Mounting a Cadillac hood ornament now that the car's gone.

March 28, 2017 8:40 PM

My partner's beloved pristine white 1990 Cadillac Fleetwood was recently totaled (and it wasn't his fault-not that it matters). I salvaged the hood ornament and a Cadillac emblem. I'd like to frame it as a surprise birthday gift. Needs to be displayed on a wall because space is limited. The ornament and the emblem are not connected. A shadow box display would be okay but I'd love to find a unique or inventive or even whimsical way to frame and display it. Thanks!
posted by lois1950 to Grab Bag (8 answers total)

I know it needs to be on the wall but could you do it up like a trophy with the ornament at the top and the emblem below?
posted by oneear at 9:09 PM on March 28, 2017

I'm picturing something like a wooden plaque with a tiny shelf projecting forward from the middle, on which you can mount the hood ornament. The shape of the plaque could be whatever you want, and could be the silhouette of the car, or the shape of the Cadillac shield (for instance).
posted by adamrice at 6:42 AM on March 29, 2017

I was thinking similar to adamrice, but with the hood ornament mounted somewhere on top of the plaque, if the shape of the plaque was appropriate.
posted by TheAdamist at 7:49 AM on March 29, 2017

How about a basic deep frame shadowbox (example, choose your size). I'm thinking maybe 8x10 vertical rectabgle, mount the hood ornament to the frame at the bottom and position the emblem above it mounted to the backboard. For style, cover the back board with a Cadillac fabric, or a fabric/leather that looks like the seats, or paint the board with auto spray paint to match the car.
posted by aimedwander at 8:06 AM on March 29, 2017

If it were me, I would absolutely craft a mini-replica of the car's front end out of papier-mache or cardboard or even carved foam and mount the ornament on top and the emblem where the licence plate would go.

If you like, MeMail me and I will give you a quote for putting something together along with some examples of my previous fabrications.
posted by Rock Steady at 8:36 AM on March 29, 2017

I would have a metal artist recreate the bit of front end that the ornament sat on, place the ornament and plaque on that, and have that hang on the wall.
posted by Vaike at 8:36 AM on March 29, 2017

(Or you could go to a scrap yard and probably do it yourself.)
posted by Vaike at 8:37 AM on March 29, 2017

I like both ideas from Rock Steady and Vaike. If you have a picture of the car itself at the proper angle, you could put the front end replica on it such that it looks like part of the car. And I'd put a small metal plaque below it all that reads something like "my beloved Cadillac R.I.P."
posted by MovableBookLady at 10:49 AM on March 29, 2017