of the 2008 Cadillac BIG Meet is available now.
This is a short trailer for this DVD which contains the whole 25 minute film.
The DVD also contains around 1000 pictures and as a bonus the film in High Definition to view on your computer.
You can order the DVD using the contact form on the Cadillac BIG Meet website.
Cost is €20 + shipping.

Tags:Video, Cadillac BIG Meet

The Cadillac BIG Meet took place for the 5th time this year. I´m part of the organization team.
At this years event 115 Cadillacs from all over Europe attended. Everybody had a great time and it was a huge success once again.
Watch out for next years Cadillac BIG Meet which will be held on August, 30th 2009.

You can see hundreds of pictures of this years event by clicking on the picture below!

Tags:Cadillac BIG Meet, Car Show

Today the national Austrian TV station ORF shot a short event promotion report for the upcoming Cadillac BIG Meet on August 24th. We had some nice cars on the venue like a 57 and 59 Biarritz, a 76 Bicentenial, a 81 Biarritz Custom, a 58 Sedan, and my 67 Deville. The report will be aired on August 21st on ORF2 at 7 PM. Below are some impressions of the shooting.

The ORF team at work


Willi´s 58 and Christians 57 Biarritz and 76 Bicentenial


my 67, Tayfuns 81 and Willi´s 58


the cameraman at work

Tags:Cadillac BIG Meet, Car Show

TS1 - a local TV station filmed a report about the cruising tour of the Cadillac BIG Meet which lead us to the shores of the "Traunsee" a scenic lake in Upper Austria. As I am part of the organization team I had to do a short interview for this report.
The report was done by Lorenz Zwicklhuber and Konrad Forstinger who did a great job. The video is now online in the video section of my website. You can click on the image below to go there.

© Courtesy of www.ts1.at 2007.

Tags:Video, Cadillac BIG Meet

You can find hundreds of pictures from this years Cadillac BIG Meet on the website of the Cadillac BIG Meet directly.
My wife Afra shot 2 rolls of slide film with her medium format camera. She has now scanned the slides and I´ve put them on my website.
You can check them out if you click on the image below.

Tags:Cadillac BIG Meet, Car Show, Pictures

Last sunday the Cadillac BIG Meet was held in Kremsmünster/Austria for the 4th time. Cadillacs from 7 nations attended. I´m a member of the organization team.
Over the last years it became a still growing meeting. This year really was the best of them all.
Weather was perfect and the show had the theme "The Cadillac Eldorado" and more than 35 Eldorados showed up - among them Eldorados from 1954 to 2002.
We had one 54, 3 56 Biarritz, one 56 Seville, a 57 Biarritz, a 57 Eldorado Brougham (another one unfortunately broke down on the way to the show), 2 1958 Eldorado Sevilles (one coming all the way from Sweden!! - the other being mine), 2 59 Biarritz, 1 59 Seville, (a 59 Brougham was also planned, but restoration was not finished on time), a 63 and 64 Eldo, 2 67s (one of them with only 30k miles), 1 68 (with 20k miles), a 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76 + a low mileage 76 Bicentenial, 79, 80, 81, 86, and lots of other Eldorados I forgot, but which you can see on the pictures.
Altogether 113 Cadillacs showed up in the park of the Kremsegg castle during the show - and about 10 more after the show was already finished... The oldest one was from 1921.
The mood was excellent and everybody loved it very much.

The last weekend probably the best Cadillac related weekend I ever had, and you should not miss next years edition of the Cadillac BIG Meet.

Check out the pictures here:
http://www.cadillac-meeting.com/pics2007 (in German with some english...)

a dream came true - my 67 Deville on the side of a 67 Eldorado in my favorite color combo


the star of the meeting - a 57 Eldorado Brougham


my 58 together with Stellans Seville from Sweden


two super low mileage Eldorados from 1967 and 1968


another view of the 2 Sevilles


The Kremsegg Castle

Tags:Cadillac BIG Meet, Car Show

I´m on vacation this week and I´m using my time to prepare my Cadillac for the Cadillac BIG Meet which is coming up this weekend. I´ve repaired the AC on my 67 and cleaned and detailed both cars for the show. My friend Tayfun is also in town and we´ll do the same with his 81 Pimperado as well. We´ve spent around 14 hours in the garage each day so far.

working on the AC

installing the new backup lenses - which had to be custom fitted...

Tags:Cadillac BIG Meet, Restoration, 1967, Deville, 1958, detailing, Eldorado, AC

Its only 4 more weeks until the Cadillac Big Meet - Europes biggest Cadillac meeting. You can watch a video of last years event below. More info, pictures and videos on http://www.cadillac-bigmeet.com
This year will feature an "Eldorado Special" and we are looking for everybody with an Eldorado to participate. Of course all other Cadillacs are welcome as well.

Tags:Cadillac BIG Meet