Old Timer Garage

 

If you haven't read the eighth part of this restoration you can find it by clicking on this link: 1960 Cadillac Coupe de Ville - part 8

9. Crossing the border


On the next Saturday, my brother is getting ready to take my Cadillac across the border. It should be done early in the day because queues at the border can get pretty bad on Saturdays which can lead to several hours of waiting before you are allowed to cross to the other side.
The car starts without any problem and my brother drives off the few miles that leads to the border. On my side of the Ocean, I follow his progress on my phone where I can track him in real time. The closer he gets to the border and the more nervous I get. I mentally check all the paperwork that I left my brother once again trying to calm myself down. Everything should be OK but I can’t help being nervous. It is the first car I get across the border in this shape and I am hoping there won’t be any problem.
The car runs well and after a quick stop before crossing the border for his girlfriend to park his car, both of them get back into my Cadillac and get in line for the immigration checks.
Obviously driving a car that old and in that shape at the border got the attention of the border patrol and as soon as my brother approaches them, the red light above his line goes ON which means that he needs to stop for further inspection.
The border patrol officers ask him for all the paperwork which they inspect in detail and then ask him to show them the VIN number on the car. My brother didn’t know where to find it so they all start and look for it and finally find it on the chassis in the engine bay on the driver’s side.

After a few more questions, they let him go and my car is finally in Mexican territory. I am one month late on my plans but I am happy that this step of the project is now behind me. There are just a few more miles to be driven and the car will be handed over to the restorer. After that, my brother and his girlfriend will get a taxi back to the border which they will cross by foot and find their car back on the other side.

The traffic is light and the cars behave. People ask my brother about the car when he stops at traffic lights. For them it is “Batman’s car”.
Finally, they leave the main road and start climbing a smaller road towards the workshop where my car is going to spend the next few months. It is located towards the exit of the city and the roads are in a much worse state but the suspensions of the Cadillac don’t have any problem with that.

And just a few miles later, the car arrives in front of the bodyshop gates. The first comment he will make is that he was imagining the car in worse shape than that. I can’t really blame him for thinking that as the project was delayed over a month due to all the repairs I had to get done. He gets my brother to drive the car into the yard of the workshop and park it with the others that are waiting for their turn to get fixed.
Like every time that this type of car parks somewhere, people tend to gather around it pretty quickly. My brother shows it off while it explains to the guy what parts I have already put in the trunk like the front grid that will need to replace the Buick one that is currently fitted on the car or the electric antenna that will need to be put back in place and reconnected. The rest is pretty standard really: straighten the bodywork, prepare everything for the new paint, redo the interior…

After a few moments of discussion, my brother hands him over the keys and is off towards the border again.
I just have to wait until Monday now for the restoration to actually start. I am relieved and impatient to see what kind of work the Mexicans are going to be able to pull off on my car. There are probably going to be more surprises along the way but for the time being, I am going to enjoy this little success. We will deal with further problems down the line when they present themselves.

To be continued… here: 1960 Cadillac Coupe de Ville - part 10