“Cadillac Presents Four Great New Series of Cars for 1951,” so proclaims the Caddy sales brochure 74 long years ago. And the bread and butter of that line-up appears to be the Series Sixty-Two, such as this four-door sedan that Jim A has found for us. The seller suggests, “…whole car could use some love.” Well, let’s look it over and see how much love he’s talkin’ about. Farmington Hills, Michigan, is where you’ll find this “Standard of the World” example, and it’s available here on Facebook Marketplace for $5,500.
Back to that four-series business. There was the outsized Series Seventy-Five, a smaller “luxurious” model known as the Series Sixty, an entry-level Series Sixty-One, and then the Series Sixty-Two. Body styles included two-door hardtops and convertibles, and a four-door sedan such as our subject. As for the two-door hardtops, one was the standard coupe model while the other was bestowed with the famous “DeVille” moniker. The Series Sixty-two four-door sedan was the best-selling model/body style with 54K units leaving the Detroit assembly line in ’51. In this car’s case, the body is straight, but the paint is faded. The seller ads, “The trim and bumpers are rusty, but could be polished.” I’m not sure if rust can be polished out, but the condition of these components is still fair. The seller claims that the floors and trunk pan are sound, and that’s good to know, as parked on grass for any length of time is not in the underside’s best interest. You know, anyway you cut it, this car’s front bumper is one huge, impressive, standout feature!
The interior is rough, it’s gonna need a whole lot a love to say the least. The seating upholstery and door panels are kaput, and I imagine whatever that white shag carpet is covering, isn’t much better. The instrument panel and dash, however, still show well. I always find the clock location in cars of this era to be unusual – way over there on the right side in front of the passenger. I suppose it was helpful for that occupant; they could count out time, waiting to get wherever they were going, but it’s not much of a help for the driver, as he drove off the road trying to figure out what time it is. Of note, no power windows for this Sixty-Two, ya gotta crank ’em by hand.
A 160 gross HP, 331 CI engine, Caddy’s pioneering OHV V8, is resting in place and does turn over. It even has spark, but won’t start, so I guess the next owner will have to lay out some love on the fuel system. That said, at least the engine compartment of this stated 42 K-mile sedan (probably 142K miles, I’d imagine) looks complete and original.
I see possibilities here. I don’t know about love, but it is going to take some time, elbow grease, and $$$. Let’s talk price. At an ask of $5,500, priced right, or not quite?
You know,,I kvetch about those big dually pickups riding your rear, as if to intimidate you to pull over, after all, they’re bigger and therefore greater( No, I NEVER had that attitude driving a semi, EVER), but think back to 1951, and stammering along in that Nash or Willys, and that 2nd picture coming up fast,,,tell me that Caddy driver doesn’t think they own the road. I read, this car cost about $3800 new, decked out. A base 62 was about $3200, so about the same as my grandfathers ’48 Packard. I’d say this wasn’t a loaded Caddy, and some people did have money after the war, and these cars were not so rare. My old man had a shifty painter friend that had one, the 1st car I saw with electric windows. Even in it’s dilapidated condition, it still is a stately car, and it’s nice enough, I wouldn’t go gonzo, get it rolling right, then go look for a dually pickup to push,,”MOMMY, I’M SCARED,,,
Re doing the chrome would bankrupt a small nations GDP for a year.
5k doesn’t get you much today. Get out the shop-vac and the wash bucket and see what’s hiding. Turns over and has spark, that’s a good start. Breaks, tires, fluids, clean the fuel system and a seat cover, another 5k. Hope for the best, drive and have fun.
Chrome plating, in 1951, was relatively a lot less expensive than it is now, the downside then was pollution of rivers and streams as the waste was dumped – in Waterbury CT, in the day, where a great amount of plating was done, the river changed color periodically, it was said that at times, if you threw an orange into it, it would shrivel up before your eyes plus, environmental hazards to those who worked doing the plating.
I must say that this Caddy does deserve restoration but to what point I.E. Unless you are rich a full blown resto will cost big bucks esp on the chrome. I restored a ’50 packard over 25 years ago and it wasn’t cheap then so imagin now? I would do all the mechanicals and throw some chest seat covers on her and drive her, hoping someday I could finish up ? Life is too short to tie up a car for full resto so drive it as a driver for now.
The first Cadillac, land yacht, luxo barge i was introduced to was my aunt & uncle’s 1956 Cadillac Coupe. Don’t really know if it was a Series 62 or a de Ville, I was only 4. But it’s my first memory of Cadillacs. Other aunt & uncles had ’57s and after my uncle totalled the ’56 sliding on ice and t-boning a tree there was the ’59 Coupe de Ville.
Imagine how confused I was when I discovered that older Cadillacs didn’t automatically come with power windows. I thought that was the whole thing about Cadillacs…… power windows, power seats, power antennas, power trunk release. Everything power.
Seeing a late 40s or early 50s Cadillac with crank windows was shocking. Even all the way to the mid 60s, finding you could get a base Cadillac (Series 61 or Calais) without power windows. Talk about a confused kid.
I always thought what’s the point of having a Cadillac with no power options? Might as well have a Chevrolet or Buick.
