Jay Leno's Continental

[TC Chris]

Somebody posted a YouTube link and off on the right side pf the page they were trolling for suckers like me and caught one. It was Jay Leno driving his 1958 Continental, which he suggested was the largest, heaviest car ever built in Detroit (that may be debatable as an absolute value but at least he's in the ballpark). He has great fun talking about the extravagance of the massive vehicle, including their boast that it would get 10.3 mpg (coasting downhill, he supposes). Of course, 1958 was the height of the baroque era in Detroit (Leno cites the '58 Buick as an example). In any event, it's a fun video. Here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jh1ZU_lUPWM

Chris Campbell

[Firedome]

I'd think some of the Fleetwood 75s, which were regular production models, might challenge his claim. Then there was the '67 Mohs Ostentatienne Opera Sedan (which has to be my favorite name for a car ever!) which weighed in at almost 6000 lbs stock, even more when the "armor option" box was ticked, but those were few and far between!

[electra225]

Leno is pretty sharp when it comes to cars. I would also question his assertion that the Continental was the heaviest vehicle ever built. Most '58 Buicks struggled to better single digit fuel consumption, even back when fuel economy wasn't a consideration. Cadillac built a special model in 1959 and '60 that was designed by Pinanfarina, as I recall. They cost something like $13,000 and were pretty heavy. Maybe somebody can recall the exact model. A four door hardtop that the rear wing windows slid into the C-pillar (?).

I LOVE the color of that Continental, by the way. Strawberry, I think he said.

[TC Chris]

I LOVE the color of that Continental, by the way. Strawberry, I think he said.

And as a driver of red and blue cars, I liked the way he lamented that all the cars now are silver, white, and black. Me, I like the fact that my Chevy still bears a vestige of the "two tone" era paint with its white stripe. My desktop image on the computer is a white '61 convertible with a red stripe. About the time I was getting the Chevy under way, my buddy in LA spotted it in the McDonald's parking lot when he stopped for a.m. coffee. As a CA car it's perfect, of course, unlike my somewhat ragged blue and while model.

The loss of color seemed to come along with the loss of design when the Asian models look over. Car designs now are mostly a mass of unrelated and unneeded swoops and curves. No coherence, no style. This is Chris at his old-fart worst, of course. My only "foreign car" ever, and the only new one I've ever had, was my 1980 Datsun 510 wagon (red), an unusually handsome Japanese effort. Here's a '78, which is pretty much the same:
https://www.oldcarsweekly.com/features/ ... tion-wagon

Chris Campbell

[walyfd]

The Eldorado Brougham was cadillac's car of cars. '57 and '58s were built in Detroit and the '59 and '60s were bodied by Pininfarina in Italy then shipped back.

Cost new was $13,074 with the only options being color, interior and Mouton or karakul carpeting.

If you look at the '57 and '58, you'll see a lot of '61 lincoln in the overall design...

[electra225]

I liked the stainless steel roof on the Eldorado Broughams. And the hubcaps. There was something like three radio chassis in those cars to run the trunk lid, the hood, and the seat position. Art redid one '57 Eldo and swore it would be his last. The radio in the instrument panel was solid state, or maybe hybrid, as I recall, but the radio chassis that controlled other things were all tube. One of his clients had a '59 that he babysat for a couple years. Quite the car. And, didn't the 1957 Cadillacs introduce the world to Lido Lavendar?

[walyfd]

Those are cast KH aluminum wheels on the brougham, not wheel covers. They made the '59 and '60 Eldorado and 60 Special wheel covers look like those wheels. Probably the hardest and most expensive thing to do right on one of those cars.

Restoring one is a nightmare with all the gadgets and goodies like the perfume atomizer, lady's compact, the drinking cups...

'57 standard line cadillac (brougham had its own 15 or something colors) offered Amethyst poly and it was super rare. It was a pastel purple metallic. I've only seen 2 '57s that color in 30 years...

[electra225]

Sabre wheels, weren't they? One year had forward slanting tail fins, the other year, rear slanting fins. "57's rear slanting, '58's front slanting, right? This was on the regular Cadillacs, not the Eldorado Brougham. Art wasn't afraid of anything. He didn't want to restore another Eldorado Brougham after he did the first one. We did a joint project on a '56 Packard Carribean that had 1250 pounds of mud dauber nests in it. But the Eldo was more than he wanted. The '57-'58 Eldorado Brougham was nicer looking than the '59-'60 models, but the later ones had more goodies. The '59 Eldo Brougham had 1960 tailfins, am I right in remembering that?

