- Seller: Hannah C (Contact)
- Location: Modesto, California
- Mileage: 84,052 Shown
- Chassis #: 59J065037
- Title Status: Clean
- Engine: 390 cui V8
- Transmission: Automatic
As Barn Finds readers, you may be aware that the 1973 cruising film American Graffiti was set in 1962 in Modesto, California (although it was filmed in Petaluma). I wore out my VHS copy as a young teenager in the early ’90s, mainly because it was one of the best opportunities for car spotting in that pre-internet era. Therefore, when I saw that this 1959 Cadillac Coupe DeVille was located in a barn in Modesto, I had to satisfy my curiosity, and no, there are no ’59 Cadillacs in American Graffiti (at least according to IMCDb.org). That was a gross omission, because the ’59 Cadillac is perhaps the most American of American images, and now’s your chance to own a true barn find example of your own here on Barn Finds Auctions.
The seller tells us that the Coupe DeVille spent some time covered under a carport before being moved to a shop, and has spent the last few years in the covered barn where you see it now; it’s not in running condition, but those conspicuous yellow spark plug wires give us hope that it’s coughed to life in the last decade or so. Back in the 1950s, Cadillac was well-known for their excellent V8 engines, and this one is the 390, a new for ’59 enlargement of the previous 331- and 365-cubic-inch V8s. It made 325 horsepower with a Carter AFB carburetor. The transmission was GM’s famous four-speed Hydra-matic, and the standard rear axle ratio was 3.21:1 on air-conditioned cars such as this one (it has the controls but seems to be missing the compressor).
In fact, this appears to be a well-optioned Cadillac; aside from air conditioning, it has power windows (the controls are located on the driver’s a-pillar just underneath the corner of the windshield…neat!), a power seat, and the Autronic Eye that (theoretically) turns the high beams off and on as cars drive by. Anecdotally, your Cadillac was flashing at street lights, but it’s still a fascinating piece of 1950s electronic wizardry. The interior appears to be all-original, and although the upholstery isn’t in top shape, the headliner looks as if it will clean up nicely, and the whole thing makes me start to wonder if a “sympathetic” restoration might be in order here.
As any fan of ’50s cars knows, having parts rechromed these days is not a minor expense. Maybe a few weeks in the garage with some steel wool, chrome polish, and a lot of elbow grease will have this Cadillac gleaming. Maybe a buffer and some spot blending of the black paint could turn it into a really, really head-turning driver.
Or perhaps it deserves a full restoration; after all, 1959 Cadillacs have always been a symbol of 1950s America, and because of that, they’ve held their value for decades. And regardless of whether or not George Lucas found a ’59 to put on the silver screen, this one is clearly a star. If you find yourself star struck by this Coupe DeVille, make a bid!
Bid On This Auction
Crazy bid $35,100.00 2025-07-21 11:10:42
Brink56 bid $34,850.00 2025-07-21 11:09:50- Crazy bid $34,600.00 2025-07-21 11:09:18
- Brink56 bid $33,750.00 2025-07-21 11:08:53
- Crazy bid $33,500.00 2025-07-21 11:06:53
- Brink56 bid $32,750.00 2025-07-21 11:06:09
- Crazy bid $32,500.00 2025-07-21 11:04:50
- Brink56 bid $30,500.00 2025-07-21 11:04:13
- Crazy bid $30,000.00 2025-07-21 11:03:39
Eagle88 bid $29,250.00 2025-07-21 11:03:26- Crazy bid $29,000.00 2025-07-21 11:02:29
- Brink56 bid $28,500.00 2025-07-21 11:02:05
