The original owner bought this Cadillac new in 1976, and then he reportedly drove it quite sparingly. Then in 1994, and at 101 years of age, he decided to part with it. That’s where the current owner comes into the frame. He purchased the car, drove it home, put it in his garage, placed it up on jack stands, drained the gas tank, and that’s where it has sat until very recently. It has recently been brought out of hiding and is now being offered for sale. You will find this Cadillac Sedan de Ville listed for sale here on Craigslist. It is located in Monticello, Indiana, and is being offered with a clean title. The sale price on this Cadillac has been set at $13,500.
The owner claims that the Cadillac is like new, and it’s quite hard to argue that point. He also claims that the car has traveled a genuine 11,700 miles. If the above story all checks out, then it is certainly possible, although I hope that this claim is able to be verified. While the paint has a very nice shine to it, I can confirm that it is not 100% original. The owner recently decided to have new 5-piece rear bumper fillers fitted, and these have been freshly painted. Unfortunately, I don’t find the color match to be great, so that may be something that the new owner will need to look at if they want the car to be perfect.
The interior would have to rank as being pretty close to perfect. There might be some slight creases in the upholstery on the driver’s seat, but that really is getting picky. The best way to describe it is that it appears to be 100% original. The owner states that it even still has that new car smell. If the back-story on the Cadillac is accurate, then that would hardly be surprising.
The rear seat looks like it has never been used. The thing that always pulls me up on these cars is the sheer amount of leg-room back there. It looks like there’s more open space back there than in the entire state of Montana! Of course, this is entirely in keeping with the consumers that this car was aimed at. The original owner didn’t skimp on the options either. I don’t have an options sheet sitting in front of me, but I believe that the owner basically ticked the box that said, “I’ll have everything.” Apparently, it all works except for the clock, and the owner is going to attempt to have that fault rectified.
As an Australian, one of the things that I really love about American cars is the whole philosophy of “there is no substitute for cubic inches.” There are a lot of people from other countries who just don’t get that, but I love the idea of popping the hood and finding a 500ci V8 engine just waiting to transport you to your destination in a quiet and relaxed fashion. This 500 is said to run well, and the car drives like it is new. When the current owner bought the car and placed it into storage, he took the trouble of draining the gas tank. This meant that when the car was revived, there wasn’t the hassle involved with draining off old gas. Regardless of that, the owner has gone to the trouble of fitting new shocks all around and updating the air conditioning to R134a. One thing that I find slightly odd is the deterioration of the paint on the valve covers. That seems at odds with the presentation of the rest of the car.
If you have always wanted to own a new Cadillac that is one of the last of the “big” cars, then this de Ville is possibly as close as you will come to a new car. If the mileage claims can be verified, then it is one fairly special example. The only flaw that I can detect is the color issue with the bumper fillers, but this can hopefully be rectified. This particular Cadillac is not the cheapest example on the market at present, but nor is it the most expensive. If that mileage can be verified, then someone is going to own a brand spanking new 42-year-old car.
As a proud collector of some classics I am must confess this is Very Original low mile Caddy from 70s !! This is link to my 78 Coupe deville I purchased back in 2015 just beautiful machine from the past !
https://www.connorsmotorcar.com/vehicles/314/1978-cadillac-coupe-deville
I remember when you had to really be a bigshot to have a 78-82 Coupe. Always wanted one and yours is a jewel.
Come on, Adam, get the saying right.
“There’s no replacement for displacement.”
What about ‘Boost’ ?
I thought “Boost” was a drink for older folks!
The seller is going to find out very quickly that the market is shrinking quite rapidly for these large luxury barges. I had an almost mint 1974 Fleetwood equipped with every option for sale a few years ago. I had it advertised in print and online. It attracted every dreamer and scammer and flake. After almost 50 showings and no shows, I ended up letting it go for about half of what I originally listed it for.
Not that its shrinking that much, but there really doesn’t seem to be a shortage of nice ones, lots of these were trashed, but the ones that were well cared for seem to have lasted, they made lots of them too, usually 15,000-20,000 Fleetwoods and 100,000 plus deVilles every year between 71-76 I see Fleetwoods I would love to buy on ebay weekly.
Jack, Someone got themselves a bargain!
My grandfather had a Coupe de Ville this year in Phoenician Ivory with the matching landau top. Low miles when it’s was sold out of his estate in 1987. Gorgeous car, many fond memories. The smell of the leather was one I will never forget!
That is part of the appeal of Barn Finds, taking a person back to great memories!
For thoose low miles and on jackstands since 94 i have hard time to accept enginecompartment, new bumperfillers and shocks?
For being on jackstands since 94 and the low miles i think enginecompartment make it hard to believe thats correct.
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating: 6748 pounds!
Wow….. Really needed the 500 C.I. to motivate all that heft, eh?
Agree that the replaced plastic fender-to-bumper fillers are not all that great, in fit and in color match. Bummer that. The engine compartment could certainly use a pro clean/paint refresh job to match the appearance of the rest of the car.
I can imagine myself floating down the highway in this classic American Excess Cruiser!
Edit: This seller apparently has a decent talent for finding, cleaning up, and selling older cars. If you click on the “More ads by this user” button, this is what shows up!
https://indianapolis.craigslist.org/search/sss?userid=217095641
Nice assortment but if that 81 Town and Country is worth 15 grand this Caddy is worth twice what he is asking. I don’t believe either statement is accurate. Love that Caddy, though.
GVWR is the total weight the car can carry with the car itself, not the weight of the actual car, which was still a girthy 5000lbs.
In noticed that the various cars seem to have photographed at various locations which seems a little strange to me. Why would that be? I can think of all sorts of reasons, but none of them seem to make sense. I would consider purchasing the car but all those locations scared me off.
