The “deVille” name cycled onto Cadillac’s flanks over more than eight decades, first as a Coupe deVille in the late 1940s, then as a standalone model in 1959. A montage of deVilles through the ages would perfectly capture our automotive preferences – a time lapse of bulbous hoods, hardtops, fins and bullet lights, then sharp lines fading into the boxy ’70s and onward to the aerodynamic ’90s. Often offered alongside the Eldorado, the Fleetwood, and later, the Seville, the deVille was a mid-tier mix of body styles, accessories, color and fabric choices – a sort of Cadillac for Everyman. (The Eldorado generally sat at the top of the stack.) Here on eBay is a 1979 Cadillac Coupe deVille with a high bid of $21,500 and a buy-it-now price of $27,000. A reserve remains in play. A well-researched ownership history, documentation from new and the car’s outstanding condition support the seller’s claim that its odometer reading of 19,570 represents original mileage.
Cadillac equipped this deVille with a 425 cu. in. V8 good for 190 hp, a zero-to-sixty time of 11 seconds, and a top speed of 115 mph – this engine option was soon to disappear as the Malaise Era devoured horsepower. A three-speed automatic drove the rear wheels; brakes were ventilated disc in front/drums in the rear. This car has a new radiator, custom exhaust, and new shocks. Notably, the car’s original equipment is included in the sale; gotta admire an owner picky enough to ask a shop to return removed parts.
The deVille could be had with leather seating, but Durand cloth was standard. Power was everywhere: driver’s seat, door locks, windows, antenna, and outside door mirrors. Cruise control and a modernized air conditioning unit will keep occupants relaxed and comfortable no matter the vicissitudes of travel. The car even retains its eight track stereo.
Delivered in triple blue, with the popular “Cabriolet” vinyl roof (Elk Grain Light Blue) and wire wheel covers, this Cadillac shows nearly as new. Even the underside is almost showroom clean. Prices of these luxo-barges have drifted up over the last few years, though Cadillac’s predilection for producing niche trim levels and body styles like the d’Elegance and the Phaeton can confuse price discovery. These rarities can sell for quite a bit more than the run-of-the-mill deVille. Still, interpolating recent sales tells me that even the buy-it-now here is reasonable. What would you pay for this nearly perfect Cadillac?
Michelle remember ..
🎶 🎹 🎙 ” there ain’t no Coupe de Ville hiding at the bottom of a Cracker Jack box ” 🍿 🎵
It’s great until you look at the rear of the car. “Custom Exhaust” means “They made an exhaust for the car that works, but doesn’t really match the car.” And the exhaust tips sticking out the rear looks amateur and silly.
It’s custom because it’s a dual exhaust now, not dual when new.
I had a 77 Coupe DeVille, and it really needed dual exhaust. I’ve always wondered how much of an improvement it made for those who did it.
Maybe a pair of fart cans would look better?
Dad’s first of two Cadillacs was this exact car but with leather. I sometimes drove a 76 Fleetwood belonging to my girlfriend’s dad. Our downsized car was still smooth and quiet but not the barge of the 76
NIce Caddy but the price seems kinda steep… and its only had one bidder…sold one similar to this, beautiful Dove Gray with same interior, D’Elegance that had 74k well maintained miles on it in 2014 and the best offer I got was $5500… ugh.
This in black and silver w/ d’Elegance package was the car to drive in many American towns of the day. Or, sans the vinyl roof and with disc hub caps, you had the $10,999 special that attracted those poor souls with the Amway con. I recall that we had the impression of poor sales year in ’78-79 (my first years in the business) but I would think later that a store with a planning volume of 100 retail deliveries as unicorn material. I remember when we finally did the math on 4.1 liters, we couldn’t give the cars to legacy customers, let alone new conquest sales. Learning the realities with the men who had overseen the halcyon years was doctorate level economics. As they used to say “David, a Caddy is a golf helper, but a CADILLAC is a fine automobile”. This is a beauty.
It looks like Johnny’s wife’s car in Goodfellas except his was pink. He put it under his mutta’s name as to not attract attention from the Feds
Nice color combination on this CDV. Looks like a very clean car but I agree with Jonathan, gotta get rid of those exhaust tips and get the pipes properly tucked underneath the rear bumper. Other than that, I cannot see anything else I would change. Seems a little expensive, but if the car is as clean as the pics appear, I am sure it will find a new caretaker.
While the dual exhausts aren’t necessarily my cup of tea, it was this owners. And they enjoyed it. If you were to do away with the Oem Pellet style Cat converter and run a free flowing exhaust, it will definitely liven these up quite a bit. It makes a very noticeable difference. This is one very nice clean Coupe Deville.
Angel_Cadillac_Queen_Diva: where ARE you?? The Coup DeVille that I would want would be a scoop-air-conditioned 1954.
Hi TCK! When a car is converted from a single to a dual exhaust, you gain least 5-15 horsepower due to the fact that the back pressure that’s generated from a single exhaust is now reduced allowing the engine to breathe more efficiently than in stock
form. Pair your duals with a really good set of low restriction mufflers, and you could gain another 10 horsepower sinçe you’ve now allowed
the engine to reach optimal breathing
capacity without dumping tons of cash into a costly redo of the mill that might do more harm than good. Your
goal here is to lower the back pressure by 25-50% here, and NOT drop it completely to zero. After all, you must leave some BP there to help
raise the pistons on the up stroke. And while we’re at it, let’s talk about how loud those pipes should be. I mean let’s face it, overly loud exhaust
notes serve no real purpose except to
turn an otherwise really nice car into a
neiusance that’ll get the attention of the folks in blue every time. C’mon
guys, let’s be tasteful about it shall we? After you add the low restriction
mufflers, go ahead and pony up for a
set of resonators with curved exit tips
that would just barely peak out from
under the rear fenders. What you’re gonna get is a really nice burble when the car is idling. Been building stuff since ’68 and I’ve always done it that way. Hope that answers your question Cadillac Kid.
…And if it’s more oomph you’re after,
Try some higher gear ratios in the rear
and. Anything from 3.08-3.73 would be ideal for street use. If you go higher than that, you’re defeating the purpose, I knew a kid in school that had a ’60 Chrysler 300 letter car that got really crappy gas mileage. We did a gear ratio test and found out the car had a 5.17 gear set in it and that’s
What caused the poor mileage. We
swapped in a 3.73 gear set and his
mileage improved from just 5 MPG
to a respectable 13.5 in town and almost 21 MPG on the highway depending on how much he mashed the go pedal. So yeah, a good set of
3.73 gears should make this old gal
stretch her legs just fine.