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CADILLAC LaSALLE CLUB OF CANADA CADILLAC CHRONICLE
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Archived Newsletters
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May 2005 Another Great tour of the Cadillac LaSalle Club of Canada Well Folks, another very successful tour for the CLCC was completed on May 15Th. when around 14 members dispersed at the residence of Norm and Lou Marr in Nanaimo. It all started when members from Lower Vancouver Island met at Gerry’s Diner, in Duncan, for a most appealing lunch in an atmosphere of earlier times. Upon completion, Jim and Melanie Morley led the convoy of Cadillacs to their home where they displayed their favorite hobbies of Vintage Cars, Lace making and other hand work. The men were most pleased to be invited into the shop where Jim has restored his show winning 1914 Cadillac 7Passenger touring car parked beside his other works in progress – a 1934 Dodge Rumble seat roadster and a 1931 LaSalle Rumble seat Coupe. This is the type of shop that all auto enthusiasts wish they had the knowledge to operate. The Lace work that Melanie produces is without equal that we have seen and the "1914 Cadillac" hooked rug for the rear floor of the Cadillac is a showpiece in itself. The convoy left there after just over an hour and continued into Nanaimo and then back out on another road to the Marr residence. Norm had his great looking ’51 Caddy Convertible in the driveway so we couldn’t really miss the house. This vehicle solicited drools from all of us and we managed to enjoy the car without many sticky handprints on it but that was difficult. This lovely piece of nostalgia has been many years in the making and still Norm isn’t happy. He has done much of the work in his garage and the results are very remarkable. Well done!! Norm, she looks lovely (and runs well too). After many oohs and ahhhs and a trip to Norm’s "graveyard", Lou announced that the tea and coffee were ready, so we adjourned to their living room for refreshments and socializing. The tour saw a couple of new members in attendance and at this time I would like to extend our welcome to Barrie and Doreen Hewstan who brought their ’97 STS, and also Ken and Betty Reese of Cowichan Bay. Their humongus ‘93 Fleetwood was a standout and hopefully be seen many times in the future. The pictures of these two will appear on the club website in the very near future. Also appearing on the website are many additional parts available from club members as well as pictures from the tour. Please have a look, as there may be something there you have been looking for, for some time. www.cadillaclasalleclubofcanada.com .At this time I would like to express a great big thanks to Wayne Christmas for his seemingly endless work on the web site. It is one of the nicest on the Internet for a car club. Thanks again and well done Wayne!!!!! At the very informal meeting at Marr’s, the topic of our next event was brought up. It will be held at the Brentwood Bay Festival, June 4Th at Bolsters and the Brentwood Elementary School parking lots. The Cadillac LaSalle Club of Canada, the Old English Car Club, the Mustang Club and the Beaumont, Chevelle Club and many other cars of interest from Vancouver Island have been invited. We would like to have as many Cadillacs as possible attend as we hope to have our semi-annual meeting. It will be very short but fairly important as we will be discussing summer events such as tours and a possible Summer BBQ. We hope to have the meeting around 1P.M. so, if you can only be there for a short while, please try to make it at that time. Pride & Joy ! A Biography of: "THE OLD LADY" Part 2 By Lorne Scott After going through a lady owners hands for a short while, (too much car for her to handle) Lady Victoria was sold to another attentive owner who unfortunately, on a Saturday night foray broke the center dash plate and tore the upholstery in a couple of places. This gentleman died before I could contact him but his wife says she still has some unopened boxes in the basement so who knows what treasures they may hold. This brings us to the fifth owner who was a very dear friend of mine. He attended to Victoria’s needs from 1971 until 1997 when heart disease took him down the final road. During her life with him, I was privileged to be his chauffeur when she was shown and attended parades and other events. She spent some years in the local museum while Stan restored a model A and a 35 Chrysler RS coupe. The museum closed, Lady Victoria came back home to her garage and rarely came out due to his poor health and lack of strength. Upon Stan’s demise, I was left with first option on the LaSalle, for which I thank him every time I take her out or work with her. Lady Victoria has been my responsibility since 1997and has won many awards at shows but they pale in comparison to the comments she receives when on display. As far as I know, she is original except for the fuel system, which allows her to idle beautifully at what seems to be about 300RPM. Her material top was replaced in 1972 and it is still in superb condition. I don’t drive her over 45 MPH with high hopes of never damaging anything mechanical. I have been told that she may be the last survivor out of 405 1928 LaSalle Victoria Coupes and with that in mind she gets royal treatment. Over the past few years I have been able to locate different items and information pertaining to her history and well being. This was added to recently when I received the "Build Sheet" from Cadillac Motor Car Division. The build information in 1927-1928 consisted of a hand written line across a double-paged Leather bound ledger. This has been photographed onto microfilm and I received a photocopy of this film with Her serial number standing proud in the first column. Most of the rest was unreadable