- Crazy bid $28,250.00 2025-07-21 11:01:21
- Brink56 bid $28,000.00 2025-07-21 11:00:42
- Crazy bid $27,500.00 2025-07-21 10:59:22
- Brink56 bid $27,250.00 2025-07-21 10:59:03
- Crazy bid $27,000.00 2025-07-21 10:57:31
- Brink56 bid $26,750.00 2025-07-21 10:56:49
- Crazy bid $26,500.00 2025-07-21 10:56:22
- Brink56 bid $26,250.00 2025-07-21 10:56:00
- Crazy bid $26,000.00 2025-07-21 10:55:42
- Brink56 bid $25,500.00 2025-07-21 10:54:28
- Crazy bid $25,250.00 2025-07-21 10:54:08
- Brink56 bid $24,500.00 2025-07-21 10:52:16
- Crazy bid $24,000.00 2025-07-21 10:49:02
- Brink56 bid $23,750.00 2025-07-21 10:48:35
- Crazy bid $23,500.00 2025-07-21 10:46:44
- Brink56 bid $23,250.00 2025-07-21 10:45:54
- Crazy bid $23,000.00 2025-07-21 10:40:41
- Brink56 bid $22,750.00 2025-07-21 10:32:13
- Crazy bid $22,500.00 2025-07-21 10:22:15
- Brink56 bid $22,000.00 2025-07-21 10:18:45
- Crazy bid $21,750.00 2025-07-21 10:14:20
- Brink56 bid $21,500.00 2025-07-21 09:44:10
- Crazy bid $21,000.00 2025-07-21 09:29:42
- Brink56 bid $20,750.00 2025-07-21 09:20:32
- Crazy bid $20,350.00 2025-07-21 08:28:25
- Brink56 bid $20,100.00 2025-07-21 08:23:28
- Crazy bid $19,800.00 2025-07-21 08:11:37
Slappy12 bid $19,500.00 2025-07-21 07:43:11- Brink56 bid $19,000.00 2025-07-21 07:18:07
- Crazy bid $18,750.00 2025-07-21 04:11:53
- Slappy12 bid $18,500.00 2025-07-20 20:56:19
- Crazy bid $18,250.00 2025-07-20 14:47:19
- Slappy12 bid $18,000.00 2025-07-20 13:19:01
- Crazy bid $17,250.00 2025-07-19 17:48:41
- Slappy12 bid $17,000.00 2025-07-19 16:58:33
- Crazy bid $16,750.00 2025-07-19 14:27:30
- Slappy12 bid $16,500.00 2025-07-19 13:34:15
- Crazy bid $15,250.00 2025-07-19 00:37:03
- Brink56 bid $15,000.00 2025-07-18 16:23:40
- Crazy bid $14,500.00 2025-07-18 15:19:56
225sam bid $13,800.00 2025-07-18 13:38:57- Crazy bid $11,800.00 2025-07-18 13:15:33
- 225sam bid $11,550.00 2025-07-18 05:51:52
- Crazy bid $9,010.00 2025-07-17 23:05:04
- 225sam bid $8,759.00 2025-07-17 18:49:56
- Crazy bid $7,250.00 2025-07-17 12:07:35
kcostas bid $7,000.00 2025-07-17 11:31:31- Crazy bid $6,450.00 2025-07-16 15:41:53
Rcherch bid $6,200.00 2025-07-15 10:13:13- 225sam bid $5,900.00 2025-07-15 10:04:46
DALE BENNETT bid $5,250.00 2025-07-15 09:40:43- 225sam bid $5,000.00 2025-07-15 08:24:23
LaSalle bid $900.00 2025-07-14 09:44:16
Well, not sure about the AG reference, which was a funny scene, btw, but not really this car. Additional research showed, the car in the movie, The Deer Hunter, I never saw, had this car, only white. This is one car nobody has to defend, it was the absolute epitome of the make, and should be saved for the sheer shock value for future generations to gaze upon. I’m sure they will think, that while a very small portion of the public had cars like this, they won’t know that, and think everybody drove cars like this. Certainly, a restoration is not for the thin of wallet, it should be a crime to leave it like this. This was the best it got in America, perhaps the world at the time. I wonder if the future will understand that.
couldn’t have said it better myself
I seems a bit odd that they hosed the car off, but didn’t allow it to dry before taking the photos. And the photos are strange-looking.
Better if they dragged the car out of the barn, inflated the tires, and paid a detailer a few hundred to clean the car up.
Agreed with Rex’s comment. This one should be cleaned up some more and maybe even driven the way it is for a while! These are hard to find in decent shape especially a 2 door! It’s a beast of a vehicle!
