1959 Cadillac - Wild Cad - Mario Colalillo

1959 Cadillac Coupe DeVille Radical Kustom “WILDCAD”

This 1959 Cadillac is Australia’s Top Custom and winner of America’s “King of Kustoms”,

the WILD CAD. Built in Australia by Mario Colalillo with a select group of Australia’s top craftsmen

and painted by Kustom car Legend Gene Winfield, WILD CAD is one of the worlds wildest Kustoms.



Completed in July 2010, WILD CAD has only made selected appearances at limited shows

in Australia and the United States.

List of features, specifications and modifications:



• 454c.i. big block Chevy 450hp  • TH400 3 speed automatic  • 9” Ford Differential with 4-link
• IFS  • Right Hand Drive • Air-Ride Technologies with Dakota Digital control panel
• Classic Instrument gauges  • Wilwood booster and braking
• PPG Vibrance “Fade-away” custom paint by Gene Winfield
• Custom fabricated grille: 1955 Desoto centre bar and teeth with 1955 Caddy bullets,




• Power operated front tilt hood  • Hood extended to window with cowl vents deleted
• 5 inch roof chop  • Custom made front and rear glass

• Suicide power ram operated doors  • Shaved badges, door handles and mirrors

• Custom fabricated mono-construction chassis grafted to new inner sill panels




• Full metal constructed interior

Including: 1959 Chev dash cluster, 1959 Caddy tail fin centre console, skinned

metal headliner and Thunderbird seats

• Interior door panels are metal with upholstered inserts

• Custom smooth floor pans and firewall
• Custom fabricated inner guards and front apron panel



• Custom made stainless rear filler panel  • Thunderbird tail lights grafted into 59 caddy rear bar
• Extended rear bar to house custom stainless exhaust tip



• Shortened and power operated trunk

AWARDS

• Australia’s Top Custom @ Sydney Motorex, July 2010
• Kustom D’Elegance Finalist @ Long beach Motorama, September 2010
• GM Design Excellence Award @ SEMA Las Vegas, November 2010


• Top Radical Custom Hardtop & The George Barris Kustom D’Elegance Award

at The Grand National Roadster Show, January 2011

1959 Cadillac owned and restyled by Beatniks Car Club member Mario Colalillo of Harrington Park, Australia. The car is known as "WildCad", and features a a chopped top, and pancaked hood and trunk. Up front the stock grille was replaced by a modified 1955 DeSoto grille. The car is fully operated by airbags and has a fully detailed undercarriage. The chassis was constructed by Terry Wood of Camden County Customs, and took three months to complete. Power comes from a 454 Chevrolet Big Block that is hooked to a Turbo 400 transmission and a 9-inch rear end.[1]. Gene Winfield gave the car one of his famous paint jobs in March 2010 when he was holding one of his metal workshop classes in Australia. The paint consists of five unique colors, and Mario estimates the paint cost $200.000 AUD. The car took 6 years to build, and after being completed it made its debut at the 2010 MotorEx in Sydney in July. After the Sydney show the car will be shipped to USA for the SEMA and Showcase of Kustoms Motorama shows.[2] While traveling the custom car circuit in the USA, Mario hopes to sell the car. ZZ Top lead singer Billy Gibbons, basketballer Shaquille O'Neal, and Metallica's James Hetfield had all expressed their interest even before the car was shipped abroad.[1]

http://www.kustomrama.com/index.php?title=Mario_Colalillo%27s_1959_Cadillac

A Harrington Park couple spent six years remodeling a Cadillac, and now their Wild Cad is on its way to the Long Beach, California to participate in the Showcase of Kustoms Motorama next month. Moreover, this custom Cadillac is one of only two Australian creations to be among the top 50 at the world’s biggest custom car show. The couple, Mario and Catriona Colalillo, hopes to grab the esteemed D-elegance category with their remodeled 1955 Coupe De Ville. They will also take their Wild Cad to the SEMA, the premier automotive specialty products trade event in the world, in November. Terry “TJ” Wood of Camden County Customs built the chassis over a period of three months. The power comes from a custom-made 7.4-liter 454 big block Chevy engine. Mario estimates that the paint job cost $200,000. He said…

I had people ringing up saying: We can’t get him (Winfield) - how did you get him to come to Australia? There’s a lot of features on the car that are out of the ordinary. I’m still getting used to having free weekends. You have got to throw everything at it in the end. It’s like building five cars at once.