but with the help of magnification and the latest reference book "LaSalle, Cadillac’s Companion Car" I was able to decipher most of the numbers and little black specks on the photocopy. I consider this one of her most important pieces of documentation, giving verification of part numbers, colors, sizes and most of the stats necessary for a future restoration. If the "Old Lady" keeps going the way she is at present, the restoration may be a long way down the road. Some of the special interest items on her are shown in the accompanying photos and one of the most interesting to a lot of people is the Cadillac LaSalle Club decal in the back window. It shows the dates 1902 to 1942 then says the club was formed in 1958. Apparently, the 1902 to 1942 dates designate the years of Cadillac/LaSalle that were recognized by the CLC when it was first formed in 1958. The remaining portion of this story would make a good historical article that may be written by some well-informed historian of the CLC in the future. Another is the disk wheels. Victoria B.C. has great weather for most of the year but the winter rains are intense. The reason that this no cost option was chosen was to illuminate any possibility of dry rot in wooden spokes. These wheels are of the split rim variety with a snap ring on the outside to hold the tire. The running board luggage rack was added for transporting luggage due to the small trunk. It also was a great place to hold the doctor’s bag when the area doctor borrowed the car. Apparently he left the bag with the car and it has remained ever since. In the rear seat behind the driver is a compartment for storage of whatever. I can only assume that it had a very practical use in days of prohibition. The jump seat still allows for gracious entry to the rear seat and the original blinds still close when privacy is required. There are many things that I still have to learn about her and would be very interested to know if anyone knows the whereabouts of any other 1928 LaSalle Victoria Coupes. It would be my pleasure to communicate with anyone who may have any of this information. My e-mail address is seabreze@telus.net for anyone interested in sharing information either way. Many thanks to Richard Stanley, Matt Larson, Richard Sills and Gregg Wallace for the assistance, information and encouragement they have given over the past short while. With people such as these it is no wonder the Cadillac LaSalle Club is so successful. Lorne Scott. Club Sponsors: The following are the sponsors of the club at this point. We will publish additional sponsors as they are brought on line. These sponsors have provided support to the club either financially or otherwise and as a club, we would like to assist in the promotion of their efforts. If you are in need of any of their services please don’t hesitate to call. Craig Reeder – Coast Capital Real Estate – 592-1723 – Craig has been the main benefactor in our web site production and maintenance. He is the Webmaster for the club and conducts his very busy real estate business to the joy of his many clients. Thanks Craig for making this all possible.CLCC Commercial Friends and Associates LORDCO – This western Canadian auto parts company has supported us with club membership discounts and prizes. This is a full inventory parts and accessory store that caters to many businesses as well as retail sales. LORDCO has many branches throughout B.C. as well as machine shops on the lower mainland for service work.The JB Group – This fine group of Auto Parts stores has been in business since 1970 and has a full service machine shop, paints and other auto related merchandise for the amateur and professional automotive enthusiast. They now have five branches on the Lower Island to serve you and mention that you belong to the Cadillac LaSalle Club of Canada for the club discount. If you don’t have their card, please contact me and I will get the application to you ASAP. STYLES UPHOLSTERY – Styles is a full service upholstery and trim shop specializing in Auto and Marine equipment. They have provided a Club discount for members of the CLCC and are located at 631 Princess Street in Victoria, Ph. 1-250-384-5442FINISH LINE MOTOBILIA-This magic toy box has opened at 2008 Douglas Street in Victoria, Ph. 1-250-361-1562. It contains a plethora of Die-Cast Models, Clothes, signs, Videos etc. etc. etc. The shelves are stocked with a great quantity of items only superceded by their quality. It is sure worth a browse if you are interested in anything concerning automotive or motorcycle memorabilia. They have also been known to do favors for clubs, their members and activities. Many thanks to the above sponsors of our club and their endeavors, without them the CLCC would still be an unorganized group looking for a place to enjoy their Cadillac habit. Grease for the Squeaky Wheel When checking tire pressure, follow the tire manufacturers specifications, NOT the car manufacturers. Auto manufacturers tend to under-inflate to provide a softer ride. If tires are kept at proper pressure, it will improve gas mileage and provide better tracking and with the price of gas these days, every little bit helps when driving Cadillacs!Wayne McCallum Cadillac of the Month 2002 Sedan Deville – Roger and Valerie Barrie This Luxury Liner was recently purchased by the Barries and will likely take them many comfortable miles down the road. It seems to have every available option and looks great as well. The Northstar engine is barley broken in and the small scratch that was found in the roof has undoubtedly been finished to perfection by now. It is maroon in color to match others in their fleet. Well done Roger and Val!
Have a great day and we will see you all on June 4Th at the Brentwood Bay Festival Car Display !!
Lorne Scott |
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