The pot would be much more if they’d put the hubcaps and rear skirts on it for the photos. That would make her far more presentable to prospective bidders I think!
It has rear skirts, they aren’t in the photo but are original and come with the purchase.
Nothing but the original hub caps will grace this icon.
Did they put a Buy It Now price tag on it?
No, this one is an auction.
My parents owned one of these about ’65 or so. Ours was a butter yellow with a black and white interior. And it was as basic as a series 62 could get. Oh sure, it had A/C but it had crank down windows. Other than that, it was a Cadillac through and through. It served us well for the two years we had it. That thing was built like a tank and made a hell of a snowmobile in the blizzard of ’67 when Bloomington got hit with two feet of snow and hardly anything was moving. I was sad to see it go
when Dad brought Mom.jome a ’62 Coupe DeVille. Nice car, but not ad much character as old Yeller had. Hey, how ’bout this one for our Queen!
There was a 1960 Sedan Deville in American Graffiti. So there’s that..
Correct a 1960 FLAT TOP Sedan
The Website listed that has no Cadillacs in the 1973 American Graffiti movie is incorrect .
There is a 1960 Flat top 4 door loaded with girls in a scene where Milner and the under age girl riding with him in the 1932 coupe stop on a street , get out and proceed to spray whipped creme on the windows and flatten the tires on it .
Hi Ken, So you experienced the snow storm of ’67 also! We lived about 1 hour south of the Chicago Loop. (Will County) And got 3 feet of snow in a very short time. We were already home from school on a snow day when Mom had me go to the store for provisions because we were likely going to get snowed in. It was only a out 1.5 miles away.I was 14 at the time and still did not have a driver’s license. But there was no one on the road and we were out in the boonies. By the time I got back (15-20 minutes later) it had snowed so much that I barely got the car off the road into the driveway before I got stuck. I had to trudge back up the driveway (about a tenth of a mile) hauling the groceries. By the time I got in the house I and the groceries were covered from the wind blown snow. Dad made it back to the train station on the last train out of the city. But couldn’t find the Corvette in the parking lot. (The snow had drifted higher than the car rooftops in the lot. ) Once he got home(late the next day) he took movies of us kids walking up the snow drifts onto the roof of the house and then diving head first into the drifts. No power for a week. Our mattresses laid out on the living room floor in front of the fireplace. Later that year Dad bought a 1959 Caddy Limo from a car dealer friend of his that had sat on the lot for almost a year. It only had about 25,000 miles on it and he bought it for $200. It’s purpose was vacations, since we always had other family members along on the trips. It would cruise all day at 70 mph and get 16 mpg. I ended doing a water pump on the car which is no walk in the park. Since the front motor mount is between the block and the waterpump. Had that car until the divorce 3 years later.
I like that story . During the blizzard of ’76 in Massachusetts I climbed up a little ways on a telephone pole in front of my friend’s house. I asked him if there was any picnic tables or anything in the neighbor’s yard below the pole and he said there was nothing there to get hurt on. So I jumped off and landed safely but then felt a cross member of a Coral fence next to my leg . But I didn’t get hurt. In the early 1980s I bought a 59 Cadillac 9 passenger ( basically a limo without the divider window) and still have that understored car. That was cool that your family road tripped in the 59 limo.
Hi – is there a way to get photos that show rust prone areas as well as an parts that come with the car (perhaps in the trunk or somewhere else).
For example, trunk floor/quarter photos, floor boards, underside rust, rockers, lower front fenders, lower quarters.
It appears that the vehicle has sat in locations whereby the dampness takes it toll plus the years on the road (in whatever state it was registered in).
Trying to understand cost of a driver versus a restoration.
Thank you.
All original, California car, two door, and a Deville- yowsa. This treasure will bid out close to $50K in my humble observation. New horn ring, new dash pad and it is going to be very presentable original specimen for years of enjoyment and awards.
