The Cadillac - Packard - Classics Collection

Rust In Peace is a collection of actual photos that were taken and the stories that go along with them, while growing up in south central Nebraska as a young man in the 70’s and then traveling the United States with a lust for rust. On this page you will find some incredible classics that once were the pride of the roadways presented and told by the author Kevin Houtwed as he has found them over a 40 year period.

1934 Packard Victorian Convertible

 
In all my travels, and there has been thousands, I have never found a Packard of this vintage, or even parts from one that were ever discarded in a ditch or pushed over a bank like so many other cars and trucks have been over the years. With this car being one of the most elegant vehicles to ever travel the roadways of America, it is no wonder it was saved to be found all these years later. I can promise you that no person alive would have ever shoved a car like this into a ravine or over a cliff to watch it crash to the bottom. Well, I should not say that as I am sure someone out there has a story about one that is impossible to believe. After all, I clearly remember the night in my hometown of Ruskin Nebraska when a group of 4 guys were flying up and down main street in one of the guys 1959 pink Cadillac convertible trying hard to destroy it.
I know you are thinking that cannot be possible, but believe me I saw it with my own eyes. I remember clearly when they came flying across an intersection that had a pretty sharp drop on the one side. That car bottomed out and I mean the dirt and beer cans from the cars interior flew every where. So if we all think someone, some where did not destroy even a car like this, maybe that would be wishful thinking. Could you imagine this car hanging over the edge of a creek bank with its front end down in the water like some old Model A Ford? Well, I cannot imagine that and I really cannot even go back and think about the night those guys literally destroyed that 59 pink caddy convertible like they did, but by morning it was a total loss with not one straight panel on it. It would really be fun to do some inrustigation on a Packard like this and see who bought it new and who drove it over the years. We know the real winner was the person that did not let it get into the wrong hands somewhere along the line and kept it so it could be restored and one day pull back out on the road to prove the fact that an icon like this will forever be the class of the roadways. RIP

1956 Cadillac Coupe De Ville

What a find on a beautiful winter day here in central Nebraska. Can it be possible that someone decided one day to take this once king of the road and park it like this behind the barn to watch the days turn in to years while it slowly just deteriorates back to nothing? This 1956 Caddy has I think every option on it that Cadillac offered back in the day when there was no doubt that a car like this meant one thing, you were a big fish in a small pond. I was told by the owner of this property he had this car sitting out there and he wanted me to come and take a few pictures of it. Not wasting any time I headed his direction to find one of the neatest settings for a photo shoot you could ask for. It is so nice that I have got to the point that people contact me to come out to their property to do this. I do not know why, but these big cars from the 50’s with all their power options really turn my crank. Maybe it is because they have plenty of room and the power options were pretty much a new thing in those years. I remember a man in Hebron Nebraska that showed me a 1954 Chevrolet convertible when I was in high school that had been in his family since new that had power windows in the front and not in the rear. I always thought that was a little strange or some add on thing that had been done to it, but I have seen it in other 54 Chevrolet cars since, so I know it was right. A car like this Cadillac really needs to be saved while you could still find parts for it since I truly believe that once the era passes completely that people my age and older loose interest it will only be memories and photo shoots for this gold label classic. RIP

1969 Cadillac Convertible

I found this old blue caddy parked in kind of low spot or a drain to a lagoon if you will on a farmyard down towards the Kansas line a while back just sitting there screaming for someone to at least put the top or throw a tarp over the once luxurious leather interior to save what is left of it. I have never been a big fan of this era of these caddy’s but I still think it should be looked at as one of the true classics of the 60’s that we all grew up with when we would meet them on the road and wonder, who is driving that big cruiser and how much fun is that. This car would sport the biggest motor of its time under that enormous hood and the room inside those 40 foot long quarter panels to haul your luggage would really look good today as we try to stuff everything into one of these mid size sport utility vehicles the world cannot get enough of. I guess we give a little and get a little in the end. I still would rather park my wife Ford Explorer in a parking garage in the city than a car like this. But it sure would be fun to take this low sitting lagoon cruiser out for one more night on the town before this pasture drainage area sends it into the lagoon right out in front of it one flake at a time. RIP

1930 Willys Whippet Landau

Winter 1999 ( Barn still standing )

Winter 2001 ( Still intact )

Spring 2008 ( Fairly complete yet )

Late Fall 2012 ( Parts being taken )

Winter 2015 ( very picked over )

Early Winter 2019 ( Barn on the ground )

Example of the exact car restored to what the one above should be.

