AMING CUSTOM CARS is a tradition that goes back decades. "The Ironic Twist" is the name Jimmie Vaughan has chosen for his just -completed '61 Caddy custom. It's also the name of his Grammy nominated instrumental from his latest record, "Out There."
Song titles have always been fodder for car names, but this one seems to really fit. the Coupe de Ville is in fact dripping with irony. For example, it is obviously a custom yet it has copious amounts of hot rod componentry ranging from a supercharger to slicks. And at first glance it appears to be a mild custom-then you realize that the top is chopped and you contemplate the work involved in the pancaked hood.

We've spoken of the previous Vaughan customs-a '51 Chevy Fleetline and a '63 Buick Rivera-as outrageously subtle. The Caddy has gone over the top. It is subtly outrageous.

This project began when Jimmie, who lives in Austin, Texas, was visiting his mother in Dallas. In the Dallas Auto Trader he found a '61 Cadillac Coupe de Ville in good original condition with about 70,000 miles. The price seemed reasonable and Jimmie asked his mother if he could borrow the money needed to buy the car. His mother replied, "I can never figure out what to buy you. Why don't you just let me get the Cadillac as a gift?"

Jimmie drove his new car back to Austin, but it started smoking pretty bad about fifty miles out of town. He asked around Austin, but couldn't find anybody interested in rebuilding the Cadillac engine. So he shipped the whole catr to Los Angeles with the intention that his long-time friend Lee Pratt would get the motor rebuilt and add some minor custom touched to the body.

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