Mike and Diana Sterling's bold, black '49 Cadillac makes a serious style statement with its lowered stance, wire wheels and those teensy fins sprouting out of the back fenders.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The interior of the Cadillac blends the best of the old and the new, with a modern tilt steering wheel and burled wood inlays accenting the ornate original instrument panel layout. Note the later-model Cadillac crest on the center console mounted between Olds Toronado seats.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The Model 61 club coupe, or "sedanette," came with extra trim, such as the stainless steel gravel guards and the fender skirts.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Cadillac introduced its first overhead valve V-8 in 1949, but this isn't it. A more modern vintage 425-cubic-inch Cadillac V-8 now powers the car and is mated to a Turbo 400 automatic transmission, with final power being routed to the ground through a Chevy truck rear end.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
When Mike Sterling was negotiating for the Cadillac, he specified that the "gangster-wall" wide whitewalls had to go, but that the genuine Dunlap wire wheels had to stay. Combined with the 225x75x15 Goodyear blackwalls, it was a good call for a nice, clean look.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The integrated front fenders, massive front bumper and egg-crate grille instantly identify the 1949 Cadillac. Underneath the sheet metal is a 1978 Cadillac front suspension.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The long roofline flows back across the tri-bar rear window and over the trunk lid to the hefty back bumper. The correct-year 1949 Kansas license plate is extra-shiny, with black numbers matching the car's color scheme.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Filling station attendants (remember those?) were sometimes stumped looking for the fuel filler; a push of the reflector below the driver's side tail light lens released the swing-up lens, revealing the filler tube.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Trunk space is more than adequate, trimmed out in red velour to match the interior appointments.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Seats and the folding center armrest were supplied by a 1968 Olds Toronado; the rear seat and door panels are finished in matching red velour.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
A better look at how the burled wood inserts, red velour upholstery and modern armrests were combined. The original window, door and vent wing cranks were retained.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The center console also carries the Cadillac crest; the switches control the 6-way power seats.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
There's no mistaking the '49 Cadillac's profile, with its fastback roofline and those distinctive taillight fins.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
A winged Cadillac emblem tops the steel dashboard; a Sony sound system slipped into the original radio opening without any modifications.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Mike and Diana Sterling enjoy their Cadillac as a real-life driving machine, noting it has done well in car shows, but isn't a
"show car."
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
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