Life: Louie Mattar and His 1947 Cadillac: Photos of a Tricked-Out Marvel

[Bruce Nunnally]

As Tennyson might have written, if he lived in 2013 and wasn’t a very good poet, “in the spring, and summer, and fall and winter, one’s fancy turns to thoughts of automobiles.”

There’s a lot to be said, in other words, for the romance of the open road.

And for as long as there have been cars, there have been men and women who have felt the need to alter, improve, manipulate — in short, to trick out their vehicles with accouterments and ornamentation that the manufacturer did not feel compelled to include in even its most crazily deluxe models. For some, these additional touches might be spinning hubcaps. For others, it might be furry dice hanging from the rear-view mirror, or animal-print upholstery, or flames painted on the hood.

Read more: Louie Mattar and His 1947 Cadillac: Photos of a Tricked-Out Marvel | LIFE.com http://life.time.com/curiosities/louie-mattar-and-his-1947-cadillac-photos-of-a-tricked-out-masterpiece/#ixzz33EcTQ4Zx