My Wheels: John Raby’s 1963 Cadillac Coupé Deville Convertible
John’s big, bright red classic Coupé Deville is a serious eye-catcher!
Profile
Name: John Raby
Job: Owner of J.R.Scenic LLC.
From: UK
Wheels: 1963 Cadillac Series 62 Coupé Deville Convertible
In the UAE: Eight years
That’s a gorgeous Coupé Deville convertible you’ve got there John! Where did you find this beauty?
I decided to buy myself a 50th birthday present as our six kids are all grown up and I finally had some spare cash.
In August 2014, while in London for my dad’s birthday, I was browsing the net and that’s when I found this beautiful Caddy. There were two days left on the auction, and I made a call to the seller that evening. The car was purchased new in 1963 in Utah, and was being sold through a classic car dealer for the original owner, who accepted my bid, making me just the second owner in its 53-year history! I had to wait until November for it to arrive to the UAE. The car had only covered 32,701 kays, and the original owner changed his car every year and only drove Cadillacs, but had kept the ’63 instead of trading it in. Sight unseen I went for it and won the auction.
We’re glad you got it. Tell us more about this stunner…
It’s a numbers-matching survivor and has the original chassis, engine, gearbox and rear axle, but the suspension is not standard; I bought an Air Ride kit from RideTech in the US, and fitted it myself last summer. The kit is excellent and has eight inches of travel. The air ride improves the handling immensely and takes the wallowing ride away and gives you much more cornering confidence, and when its parked you can slam the car to the ground, which I think looks amazing and makes an incredibly long car (5.8 metres) look even longer. Also, all the suspension bushes, track rods, steering bushes and arms are new.
The seats and door panels have a custom white tuck and roll finish with contrasting red piping. I had the dashboard done in the opposite pattern, red tuck and roll with white piping, and also a matching parade cover for the roof when it is down. The wheels are 52 spoke wires, which I had made in the States in stainless steel, and the exhaust tips are also custom. They are Bellflower tips, which was a popular customising technique from the Sixties.
Got a hot ride? Email us at mywheels@gulfnews.com with a photo and description and you could be our next my wheels star!