Cadillac has the misfortune of introducing its new “Eight” at the time of the Stock Market Crash of 1929, so sales of the new car probably never reached their potential before being discontinued in 1935. The car was named after its 353 cubic-inch L-head eight-cylinder engine that was first used in 1928. The seller’s Eight was one of 11,005 examples built in its first year, which would also be its best. Based on the photos provided, this Cadillac appears to be a barn find which will need restoring from head to toe. Located now in Las Vegas, Nevada, this glorious old tank is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $20,000. Thanks for the cool tip, GIPPY!
You learn something every day. For example, I didn’t know that Cadillac was formed in 1902 after Henry Ford briefly left his self-named company due to a dispute with investors. Cadillac would soon become a world-class luxury car manufacturer before nestling under General Motors’ wing in the 1920s. Their success (such as it was) at the time was due in part to their 353 cubic-inch L-Head V8 engine. Prior to 1928, the displacement was 341 CI. Famous later, Harley Earl styled the 1930s Cadillac Eights. The engines were not foolproof and would vibrate at certain speeds, a problem that was correct with a 4-plane crankshaft.
The 353 in the seller’s car is said to be original and its horsepower rating when new would have been 95. The automobile could be put through its paces with Cadillac’s “Synchro-Mesh” transmission. Diversification was a hallmark at Cadillac in those as you could order a 353 in at least 50 different body styles, including seven standard closed-coupe variations offered by Fisher Custom. An additional 11 basic body options were offered by Fleetwood Special Custom.
We’re told that the seller does not wish to see this fine old machine go to someone who would cut it up and make a rat rod out of it. That may explain the high asking price for a tired old barn find as an attempt to scare anyone away who isn’t interested in a complete, original-style restoration. Said to be rust-free, the seller postulates that this car may have been used to run booze back in the Prohibition days given a hidden brass tank with a faucet under the wooden floorboards (there’s a lot of timber in a car like this). It’s a shame this tank can’t speak as it probably has a lot of 92-year-old stories to tell!
To bad that this old girl probably will never get restored to it’s former glory, but to much cash to be a yard ornament.
That rear seat shot hints at bad wood above the window. Might be, might not be. Something to be acutely aware of on any GM car of this vintage,
As a postscript bad wood over the windshield, so bad that the sun visor can no longer be secured? Just know what you’re getting into buyers.
It is unfortunate that these old beauties are priced so high. 20k for this is not worth the effort and eliminates possible buyers. I would consider restoring it if it were 2k. Anyone who has 20k and at least 50k to restore it will just buy a finished one for less. Just my opinion
The old adage “buy ’em done still rings true.
I certainly like that adage:) Thanks for sharing:)
You can get into so many nice drivers for 20K and under including Cadillacs. This is a labor of love candidate for a young person with boundless enthusiasm willing to plunge into what will at some point seem an endless tunnel, but there are such people and hopefully this car will be acquired by one.
$20,000 for THAT????
I hate to be a broken record but we see these old things a lot more now people are finding it costly to restore unless you do all the work yourself
They are doable. I purchased a 1929 Pontiac in 1960 and did the whole teardown thing while in High School. I actually got the body back together with new wood by my master craftsman father in the summer of ’63 and thought I should be President of the world for having done it.
Still believe it and still have the car
Any pics of the build and the finished car?
This car is too far gone to be a restoration candidate at anywhere near the asking price. If it were a rare and desirable model, which it is not, maybe – but this is just an old four door sedan. Parts car IMOP.
Perhaps when the owner realizes he is talking to someone who wants to “restore” this car instead of cutting it up, will offer a much more reasonable price. As stated in the article, I believe this “jacked” price is to scare off those who would chop this up instead of fixing it up.
Considering the car spent it’s life in the US southwest. I would posit that the extra tank under the rear floor was to hold extra coolant water. Remember that cars back then didn’t have pressurized cooling systems, and at higher elevations they lost coolant on a regular basis due to lower boiling points.
In the 1920s & early ’30s Harvey Hotels & restaurants, in co-operation with the Santa Fe railroad, had a selection of big 7-passenger Packard open cars at each of their tourist stops along the railroad in Arizona and New Mexico. I’ve seen one of these “Harveycars”, and it had similar tanks mounted along the underside of the running boards to store engine coolant water.
As for the extra brass tank used for rum running, In all the research I’ve done into bootlegging and rum running, I’ve always found that the preferred method of transportation was in glass bottles. It was crucial that the vehicle could be loaded and unloaded quickly, and waiting for that little valve under the running board to empty the tank would take too long.
OHV flathead? (maybe a typo error) I’ve never heard of such a thing! One or the other. Please, someone, shed more light on this. As far as the car goes, I really can’t see putting out all the money needed to bring this baby back to life. I realize that somewhere, someone, might want to tackle the restoration, but I’ll pass.
It should have said L-Head. Thanks for catching that!
20K for this is outlandish! It is obviously being sold by someone that does not keep up with the values. This car would need to be a 16 cylinder to warrant a price like that. I would value this car at less than 5K, because you can buy one similar, restored in a range of 29K to 40K. Even if you got this car for free, you would need to sink more money into the restoration than what you could by one already done.
100% Complete rust free Car almost 100 years old isn’t worth close to $20K? Some of these haters must have never paid labor for rust repair or tried to find some unobtanium part… In case ya’ll ain’t noticed prices of everything has gone up… Price steel lately? That said I think $15 – $18k should buy it…
OldSkool55F100,
When I operated an antique car restoration shop, when it came time to explain values including costs and final value, I would put it this way:
Everywhere in the universe the addition of 2+2 equals 4. EXCEPT when restoring old vehicles. Then 2+2 often equals less than 3.
That situation, plus the concept of supply and demand, is a large part of what regulates the selling prices for vehicles. Very few people are looking for similar cars in need of a total restoration. While the supply is limited, the demand is even smaller. The costs of restoration continue to rise.
When this happens, the prices for cars in need of major restoration work, continue to drop. If this was a very good price, it would have already sold.
Exactly right! If one were to attempt a full restoration of this car, on top of the purchase price, one might expect to shell out at least $50k for dismantling and rebuilding the wood framed body, the nickel-plated trim, engine & drivetrain, chassis, suspension, running gear, wheels and tires, re-doing the entire interior, etc. The end result would be a gorgeous $70k+ car that might fetch you up to $35k if you were inclined to sell it.
$20K for a classy “old” Car as this ? A good bit on the high side for the work needed to restore this one. Maybe if the seller lowers his price by at least half he might find someone willing to restore it