Classic Cadillacs were known for their build quality and their quiet, dignified ride.
They were built for people who wanted to roll up the window and ignore the world—anything less would be a betrayal of the Cadillac tradition.
Jerry Sutherland
Norm Glazier knew that when he bought his 1970 Cadillac Sedan De Ville two years ago. He said it was a “project—barn find” when he found it, so Norm knew he had the project he was looking for after a search for workable cars.
The test run didn’t go well—Norm said the Cadillac “was only running on four cylinders” when he drove it. That wasn’t a deal-breaker because Norm is a mechanic and nothing about the Cadillac intimidated him–even down to the upgraded headlights.
Norm added a little performance to the mix, because the factory 472-cubic-inch V-8 has “a bit of a cam now” and there’s a shift kit in the TH-400 automatic transmission. Norm wanted the big Caddy to run better and more efficiently—it worked out because the car gets up to speed better than any factory ’70 Caddy ever did.
He didn’t stop with the power train. Norm updated everything under the car from the air ride suspension to the brakes because his training taught him to never send out an unsafe car. The results speak for themselves—this is a very solid 1970 Cadillac that performs like it’s new.
The Cadillac was relatively rust-free, but Norm did strip the floors to bare metal to fix a few spots. He admits he’s a much better mechanic than a welder, but he added, “It’s not a show car”.
Norm wanted the interior of his car to have his own personal stamp on it, so he added an alligator skin dash. Norm explained how it’s next impossible to get real alligator skin, so this version is leather with an alligator-skin look. The door panels were covered to match the headliner because again—Norm had a vision for his Cadillac.
Soundproofing was another big issue for Norm, so he took his Caddy to another level with state-of-the-art materials throughout the interior. The inner doors, the floors are all soundproof sealed, plus the headliner was done, and the vinyl roof is actually a truck bed sealer that gives it a vinyl roof look with far better insulation.
Norm also took on the exterior of the car and he had a plan for that too. He didn’t want to paint it–but he did want to preserve it from rusting, so he used an upscale clear coat to save the car. Norm used a blend of gloss and flat clear coat to get the semi-gloss look he really wanted.
He said the trunk and hood were “a sea of brown” so Norm had a vision for that because he hated the look. He bought an old tablecloth that was sewed in the 1940s from an antique store and laid it on the hood. He had factory paint made up and sprayed through the cloth to get a lace look. It worked great but Norm said he’s “banned from the store after they found out”.
There are unique touches all over this Cadillac, but one of the most unique is a custom plaque with a theme from the movie ‘Alien’. Norm is a huge fan, so the plaque says WAYLAND-YUTANI CORP. and the serial number is LV-472 00070 (472 cubic inch build date 1970). That’s the name of the company that built the rocket in ‘Alien’ and the build date and engine size for his Cadillac.
The final touch on Norm’s Cadillac? It has a gated exhaust so he can be as loud—or as quiet as he wants.
Norm’s a Cadillac guy—he picks quiet most of the time.
Jerry Sutherland
By: Jerry Sutherland
Jerry Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer with a primary focus on the collector car hobby. His work has been published in many outlets and publications, including the National Post, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Regina Leader-Post, Vancouver Sun and The Truth About Cars. He is also a regular contributor to Auto Roundup Publications.
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