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1965 Deville Restoration in progress

7K views 20 replies 10 participants last post by  CADforce69 
#1 ·
Wanted to start a thread to show my 1965 Deville as it is restored by a local shop here in my hometown. I will keep the thread updated as new photo's become available. If you have any advice for me or ?'s about my caddy feel free to reply. I will be keeping her original with the only changes so far being front disc brake conversion and a small metallic flake added to her stock cascade green paint.
 

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#7 ·
Just an update. Looks like they have hit her with primer and began sanding her. surprised to see the top looked so good considering the vinyl top had been on there for 40+ years. enjoy!
 

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#10 ·
Great to see someone take the time to restore a "65. 1965 was one of my favorite years for Cadillac. The refit of disc brakes to the front was a very wise decision ...... cars of this vintage were real sleds in an emergency stop situation. When you are finished you will have a magnificent example of the American "Land Yacht AGE." I will be looking forward to more pictures.
 
#11 ·
Thanks for the comments everyone! I am running into one hard choice. I dont know if i want to keep the vinyl top or not. It was white as you can see from the pic above. I think the car would be cleaner without it but i also understand the class that a vinyl top gave a car from the genre. any advice would be appreciated.
 
#12 ·
I real looker of a car and a great choice to do a full restoration. Will be fun to watch your project progress. As for the vinyl top, it is an important part of the look for that era.... as for me, even though I'm not to keen on vinyl tops, I'd keep it. It's part of the original car.... so I would keep it completely original. Interested to read other's comments.

Thanks for sharing and congratulations.
 
#15 ·
I don't recall seeing any 1965 Cadillacs with a painted top (or two tone paint treatment) back in the sixties. I do recall many did not have the vinyl top, in fact two friends of mine had deVilles without the vinyl top option. Since the vinyl top option called for a full vinyl top covering and not a landau treatment, I personally would go for deleting the vinyl top from you restoration, which would be completely authentic and present a better overall appearance.
 
#16 ·
I don't mind telling anybody that I HATE vinyl tops. They look nice when they are new but they will always disappoint you someday. My 66 Olds Ninety Eight LS had a black painted top when I got it and I always liked the look. I don't know if they came that way or not. When the vinyl top peeled off my 76 Cutlass, I sanded it and painted it and I think it looks better in my opinion. Don't feel that you HAVE to keep the vinyl top to keep it original or to please the purists. A lot of pretty roof lines get covered up with vinyl tops.
 
#18 ·
Well, i appreciate all the comments. I think I am going to paint the car without it and then drive her around and see how i like it. I can always add it later. I know the majority of you said it would be nice to keep but after talking to the body shop I found out that the only rust the car had was where the vinyl top met the body. Seems like having it on could leave opportunity for moisture to collect. we'll see. Thanks again everyone for being so active in the Thread.
 
#21 ·
As I joined the forum one year ago, I did not see your thread until now. Your decision of fully restore your '65 is admirable, as you often know when it gets started but don´t know when it will be finished, but in the end you will have a first class unit. After these months I guess you have taken the opportunity to overhaul engine compartment. We would like to read the progress made during this time, apart from the obvious noticed in the pics.

As for the vinyl top, from the esthetic point of view, vinyl makes the car look more elegant. In addition I think this option was not very frequent for the 65 coupe (or most people has restored their 65 coupe without it), but I recognize vinyl maintenance is a real pain. This car´s lines are clean and beautiful also without vinyl.

Congrats and keep up the good work :thumbsup: We all would love see your caddy fully restored :)
 
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