I found this old Whippet in southeastern Nebraska in 1999 on a farmyard that had no signs of anyone that cared about a vehicle in any way or signs of someone that may have parked this car behind this barn to keep it for any reason. I remember the first time I stopped to inrustigate the area and see what was lurking behind that old barn, I thought to myself this car looks like someone pulled it out of a shed within the last 5 years or so. I am pretty sure with the right guy and a few wrenches this old Willys could have been purring like a kitten. It was very solid and every nut and bolt was still on it. I drove around the area and found a farmer about 2 miles from it that said he farmed the ground and the owner of that car was in Colorado if I remember right. He told me the owner was coming back to get the car sometime and to just forget about it. That was in 1999 when I took the top picture and the barn was still standing in the foreground. As time went on I would stop by and say hi to this old sedan and as always, I took more pictures simply because like a beautiful woman, you could not get a bad picture of it at any angle. I have dated some of those pictures you see above as I literally watched this piece of American art just turn into what you see in the last photo above the one I found on the internet that is exactly like it should look if it was completely restored to original. As a person that knows how it feels to get older every year and things start sagging in areas that you would think should not, I really understand how this old Whippet feels somedays. It is amazing to watch the transformation from 1999 to present day that has taken place here. Obviously the fact that people have robbed parts from the car does not help at all, and it sure has no bearing on that poor old barn in the background. The bottom line is, If you cannot whip the challenges in life that try every day to take us down, it is possible to end up returning to dust, like I am watching my old friend being whipped over the last 20 years, one rust flake at a time. RIP

1950 Cadillac Fleetwood Hearse

I know this is kind of spooky when you see a hearse like this and especially when you are in a wind break on a vacant farmyard and the sun is heading for the horizon and you are starting to hear critters of all sizes start to move around the buildings that are all around. You may think this old caddy is in rough shape, but no matter how bad it gets it will forever be in better shape than most of the people that rode in it over the years. Put that into perspective, most old cars are sought out and brought home to be restored by the person that may have drove it or rode in one like it in high school or at some significant time in his or her life. Do not get me wrong, this car played a big roll in the significant time in many lives, but the problem is, those people more than likely would fix or change lots of things about their lives if they had the chance to come back and do it over and I am pretty sure restoring this old hearse would not be any part of that fix or change. Being almost as positive as I can be about this old Cadillac with all its class and reason to have once been alive and well, I would be sure that in time it may be joining those it carried to their final resting place, one rust flake at a time as it slowly decays year after year until the final day when it will be like all of us that one day stood tall and proud, returned to the dust we came from. RIP

1960 Cadillac Eldorado

It had to just about as hard for a 1960 Cadillac Eldorado to be noticed after the 59 models and their one off huge fins, as it has been for this awesome 60 to set out on this farmyard in central Nebraska for the last 40 years wondering when someone was going to care enough to, maybe take a picture of it or, heaven for bid, pull it out of there and let it become what it was back in the early 60's, which was the owner of the road. 
If you ever see one of these cruising down the street or open highway, you will soon understand where the nickname "Tuna Boat" came from.
I am telling you this poor Eldorado is screaming for someone to pull it off this place and let it show its long, low, sleek lines one more time to the world that has all but forgotten, a true work of art like this was ever manufactured.
Actually, it is in pretty good shape, for being left out in the who care's line, for all these years.
I know you can buy one of these much cheaper already restored than you ever could restore this one, but back to who cares, well, I do. 
I believe that a piece of American history like this really deserves a second chance to breath again and show its stuff. I believe with the right person behind the project, one like this has all the potential in the world. 
It is amazing how that low cut bubble top on these almost makes the car look like it was chopped from the factory. And speaking of the factory, when this caddy left Detroit, it took everything with it out of town that could possibly be bolted on its beautiful body and interior.
Johnny Cash and Elvis sang a lot of songs about cars just like this one, and I can see why. Speaking of Cash, when I get the owner to tell me what he really wants for this beautiful Hunka Hunka Burning Love, I may just grab some Cash and be Johnny on the spot. RIP

1925 Essex

Tell me the last time anyone found an Essex out in a wind break like this pair that have been sitting right where you see them for well over 50 years? 
I can honestly say these old jewels I found in northern Nebraska about 14 years ago is the only ones I had ever found or photographed up to that point. Both of these cars were kept by the man that had ties to them and did not want anything to happen to them over the years even though he really had no intention of restoring them. I will say at least he is honest about why he had them and did not come with the same old, I am going to fix them up someday. 
I know they would not be to sought after by very many builders, but it is just awesome to find a pair like this that is still out there, knowing for sure they may never see the road again, these old sedans still give us a peak at what a luxury ride it would have been back in the 20’s when a lot of people more than likely had never even heard of its name. RIP