Engineering:CadZZilla
CadZZilla is a custom car built by Boyd Coddington.
History
Conceived in 1989, CadZZilla is a customized Cadillac, built for Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top. The car's appearance was designed by Jack Chisenhall and Larry Erickson.[1] It is acclaimed as one of the great expressions of automotive customization.[2] Drawing inspiration from the lead sleds and Mercury Eights of the 1950s, CadZZilla attracted considerable attention. Hot Rod magazine's Gray Baskerville called CadZZilla "the most incredible transformation he'd ever witnessed",[1] and in their "History of Hot Rods & Customs" the auto editors of Consumer Guide praised it as "the first really new type of custom since the heyday of the 1950s".[3] Coddington's team, led by body man Craig Naff, started with a 1948 Cadillac Series 62 Sedanette.[4][5] The first sketches were done on a bar napkin.[4] Initially set to feature simple customizations, the vehicle's design was instead radically altered upon Gibbons' request.[4]
Customizations
The top was chopped.[4] The hood and front fenders were sectioned and combined into a tilt nose.[4] Headlights were frenched[4] and late-model Cadillac taillights frenched into the rear fins.[5] The front bumper was fitted with high-mounted dagmars, with a Moon tank between them in the grille opening.[5] The engine is a 500 cu in (8 L) Cadillac V8 with custom-built Holley fuel injection, mated to a Currie 9-inch (23 cm) rear axle.[4] The exhaust pipes exit through the rear bumper.[5] Springs are Koni coilovers, with a steering box from a 1985 Corvette.[4] The wheels are a 22 in (560 mm)-diameter billet aluminum design by Coddington.[4] The exterior was finished in deep purple from House of Kolor.[4]
CadZZilla cost Gibbons about US$900,000.[5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Iconic "Cadzzilla" Part of New Exhibit at Saratoga Automobile Museum". Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110717021255/http://www.cliftonpark.org/articles/content.asp?MemberID=4268.
- ↑ The Auto Editors of Consumer Guide (September 19, 2007). "History of Hot Rods & Customs". Consumer Guide. p. 11. http://auto.howstuffworks.com/hot-rod11.htm. Retrieved December 12, 2008.
- ↑ The Auto Editors of Consumer Guide (September 19, 2007). "History of Hot Rods & Customs". Consumer Guide. p. 10. http://auto.howstuffworks.com/hot-rod10.htm. Retrieved December 12, 2008.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 Fisher, Lindsey (July 5, 2016). "Hot Rods You Should Know: Billy Gibbons' 1948 Cadillac "CadZZilla"". https://www.streetmusclemag.com/features/hot-rods-you-should-know-billy-gibbons-1948-cadillac-cadzzilla/.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Photos at Amcarguide.com (retrieved 16 September 2018)
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