As of Jan. 16, 2025, this is the information we have about this car:
[Feb.01.2017] Car #280 currently [1998] is located in Hungary, a far throw from its initial destination in North Carolina.The owner, Frank Farkas, sent me the full story; here are some salient excerpts: In 1986, I bought a book called 'Cadillac Legend' [Nicky Wright], where I saw a picture of a 1957 Brougham the first time. I found it beautiful; I discovered they only made a very few of them, and I startedto dream of getting one. Eight years passed and one of my friends told me there was such acar in a dealership in Budapest, Hungary. I did not believe him. Next day, another friendcalled with the same message. I still could not believe it. Two hours later, my own brother called and confirmed that there was this 1957 Brougham at the dealership. Now Ibecame very excited; I had to check it out. Sure enough, there it was, but I was told itwas not for sale; the owner was in the USA and would be back in a week. It turned out the owner was an old friend of mine whom I had not seen for ten years; he had moved to Florida. A week later, he called me and came to visit me ...with the Brougham. Surprisingly, he was unaware that he had a rare car; he had got it in a trade, in Florida,because he liked its looks. The car had been in a friend's garage in Florida; my friendhad heard there was some problem with it, some vibrations they could not seem to fix. The owner had already spent $50.000 on the car; he had enough of it. That's when my friend suggested the trade, which the owner accepted. The Brougham came to Hungary. Anyway, my friend did not want to sell me the car ...until two days later when he tried to stop at ared light and the brakes failed. It was a miracle that he and the car survived. He said the car had tried to kill him; he did not want to see it any more. He let me have it forwhat it had cost him. The brake problem was quickly fixed. The odometer showed 42000 milesat the time and the car has been repainted once. The body is in great condition: no bondo,no rust, nice straight lines. On the other hand, the interior was a mess. I was lucky to find a Brougham shop manual in Germany; this helped me to carry out various repairs. By the following year, the car was ready for show. I went to thirteen shows in Europe; the Brougham earned 'best of show' or '50's first place' every time. That year I did 8000 miles: I had only three minor problems which were easily fixed. The following year I replaced the interior with the correct upholstery materials. For the last two years, I have not driven the car because, in the meantime, I met Michael Rizzuto and realized that with his help I could restore it to 'like new' condition. I know this will take a long time and will require a lot of work. But my car deserves it. Frank's car is featured on the cover of the BOA Newsletter, Vol. 11, #1.
[Feb.01.2017] Car #280 currently [1998] is located in Hungary, a far throw from its initial destination in North Carolina.The owner, Frank Farkas, sent me the full story; here are some salient excerpts: In 1986, I bought a book called 'Cadillac Legend' [Nicky Wright], where I saw a picture of a 1957 Brougham the first time. I found it beautiful; I discovered they only made a very few of them, and I startedto dream of getting one. Eight years passed and one of my friends told me there was such acar in a dealership in Budapest, Hungary. I did not believe him. Next day, another friendcalled with the same message. I still could not believe it. Two hours later, my own brother called and confirmed that there was this 1957 Brougham at the dealership. Now Ibecame very excited; I had to check it out. Sure enough, there it was, but I was told itwas not for sale; the owner was in the USA and would be back in a week. It turned out the owner was an old friend of mine whom I had not seen for ten years; he had moved to Florida. A week later, he called me and came to visit me ...with the Brougham. Surprisingly, he was unaware that he had a rare car; he had got it in a trade, in Florida,because he liked its looks. The car had been in a friend's garage in Florida; my friendhad heard there was some problem with it, some vibrations they could not seem to fix. The owner had already spent $50.000 on the car; he had enough of it. That's when my friend suggested the trade, which the owner accepted. The Brougham came to Hungary. Anyway, my friend did not want to sell me the car ...until two days later when he tried to stop at ared light and the brakes failed. It was a miracle that he and the car survived. He said the car had tried to kill him; he did not want to see it any more. He let me have it forwhat it had cost him. The brake problem was quickly fixed. The odometer showed 42000 milesat the time and the car has been repainted once. The body is in great condition: no bondo,no rust, nice straight lines. On the other hand, the interior was a mess. I was lucky to find a Brougham shop manual in Germany; this helped me to carry out various repairs. By the following year, the car was ready for show. I went to thirteen shows in Europe; the Brougham earned 'best of show' or '50's first place' every time. That year I did 8000 miles: I had only three minor problems which were easily fixed. The following year I replaced the interior with the correct upholstery materials. For the last two years, I have not driven the car because, in the meantime, I met Michael Rizzuto and realized that with his help I could restore it to 'like new' condition. I know this will take a long time and will require a lot of work. But my car deserves it. Frank's car is featured on the cover of the BOA Newsletter, Vol. 11, #1.