The seller of this 1968 Cadillac Sedan DeVille divides his listing into “Pro” and “Con” categories – an effective way to get to the bottom of an old car’s condition – and hopefully, the pros will outweigh the cons. But beyond that, why review this car? Well, it’s a whammer-jammer of a four-door hardtop, riding on a 129.5″ wheelbase, stretching out a total of 224.7″, and weighing in at 4,700 lbs, all while using a big 375 HP V8 to drive its rear wheels – ya don’t findem’ like this anymore! I’d say this one’s newsworthy and thank Mike F. for the tip. Broomfield, Colorado, is where you’ll find this representative of “The Standard of the World,” and it’s available here on craigslist for $18,000, OBO.
Cadillac, for years, consistently ranked in tenth or eleventh place in the domestic auto production race, and 1968 was no different. Coming in at eleventh place, Cadillac knocked out 230K units in ’68, and 164K were “DeVille” models with almost 10K manifesting themselves as the “Hardtop Sedan DeVille,” such as our subject. The finish, which looks like Topaz Gold Firemist, still shows well; it’s lost a bit of shine but is still thoroughly presentable. There are only two exterior images included in the listing, so a detailed assessment is not possible, but so far, so good. There’s no evidence of rust or crash damage, and this Caddy’s endless lines are nice and straight. Here’s the weird one, however, the roof of this four-door hardtop has been coated with cargo bedliner – you know, the stuff you spray into the bed of a pickup truck. The seller adds, “Bedliner roof, looks like vinyl but doesn’t deteriorate!” I’m wondering if this treatment is a replacement for a vinyl top or just an attempt at a faux version. Whatever the case, it shows well! One nice feature of these sixties Cadillac models is the mob trunk; you can stuff at least three bodies in that cavernous compartment.
The oyster-hued fabric upholstery, at least up front, still shows surprisingly well for a 97 K-mile car that has survived 58 long years. The backseat, however, is another matter; it looks like Jack the Ripper caught more than a ride or two back there. The steering wheel is typically missing a chunk, but beyond that, no other biggie. Well, one other thing, the A/C is inoperative, and the heater is an on-and-off proposition.
New for ’68 was Cadillac’s gargantuan 472 CI V8 engine, pushing out a refined, smooth, and hushed 375 gross HP via a Turbo-Hydramatic 400, three-speed automatic transmission. Interestingly, this Deville has been upgraded with front disc brakes. The seller adds, “Great fun to drive.”
OK, plusses and minuses time:
Pros:
- Starts and runs well every time
- Interior is mostly in good shape
- Exterior is in great shape
Cons:
- Could do with a new brake booster
- Could do with new transmission mounts (clunking)
- Power windows work, but only by the driver’s switch panel
I’d add one other con: the price. At $18,000, I’m not feelin’ it, how about you?
Interesting use of bed liner! Price for condition is a little over the top.
I understand the use of rhino coating the roof. I used that method to replace and repair the landau roof on my 77 Grand Prix and it came out good. Painted it tan to match the interior.
There is a reason the pictures look like they were taken during the summer. The price is a bit more than optimistic based on its condition and the work needing to be done.
Steve R
This car is basically solid, but not particularly desirable or valuable. Replacing the cracked steering wheel, overhauling the AC, reupholstering the rear seat, replacing the master cylinder, and doing all the other jobs on the list will easily cost $5K+. Then there is the roof….. The bedliner looks like vinyl from a distance, but looks like bedliner when closer. It cannot be easily removed, and is a strong deterrent to many potential buyers. A decent ’68 Sedan De Ville is worth around $15K. This one would be worth about $8K, if it didn’t have the bediner topping. The market for these big old, mass-produced 4-doors is limited, and prices continue to drift down. If you want one, buy a better example.
Sorry, I dont see anywhere close to 18K for a relatively tired looking 4- door- Cadillac with a lot of work still needed. The roof needs to be done right again with vinyl and the interior, too. Also some mechanical work is needed.
For me, this is a 7K- car at best and I doubt, that the seller will really get much attention like this.
the bed liner on the roof was IMO a stupid move. because now it will take a lot of work and time to get it off. should have painted the roof black. same amount of time and work. that alone would make me not buy and the price is too high for the other work it needs
Back in those days, there were places like muffler shops, seat cover places, etc that installed fake vinyl tops. They even used rubber strips to simulate the “seams” of the OEM vinyl tops, which simulated the look of convertible tops when they first came out. They never looked good…
Beautiful car, and in the perfect colour WITH THE RIGHT NUMBER OF DOORS! But WAY too needy at this price!!! If it were a near-showroom example with a like-new clean interior, that would be a different matter. But WHO wants to pay $18,000 for the $15,000 dream car they seek, THEN need to put-in $10,000 of additional work, to restore it into what it should have been, to begin with, at this price? Except for the ersatz roof, it looks elegant on the outside; but who wants to drive a real gas-guzzling head-turner, whilst sitting in a semi-trashed interior that presents near to “junkward” compared with the rest of the car: do YOU want to hold THAT shabby steering-wheel, as you drive “the Standard of the World”? I don’t believe this one for a hot second! This car has had a rough life, and someone restored the exterior on the relatively cheap: STEER CLEAR!! if you want the cream-puff version of this one, all original paint and chrome with 26,700 original documented miles, every gently-yellowed piece of its paperwork, and utterly immaculate interior still smelling almost like a new car, then save your trouble and pay about this price for that cherry “museum” example in this same colour (they sure MADE enough of them!) — or, buy this one for $4,900 and go to work!
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There are no photos of the underside, which concerns me a bit because (from the engine photo) all of the brake hardlines appear to have been replaced with hand-bent nickel-alloy, which is fine – I’ve used it – but to have all of them rust out is a tell that things ain’t great down under.
Maybe a PO had a dog that rode in the back? Weird to see the back seat more beat-up than the front.
I’m looking for a big hardtop 4-door like this but agree the ask is high. GLWTS all the same.