aranaki’s Jason Wells laughs that he has two hobbies: old cars and being tight with money. Of course, those two things don’t exactly go together in harmony — far from it, in fact. But, having wanted a ’59 Cadillac since he first saw one in the late 1990s, he finally convinced himself that turning 40 was the best excuse that he’d ever get to spend up large and buy one. Sure, he’d owned other old cars over the years, including a ’51 Chev Deluxe, ’56 Chev Bel Air, and a ’65 Pontiac Laurentian, but nothing in the league of a big-finned ’59. The ’59 Cadis are renowned for their rocket-like features; excess of chrome; and, of course, those unmistakable fins. Packed with all the modern features of the time, the Cadi was one of the most luxurious cars available on the American market, and that was part of the appeal to Jason. He didn’t need to turn to the US to find his ’59, though. After hunting online and struggling to get inspections performed due to Covid, one popped up in the South Island. At the time, it wasn’t being advertised for sale, but he sent the owner a message
