SEMA 2011: WinningRide.com’s 2011 SEMA Featured Ride: ’56 “Badillac”


The Badillac is my vision of a hot rod pro-street car and what I consider to be my version of “old school.”

When Pete Pettenon built his 1956 Cadillac Deville, he built it for himself. He didn’t build it to enter WinningRide.com’sSEMA promotion, but when the build was finished that’s just what he did! And… He won!

In Auto Meter’s 2011 SEMA booth you will find one of the meanest ’56 Cadillac’s you will ever see! The caddy named “Badillac” lives up to its name. The all steel body features a lot of unique aspects, but the first thing you will notice is the huge blower sticking out of the hood.

The blown 468 big block puts out an impressive 850 horsepower

The powerplant consists of a 468 big block Chevy with a massive 8-71 blower topped with two 1050 Holley dominators. “Even though I own a restoration shop (Xcaliber Auto. Restoration), in New Lenox, IL,” says Pettenon. “I chose to do this on my own time due to time constraints with running a business and raising a family. So it has taken me 6 yrs. on and off to build, but I truly love to do what I do, and I love how it turned out.”

“The Badillac is my vision of a hot rod pro-street car and what I consider to be my version of “old school,” says Pettenon. The Deville features a tri-five Chevy front frame section lowered with disc brakes and a power steering rack. The rear frame is a competition engineering back half with a nine inch Ford rear end.

If you think that the color is unique, well you’re right! The “Badillac” features a custom mixed paint scheme mixed by Pettenon himself. “It was a custom mixed color that I did myself. It took a lot of trial and error before we found this color. My children call the color  “obscene green”. Regardless of what it is called, we think it is perfect for the throwback look.

The exhaust makes a unique turn through the trunk and then exits out of the stock bumper exhaust ports

With the blower and big block the Cadillac puts out an impressive 850 horses. “Originally I built the car to help pull some publicity and draw some interest to my business, but make no mistake about it. I meant this car to drive!” The Hoosier street legal drag radials help put all the power to the ground. While the interior features all the original moldings with some custom inserts and gauges.

One of the most unique features actually came stock in '56. Here is the hidden filler cap that is found under the left rear tail light

Contributing to the unique look is the chopped top,  the top has been lowered 3″ in the front and 1.5″ in the back. But what really caught our eye was the two unique features that came stock with the ’56 Deville. The first of which was the fuel cap that is found hidden under the left rear tail light. The next is the exhaust which travels through the trunk and then exits out of the rear bumper. “It was important to me to leave these stock features in the build. These are so unique and I wouldn’t dare of changed them.”

“I feel like a celebrity being here with Auto Meter, they really have treated us right. They flew us out here, and gave us a set of custom gauges. Then yesterday they took us to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for a NASCAR driving experience. It’s been an amazing week so far.”

No matter how long it takes, it’s great to see a build come to a conclusion. Pete Pettenon should be a inspiration to all of us that are loosing hope on our build. Regardless of how long it takes, it is always worth it!

What do you think of the “Badillac”? Leave us a comment below with your opinion.

About the author

John Gibson

John has been around dirt track racing his entire life. In fact, he was almost born at Monett Speedway in Monett, Missouri. He has raced everything on dirt and asphalt from karts, to Indy cars, to 650 horsepower stock cars in the USAR Pro Cup where he currently races.
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