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1963 Cadillac Fleetwood Sedan DeVille Survivor

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This 1963 Cadillac Fleetwood Sedan DeVille is almost as long as its title. This is not an actual barn find, but it is a very original rust free survivor. It’s been garage kept and said to run and drive well but has a long list of electrical issues, including inoperative windows, power locks, wipers and air-conditioning. The steering box and exhaust have been replaced. It’s listed here on eBay in Canton, Georgia with a BIN of $7995 with bidding starting at $6500. If this is as nice as it looks and the electrical problems are easy to fix this could be a grand cruiser. Some would slam and bag it. I would improve the brakes, convert to disks perhaps. So does this grand old sled look promising or do the electrical issues scare you away?

Comments

  1. Avatar Ceezy

    Right area, wrong time. This would definitely be a great project.

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  2. Avatar Ed P

    A nice garage kept car. The electrical problems do not seem to intimidating. If that is the original interior, I am amazed. Go for it.

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  3. Avatar don

    agree, in GA but wrong time and the electrical issues is not good, price is a bit much for a 4 door with all the problems.

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  4. Avatar JB1971SX Member

    I can’t be 100% sure without a full-on side shot, but it may be the rare ‘Park Avenue’ edition, which was 8 inches shorter in the trunk area (for easier city parking–ha!) That could also explain the missing “Sedan de Ville” script on the rear flanks. The Park Ave had “Park Avenue” script there, and it is impossible to find and my have been stolen. Also, to my eye looking at the close-up shots, this looks like it had a repaint at some point. I have a “survivor” in my driveway and the shade of black and the finish of the eBay one look just a tad off. And yes, strong money for a 4-door. No one is knocking on my doof offering me $8K–and all my windows work!

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  5. Avatar Mark E

    Just looking at the pics in this article I can spot some things like the missing left parking light lens. Also my 1964 Fleetwood had leather and brocade upholstery. To give you an idea how much hipsters have driven up the value of these cars, my restored 1964 Fleetwood with only a malfunctioning climate control, sold at auction back in 2002 for $3500.

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  6. Avatar george

    My Dad had a 1963 Cadillac Fleetwood for which he paid $7200 to a widow who had wrapped the entire car in sheets 8 months prior when he husband passed. The car had about 1300 miles on it.I do not remember when but it later developed what we called a traveling short. One day the seats would not operate, the next day it was the turn- lights etc. The most bothersome was when the electric windows would not roll back up. We had to remember not to roll the left drivers windows down for fear that might be the time it would rain. The dealer said they could not fix it. I am sure they could have, but in those days manufacture’s were snail slow reimbursing the dealer for the repairs. They would owe the small dealer so much that he could not afford to operate.

    I had started law school in 1970 on a distant town. Dad decided to drive up and visit. He apparently rolled the window down when he saw me on the deck. He forgot to roll it back up when he came in. It was a beautiful day. It decided to suddenly pour rain just as he was leaving. Sometimes is would go up in a few seconds. This time it did not. We closed the front door on a sheet of clear plastic which secured it in the back but left the front flap slapping in the wind. There were no separate wind windows we could slam against the windshield to hold the front edge down. I think we used a pick-up load of duct tape to secure the sheet to the car, so off he went–on a 200 mile trip home with the plastic flapping like an injured albatross and rain pouring in soaking Dad. He had to drive pretty slow to keep the car from taking flight on it’s plastic wings. And he had to stop to re-tape every few miles. He continued to hit the switch all the way home to see if the dang would respond. It would not. He shut the key off (which was also part of our pre-flight check up) and took his stuff into the house. He returned and hit the key and nothing. He hit the switch and the window shot up. He still had the Cad when I graduated in 1974. He kept the car for awhile and when he sold it, it was pristine–but the windows would not work. He sold it for $200.00. Why no one ever thought to just unplug the power to the left front door is anyone’s guess.

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  7. Avatar Robert

    I have had all kinds of Caddies from ’59 to ’75 …. IMO the ’63 is the classiest. Still have a coupe, a sedan, and convertible in that year.

    While the convertible is obviously the clear winner, those who want a great original cruiser are not scared off by the 4-doors. Hell, it’s a Cadillac! Its supposed to be long as a city block.

    This is one case where the “two doors too many” bell does not ring as loud.

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  8. Avatar David

    Why are you referring to it as a “Fleetwood De Ville”??? There is no such thing..It is either a Fleetwood, (top of the line)…OR a Sedan de Ville (second in the line.)…PLEASE ..which is it?

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    • Avatar Ed P

      This has got to be a Sedan De Ville. The Fleetwoods had a higher roof and door opening as they were the limousine of the Caddy line.

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      • Avatar David G

        Really? I thought there were both a ‘Fleetwood 75 Limousine’ and a ‘Fleetwood 75 Sedan’ available 4-drs in 1963, the latter of which did *not* have the Limo’s raised roof-line clearance but did have much of the other swank 75-series bling included in the longer Limo. But then i’m no Cad expert…

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      • Avatar Ed P

        David G: It appears you are correct. I did check a few references and the Fleetwood name was applied to other Cadillac models. I was under the impression it was only used for limo’s of the 75 series. But Fleetwood and Deville do not go together.

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    • Avatar David

      Exactly…there is no such thing as a Fleetwood Deville. It’s either a Fleetwood OR .a Deville. If you’re going to sell an automobile…learn what it is before making erroneous descriptions.

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  9. Avatar David

    Hi..I’ve owned Cadillacs and know them really well. There was the Fleetwood Sixty Special (6 passenger sedan). There was the Fleetwood 75, which came in either Limo or Sedan versions, the Limo having the divider window which the 75 Sedan did not. Both versions of the Fleetwood 75 were 8 passenger models.

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