For many years, Wally Spies, 67, had relegated himself to modern-day 4-cylinder economy vehicles. And then he got sick. After recovering from a life-changing illness, he decided that he missed the feel and sound of the older, V8-powered cars with dual exhaust that he’d grown up with.

Wally started looking online and in all the regional magazines and papers. He had also employed the help of his next-door neighbor, who was looking for him, too. One day, the neighbor came over and told him that he found not one, but two cars that he should check into.

One of the cars was a 1956 Buick, two-toned, and the other was a 1950 Cadillac Series 61. Both cars were located in Indiana, so he contacted both sellers and made arrangements to see both vehicles to make a decision on which one he liked better.

The day before he planned to head to Indiana with his neighbor, he spoke to both of the sellers and said he would be heading out in the morning. While on the road to see the first car, the Buick, he called the owner, and there was no answer. So, he opted to go see the 1950 Cadillac.

The seller of the Caddy was the wife of the owner, who had recently passed away, and the family didn’t want any part of the car. Wally became the third owner and had the car towed home to Illinois.

Once Wally got the car to his garage, there were a few immediate things that needed repair. First, it didn’t run too well. He did a major tune-up by upgrading the MSD ignition system and rebuilding the carburetor.

Wally said he was lucky; the previous owner had done some upgrades, too. The factory 331-cubic-inch engine and 4-speed automatic transmission were replaced with an early 1970’s small-block 400-cubic-inch Chevy engine with a turbo 350 trans behind it.

According to Wally, the engine had a bad habit of overheating. So, he had the original brass-topped radiator repaired at Rex Radiator in Bensonville, Ill. While some friends tried to get him to go with an aluminum radiator, he declined.

The existing engine has a mild cam in it, along with a high-rise intake manifold and a 750 CFM 4-barrel carburetor. Hooker headers with custom dual exhaust through Flowmaster mufflers help it breathe. Wally said he likes the “throaty” sound of the Flowmasters.

The 1950 Cadillac Series 61 was dyno tested, and it puts out roughly 400 horsepower. As far as he knows, it still has the original differential with a 3.36:1 ratio. The brakes are still standard, four-wheel manual drums.

This Caddy is a Series 61, which means it is the base model. The car had no options added when it was purchased, including no mirrors, no A/C, and no radio. Air conditioning wasn’t even an option until 1953.

Wally has added mirrors and a 6-disc radio. He confesses that he rarely uses the radio; he likes “the sound of the pipes!” He would like to have A/C installed but is not having any luck finding someone to install it without taking away from the original look.

One of the other things Wally didn’t like about his Caddy was the steering. He said it was all over the road. He took it to Marquette Frame in Chicago to have them inspect and repair it. A few hours later, he got a call from the shop, expecting bad news and a large repair bill. Instead, they told him to invest in some radial tires. He bought some 15-inch Coker radials, with wide white sidewalls, and the change has been dramatic. He says it handles better than his daily driver!