Yeah Wayne, it was a bad one alright. My father was a policeman and a civil defense worker and when the snow hit, we didn’t see him for 2 days! And at 12 years old, I was the man
of the house while he was gone. It was my job to look after my
Mom and kid sister. Mom was 4 months pregnant with my baby sister then. It must’ve really fun to dive off your roof into a snow bank. At least your groceries were frozen when you got them home and you knew what a TV dinner felt like too. Me, I’ve never changed a water pump on one of these, but Daf said it was a really pain in the ass. I saw footage of radio and TV broadcasts on YouTube about the storm of ’67 and it was unbelievable how bad it really was. I found it in ’16 or ’17 and was amazed at how people carried on and went about their business afterwards. A hearty bunch of people we Midwestern
people were back then. After that, my folks kept a supply of non perishable food in the basement for just that occasion. That’s when common sense ruled and you were self reliant. It was when America was truly America.
1959 Cadillacs always have a special place in my heart. Not because they are an iconic part of American history but because my aunt and uncle next door had a brand new one in September 1958. The amount of chrome on these is less than the chromemobiles of GM 1958 but still there are acres of THICK chrome. The bumpers alone are prime real estate.
As a 5/6 year old kid, my cousins and I used to play around the Cadillac. Yes, the points on the fins are sharp! The fuel tank filler door above the license plate in the rear grill always fascinated me. As well as the power windows. One of my best memories of aunties Cadillac is sitting in the back seat with my cousins, playing with the power window. Down, up, down, up. Until my aunt yelled at me to stop!
This Coupe de Ville is presentable, but not without….. concerns.
I hope the hubcaps and skirts are sitting in the trunk. They are kinda difficult to find now. The extremely expensive and coveted steering wheel horn ring is broken and will need to be replaced and I’ve heard that’s now practically impossible.
But, all in all she’s in decent shape, body and interior wise. Engine is another factor.
I think I’ve mentioned before I saw a story about a guy who owned at least one of every model of 1959 Cadillac from the base model Series 62 all the way up to the Fleetwood Sixty Special. His driveway looked like a Cadillac dealership from 1959. Always wanted to repeat that myself.
Being a part of an Italian family just outside of New York City in the 50s we had lots of Cadillacs in the family. My earliest recollection is my uncle’s 1956 Coupe de Ville which started me off on my insatiable love of Cadillac motor cars.
Viva de la Cadillac!
I ran across an auction about 12 years ago with a bunch of Cadillac parts. One of the items was a 59 horn ring, NOS in the box. After some “spirited” bidding, I won it at a shade over $400. Put it on eBay the next week for $1000. Sold it to a guy in Sweden for $2200. He had a fellow who was collecting and then bulk shipping him parts out of Pennsylvania, so hand-delivered it to him on the way to Hershey. Knowledge = $$$. Oh, yeah, luck has a part, too. :)
My Dad had a ’59 Fleetwood in ’67 that he used for his service car.
Yes Ken, the snow was incredible. We lived about 3 miles or so from the end of Western Ave. Yes, the same one out of Chicago. (Used to be in the Guinness book of records as the world’s longest Avenue) And even though we were out in the boonies, it was still a major road in the area. It was 1 lane for 3 days. And once the plow came by and made it 2 lanes. It also buried the Rambler stuck at the end of the driveway. It took me 4 days to dig it out. And I also was in charge of keeping the fire fed so that we could keep warm and cook our food. Living out west, although we regularly don’t see much snow down here in the valley at 4,600 feet. I have been in chest deep snow shoving snow off the roof. I loved that Caddy. The used car lot was not able to sell it because it was a funeral car. (Go figure) it’s not like they carried the loved/departed one in the limo.
A 1959 Caddy is cool, but not sure it fits my needs or desires in my old age. (Although I still love to drive fast! )
The rear skirts are included, they were removed when we moved the car.
Yes folks, those ’59 tailfins were pointy indeed. I was playing ball with some friends when I went to catch the ball but missed it and backed into our Caddy. Stabbed myself in the back trying to catch that damned ball! Knocked the wind out of me and left some pretty good bruises on my back too. Those cars were sharp in more ways than one. I’d say I went through a can of chrome cleaner just cleaning those massive
bumpers! Yessiree, seeing this car reminds me of Old Yeller
one more time. The ’62 Coupe DeVille that followed it was a
nice car too, but didn’t have the character Old Yeller had. I’ve
got patterns of these cars if anyone wants a print made. Just let me know and I’ll do my best to contact you. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll get enough cash to get my phone fixed. Been hard these last few months but we’ll make through just fine.