The interior of Mario Colalillo's stunning '59 Cadillac features Thunderbird seats and a center-mounted '59 Chevy instrument cluster. The custom Cadillac made its debut at the Sydney MotorEx in July. ZZ Top lead singer Billy Gibbons, basketballer Shaquille O’Neal and Metallica’s James Hetfield have already expressed their interest in the Wild Cad, which the couple hope to sell during the custom car circuit. Mario has been creating award-winning custom cars and hot rods for 30 years.

After 30 years of building kustoms and hot rods Mario Colalillo needed a new challenge. The aim was to build the biggest, lowest, “baddest” kustom car with absolutely no limitations. And the result was the WILDCAD.



Mario stayed true to the original plan of fabricating his own mono construction chassis: “It all started to evolve after TJ at Camden County Customs chopped a serious five inches out of it and grafted the body to the chassis”, Mario explains, “I drew up plans for a full metal, hand-sculptured interior with the idea of a ’59 fin incorporated into the console and being used as an interior light. Even the roof lining is metal, using another ’59 roof as the headliner.” The donor car – a 1959 Cadillac Coupe De Ville – was found in the corner of an old friend’s workshop. “It sat on three wheels, had no front sheet metal, no motor, no interior, and the roof had been cut off and was leaning against a fence. It was perfect.”



With a build as serious as the WILDCAD, there were a handful of moments throughout it that Mario entertained the idea of pulling the plug on the project. However, he channelled the determination and commitment that blossomed as a 17-year-old – inspired by Hot Rod magazines from the US and Australia – and soldiered on. “My lovely wife Catriona was always an inspiration, showed 100% support throughout the hard times and still does,” Mario says. “I’m lucky because she is a car girl and has some awesome ideas and does all the pin-striping.”



In fact, the entire family has supported Mario through the WILDCAD adventure and has always been there to cheer him on. His son Andy has always helped with his projects, including the WILDCAD, which proved Mario’s ultimate challenge. He says he’s blessed to have the best bunch of bro mates who are always there for him and lucky to have “the greatest in-laws in the world”. In a compliment of the highest order, about four years ago, Mario was asked to join the Beatniks of Koolsville car club. “It’s a strictly invite-only policy and after building many cars and doing many road trips I was given my colours, which I am very proud to wear”, Mario beams.



The Beatniks are a selective worldwide organisation – their philosophy is ‘Applications not taken – We may contact you’ – and the club’s constitution states that members must be automotive artists, heavily tattooed and able to do the mileage. Interestingly, James Hetfield, the lead singer of Metallica, is a Beatniks member.

Through the Beatniks – more specifically, Little Mick, the Australian president – Mario was introduced to Gene Winfield many years ago. Quite simply, Gene has established himself as one of the premier customisers and car builders in the world. His innovative styling ideas and quality of work sees his reputation precede him, and he was even commissioned to build custom cars for Hollywood films including Blade Runner, Robocop and Back to the Future II. “I stayed in contact with Gene and kept him up-to-date with the WILDCAD build. As it evolved we made plans for him to come to Australia and create history with his first ever paint project Down Under” Mario explains. “It was extremely important to me for Gene to let his creativity flow throughout the painting process. We have a very close friendship these days. In fact, Gene Winfield is like a family member, we keep in contact all the time.”



As the WILDCAD was moments away from being unveiled at MotorEx 2010 the crowd was 10 rows deep and buzzing with anticipation. “They were blown away with the bitchin’ stance, paint, interior and overall impact, but when I operated the remote-controlled doors, boot and bonnet, they were totally f*cked over!” Mario exclaims. “MotorEx is the biggest and best show in the country. To win the Pinnacle Award for Custom Cruiser means the world to me, and recognition from this show is extremely satisfying.” When Mario and the crew drove the car to the weighbridge station for registration, he says onlookers “just drooled as if it flew in from outer space”. Mario and the WILDCAD received a similar reaction at the Long Beach Motorama in California – “It was an awesome event and the Yanks could not get enough of the WILDCAD. The American custom car builders were constantly talking to me about the creation and were very impressed.”



