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1962 Cadillac - any driving experiences out there?
520 messages, Last post on Dec 08, 2009 at 6:30 PM
You are in the Classic Cars Forum.- Your Host is mr_shiftright
What is this discussion about? Cadillac
#471 of 520 by Mr_Shiftright HOST
Dec 17, 2002 (1:19 pm)
Since it would take well over $25K to restore a '66 Eldo to show condition, it might be reasonable to ask this price for it in order to keep the losses down. But to ask this type of money for a car that is not spectacular show perfect makes no sense.It seems to me that CPI is more than generous for an "excellent" car, which is actually a #2 automobile. Price guides do not price #1 cars.
So if you are looking at a true, blue #1, you can throw the guides out the window. $50,000 isn't too much if the car is spectacular and the best in the country (and can prove it with trophies).
Unfortunately, many sellers have #3 cars and think they are #2s, and you don't want to pay #2 money for a #3, especially not a Cadillac, as these cars are very expensive to restore.
I noticed that the Ebay ad says "totally restored" but conspicuously does not say "body off restoration". If the body hasn't been lifted off a Caddy like this you don't have a totally restored car, period, and therefore the car is by definition overpriced by at least $5,000. Also, it sounds like the car is being "turned" by a dealer or curbstoner.
A frame-off not only allows you to completely clean and powdercoat the frame, but you can replace every bushing in the suspension, redo all the sound-deadening and frame cushioning, and generally make the car feel like new. A frame-on resto, while it might give you a decent car, cannot match these standards.
If you are paying top dollar, you deserve the best. A '66 Eldo is the type of car you want somebody ELSE to totally restore!
#472 of 520 Next to the 62 by carnut4
Dec 17, 2002 (1:21 pm)
the 66 is also my favorite. I always did like that clean, slabsided look of the 65-66 Cads. I like these years better than any other 60s Cad except the 62. To me, the grilles of the 63-64 are too busy looking, and the 67-68s look too long for some reason. Maybe it's that small looking greenhouse on the coupes of the 63-64s and 67-68s. Makes the rear decks look overly long. So, I say go for a nice 66 if you can find a good deal on one. But, I'd still watch for a good 62 of course!#473 of 520 restoration of Cadillacs by ghulet
Dec 17, 2002 (4:39 pm)
Points duly noted regarding restoration, Mr. Shiftright. Reminds me of the '66 Brougham I almost bought for $1100 a few years ago. I'd always wanted one, and this one was in decent shape considering the price. Still, half the electric stuff functioned intermittently (there are eight power windows, usually power locks, a six-way power seat and climate control a/c on this model), some of the interior wood (which was used fairly liberally on the doors and on rear fold-down tables in these models) needed refinishing, and the leather was sort of dried up. Oh yeah, a nineteen foot car in a neighborhood with bad street parking was a frightening prospect.As is usually the case, paying top dollar for a nice one is ultimately smarter than buying a basket case, but this seems especially true for luxury models, since there's also the myriad of gizmos to consider.
#474 of 520 Back in college... by andre1969
Dec 17, 2002 (6:32 pm)
...I'm guessing this was around 1993, I found this gorgeous black '66 Fleetwood 60 Special sedan for sale at, of all places, a foreign car dealership! I remember it had the 8 window switches, as the vents front and rear were power. It also had the little limosine style footrests in the back, and I think it might've even had these little trays that folded out (not sure on that one though). They only wanted something like $2500 for it back then, and the sucker was flawless, at least to my eye. One of my college buddies saw me when I was driving it around...he commented on it a few days later in class. He said "It's YOU!!"As Carol Burnette used to say on "Mama's Family"... "Oh Lord Lord Lord LORD...where did I go WROOOONG?"
I wonder what kind of fuel mileage something like that would've gotten?
#475 of 520 sounds like my neighbor's car... by ghulet
Dec 17, 2002 (7:36 pm)
...the one next door when I was a kid was triple black, just gorgeous. IIRC, the only differences between a 'regular' Fleetwood (aka 60S) and the Brougham were a vinyl roof, the footrests and lighted, fold down walnut writing tables in the back on the latter. Broughams were generally a bit better equipped, too.#476 of 520 by grbeck
Dec 17, 2002 (9:27 pm)
At least two or three clean, original Cadillacs can usually be found at Carlisle and Hershey. A fair number of Cadillac owners apparently pampered their cars and kept them for the long haul.About two years ago someone offered an all-original, almost flawless 1962 DeVille convertible for sale at Carlisle. White with a black top and interior. If I recall correctly, the seller was asking well over $30,000, and the car sold the first day.
#477 of 520 by wq59b
Jan 01, 2003 (10:33 pm)
>>"A frame-off not only allows you to completely clean and powdercoat the frame, but you can replace every bushing in the suspension, redo all the sound-deadening and frame cushioning, and generally make the car feel like new. A frame-on resto, while it might give you a decent car, cannot match these standards."<< Basically a frame-off allows you to clean & seal (paint) the tops of the framerails & the corresponding floor pan areas covered by said frame rails. Oh, and replace the body bushings. Of course, it is in no way neccessary to pull the body to replace the suspension bushings, and sound deadening is found in the interior, not underneath. The biggest difference in 'new car feel' will come from rebuilding the suspension... not much -if anything- will be felt with new body bushings ALONE, esp in a car the traditionally is driven like a Cadillac, unless the body bushings are SO bad they're literally falling out. I pulled the body on my '59 about 2 years ago and all the body bushings were in very serviceable shape, and my car spent 105,000 miles in Pennsylvania. I AM replacing them anyway- I want the car to be as taut as possible.#478 of 520 by parm
Jan 02, 2003 (6:10 am)
I'll be interested to know the results of your suspension work. Please keep us posted.A 59 Cadillac? That's about as big as they get. I'm looking for a nice land yacht myself, but something more along the lines of a destroyer and not quite as big as the 59's aircraft carrier class.
Just joking. Is your '59 a convertible by any chance?
#479 of 520 Different day, different dollars by parm
Jan 06, 2003 (5:05 pm)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1876343871
On Dec. 21st, an ebay auction ended on this '64 DeVille convertible with a high bid of $4,050 (didn't meet the reserve) and 11 different bidders (14 total bids received).
It's interesting that on this go around and with still over 6 days left, the bidding is already up to $3,750 with 9 different bidders (14 total bids received).
A month or so ago, I would've been more interested in this car. But, more recently, I've been looking at '65-'65 Buick Electra convertibles which make the '63-'64 Cadillacs seem somewhat frumpy to my eye - though I'm sure I'd be happy with a Cadillac.
#480 of 520 '64 DeVille convertible for sale. Your comments are encouraged. by parm
Jan 25, 2003 (4:07 pm)
http://adcache.collectorcartraderonline.com/10/3/4/40567134.htmHere's a '64 DeVille convertible for sale in Las Vegas I may be interested in. I'd appreciate any comments from the group as to how well sorted out this car appears to be though I realize it's tough to tell much from the photos (there's 12 of them).
$13,995 would probably be about right if it were very nice and everything worked (including the A/C). The fact that this car appears to be for sale by a dealer (which means it carries an inflated asking price) tells me it's real value is less which, in turn, means it's actual condition is not as good as it looks.
In any event, I kind of like the green color in that it's different than the usual white or red.
Gentlemen, the floor is yours.
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