[walyfd]

Sabre wheels were spoked and standard on the Eldorado 2-door Eldorados. The brougham had a completely different wheel.

'57 has forward fins, '58 rear-pointing like the '55 Eldorado.

The '59-'60 broughams were spartan compared to the '57 and '58. They looked like a '61 6-window sedan but the bodies were crafted by hand... the 2 years had the 1960 style fin but there was no light in the '60. Only the bumper pods had lights.

[electra225]

The things we know, but forget. There was a time I knew all this stuff. I could tell you what engine which car had and all the particulars that went along with that. Trucks, too. Jimmys, Fruit Juicers, Puppy Dogs, KW's, Petes all that stuff. And if I ever knew a phone number, I'd never forget it. Until I turned 70.

Do I remember correctly that the quarter vent windows slid into the C-pillar on the '59 Eldo Broughams?

[walyfd]

Yep. When you opened the rear door, they retracted or you couldn't get in or out of the back seat.

I remember I could tell what kind of a car it was from the sound of the starter...

[electra225]

Perhaps not the best idea, but it sure was neat to see work.

[TC Chris]

Those are cast KH aluminum wheels on the brougham, not wheel covers. They made the '59 and '60 Eldorado and 60 Special wheel covers look like those wheels. Probably the hardest and most expensive thing to do right on one of those cars.

My buddy has a set of 5 of the KH wheels from a '55 ('56?) that he's looking to sell. If you know anybody who's looking, I can provide a contact.

Chris Campbell

[walyfd]

If they're not curb rashed and salt eaten, I'm sure they'd sell. List them on the CLC message board.

[electra225]

Did Cadillac run 14 inch wheels from 1957 to 1976? Big Buicks never did. The rest of the GM brands got 14 inchers in 1957.

[Firedome]

Quite a few cars had lavender metallic and non-metallic colors in the 1956 to '62 era, including Cad, Imperial, Chrysler, Olds, Lincoln, and even Chevrolet had it as late as '65, in "Orchid". I love that color and would have painted my ''58 Olds in that had I kept it. One car I'd still love to own is a '61 Olds 98 hardtop in "Twilight Mist Poly". I think the Cad color around 1960 was called "Heather".

Most GMs full-sizers kept 14" wheels, adopted to lower them to compete with Forward Look Mopars, way too long. Olds until at least '70 I think. I never understood why, they beg for 15" wheels, and I think they were optional on some models.

[walyfd]

Cadillac always had 15" wheels with 8.00 black walls standard on most cars and 8.20 whitewalls either standard or optional depending on series. All Eldorados came with 8.20 whitewalls standard. Tire pressure was a low 24 psi to maintain the ride. The Eldorado brougham had a new and exclusive low-profile tire with
a 1" whitewall.

Cadillac had dawn gray in '56, amethyst in '57, Meridian taupe in 58 that wasn't really purple, Persian sand in 59, Heather in 60, shell pearl in 61 and another Heather in 62 that was more purple than 60. Many of those were Eldorado colors.

I believe buick had a desert sunset pink that was the exact same code 46 cadillac mountain laurel of 1956 and '57.

[electra225]

Okay, so the more expensive GM cars kept 15" wheels, everybody else got 14's then, Thanks, got it.

Grandpa bought a new 1960 Electra 225 flat top four door hardtop that was Lido Lavendar under the moulding with black above it. The top, trunk and fins were black with lavendar on the lower body. The hood was lavendar. It had black, gray and white leather and whipcord interior. His '62 Electra was Lido Lavendar all over. It would be a toss-up between Lido Lavendar and Sea Foam Green metallic as my favorite Buick colors. '65 Chevys called their lavendar Evening Orchid, as well as maybe Pontiac (?). Buick's Garnet Red changed to Firemist Metallic, I believe, I968. That may have been a Cadillac color as well.

[walyfd]

This may help:

https://www.autocolorlibrary.com/pages/classic-library

[electra225]

That is a good reference. Thanks for sharing.