This 1963 Cadillac Convertible was rescued from an Oklahoma field after sitting under a tarp for years. Said to have been owned by the same person since 1993, it was last driven in about 2002. The car is advertised here on Craigslist in Ocean View, Delaware, and has an asking price of $4,000. This heavy-hitter will take a bit of TLC but looks like a fairly decent starting point for a cool convertible project. Thanks to Adam C. for this tip on this big beast!
As mentioned above, this car will need some love. The driver’s door has had a pretty good impact, supposedly from a tractor tire! There are some dents and dings on both sides of the car. Overall though, there doesn’t seem to be a ton of rust although there are no photos of the undercarriage. The interior and the top are also in need of desperate attention. The white paint with red interior is a great combination, but it will take a lot of work to get them both looking great again.
By 1963 the signature rear fins had shrunk to a less angled design although they are still distinctly Cadillac. If you’ve never driven a Cadillac from this era, they were certainly ahead of their time. Plenty of power combined with power everything and decent engine performance make for a great classic car. The engine is this car would most likely be a 390 cubic inch putting out about 325 horsepower. The car was running when parked a few years ago, but the current seller has not tried to turn it over. You can see the air cleaner is off, but there is no mention of other missing parts.
The missing fender skirts and hubcaps are said to be safely stored in the truck. For $4,000, this looks like a pretty solid project that will need a lot of work but is a good starting point. What do you think about this beast? Is it worth investing the time and money into or would it be better to start with a nicer example?
Nothing says a beer-fueled road trip more than this….
Very important to locate a replacement driver’s door in an appropriate color, not too garish or contrasting, not red as it would clash with the interior, but definitely not white either as it would invariably be a close but inexact match for the rest of the car. I think I would try to shoot for a pale, powder blue but with the remains of a white pinstripe to tie it in with the rest of the car. Tan or beige might be okay too so long as it isn’t too dark. Anyone else have any ideas?
It COULD work, but only if you had two different hubcaps on one side, and only a single one on the other. One of the rear windows should be visqueen and duct tape, as well.
Nice touch. Glad to see someone else get’s it.
That’s hilarious !
Saul agrees. So did Nick Nolte, sky blue.
I’d have to see more of this before saying $4K was a good deal or not. If the leather is trashed (and very likely is) that’s $12K+ right there, even with an SMS interior kit if there IS One. The 390 is nothing unusual, and I take it down to the block & rebuild it along with the tranny. I would want to get this on a lift to see what the frame/floors look like. Sitting for as log as it has probably did its share of damage. A spare door can be found; that’s not difficult to locate. At any rate, I see easily $60-$70K to get this in presentable shape; at least to where I’d want it to be. `63 is a great year for Cadillac, and you’d have a honey when its done.
63/4 is the best year imnsho,mean ass front end ,much improved clean rear end ,with magnificent “presence”.I think $4k was a true bargain,as did someone else …..”Sold ! “
’63 and ’64, although similar in appearance are totally different cars with few interchangeable parts for engine, trans or body parts.
Ran when parked. I bet it ran when manufactured too.
Would just gettingg a new door be that simple of a fix? And why was it parked to begin with? Just because of the wrecked door? Something else had to be wrong with it???
I think that I have the door in my stash of left overs for my 63 & 64 projects, to bad this is on the other side of the country or I would add it to my collection…
My grandparents bought one of these brand new. It stayed in the family for about 20 years. One sweet, sweet ride. He was a Cadillac man until the ’80 diesel model POS. He had that one until he died in ’84. In the ’60s someone loaned him a Lincoln Continental to try to get him to buy one, but for him it was a Caddy that said you had made it.
I think it’d be an awesome project, although a project of love.
Already deleted from Craig’s List, so probably sold.
When I was just a few months old, early ’64, my grandfather my parents and I were headed to Idaho through the Nevada desert in my grandfather’s ’63. My dad was driving and my dad had it firewalled. He gets pulled over by Nevada highway patrol. The cop said my dad blew by him and the cop clocked him at 120. The cop lectured my dad for driving that fast with his wife and infant son in the car, gave him a stern warning and sent him on his way. Glory days!
I don’t know if you guys know this, but 1963 was the only year that did not use the fin light for the brake light. The fin light was only used for a marker light at night.
My understanding is that ’64 was the last year that Cadillac’s were exclusively Cadillac parts. From ‘on, GM began to use parts from other vehicles.
It was the last with flat side windows, “no draft” wind wings, metal window bezels and dashes.
@Robert, no. 1964 had the same arrangement for vent windows and side glass. There was a more pronounced “fin” on the 63’s and not sure about the dash. See photo.
@saul That was my point. ’65 changed all the above; no more vents, flat glass and way more plastic.