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Custom Coupe: 1956 Cadillac

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America is a land full of unique individuals, some with very peculiar and unusual tastes in automobiles. And California has been the birthplace of many of the most individual and unusual cars ever built in our great country, not to mention being where customizing cars first became popular.

1956 Cadillac Flower Car
Photo courteous of Pinterest

At first when I saw this 1956 Cadillac for sale here on craigslist in Santa Clarita, California, I thought it was just a custom painted flower car originally built for a funeral parlor like the one above.

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But then I read the all-too-brief ad and looked more closely at the photographs offered by the seller, and realized that what is being sold here may well be what the seller claims it to be, a one-of-a-kind custom coupe made from a common Cadillac sedan.

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Take a look at that home made trailer too. There must be an interesting story here. I wish the seller told us more.

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Do any Barn Finds readers know anything about this car or recognize it from past car shows or parades in its home area?

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This seller seems to be a collector – there’s a 1930s Cadillac and some other old cars lurking in the background as well.

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This Cadillac may well be a custom car, but at least to me, it’s not all that beautiful. The long rear deck and the odd pillar treatment doesn’t work for me. And I have to wonder if that the $12,500 asking price will scare away more buyers than it will attract. And you will need an awfully big garage in which to store it too.

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The seller says this “kustom” has been in long term storage. It looks to be in very good overall condition, and seems to be a running, driving car in a condition that belies its 60 years age.

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I can’t wait to see the responses this car gets from our readers. I suspect it might not be well-loved here, but perhaps I am wrong. Is this California Custom Cadillac just odd enough to have some attraction?

Comments

  1. Avatar Gary

    Nice!

    Like 0
  2. Avatar Alan (Michigan)

    Classy Ride.
    But… What of all that space which does not seem to be used?
    Between the trunk and the passenger compartment. I glanced at the photos, did not see something which would answer the question.
    I also wondered how the trailer would be connected. Apparently there is a receiver down low and tucked under so that it does not show readily.

    Like 0
  3. Avatar Gary I

    Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should! Someone likes to weld, but why would someone do a Caddie like this? The same effort without the custom work would have been far more profitable and less work.

    Like 0
  4. Avatar hhaleblian

    Mafiamobile. You know how many bodies one could rack and stack in that boody?

    Like 0
  5. Avatar grant

    It’s ugly. The greenhouse looks like it’s mounted backward.

    Like 0
  6. Avatar JW454

    The guy really likes modified Cadillacs. In the background of one of the pictures you can see one of the eighties four door cars that’s been converted to the two door coupe with the long front hoods (gray).

    Like 0
  7. Avatar Wayne

    All those pics…..and not one good side on shot. I thought I was looking at a stop-motion film looking thru the fotki album!

    Like 0
  8. Avatar John Adams

    What a waste of a perfectly good 56 Caddy. What is wrong with people. I like the color but hate the mods. Sad. My Dad had a nice 56 Sedan Deville when I was a kid.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Donnie

      Waste of two 56 caddies don’t forget the trailer.

      Like 0
  9. Avatar Jason Houston

    Typical customized car. Some guy with a lot of time on his hands gets a torch, a saw, a 24-pack and some vague idea of making something unique… and this is the result. Never mind if it doesn’t follow any form or function. Just as long as someone in a shopping center will do a double-take, is all that matters. He may be wondering why no one comes up and congratulates him for…? The fact he puts blackwall tires on a Cadillac should give you a good read on his IQ.

    Good parts car and a more compelling reason not to legalize drugs.

    Like 0
  10. Avatar George

    All that wasted room in the middle. Strange. The back of the cab doesn’t flow either. Still, if someone gave it to me, I’d drive it.

    Like 0
  11. Avatar Clay Bryant

    Fix the top line chrome by either eliminating what’s there or make it cohesive with the over door lines, put a set of real Cadillac wire wheels on it and you would change it’s flavor. Looks awkward now.

