The Cadillette – Hadleigh Oudemans – New Zealand 2017

Hadleigh Oudemans owns a garage specializing in the customization of vehicles of all kinds, HBomb Customs and Classics près de Temuka, in the south of Canterbury in New Zealand.
With 4 friends, he undertook a crazy project, that of modifying a Cadillac of 1959 rigid roof at 4 doors to make it a camino to 2 doors and 6 wheels, a vehicle of 6,2 meter, the longest he had ever done, on behalf of a client, of course.

If Hadleigh Oudemans chose this name, The Cadillette, it’s because it’s an El Camino, mixed with a Cadillac and a Chevrolet Bel Air from 1957, with a rumble seat installed behind the cockpit-style cabin, you know these seats on old cars that were in a trunk outside !

The car is powered by a Cadillac V8 engine
from 8,2 Litres.

Hadleigh and his team also modified the wheel arches and added a grille specially constructed from two grids taken from Corvettes ’59. They painted the whole Orange Lamborghini and personalized the interior in white and orange crocodile leather. Customer also wanted a transparent roof, and video equipment allowing him to park behind, the screen in the cockpit also allowing him to view video clips of years 50.

The most complicated for M. Oudemans was to install the new free axle in the rear, suddenly that has quite raised the price of the custom that he estimates between 200.000 and 300.000 $

The hood flares come from a Chevrolet Bel Air from 1957.
The interior will be completed in white and orange crocodile while the steering console comes from a Corvette 1959. The scalloped side is copied from a corvette of 1959.
Once finished, the double rear wheels will be almost covered and will give the car a slippery appearance.

It's weird :
I guess the project is now over. It is said that originally it was a 4 doors and yet I found 2 photos where she is already in Camino 2 orange doors, but in 4 wheels. The client may have changed their mind later for 6 wheels ? In the video he seems to say that he took over the project, maybe it’s more like that. I also put you the first photo that I found on the net in 2017 where it looks like a fake, with an engine coming out of the front cover, we find this version in the video, taped to the wall ! It’s weird all the same.

According to an article by Al Williams on https://www.stuff.co.nz/