In
the course of a day I receive inquires from customers located
throughout the world, but seldom do I expect to receive
an inquiry from the Royal Family of England. But it happened.
Early
one morning I received a call from a Gentleman who had quite
a thick British accent, but who was very polite, and who
identified himself as the Royal Minister of Transportation
for the Queen of England.
Having
some doubts, and knowing the odds of someone from The
Royal
Family calling me for technical advice, was a million to
one; I had to inquire further. To be sure, I politely
asked
the Gentleman to fax me something on Royal Stationery to
confirm his identity. I was sure this would take care
of
any pranksters which in my mind, I knew this had to be
one.
A
few minutes later the fax machine came to life and I discovered
the Gentleman on the telephone was indeed who he said he
was, much to my embarrassment.
I
immediately called him back and explained why I was a little
doubtful someone from Royal family, would be calling a small
Company in Kansas for technical advice. He understood then
politely went on to explain how the Royal Family had requested
that he try to locate one of the original cars used during
the 1951 Royal Tour, for use in the upcoming Pan American
Games opening ceremony.
He
had located the original 1951 series 62 Cadillac and knew
it was being restored. That problem was solved. The other
concern was the reliability of a 48 year-old car in modern
times. Modern security issues would require periods of up
to two hours idle time in addition to the slow parade time.
That
would increase the odds of a mechanical failure during the
opening ceremony. His question to me was simple. Could I
help make the Cadillac more reliable, to insure no mechanical
failures would occur, while the car was being, employed
by the Royal Family? This was a challenge indeed, one I
decided to accept.
How
He Found Fifth Avenue
It so happened that the 1998 Great Race (a rally race  in
which pre 1945 cars are driven 4500 miles across the United
States in just 14 days) finish line was located in Canada
in honor of Canada's Centennial. During a tour of the Great
Race event, the RMT noticed a gold colored label under the
hood of one of the antique cars. |
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He
wrote down the name and telephone number of the company,
then inquired among the Great Race entrants about the
reliability of the cars and the company. With positive
comments concerning both, that is how I got the call from
the Royal family.
I
designed an electrical cooling and fuel system upgrade
for the Cadillac much like I  do
for a typical car entered in the Great Race. I was extra
careful during the preparation, and extra nervous when
I watched the opening ceremony on television. Everything
worked perfectly.
Working
For the Royal Family
I also learned what an honor it is for a member of
the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, to be selected for
a duty assignment with the Royal Family. To even be considered
for an assignment involves an in depth service record
review, along with a number of formal interviews. To be
asked to serve the royal family is a career honor. To
be asked to serve, as a chauffeur to the royal family
(as in the opening ceremony event) is a career top honor.
To me...being asked to help the Royal Family was a top
honor for me as well.
The
Video
The video I received is over three hours long and
shows the complete royal tour in 1951 including a brief
stopover in New York City. The car is also shown during
the motorcade route with the unique bubble top in place.
 The
video also includes the Cadillac being loaded in the airplane
for transport, along with a fleet of Harley Davidson motorcade
motorcycles, (which were ridden up a steep side ramp directly
into the airplane by their riders) who came directly from
the parade route.
The
second part of the video shows the opening ceremony of
the 1999 Pan American games and the car delivering the
Royal Family to the red carpet where they exit the car
and are escorted to their box seating.
The
1999 Pan American games were sponsored by Ford of Canada
who had a representative of each milestone car on display
in the infield. Ford offered the services of a restored
Lincoln but the offer was politely declined. The Cadillac
stood proudly on display in the infield, having achieved
fame and glory for the second time in its 48-year life.
Randy |