    Like 0
  12. Avatar Dolphin Member

    The proportions are all off, and it looks like he has shortened the wheelbase. Then he builds another trunk to tow behind. Real odd, and not in a good way.

    Like 0
  13. Avatar van

    Jimmy Hoffa and his crew fit in this trunk

    Like 0
  14. Avatar Gary

    If you want to see all the pictures, inside, outside, underneath, go to the website mentioned in the add. Besides lots of photos of this car, there are other Caddy’s listed as well. http://public.fotki.com/cadcliff/

    Like 0
  15. Avatar Ron E Bee

    make a great pickup

    Like 0
    • Avatar van

      Yeah for your Indian

      Like 0
  16. Avatar redwagon

    dark blue flower car looks much more balanced.

    seller states it would make a great pickup. i agree that it would be better than what is here now but i would not want to touch the conversion of a conversion.

    Like 0
  17. Avatar Ed P

    My eyes hurt looking at this.

    Like 0
  18. Avatar Brad

    Pretty awful chop. I wouldn’t have had the guts, so kudos (I guess). If some weird uncle died and left me with this project, I may try and undo some of the odd proportions and build a 1956 concept of a sedanette – a style I’ve always loved but which was gone by 1949. Couldn’t make it look worse.

    Like 0
  19. Avatar Smitty

    This was no doubt built in Cincinnati, Ohio at Hess – Eisenhart, they build hearse’s Flower cars & such. But who ?? built the trailer? who knows?

    Like 0
  20. Avatar Aleander Member

    There was a genuine Miller or Hess-Eisenhardt 1954 for sale locally in Kentucky back in 2013. Asking price was $3500 and it came with a hot tub mounted in the back! It ran and had a title stating the custom coachwork company’s name. Wish I could track that one down now.

    Like 0
  21. Avatar D. King

    It’s as if the guy asked “how can I make an ugly car uglier?” Granted, I dislike American cars of that era, but still…

    Wish I could unsee this.

    Like 0
  22. Avatar JimmyinTEXAS

    I kinda wish I lived close to this guy. Might be an interesting conversation or two lurking around there about this car and for sure all the other old cars he has. I like the idea, but that rear roof line. With the poor pictures it has me scratching my head and the “odd pillar treatment” is , to me, pretty indescribable. I checked out the attached link for more pictures and got a little better look. But 12.5K with trailer might not be too bad if it looks better “in person”.

    Like 0
  23. Avatar Wayne S.K.

    One word: AAAAAK! :P Wait… is that even a word?

    Like 0
  24. Avatar Slickimp

    There is a 56 flower car in Bloomington IL that I see often clean car looks like the one in pic above Kinda like that coupe with the weired roof.

    Like 0
  25. Avatar Bill McCoskey Member

    So the guy creates a car with a huge trunk area. This car was equipped with factory A/C. In ’56 that A/C unit took up the entire area over the rear axle. Can’t tell if the A/C unit is still there, or has been moved up to under the rear window. If the A/C is still there, it blocks access to the front half of the cargo area. [From the photos shown, can’t see if the clear plastic tubes are still there in the rear window area.] I did note that the A/C fresh air vents were turned around to become exhaust ports, so I have a feeling he pulled the old A/C unit out.

    Like 0
    • Avatar George

      But the only access to any increased trunk space is through the front door and folding forward the seat back. When you look in the trunk, that’s original without an opening to the center area. That’s not very accessible. put in a really bid golf bag door on the side?

      Like 0
      • Avatar Bill McCoskey Member

        George — It appears he left the original seat in place, it’s from a 4-door sedan, and will not fold forward! That suggests there is no access to all that room!

        Like 0
  26. Avatar Clay Bryant

    1500 dollar golf bag door…………fabricate, install and repaint. Different folding seat. Acquire and new interior on it…………..500 bucks at most. The cars not original to start with. If you ever see the trunk in one of these you can carry the golf bags for the whole country club……………

    Like 0

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