Every now and again, a car pops up that is a total head-scratcher – that’s why we need our Barn Finds readers to help us figure this one out! The craigslist listing for this 1964 Royale, a limo built on a Cadillac chassis, is a peculiar one, especially since it is written as if we should know who the creator was! The name Arden Eby doesn’t ring any bells for me, so I doubt he was a world-famous automotive designer. But frankly, for a home-built job (one that supposedly took 100 hours per month for two years to build), it doesn’t look awful. The targa roof for the driver is an interesting touch, too. Has anyone ever heard of Mr. Eby or his creation? Oh and this mystery oddball could be yours for $15,000!
Well, at least the price is much more realistic, compared to the 3.9M being asked for the Cumberford Martinique, which is also on Craigslist.
here is some very limited info on Arden Eby:
http://obits.oregonlive.com/obituaries/oregon/obituary.aspx?n=arden-l-eby&pid=167388334
Thanks for the link. Sounds like quite a guy. RIP
Thanks. He was – I miss him a lot.
The windshield and doors resemble the shape of these items on an early 50’s Caddy.
Well, he’s not on Google so he wasn’t that famous. And from the looks of this behemoth I can understand why. But I do have respect for anyone who does it their own way. The pictures appear to be old pictures. Makes you wonder what the car looks like today.
Arden Eby
Custom-Rodder-February-1962
Interesting – he must have been trying to create a bit of a name for himself in the home-brew car customization business. Good on him either way for making it happen.
That thing is awkward looking. Out of date for 1964. Butt Ugly. Unique does not mean valuable, right?
“Present owner wants it gone.”
So would I…..far, far away.
Oddball is a good name for it. I would prefer the original Cadillac.
Me too! I have always wanted to own a good old Cadillac, but this is too weird.
The very definition of the word ugly.
…just one small factual error in your write-up there…
It DOES look awful.
OK, I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that…. but to this beholder that thing is a bloated mess.
http://s1.yzimg.com/000d059puiujp59a.640×480
I wonder if it started off something like this?
Now, that is a car I like.
Yes, you are exactly right. He purchased a wrecked one from the the governor of Montana of all people! That was the basis of the Royale.
He was a famous hair dresser out of New York, just died a couple of years ago. I guess he had a love for restoring old cars and a creative side too, now you know.
Reminds me of that Johnny Cash song about the guy stealing parts from the off the line and over the years he had enough to build a disjointed Cadillac. Why they ever agreed to show this beast at that auto show is beyond me.
Barry Thomas’ “Wheel to Wheel” blog
Hi! This is Arden Eby…Jr. So some of you were spot on. It was based on a wrecked 1953 Cadillac limo that he bought just about the time I was born. He was going for something like a Buggatti Royale inspired Rolls Royce. I grew up riding to our “vacation home” (an old country schoolhouse that he also “Customized.” I went to the prom in that car. The current owner is trying to make a quick $5000 because I sold it to him for $10,000 a year ago. Yeah, it’s a little weird but he was quirky in a lovable way and is a fair representation of his work. To each their own. My opinion is that he did have a good imagination but had a tendency to go past the sweet spot. Still, I loved him and was sad to see the car go. I am AMAZED that someone found the Custom Rodder from ’62 with him on the cover. I thought I had the only copy left in existence! The car on the cover is a ’58 Thunderbird with a Ferrari inspired front end. Nice job finding the Obituary my wife wrote, however, most everything on Google under “Arden Eby” is referring to me. Anyway, mystery solved!
FYI, the money I got for selling the Royale went into the pot to buy this. ;-)
One more thing… The Royale was the feature car at the 1965 Portland (OR) Auto Show. It was on a big turntable in the middle of the show. I was a baby but I’ve seen the pictures. The picture above was from an Oregonian (newspaper) article about the show.
In August of 1964 I rode away from my wedding with my new bride in the Royale. It was the public debut for the car, which had appeared on the front page of The Oregonian a few days earlier.