It may be hard to believe, but the dent that you see in the driver’s door of this 1957 Coupe DeVille is the catalyst for it eventually winding up in its current state. The late owner of the car loved it dearly, but at some point around 1973, his wife backed into the car, inflicting the panel damage that you see. He parked the car with the intention of repairing the damage, and never got to it. The Cadillac then sat baking in the Arizona sun until recently. It is now looking for a new home, and this might be your chance to secure what appears to be a relatively solid project car. Located in Tempe, Arizona, you will find the Coupe DeVille listed for sale here at Hemmings. The owner has set the sale price for the car at $9,900.

When you look the Cadillac over, it is pretty typical of an Arizona barn find (or lot find in this case). The original Amethyst Metallic paint is quite heavily baked, but external rust is restricted to dry surface corrosion. Apart from the dent in the door, there is a dent in the forward rocker on the passenger side. The rocker moldings are also missing, the external mirror on the driver’s side is damaged, but the rest of the car looks to be basically complete. There is rust visible in the spare wheel well, but it isn’t clear if there is any in the floors. If the rest of the trunk pan is any indication, then there is a fair chance that the floors are okay. Unfortunately, the windshield is pretty badly cracked, and that will require replacement.

Given the fact that the Cadillac has been sitting out in the Arizona sun for the past 46-years, it is no surprise that the interior is pretty heavily toasted. The good news is that it is complete, but there is going to be some work involved in returning the Cadillac to its best. All of the upholstery will require replacement, as will the carpet and the wheel. It really is going to be a case of rolling up your sleeves and breaking out your wallet on this interior. In keeping with the luxury theme of the Coupe DeVille, it is no surprise that the car features power windows and factory air conditioning.

The ’57 Coupe DeVille was no light-weight, tipping the scales at 4,620lbs. That required some reasonable horses to get it moving, and the 365ci V8 provided 300 of those. This was sent to the rear wheels via a 4-speed Hydramatic transmission, while it isn’t any great surprise that power steering and power brakes were standard features. Under the hood looks surprisingly good for a car that has been sitting for more than four decades. The owner says that the oil in the engine and transmission look good. He pulled the original plugs, and they looked pretty good as well. He gave the cylinders a squirt of Marvel Mystery Oil, threw in a new battery, but the starter didn’t engage. He does believe that there is a good chance that the engine will fire with a new starter fitted. If it does, then that’s good news. It is pretty certain though that there will still be some work required before this old classic moves any distance under its own power.

The owner of the Coupe DeVille provides a couple of photos of a pristine ’57 model finished in the same Amethyst Metallic as this car, and it is a stunner. There is no doubt that it would be possible to return this Cadillac to its former glory so it will be interesting to see whether any of our readers are brave enough to take it on.