Cadillac Lido

TrollingJoe

Cadet
Joined
Dec 22, 2014
Messages
9
I have recently located my grandfathers 57-59 Cadillac Lido.
I am preparing for a lengthy restoration.
If anyone can assist with. Information, do's and dont's it would be greatly appreciated.
All seems to be in order except the windshield. Any suggestions for replacement also appreciated. This is my first attempt to restore an aluminum boat and I want to do it correctly. Boat has been unused and outside for 30 years. Thank you.
 

Corjen1

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Aug 24, 2013
Messages
1,237
Welcome to dry dock Sir!! Take pix of every square inch, every angle you can...they will help immensely when it comes time for reassembly. We are pix junkies, and it difficult to help if we cant see what your are talking about.

Get a free photobucket account, load your pix to that. then you can clik in the box next to IMG, paste it directly into your post and it will make a nice big picture.
 

64osby

Admiral
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Messages
6,799
Ohhh Fins.

Cadillacb57004.jpg

Pics would be great.

There are many tin restorations that would help. The Starcraft section has tons of them. Also in this section look for Starcrafts, Lone Star, Sea Nymph, Feathercraft, Crestliner or any other tin boat.

Search Google for Gluvit, Coatit, sealing wood, aluminum repair. I usually add iboats forums to my google search. There is tons of info here. Ask questions and have fun.

edit - There are several who have made there own windshields.
 
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TrollingJoe

Cadet
Joined
Dec 22, 2014
Messages
9
Thank you. Yes I'll be looking for all the information I can acquire. My search has led me to identify it as a 1957 model. It has the coral pink paint. I will certainly include pics in the future. Working to get boat moved to restoration site.
 

Watermann

Starmada Splash of the Year 2014
Joined
Jan 12, 2013
Messages
13,747
:welcome: to the iboats forum

A neat little tinny! An awesome project and very worthy of a second chance on the waves. Looking forward to some pics.
 

TrollingJoe

Cadet
Joined
Dec 22, 2014
Messages
9
Well it has been a long winter waiting to retrieve this beauty.
I was able to get it out of the woods and to its new home last week.
Ill be diving into it this weekend and will post pictures as soon as possible.

All of the wood has rotted as expected and I could use some assistance in replacing the transom.
Any suggestions as to the type of wood I should use for this?
 

Woodonglass

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Dec 29, 2009
Messages
25,924
Marine Plywood is Prolly the best, but most of the guys here on the forum opt to use Ext. Grade Plywood. You can Find some Pretty good stuff if you pic thru the pile. It's all about encapsulation. If you soak the wood in Epoxy (the Best) or some other sealer and then Care for and Maintain the boat in the proper manner, the transom will last for multiple Decades. There's lots of examples here on the forum so do some searching and you'll find plenty of help.
 

TrollingJoe

Cadet
Joined
Dec 22, 2014
Messages
9
Well, Its been a year since I have worked on the Lido.
Summer has finally arrived to Northern PA. so I will be digging into this with increased enthusiasm. Last year I was able to do about 95% of the tear down. Life kept me busy most of the summer and winter. As some of you probably know all too well.
When I removed the plywood floor from the boat I was surprised to find expandable foam in the bottom of the hull. Didn't know they had this in 1958 but it is certainly factory. Upon its removal, I found several, as many as 20 very small pinholes in the hull. From the inside out. I am told this corrosion was caused by the years of water soaked foam depleting the oxygen in these areas.
So my question is what is the best way to permanently repair this problem before restoration. I have spent the winter researching many alternatives and I think it would be best to try and weld these small holes with low heat aluminum welding rods. I've been told to do everything from fill them with epoxy or JBWeld to drill them all out and rivet all of them. There are also some epoxied holes from decades ago that will need repaired and filled. My Grandfather obviously used some sort of black epoxy or tar? The rivet scenario isn't practical as some of these holes are close to one another. No hole is larger than a blade of grass, butt there are a few in concentrated areas. I'm asking for your assistance with knowledge from the sea! How has others repaired this problem and what do you recommend. This boat has only and will only be used in fresh water.I will post pictures as soon as I figure out how to do it LOL Thank you all for any assistance you might be able to give me.
 

TrollingJoe

Cadet
Joined
Dec 22, 2014
Messages
9
No Title

Here are three pics of the Coral Pink 1958 Cadillac Lido.
After 30 years of sitting in the woods in Southern New York.
Ready for a new life and restoration.
 

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fhhuber

Lieutenant
Joined
Jun 19, 2014
Messages
1,365
To get a good idea of the best way to proceed... we need GOOD pictures of the damaged metal.

It may need the bad sections cut out and replaced.

It may be fixable by any of the several previously mentioned methods.
 

TrollingJoe

Cadet
Joined
Dec 22, 2014
Messages
9
No Title

Here are a few pics of the worst areas.
Most of the pits do not go all the way through the aluminum.
The deepest of them go through and have small pin holes associated with the pit.
The outside is smooth and un corroded.

Please let me know what you think.
Cutting and replacing is most likely not an option I can pursue.

Thank you
 

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fhhuber

Lieutenant
Joined
Jun 19, 2014
Messages
1,365
I'd be looking at replacing that section. Its done.

Note: Cutting out the bad part and riveting in a replacement section is not as hard as you might think.

For long term storage of a relatively small hull... flip it bottom up. Then you can't get the accumulation of debris holding in water and rotting everything out. That one is small enough to do this every winter.
 
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TrollingJoe

Cadet
Joined
Dec 22, 2014
Messages
9
Thank you for your response.
Not the answer I was looking for.
But I appreciate your knowledge and opinion.

The bottom of this hull is one entire piece.
There are no sections.
I also have no knowledge of how to do this or the equipment to do so.
I would be most interested in a plan B if there is one.

If there is a plan B scenario or you can tell me where I might be able to get this work done, I would appreciate some help.
I reside in NE. Pennsylvania
Is it possible to add sheet aluminum to the hull over these areas of concern?
If so how would that need to be done correctly?

Thank you in advance for your help.
 

TrollingJoe

Cadet
Joined
Dec 22, 2014
Messages
9
Thank you
I will look through this and see if I can find the help I need.
The hull seems very sturdy save the small pinholes.
While I am looking for a solution I can do myself, I want this to be a good restoration, not just a patch job.
Would like this to be around for a couple more generations to enjoy.

If anyone can get me started in the right direction i'm all ears.
The elbow grease, cosmetics and woodwork I can handle.
The aluminum has me apprehensive.
I believe I will just have to dive in and hope I don't destroy anything.
 

quietflyer

Recruit
Joined
Oct 12, 2020
Messages
1
Thank you
I will look through this and see if I can find the help I need.
The hull seems very sturdy save the small pinholes.
While I am looking for a solution I can do myself, I want this to be a good restoration, not just a patch job.
Would like this to be around for a couple more generations to enjoy.

If anyone can get me started in the right direction i'm all ears.
The elbow grease, cosmetics and woodwork I can handle.
The aluminum has me apprehensive.
I believe I will just have to dive in and hope I don't destroy anything.
Hey Joe, what did you do to fix the pitting and holes?
 
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