The Cadillac of Couches
As a kid we had a family friend who had a big beautiful 1980s Caddy, and it seemed the pinnacle of luxury was to ride around in the back seat, feeling quite chauffered. For some reason that translated some 20 years later into me making this couch of out a back seat from a 1984 Cadillac El Dorado. I’m a ball of mystery, I am. I finished this in the summer of 2006.
Apparently the donor car had very few miles on it but broke something expensive, so the owner left it to rot in a field adjacent to his property, where it promptly rusted solid. The salvage company removed its pristine interior, which basically hadn’t been used for 20-odd years, and sold it on eBay. I paid $200 shipped for the rear seat, which is (much to my surprise) two sections not attached.
Months later, and with some help, it gained a 1″ steel frame and started to look like something. The steel was nasty and rusty so eventually I decided to clean it up a bit and paint it with some industrial grade Rustoleum.
I bought some wood and began designing the side panels for armrests. It took like 6 trips to Home Depot and Lowes to finally get all the items I needed but it was well worth the trouble.
I picked up two coordinating hubcap centers and El Dorado emblems on eBay. It was over 90 degrees inside my garage most of the time I was working on this, so just imagine my enjoyment. I mentally designed how all the parts would go together for weeks, then one night I just started cutting, gluing and drilling, and voila! One side got done!
I’d never worked with upholstery before so I think I did pretty well for a beginner. Contact cement is my new best friend, that stuff kicks ass. That and my trusty staple gun were all I needed to make padded sides and armrests
And here it is in 2022, 16 years later. Still looking great! The front flap was redone by a family friend and given a proper Cadillac emblem as well. It’s really comfortable!