When I was a middle-school student, I’d ride the bus home from school and sit down for some ’70s cop show reruns until my parents got home from work, and my favorite was The Rockford Files. I usually didn’t have the attention span to follow along with the plot, but I knew that Rockford drove a cool Firebird and the baddies were fairly adept at chasing him in their wallowy full-size luxo-barges, such as this beautiful original 1975 Cadillac Sedan DeVille. Barn Finds reader Mitchell G. found it for sale on eBay in Lakeland, Florida, and the sellers are presenting it as a two-owner, 21,147-mile original. With only one bid of $10,000 so far, the DeVille has not met reserve.
A big Cadillac from the mid-1970s would not be my first choice for engaging in a car chase, but at least the big 500-cubic-inch V8 had the torque to get the job done: 360 lb.-ft was a lot considering the net ratings of 1975. And yes, a 190-horsepower 500 does rightfully lead to some light-hearted jokes at the Cadillac’s expense, but it was 1975 (which was also the first year for the catalytic converter). This low-mileage DeVille looks unbelievably clean under the hood, and you can see that it has most of the power accessories that one would expect from a Cadillac.
The interior is equally worthy of our praise, and you’ll have to look hard to find a more decadent upholstery pattern anywhere; Rockford villains were certainly riding in the lap of luxury. Almost every power and convenience amenity that would be optional on other cars was standard with Cadillac: automatic climate control, power windows, power seat, radial tires, digital clock, automatic parking brake release, and more (this one even has an 8-Track player for your Barry Manilow tapes).
The trunk is appropriately cavernous and well-trimmed. I can picture one of the Rockford antagonists unloading his golf clubs, wearing the most ostentatiously patterned shirt ever sewn, smoking a cigar, and showing too much chest hair.
You may have noticed that the fenders of this Georgian Silver Cadillac don’t quite match the rest of the body. Anecdotally, that is one way to tell that a GM car has a factory paint job. Fisher Body would paint the car from the cowl back, while the front clip was painted at the assembly plant (most likely Clark Street in Detroit in this case). A lot of original GM products will have a slight paint mismatch as they age as a result; and while I can’t say for certain that this car has all-original paint, it might help to verify the seller’s assertion that it’s an original, low-mileage car. It’s certainly in fantastic condition. Anyone who likes ’70s Cadillacs must be in love with this one; what’s the take-home price for a car that (in some ways) defines an era?
That’s a gorgeous cruiser and well worth $10k if it is as presented.
Wow! It’s like driving your living room around. Awesome, and seems like a reasonable deal.
10 grand reserve not met that is
Gotta say it, this one’s definitely fit for a Queen–our very own
Angel Cadillac Diva that is. I could see her tooling around her
Queendom in this car and having a grand old time doing it. And yes, I have seen this car at local car shows in the Winter
Haven Lakeland area of Polk County over the years. Every first Saturday of the month, you could walk through downtown Winter Haven and see some really fine older cars and trucks owned by local residents. One time, the. assistant manager of my store was there looking at all the cars when she saw a ’59 Ford retractable for the first time. She called the store very excited and told me to have my friend Jimmy bring me there right away to see the roof of the car go into the trunk! Funny thing was, this car was there too that day.
And if the paint hasn’t faded too much over say, the last 20
years or so, the car will look even better in person than in pictures. The mileage claim car could be legit as many of the
older folk who come here for the winter keep a car at their winter house for use here while they cheer about leaving the cold and snow up north. I would see this car several more times before retiring from Taco Bell in 2009. After that, I lost track of the car until it was shown here. Sure wish I had $10K lying around and all my family responsibilities met, I’d be all over this one! Ride the Bright line train over, and have my SIL drive it home here in Melbourne. And it’s all just 3 hours away. I should be so lucky.
Hi Kenneth!
I had this car, only mine was a ’76 and a coupe. Yes, I drove around my queendom observing all I surveyed and ruling with a smile. LOL (Insert looney tune emoji here)
This is a nice example. The only thing I don’t like about the Sedan de Villes is that little “C” pillar window that has absolutely no point to it.
Oh, Kenneth, all my ’70s Cadillacs had leather interiors. Even my Fleetwood. Not one had the brocade.
Keep on bidding this car has been listed for the past 6 months, they have a buy it now price of 27,500.00 last time I bid on it my bid was 15,000.00 other people stopped bidding at about 12,000.00
Surprised Cadillac didn’t make split front seats standard since it was a luxury brand.
Did someone say ROADTRIP! lol
I think we all say LandYacht!
Go to Primo Classics it is $27,500.00
Is there a small dent on the rear lower half of the driver’s door? Appears to be as the sun is showing on the bottom chrome trim whereas the rest of it is covered in shadows.