We learn something new everyday here at Barn Finds. Today, I discovered what the Park Avenue part means in the extraordinarily long model name of this Cadillac. For some strange reason the normal Sedan de Ville was a little too long for the city folk. If you have ever driven on of these impressive machines then you know the reason. With that never-ending trunk out back, reverse maneuvers can be downright frighting. So, in order to make the car more appealing to people who were actually brave enough to parallel park their land yachts, Cadillac chopped a few inches off the back and called it the Park Avenue. This particular example appears to be in good condition and the seller claims that it is mostly original. Find it here on Hemmings where they are asking $12,000.
Cadillac didn’t want to intrude on interior comfort and it wasn’t possible to shorten the front with that big block up there. I doubt most of us would notice the reduction in trunk space, but I can guarantee that we would all appreciate the reduction in length. If you have never taken a close look at one of these cars, then I recommend you do sometime. They were well built and had many nice touches that may not seem like a big deal today, but that were cutting edge luxury back in the sixties. This one is even fitted with the innovative Autronic-Eye mounted on the dash which could automatically dim your brights when you encountered oncoming traffic. Sure we have things like GPS and MP3s connections today, but how many new cars can do that?
I had a ’64 Fleetwood and discovered that the roof pillars block out sight exactly behind the ends of the fenders. Don’t ask me how I found out, though it’s related to how I stored the car in a barn with narrow 4×4 ceiling support posts and how I also found out how you need tiny hands to remove/replace the bulbs in the narrow but deep tail light pods…
And, as I’ve mentioned before, if you’re considering this car, either make sure the automatic temp control unit works properly or be prepared to spend $1200 to rebuild it.
So it can only hold 3 bodies in the trunk?
Original AC components are present but are non-functional.
..with the contrast of the black/red, this must have been a stunning car when it rolled out of the showroom….
I never knew about the Park Ave model dimension difference…
…with every submission I learn something new…
(thanks, Barn Finds)
I got to ride in one of these once, the one that my Mom Parents owned, they came down from Northern Missouri to the Boothill to take me and Mom home from the hospital a week after I was born, a thing her Dad did for each of us kids. I remember seeing pictures of it, My Grandfather went all out when he bought a new car, every 2 years or so, and this thing was a boat. I got to see one at a car show one time some years later, I think they required a 10 acre field to turn them around.
Park Avenue – so you can “park it on the avenue”?
1970-71 I owned a 1963 Cadillac Park Avenue, same colors, Black with Red Leather, my uncle was a Cadillac Service Manager and someone traded it in, only gave him $300 trade in and that’s what I paid for it, wish I had kept it, but swapped it for a 1964 Chrysler Imperial. I now own a 1957 Oldsmobile 88 4dr Hardtop and a 1962 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 Convertible