At the top of my “might have been” list is a 1959 Cadillac convertible, black with red leather, that my father wouldn’t let me buy when we were shopping for a high school car. It was pristine and only $800, but Dad said it was a gas guzzler. Well, $800 might buy a replacement radio now. This lovely 1959 Cadillac Coupe de Ville on eBay with a $65,000 Buy it Now in Spring, Texas is simply gorgeous, including the little-seen Wood Rose paint color (not “Woodrow,” as the ad says), with Persian Sand interior.
The vendor tells us this is an older restoration “done years ago.” The Cadillac “is not a show car (in my opinion) but would do very nicely in any local car show you take it to.” It’s “a great daily drive or weekend car.” The stock 390 V-8 runs fine, and the car “shifts and drives down the road well,” with no funny noises. The power windows go up and down, and the power seats work, along with the turn signals and all lights.
What presence this thing has! I’d love to have it in my garage, but it probably wouldn’t fit. Note the “Kennedy for President” bumper sticker, a good and timely addition for period verisimilitude. Minor crustiness and discoloration is visible in the photos, but nothing you’d actually have to do anything with unless you’re aiming for Pebble Beach. All the trim and chrome, some in stainless, looks good.
This sixth-generation car introduced bold styling which ran for only two years (1959 and 1960, when it was reined in a bit). The iconic ‘59 dual-bullet tail lights are rocket/jet-inspired, and the whole thing was just exuberantly huge.
In 1959, these kings of the road had a 130-inch wheelbase, and their 6.4-liter 390s put out 325 horsepower. But they’re such big softly sprung boats that wafting along in a straight line is the preferred course of action. One-finger steering was the norm, totally without any real feel. That year, the de Ville technically became its own Series 63, and the Eldorado Series 64. Standard features were many and included automatic transmission, the aforementioned power windows, brakes and steering, and more. Options for paint and interior were many. The Persian Sand combination of leather and cloth seating in this one would be expensive to get right, but fortunately expensive re-upholstery work is not necessary here. Other choices: Fawn, Gray Cortina Cord, Black Caspian, and so forth.
The Classic.com going rate for a 1959 Cadillac is $116,187, but that factors in many higher-value convertibles. I’m seeing Coupe de Villes around the same price as this one’s BIN. They say to buy the best car you can afford, so this one’s a much better deal than a basket case.
I LOVE the JFK sticker!
This 1959 Cadillac is immaculate ! It’s so well preserved , I wouldn’t even want to take it out much , only to auto shows ! The photo taken in front of the mansion alone is deserving of an award ! A real Timecapsule ! Some LUCKY bidder will drive it to a new home . Happy Motoring !
This is beautiful. That horn ring on the steering wheel alone goes for a small fortune from what I’ve leanred here on Barnfinds. Im with 8Banger, love the JFK bumper sticker. The interior is really nice too. Hope this goes to a good home
I have one. Just inherited it from my dad.
Somebody buy it before it becomes a station wagon
LOL, Yeah that one’s pretty bad.
Was going to make a similar comment.
Good point!
Jim, I drove a ’60 convertible in high school. Black, red interior, white top…paid $150.00 for it. It wasn’t perfect, it was still a Cadillac.
Many aspired to own a Coupe deVille. Others loathed them. I can see why, but oh to show up at the wheel gives meaning to having arrived.
That roof style is the only one that harmonizes with this missile launcher. This was not the biggest car in production that year. The Imperial beat it by six inches and the Continental (the biggest) by more than a foot.
Chrome,fins and monster V8s made America Great back in the day. My first Cadillac love affair was a 58 Sixty Special (in formal black) owned by a local business man. Actually like that year better than the jet age 59. By the way, 61 Imperial fins were actually 1 inch higher than 59 Cadillac. This is a beauty, but for me the 59 Sixty Special was the best with additional Chrome liberally applied. When Cadillac was The Standard of the WORLD. My 89 Fleetwood Brougham deElegance and 93 Brougham were the LAST real Cadillacs for me. Sad to see what now wears the Cadillac name 😕. Hopefully someone will cherish this MONUMENT to the GREAT AMERICAN LAND YACHT!
I had a 90 Brougham d’Elegance in triple dark blue, what a beautiful and comfortable car, from back when luxury car meant comfortable and stylish, instead of the jellybean looking european sports crap they overcharge for today. My other half has a 2017 Cadillac CT6, and at 31,000 miles the front differential just literally blew itself apart. The factory must’ve forgotten a retaining clip or to tighten some ring gear bolts, or something.
