This weekend I was asked by my brother to haul his 1948 Chevy to Michigan. He just recently moved from Indiana.

Well long story short. I had an empty trailor in Michigan where my first car (1982 Camaro) has sat for 8 years. So I went to where it was and found that some small trees had grown next to it as well as some old tractors parked nearby. We borrowed an axe and carefully pulled it out.
I couldn't believe the dash pad was still crack free! bought that pad in 1998 for $20 at a local junk yard.
I had to part with the car in 2000 after the engine died and I bought a pickup to cruise in.

Have a few things (cars) to get to before I can do anything with my old 82 camaro. I'm pretty sure I am going to do a long term full resto with this one. Have a pretty absurb/wild idea thats been in my head for a long time. Probably get a lot of flak but its going to be a car I keep and want it to be something that makes people think.

So here it is. I'm planning on doing a "what if" car. More specifically what if Cadillac had built a car on the F body platform. No 20" or insane wheels though as that wasn't a cadillac thing in the 80s. More of a fun project to get looks at the local car show scene. Engine will be a 350. Not a cadillac engine as the 82 saw pontiacs get the SBC for the first time instead of their own engines. Who knows though things could change and I go with a cadillac anyways. Lots of time to figure things out.

Very excited to have it back!!!! Learned to drive a stick in this car and also got my first ticket!

Oh yeah the 82 sported a 2.5 Iron duke and 4 speed manual trans. I managed to ruin an iron duke. LOL. 16 was fun.

 

I love 80's Cadillacs. Not sure you will be happy with an upright grill, pillow seats, a vinyl roof and vertical tail fins on a Camaro however.

 

If you look at the Cimarron it has some styling cues that could be adapted to a 3rd gen body. Not sure how it will be done but the larger Chevy and Pontiac cars had their own unique features that wouldn't look well on the F body either. It would be a subtle change of features. Not sure how to change the front end as thats where most of the differances were between the Pontiac and Chevy models. Mainly nose and headlights to give a cadillac look while maintaining a 3rd gen style. The later Allante model gives some cues to a sporty cadillac.
It will be an interesting venture for sure.

 

Sounds like a good plan to me...especially since you're starting with a car that no one would want to drive today in the first place. Interested to see how a Cadillac grille will flow with the rest of the lines of the car. I'm expecting a console delete (if the car even had one) and super plush velour or leather on a front split bench.

Can I expected wire 15s with whitewalls? And don't forget the weird little fiber optic headlight/turn signal box thingies that sit on top of the fenders.

Seriously, I'm looking forward to this build! Normally I'd slam you for tearing up a desirable car, but if you're starting with an iron duke car, then you really don't have anything to lose with this.

 

I don't think I'll run wire wheels. Looking at some cadillac alloy 15s. Will have to run adapters as I can't find any that ran 5x4.75.
I'll be mainly using the designs and features found on the Cimarron and the later Allante for inspiration. The cimarron offers the best comparison being that the Chevy cavalier was its counterpart.
The grill is the hardest part for me to wrap my head around to give it a caddy look while maintaining the 3rd gen sporty style. I want to give it a chrome grille but fear it will have a gaudy look. I have enlisted the help of my brother to come up with some pictures to give a good idea.
He went to college for automotive design. (Though he is now in the Orthopedic medical field. Surface finishing of Hip and knee replacements. LOL)
First thing will be getting the camaro running again.
Complete swap of driveline and suspension. brakes and gas lines as well.
Only thing that will be left of this car will be the body! LOL.

 

Ah, so going for the FWD 80s caddy look. Maybe try and use an Allante grille with the composite headlights? Time to get out the ol measuring tape...good luck with the build!

 

This is honestly one of the strangest things I have ever heard of...like, ever...

Waiting for pics, though...

 

Just to let you guys know I started a thread in Fabrication.
Titled "Kinda crazy but I've wanted to make it for a long time. "

Figured that was a better location for this project!

 

The driveline out of a 2012 caddy CTS-V be a cool caddy mod for the car

 

With the direction this car is going in, his choices are the super-high-tech V8-6-4, or its superior replacement, the 125hp HT4100 4.1 V8.

Either would be more powerful than the Iron Duke, with only slightly more problems...like cracked heads...cracked blocks...premature cam failures...etc...

 

I also REALLY want to see the pics!

 

My Brother has been busy. He is going to get some sketches on potential designs once he can. They will be posted in the Fabrication section.
Engine will most likely be a Small Block Chevy. Thought about a Cross Fire for era but don't really want to. LOL.
I have considered a Turbo 6cyl. Likely will go small block v8 though.

 

Picture is posted in the fabrication section. Be sure to check it out.

 

Im jumping over to the fab section now. I know it's your car and custom cars are cool if done right, but the Caddy 3rd gen is just a crazy idea IMO. I think it's cool you got the car back so why not make it super sweet and fast unlike it was when you were a kid and had it?