Hi Angel! Yes dear, we played with the power windows too. That was on Uncle Bill’s ’57 Lincoln 4-door hardtop. And if he caught you, he’d warm your ass with a paddle. You didn’t wanna sit for a while after you got paddled, but you just couldn’t resist pushing Uncle Bill’s buttons!
Playing with the power windows in our ’59 limo I accidentally rolled the main passenger windows up with my finger in the wrong place. I was able to roll it down right away and looked over at my Dad who was driving figuring he would yell at me. BUT, we were on vacation and he was pretty mellow. He just just commented on the power of the window motor, figuring that I had learned my lesson. I did, and it cured me from ever playing with them anymore. IT REALLY HURT!
Great story Wayne.
This is ONE classic that most definitely needs to be saved and restored to its former glory. — Yeah – there’s plenty of work to be done on it, but it appears from the photos that it’s got good bones -very little rust showing on the body. —- The dash and front seat area strangely shows a lot of corrosion, which is weird since it’s not a convertible and so the weather could always have been easily kept out of it. The dash needs to come out anyway to replace the foam pad and to sand it down and repaint it, so the front seat would come out at the same time to fix the upholstery and remove the corrosion on the lower seat frame and re-chrome it. The back seat appears perfect as it is and the headliner looks great for its age – just some touch-up needed. — The rear bumper definitely needs to be removed and sent to a re-chroming shop as the corrosion there is too much to “buff out”. The engine / tranny, of course, needs to come out – overhauled if necessary and brought back to factory specs – and while it’s out – clean the engine compartment like new. — It appears the AC condenser in front of the radiator was recently replaced as does the radiator, so bringing the AC back to full life should not be a problem. All in all – this beaut deserves the best and is going at the right price for that to happen. I do hope it does.
I have three 1960 Cadillacs and I installed those exact same gauges, ammeter and oil pressure gaze exactly where they are on this car while installing an AA eight track stereo on one I was wearing a very nice watch. I accidentally got my metal band against the back, terminals on the ammeter and sorted the shorted to ground ground boy that was not a good experiencepe
Stupid smart phone. It won’t let me delete the mistakes.
I ripped my wrist out of the watchband, and it was still arc welded, and glowing red. The ammeter was pegged way past 60 amps and smoke was coming from the wires. No big fuses back then.
Still no rust prone area or underside shots? It’s a sweet car, but a lazy presentation. I can’t understand why people would bid when that’s specifically been asked about and ignored as far as I can tell by the seller. Red flag.
There are people who when they hear “Cadillac ” only think of this very car. For good reason as it was the result of GM engineers getting a glimpse of Exner’s ’57 creations. That completely upedned Harley Earl’s apple cart. Bill Mitchell moved to the head of the class and the rest is history.
I was pretty young for the ’67 storm. Lansing Michigan got off easy only getting 22 inches in 24 hours. They sent dad home from Reo that morning and they made it down Grand River to a couple miles from town pushing snow with the front of our Chevelle. Had to walk the last few miles home. Years later a friend of mine commented that we were seldom snowed in since our dads would hop up on the tractors and clear the roads so the milk truck could get through. Something that at 6 or 8 years old you often took for granted.
They had a name for them “Three Dago trunks!” Actually they could fit more, but back then they were all fat!
Anyone remember a TV show in the early 70s, never could remember the name if it, but it was about a modern day vampire. He drove a 1959 Cadillac. His reasoning? It has the largest trunk (where he slept during the day) of any vehicle.
Guess he wanted his own McMansion.
I do not remember that show but I do remember a detective show starring Jack Palance. I think the name was Bronk and he drove a 59 Cadillac.
I have commented before about rating trunk size by the number of dead bodies you could haul in them. It was a Chicago thing. (Where I grew up) Since I’m very familiar with a ’59 Caddy trunk. I will rate it as a 4 body trunk.
I meant the Blizzard of ’78 not ’76