Grandmother had a 62 SD then a 66 SD, dark blue, beautiful. Took my girl to the prom in it. I had a 93 SD Calypso Green, beautiful, great ride. An 03 SD flawless for over 100K mi. Never spent a dime on it. Finished with an 06 STS, Pearlescent white. Good car but no Sedan Deville.
My next-door neighbor was a judge. When I was in first grade, he came home one afternoon in a new 1958 Fleetwood. About once a week he would drive me to school in it. Most beautiful Cadillac ever built.
I will second that. My drummer bandmate’s Grandmother had a red one in 1958. Long 4 dr. hardtop with big slab of chrome on the lower rear fenders. Just spectacular.
This is stylish and the era they took pride in their designs unlike today’s garbage pails they make!! ahhh yesteryear!!!
I told my 59 story with the pink coupe that was on here last week. This is a gorgeous unit, clean, original. What more could you ask for. Incidentally Jim my 59 convertible did 10 to 14 on a gallon which back in the 80s when I bought it was about like every other big car. I was lucky as I filled up at the junkyard, so I really never cared and it was long before ethanol. Great car here that will likely head across the pond to a distant land.
Funny how Great American cars are highly desirable in countries that send US 🇺🇸 their crap!
As did I, Chris. Looking at this one makes me want to get it & take it down Route 66 in 2026. 100th anniversary of the Mother Road. Would turn quite a few heads, for sure! GLWTS.
Had not heard about that. My 59 Impala convertible will be finished by next year but maybe I should pull the Caddy out of its tomb and fix the tranny and go with that. My son will be driving by then. You now have me thinking fun road trip with kid. Thanks for the tip..
“This is a great daily driver……”. Not where I live. Would be door dinged, bumper crunched, otherwise assaulted in no time. Can’t believe the seller would put that in the ad for this beauty.
Yes, it’s not a “daily driver” because it would get keyed within 5 minutes of leaving it in a parking lot. Gently use it on weekends, enter it in weekend local shows and watch the awards pile up, and sell it 10 years from now for more than what you paid for it.
No A/C. Probably why he is selling.
40 years ago we were collecting 50’s cars but you couldn’t give away a 59 cad maybe a 60 and they were $2,500. Selling cars in the early 60’s for a Chrysler dealer, we used to laugh at their weak frame and how the front fenders would wave back at you. I’m not anti caddy as I’ve have 5 new ones and 29 total.
Wow – that’s one really gorgeous! This 1959 Cadillac Coupe de Ville is ( in my opinion), THE PERFECT condition for an owner to have, beautiful enough but not SO PRISTINE that it ends up either in a museum OR – back to Barrett Jackson to try to get your money back. I would definitely say this’59 Cadillac Coupe is worth pretty close to the asking price! ( Maybe a little wiggle room). I can just feel how comfy this car is going down the road! Yeah – maybe one day I’ll be able to get one. I should have quit going to STARBUCKS a long time ago ! Good luck ! Love the article too.
By the way folks – LOVE that bumper sticker ! We sure could use another person like JFK!
Do you mean dead? (SORRY!)
Henry Davis! I read you hit a homer in each of the last 3 games for the Bucs! 👍
Sadly, today’s D’s would probably want to kill him all over again. Def a much different D party today compared to back then. I do believe many have lost their sanity.
Jon Calderon these D’S these days are mad wack!!!!
It’s so big it makes that 390 look like a small block.
A 1959 Cadillac 390 IS a small block.
Who ever bought this car new definitely had arrived. Leasing was not around then AFIK so you had to have a little money to buy something like this. What always makes me wonder is why would they have bought it with no a/c. Even in cooler weather, if you are driving in the rain you need a/c to keep the windows from fogging up. It’s a beauty, good luck to the future owner.
Why no air?! It was relatively new in ’59 and EX-PEN-SIVE. Even the well heeled had yet to latch on to the need. Flow through ventilation was accepted as how it was done. Women wore a scarf over their hair do and the windows went down. Over the following ten years it would be a must have in a luxury car but a 10-15% nick for lesser vehicles keeping the features on the discretionary list for many.
My mother’s friend had an identical CDV! That was the first Cadillac that I ever rode in. What a memory. Started a long time love affair with that brand. Even worked for a company that was bought by GM so my parents used my corporate discount to buy a string of Cadillacs from 1980 until 2005. Unfortunately, only a couple were the “Standard of the World, the rest were junk! Such a tragedy what Cadillac has become!!😢😢
WOW!! Just simply WOW!! Back when designers ruled. When I see this, I wonder if we even have car designers now.
NO!!! Like everything else computers now largely design vehicles, resulting in the glorified trucks and melted jelly beans now ruling the roads at astronomical prices!👎