Even if the bumper fillers were original, they wouldn’t be exactly the same color as the metal body.
At least he went through the trouble to buy them, which aren’t cheap, and have them installed.
If the car was in his garage, I wonder why they needed the fillers if the car was not in the sun for most of its life.
Bumper fillers are made of petroleum.The oils evaporate from the plastic and they become brittle. Think of it like paint getting hard in a can with the lid on.
You can’t stop the aging process.
2 weeks ago I looked at a similar car. The color was not as nice as this though.
11,700 miles only because they ran out of gas money.
It’s a beauty, for sure, but I think under the hood would look a lot nicer than that with only 11k miles. I’m curious what it looks like underneath. The vinyl top doesn’t look original to me, either. I thought they all came with the Tuxedo Grain vinyl, like my 77 had. I could, of course, be mistaken. Still, I would love to cruise around in this monster-Lac.
I would believe that is the correct top material.
It wouldn’t take 10 minutes for the knowledgable collector to figure out whether this car is legit- especially after a drive. Even these barges either feel “tight” due to low miles or “loose” due to high miles or bad maintenance. The brake pedal rubber alone could reveal a lot. If I had paid someone to paint those fillers I would be really ticked. None of the originals lasted though, so replacements are fine.
They didn’t last and never looked like they fit correctly even when new. I remember hating them.
Until 77, the 71-72 Cadillacs were the only ones that looked good to me.
The Federal bumpers ruined the styling of a lot of cars not designed for them from the start.
I’d like to take whoever was/were responsible for those atrocities and crush him/them slowly using a be-bumpered behemoth like this.
I don’t have a single doubt this car is 1000% original. Glad the fillers got replaced; a small but oh so necessary fix on these `74-`76 C-bodies. Interior could not be more original, and all the places you look for unusual wear have none. The WW tires appear as the identical ones these left the factory with in Linden, NJ. $13,500. is a GREAT price, folks. A cold beer says you can’t find one more original, exc. maybe a white `76 Bicentennial Eldo cvt. that got mothballed. There are a few of those.
What a beauty. Gold wouldn’t have been my first choice for paint color but it wouldn’t have been my last either. I really liked the front end appearance once Cadillac switched to the rectangular headlamps. Was it for 1974? Back in my teens a family friend had a 74 Coupe de’ Ville with the factory sunroof. The car was originally white with a white top and red/white leather interior but at some point the paint was changed to bright red. That car was really something.
As for the options on this car, I wouldn’t say it’s loaded. I see run-of-the-mill options, maybe a little on the high side with power adjusted passenger side seat. But no leather, no sunroof, I don’t see fuel injection, I don’t see illuminated entry, etc.
As for the vinyl top, wasn’t tuxedo grain exclusive to the Seville? That did not hold up to sun exposure at all, cracking along grooves in the pattern. This looks like Elk grain to me.
I’d take it as is for sure. Be great to park it next to my 75 Imperial 4DHT!
Fuel injection on these 500 caddy engines was a disaster. Hope this one has a carb.
All of these had carbs if I remember correctly.
I think the newly styled Seville had the first fuel injection system for a Cadillac.
My 77 Coupe De Ville had the Tuxedo grain, but now that I think about it, I have seen Devilles with the elk grain. It took time for my memory to kick in. Whether this one is original or not, it’s a beauty, and I hope it finds a good home.
Billy that’s almost as nice as your Bentley that is a beautiful original car. That’s when they made real cars.
I’m originally from Monticello. Indiana and my mother had a 76 Cadillac she sold in the 80’s with little or low miles and the same color. Could it be the same car? She loved to tell the story of how she wheeled and dealed on her used car sale. Advertised it for $4,200 and sold it for $1,800. Crickets? What do you say to your own mother?
Low mileage for sure but under the hood pretty shabby indicaticating this car has spent some time outdoors. Considering its mid-west locations, pics of the underside are a must. The earlier comment about the paint on bumper fillers never matching is correct. You can see it on new cars today. However, just about every set of replacement bumper fillers I see have paint matches WAY OFF. Thats the fault of today’s painters, many who don’t know how to tint new paint to match the old. They just mix the paint by code and spray. Another lost art.
Wow another fugitive from the demolition derby! Yeah, yeah. This is a nice example. Even with all those shades of gold. Probably will feel tight for the first 10 minutes of driving. Then those factory LR78-15 uniroyals will blow belts and split or just blow out. This is for a gotta have one for my fleet, er small collection type of buyer. There are still too many kicking around in the same shape that nobody wants, at least at this price.
These are my all time favorite cars. I had a 74 coupe de ville, 75 Fleetwood, 75 Eldorado conv., And my fav, 76 coupe de ville. This was back in the 90s and early 2000s. They were all daily drivers and I drove the 76 right up to 2006.
These cars were notirious for rust in the quarter panels and in front on the hood. The plastic bumper inserts we’re fine on my 76, but the Eldorado I had to replace the two front ones and all 5 pieces in the rear. And you’re right, they are not cheap. What I wouldn’t give to have my Cadillacs back!
Why won’t my wife agree ever with a decent size car being worth the money ?? I would love to have one of these, even the rear seat looks comfy enough if i was told to chose !
I assume the “oddness” w/the owner is cuz he’s not. Probably a ”broker’ type. The vehicles might not even B there. He sells other folks vehicles. All kinza arrangements these daze.
Last year for the almighty 500 v8. Go Cadillac!
Miguel
75 and 76 de Villes had the option of fuel injection. There were two little lights on the dash, green and the fuel injection was functioning properly. Red light, not so much.