Funny ow things change. Even now it’s hard to find a base model Kia without power windows.
I bagged groceries back in the 60s and remember putting groceries in a 64 CAD with hand crank windows. Just like you, I was wondering what in the world!
Could be an interesting candidate for an Icon Derelict project. That patina is pretty sweet.
Imagine this caddy hitting a Tesla, what a beast! not a dent on the caddy, Tesla totaled. I would take the caddy any day!
If you are in the Cad, you will probably die. No safety at all.
Just 2 tons of thick steel, a full frame. Oh sure, there are no crumple zones, pop out windshields, collapable steering column or air bags, but I’ll take a ’51 Series 62 over a 2025 CTS any day!
As a first responder, in my old age, I see many auto accidents right after the fact. I am amazed how many people walk away from rollovers (as compared to front end collisions) thanks to a multitude of airbags, and stiff roofs (we had them in the 1930’s – the GM Turret Top, the ’34 Chrysler Airstream, for example – reaching the opposite extreme in the early 1960 GM flat tops with thin A, B, and C pillars, and in the case of the “four door hardtop” no B pillar at all).
The elimination of protruding knobs and toggle switches on the dash, federally mandated in the ’60’s, child seats, seat belts, collapsable steering columns, have prevented many injuries. I once was commandeered by a woman, in about 1960, whose 2 year old child, sitting unrestrained in the front seat of her ’57 Mercury, had crashed his head into a round knob on the dashboard, leaving a dent in skull, and drove them to the hospital in the Mercury, taking a bus back to my car.
Given all that, I still drive my Allante, top down, one airbag in the steering wheel, but, a lap/shoulder belt and no knobs on the dash.
And, I would drive a ’66 Avanti, if I had one.
In my 61 years of actual driving i have never had a problem with protruding knobs or hanging mirrors or any of the other stuff our illustrious government says is a danger.
In 1972 I t-boned a cement “wall” & telephone pole in a 1968 Porsche at approximately 125 mph. No air bags and knobs everywhere, all the only thing that happened to me was I broke my wrist on the gear shifter.
My mother flipped her 1967 Checker Marathon in 1968 and crawled out the rear window unscathed. My sister flipped her 1968 Plymouth Road Runner in 1969 just weeks after my mother’s incident, not a scratch on her.
My uncle slid on ice in 1958 in his 1956 Cadillac and t-boned a tree, knocking a huge dead branch off of the tree onto the roof of the Cadillac, crushing it and requiring him to get stitches on his forehead. That was the extent of his injuries.
My point is, I will concede that cars are lighter and flymsier now, and have tons of expensive safety features, but are they really safer?
Hi Angel! And just what the hell were you doing driving a Porshe
at 125 MPH anyway? I know, I know, you were like me and many other kids back then who were testing the limits of their own mortality by doing a plethora of wild and crazy things to get a rush right? For me, it was alcohol. The more effed up I got, the better the world looked–or so I thought. Many’s the time I’d drink bourbon and Coke from one of those giant 32 ounce plastic glasses that looked like a child’s drinking glass as I stared out the bus window and sightseeing as we went from city to city. And yeah, I was so effed up that I forgot which city or state fair we were playing at until one of my side men would correct me.
No problem there, just good clean fun. And as for our forlorn Caddy here, my earliest memories of my Uncle John, who owned
a ’53 sedan like this one painted dark green with a cream roof and Blackwall tires. That was his company car for the industrial coating and waterproofing business he owned with my Uncle Frank. He would often let my Mom use this car for running errands when he and uncle Frank were using their C-47s to haul their gear from state to state. This car was the first new
Cadillac he bought after getting out of the produce business.
And yes, it had crank down windows too. It also had a radio where I got my musical education at the tender age of 5. I’d listen to doo wop one day, and steel guitar rag the next with a
little big band stuff thrown in. And yes, I almost bought a ’65 Calais 2-door hardtop that had crank windows too, along with factory front bucket seats, a factory center console with a factory tach for the 429 under the hood, and a basket handle shifter for the T400 transmission. Wow! Pretty racy and rare for a Cadillac right? Well, I almost did it but my wife gave me a
resounding “No way” I t was all for the best though as that 429 made enough smoke to fog an entire neighborhood for mosquitos! The guy that owned it was an acquaintance of mine
that wanted my ’62 Rambler Classic Custom in the worst way so he’d always try and bait me by showing me cars he bought at the auction that were mostly junk. And so it was with that Caddy.
And our forlorn looking friend here, a ’60s 472 V 8 and a T400
gearbox would be the best RX to get the old gal motivated,
add a 2 pot master cylinder with pendulum pedals , front disc brakes for more whoa power, and then drive as you restore it.
Flood update: the pipe that burst in my apartment blew out again flooding the whole place and making it unlivable. All your Caddy prints are safe Angel along with the other stuff I made for
others too. The complex staff is moving us to another unit as we speak but my shop will be closed indefinitely until we get settled in. Check your email dear. I sent you a sneak peek of the
’50 Cadillac Sedan Delivery I’m working on now. Well honey, I’m
off to bed. We’re getting an early start moving more things to our new place BEFORE I go to work and close my store tomorrow night. Good night Angel (Insert kiss here) night all.