Thursday, November 13, 2008

Its a girl!

Its a girl!!!

Yesterday morning, shortly after posting my "Expectant father" entry, I got the call from the 'stork' letting me know he was nearby. He confirmed the delivery location with me and said he'd call me back after he'd unstrapped my baby and unloaded her from the trailer.

A few minutes later he let me know she was ready to go home with her proud Papa, so I walked the 3 blocks and saw her sitting peacefully in the parking lot. I smiled immediately, and I think I saw her 'wink' at me!

How did this all come about, you may be wondering. I'm glad you asked!

Ever since I was a boy I have loved cars. Not from the performance standpoint. I could care less what size engine its got. To me its always been all about the aesthetics.

Every since I can remember I have loved Cadillacs. They were always my favorite at the car shows. They always seemed more luxurious than 'regular cars'. Without argument, the most iconic Cadillac ever is the 1959. That year the tail fins reached their highest, and were adorned with dual 'torpedo' tail lights. Later models also had tail fins, but each year the tail fins got shorter, and Cadillac never repeated the 'torpedo' tail lights.

So when I got serious about looking for a vintage car, there really was only 1 choice for me: a 1959 Cadillac.
Initially I began looking for cars in the classifieds section on the Hemmings website. At any given time there are 10,000 or more cars for sale, so its a great place to view photos and do your pricing homework. Unfortunately I wasn't able to find the right car for me (ie: right year, right condition, right price), so I began looking on ebay. I 'watched' several vehicles for a few days and decided to bid on this one, and I won it. The color is called 'Vegas Turquoise'. So gay!

This car has a bit of an interesting story. It was purchased on 12/19/59 by a 41 year old man. I know his age because the title gave me his name and address, which I looked up on Zabasearch, and got his date of birth. If he were alive today he'd be 90 years old. So now I'm becoming obsessed with finding info about the one and only previous owner of my baby.

I've decided to call her Big Ella. My family has always named their cars (Bessie, The Big Blue Beast, The Tank, etc.) and I have named a few of my cars. Years ago I had a 1982 Accord which I named VaRhonda the Honda. Later I had a 1978 VW Super Beetle convertible I named Jazzy Bug. Spouse came up with the name Big Ella in tribute to the large size of the car and my absolute favorite female vocalist of all time, Ella Fitzgerald. So this may have a bearing on the license plate I choose, but don't let that stop you from voting in the poll.

After bringing Big Ella home I called and purchased a special 'antique/collector car' insurance policy, which was much less expensive than I would have thought. Then I made an appointment for her at the 'doctor' for an overall check-up. Since she was only driven occasionally and retains all her original parts, I'm sure she'll need a little freshening up. Then she'll be ready for inspection and registration.

Already the neighbors and passersby have commented on the new addition to our happy family. Spouse was a great sport to agree to this, but I think he really sees how happy this has made me. The realization of a childhood dream tends to do that to a person.

Crush du Jour: Chris Kramer

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am so glad you got this car. I know you have been wanting it for a while and you will get a ton of enjoyment out of it.

joe*to*hell said...

big ella is GENIUS

RAD said...

shes a beauty-- she takes after you doesnt she? :-)

Sam said...

She's gorgeous, and she has all her original parts? That's pretty terrific.

Mistress Maddie said...

I'm so gald it was a short expctant term! Have fun with the new baby!

David Dust said...

Mazel tov on your new bundle of joy!

XOXO

Anonymous said...

I believe my father had one of these when I was just a kid. Though I think his might have been a 1962 or a 1963.

He loved his Cadillacs up until 1979. That Caddy was the biggest lemon he'd ever had.

After that he went all Japanese, Honda, Toyota, et al.

Congrats on Big Ella, she's a real beauty.

tornwordo said...

Pretty hot wheels dude!

Bugsy said...

I'm glad it all worked out and your are happy with Ella! Good luck with the check up!

Anonymous said...

LOVE IT! LLLOOOOOVVVVVEEEE IT!!!!

I too have a great passion for vintage Cadillac. I once owned a 68 Deville convertible in that same blue. Her name was Bluella which fit so well on her plate. Sold it a few years ago and am now saving up for my absolute favorite, a 1960 Eldorado or Coupe de Ville in blue or gold. Some day, sigh.

Congrats to you though! She's a beauty!

Rick said...

I'm sure you get as many passing glances as your new baby. Let me tell you that is a beaut! I bet she rides soooooo fine. I'm glad for you.