The die was now cast. The '61 Coup de Ville became a full-scale project upon its return to Austin. All of the work performed by Lee Pratt would stay, but much more extensive modifications would follow, mostly by the talented hands of Gary Howard. The goal was now to create a subtly but extensively modified '61 Cadillac that would pay homage to Cadillac's performance lineage. The bodywork would include traditional customizing, with an eye towards some of the more graceful Italian car shows, particularly the Cadillacs built by Pininfarina. Vaughan invisioned a custom Caddy that would be like the Sedanette from the '55 issue of R & C in terms of performance and style, but built a dozen or so years later. Of course it would use the 526-inch Cad V8, possibly with some sort of exotic supercharger.
The additional bodywork began- in a typical Gary Howard move- with cutting two inches out of the top. The back half of the roof, along with the rear window, was replaced with a '61 four-door Sedan piece, which added some visual heft to the C-pillar and reduced the greenhouse effect. The hood was then pancaked, with the front corners given a generous radius. New hinges were constructed so the hood now opens from the rear. Seams were filled to unitize the front fenders. All of this work was done by Gary Howard.
During this period Jimmie made acquaintance with Roach, another Austin-area gearhead that Jimmie describes as "a mechanical wizard". Roach was enlisted to do the engine swap and finish the engine, which had just gotten a little more complicated. It wasn't Jimmie's fault. The Latham supercharger, "Just kind of fell in my lap." Far from a near bolt-in, the engine swap required considerable fabrication, both the engine assembly particularly to the front crossmember.
After Roach was through with this initial work the car went back to Howard's for final prep and paint. Gary wouldn't give us a whole lot of information about the paint, partially I believe due to modesty, and partly because it is proprietary information. What he would tell us is the brilliant bright green was sprayed in the House of Colors acrylic lacquer, starting with a lime pearl base, followed with candy green-tinted clear. Jimmie wanted an L.A./Watson kind of early to mid-'60s look. He likes green and is a big fan of pearl. The objective was a color that would change dramatically as the light changes. In particular, he is fond of how this color has more of a hard candy green look in bright mid-day sun, while the softer, more pearlscent quality is apparent as the sun approaches the horizon or when viewed in artificial light.

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