Old Timer Garage

If you haven't read the third part of this restoration you can find it by clicking on this link: 1960 Cadillac Coupe de Ville - part 3

4. Arrival of the car next to the border and new problems

It is 2 am when my alarm clock goes off. I stopped the air conditioning unit last night before going to sleep because it was too noisy but it is already starting to get hot in the room and the windows don’t open. I grab my bottle of water, load my luggage in the trunk of the car and I am off to meet my car at the workshop. There is virtually no one on the highway so it only takes me a few minutes to get there and I just have to wait for a few more minutes before I hear the sound of the L6 diesel of the RAM 3500 who tows my Cadillac. It is pitch black but it is the first time I see my car for real so I quickly walk around it with the light of my phone while discussing with my driver and 5 minutes later, we are off heading south. I follow the trailer from a reasonable distance on the straight motorway.
Nothing special to report about this drive. I is pitch black and apart from a few portions in fog which is weird for this part of the world, everything goes as planned and even better than I anticipated since I don’t even feel tired which is odd… it will probably hit me later but for now, I will take everything I can.

After 2 hours without problem, we are getting in sight of Tucson and the trailer drives off of the motorway to part in front of a Mc Donald’s. It is 5 am and my driver gets off the truck to check the ties of my Cadillac on the trailer. Everything is OK so I offer him to get a coffee before we keep driving. The restaurant is closed but the drive through is still open so my new friend gets in my car and we drive around the building to get his coffee and my hot chocolate and 4 dollars 35 cents later, we are each of us back in our vehicle and driving south again.
This time, I am leading the convoy. I know this road pretty well now for having driven it several time already. It is only a one hour drive that we have left now to get to my brother’s place. The daylight is at last starting to appear and I discover the scenery of this area that I find so nice. There was little traffic when we drove around Tucson but now, the road is pretty much for us alone and the scenery is gorgeous as always in this area.

When we get to my brother’s, we just have to unload the car. The trailer is inclined and I sit at the wheel to start the car up. After a few unsuccessful trials, I assume there is air in the fuel lines. There is a can of gas in the bed of the RAM and we pour a little directly into the carburettor of the car. The car starts up but runs very rough. It runs enough to park it next to my brother’s house though but I am starting to wonder what other surprise is awaiting me. I am going to have to check this car thoroughly before taking it across the border because I don’t feel comfortable with it as it runs at the moment. I will take care of this later. For now, my driver is off again towards Phoenix and I meet with my brother again who is getting ready to go to work and 30 minutes later, I collapse on the couch, the tiredness eventually catching up with me.

The plan for today is to make sure the car is driving properly and fix the starting problem. Then I will see about how to get it to Mexico because the restorer is already waiting for it.

To be continued… here: 1960 Cadillac Coupe de Ville - part 5