“MotorEx is the biggest and best show in the country. 
To win the Pinnacle Award for Custom Cruiser means the world to me,
and recognition from this show is extremely satisfying.” The WILDCAD has since been part of the PPG display at The SEMA Show as well, winning the General Motors Design Award and helping PPG get the nod for the best display of SEMA. Longbeach Motorama, the WILDCAD also won one of 18 D’Elegance awards and was presented with a Master of Kustoms jacket.



At the time this issue of FreeStyle Rides went to press, the WILDCAD was residing at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, with the hope of doing a few more shows in the US. “The whole experience was rewarding for everyone,” says Mario. “This project has created friends for life.” He also admits that if someone offered him the right dollars, it’s a possibility the WILDCAD could go to a new home. Get those chequebooks ready, folks…



AND IN THE END…
Having undertaken such a monumental project, Mario was a changed man upon the completion of his ride. “I learnt that co-ordinating and planning the project are as instrumental as having a good network of friends and highly skilled tradesmen”, says Mario Colalillo, “Dedication and patience are a must, along with allowing for the fudge factor.

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VEHICLE: 1959 Cadillac Coupe De Ville
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ENGINE: Chevy 454 big block
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TRANSMISSION: Turbo 400 auto
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SUSPENSION: Four-link 9-inch rear-end; Jaguar front-end; Slam Specialties airbag suspension
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WHEELS: Radir 15×7-inch wheels with knock-offs; Coker whitewalls
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PAINT & BODY: PPG Vibrance paint (Liquid Crystal, Flamboyance and PRLX Crystal Pearl); custom flames and pin-striping; chopped roof; 1955 Desoto grille, 1955 Cadillac chrome dagmars; suicide doors; reverse-opening hood; custom glass
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INTERIOR: Ford Thunderbird front and rear seats trimmed in white leather; oversized billet steering wheel; custom fabricated and painted dash, panels, console and headlining; 1959 Chevrolet gauge cluster; Classic instruments; 1959 Cadillac tailfin grafted into centre console
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BRAKES: Jaguar rotors; Wilwood booster and master cylinder
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THANK YOU: My wife Catriona, my son Andy, my family, Brian and Joe from Just Car Smash, Johnny H from PPG, TJ from Camden County Customs, and anyone who’s been involved in the WILDCAD build.

http://freestylerides.com/2874/mario-colalillos-1959-cadillac-coupe-de-ville-wildcad/

A Custom 1959 Cadillac Coupe De Ville rebuilt by a Harrington Park couple with a taste for the extraordinary is one of only two Australian creations to make the top 50 for the world’s biggest custom car show. Dubbed Wild Cad, Mario and Catriona Colalillo’s 1955 Coupe De Ville, which they remodelled over six years, is currently on its way to participate at the Showcase of Kustoms Motorama and will also be attending the SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) show this November.

Narellan Vale’s Terry TJ Wood, of Camden County Customs, is responsible for constructing what Mario calls the car’s most unique feature (apart from its paint job). TJ manufactured the chassis in his spare time over three months, installing air-ride suspension that allows the car to hug the ground when on display. The 1959 Cadillac boasts a 7.4-litre 454 big block Chevy engine powering a Turbo 400 transmission and 9-inch rear end, a ‘55 Desoto grille, and fully exposed chassis rails.

The interior of the Mario Colalillo’s stunning ‘59 Cadillac features Thunderbird seats and a center-mounted ‘59 Chevy instrument cluster. World famous custom car painter 82-year-old Gene Winfield flew from the US to Australia to personally paint Wild Cad. There’s five different colours of unique PPG vibrance range fadeaway paint in a job that Mario estimates costs AU$200,000 (US$177,500) alone. It won the award of Top Custom Car in Australia at the recent MotorEx show in Sydney.


But, WildCad is not just all-show, it also goes. Mario says he has driven it in short bursts and it’s loud and wild. He expects it would reach about 210 km/h but it’s too valuable to find out. The Colalillos hope to sell the Wild Cad while traveling the custom car circuit, as ZZ Top lead singer Billy Gibbons, basketballer Shaquille O’Neal, and Metallica’s James Hetfield have already expressed their interest in the car.



http://www.extravaganzi.com/wild-cad-custom-1959-cadillac-coupe-de-ville-debuts-at-sydney-motorex/