Entrepreneur vintage obsessed

[Bruce Nunnally]

Meghan Ackerman doesn’t just talk about being car crazy, she lives it full time. Ever since she was a child, she was obsessed with classic cars, motorcycles and other vintage finds.

Growing up next door to a junk yard in Illinois, wrenching and old steel always has seemed perfectly normal to her, and she was busy getting her hands dirty under the hood early on.

Read more: http://blog.chron.com/heidispics/2014/04/entrepreneur-vintage-obsessed/

I generally don't drink coffee, but I fully support this small business.

[Göran W]

Hmmm..... Maybe coffee ain´t the first thing that comes to mind seeing that lady and her "small business"?

[Cadillac Jim]

Is that a 1957 Cadillac Fleetwood Series 60 Special with pinstriping on the hood?

[Bruce Nunnally]

Here's another shot of the Cadillac from their facebook site: https://www.facebook.com/cadillaccoffeehouston

The car was previously lowered in the back, but restored to original height for towing.

Identifying the standard 62 models were bright metal moldings, just forward of the rear wheel openings, highlighted by seven horizontal windsplits.

Their facebook about confirms as a 1957 Series 62:

Cadillac Coffee is a 1963 Shasta camper van pulled by a 1957 Cadillac Series 62 serving gourmet coffee and breakfast. We are currently in the build out phase of our endeavor. We will be operating in the Houston area serving coffee and home made pastries, pies, quiches and kolaches. We will be serving espresso drinks, cool brew coffee, tea and other non caffeinated magic elixirs. We offer service with a hot smile and a ton of style. Rarrr. Our retro themed business came out of our passion for all things nostalgic and customized. We look forward to serving you soon!

[Cadillac Jim]

Something tells me that I would like these people. Anybody that would keep a 1957 Cadillac that nice while making a living in a tough public service job is OK by me.

[JohnnyG]

That's a pretty nice trailer she's pullin' ! I'm glad I didn't grow up next to a junk yard. I'd have had the same affliction, probably a lot worse. Now it's time for me to get rid of all my treasures.

[Cadillac Jim]

Since I grew up with ten and fifteen year old cars was common, it didn't make any difference where I grew up, I was well-acquainted with recycling yards. I found overdrive transmissions for my 1952 Henry J and 1959 Chevrolet, a dealer option A/C unit for my 1959 Chevrolet, and many other things that helped me keep the cars in good shape and better suited for my use.

[Bruce Nunnally]

Local news coverage including video interview:

http://www.khou.com/news/business/Get-your-hot-coffee-and-hot-rod-fix-at-Cadillac-Coffee--256724811.html

[Cadillac Jim]

Usually I don't like a lot of tats on a woman. But, a huge spark plug on the upper arm? Well, I do kinda like that. We didn't see much of her husband but what we did was consistent with what we see with her - quick, articulate, and friendly. And, singeing the marshmallows with a propane torch??? Classic!

She says in the interview that the Cadillac is "slightly modified" which can mean anything. The first thing I would do with an old car is change *all* the vacuum hoses under the hood to get everything working as it should again. Then, pull the carb and rebuild it, and clean out the heat riser. A brass mallet and some penetrating oil and a couple of hours to free up the heat riser, new mufflers and exhaust pipes as needed, refresh ignition parts, and see what you have.

A flow check on the radiator might be in order. If it's below 60% you can pull the tanks and rod the cores of those old brass radiators and have it back like new.

Going a bit farther, a Holley with a free-flowing intake and a free-flow dual exhaust system can get as much performance as you are going to get without pulling the heads and cam. Pulling a trailer, I would stop there.

[Bruce Nunnally]

It has some obvious custom paint touches on the exterior. The page mentions that it was previously lowered, now restored.

In terms of engine upgrades I would think the twin-carb setup from the Eldorado is a guaranteed path, although only fun if you enjoy tinkering with carb synchronization.

[Cadillac Jim]

I would think that a good aluminum high rise intake from Holley or Edelbrock and a good 650 cfm Holley four barrel would flow better than an old iron street dual quad intake, but I never saw one of those except for a few minutes after somebody's daddy too top eliminator in his pink Cadillac at the Oak HIll Downs track near Austin one Saturday in 1957.