Bob & Robyn Albright, Spring 2005
Dressed in period to compliment their 1957 Cadillac
Three years ago this June, my husband of ten years fell in love with another. I remember it like it was yesterday; she was a green eyed, gold digging temptress. He wasn’t planning on a love affair, although I knew he’d looked around, but there she was, hanging around the fair grounds that hot June day. Forty-five years old and just in from North Dakota. She wasn’t as young as I thought she’d be, and she was a little rough around the edges. You could see she’d been around the block a time or two. But he saw her and had to have her. What could I do?
It was the Back to the 50s weekend and we were strolling along, enjoying all the old cars. As we rounded the corner near the grandstand, there sat a two-tone green ’57 Series 62 Cadillac. Now Bob’s always had a thing for Cadillacs. He used to own an orange ’75 Sedan de Ville with leather and orange plaid interior, and he bought a red and white ’74 Coupe de Ville and a green ’74 Coupe de Ville at the same auction once. But, being young and foolish, he let them both go for a fast buck. He also bought an ’83 Mary Kay pink Coupe de Ville with white leather interior. That car stayed in the family until 1999 when it was stolen out of our garage, and stripped of its interior. He’s dreamed about owning another Caddy for years.
Bob must have circled that car a half dozen times, checking out her body, her fenders, her hooded headlamps, her Marilyn Monroe style bumpers. He had it bad for this beauty and I could see there was no stopping him now. Personally I was thrilled. For so long he had talked about owning a classic Cadillac again, but would never allow himself to spend the money. We tracked down the owner, an elderly North Dakota farmer, who had stored the car in his barn for a number of years. He never drove it, but his son claims he took it out for a spin or two, driving 120 mph down the North Dakota backroads! A quick test drive, an amicable negotiation, and she was ours!
Over the next three years we replaced the exhaust system; had the power brake booster rebuilt, twice; completely rebuilt the brake system; and rebuilt the carburetor. Bob refuses to replace the sediment ball with a modern fuel filter, even though he’s sure it’s a fire hazard. Keeping the car as original as possible has been our goal. The lower body was repainted in 1977, closely matching the original color, but with a metallic paint, while the roof was left its light green sherbet color. The interior green Greek key fabric seats are all original, with very little wear and tear. There is some damage to the back passenger carpet where the mice got to it in the North Dakota barn, but even the spare tire is original.
Bob alternately talks about selling the car, and putting more money into restoration. While he’s conflicted about the amount of money his mistress demands spent on her, he loves her and will never part with her, no matter how demanding she gets I’m sure. I’m happy for them. After all, he could be looking for a redhead instead!