This heavy-duty project is a 1961 Cadillac Fleetwood 75 and it’s in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, about 15 miles south of the capital city, Frankfort. It’s listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $6,500 or make an offer. This was almost a $10,000 car in 1961, that’s around $80,000 today. Coincidentally, that’s about the price of a new Cadillac Escalade. I know which one I’d rather have (this one!).
This car seems to be in fairly good shape, body-wise, but it’s been sitting in this partially-covered shed for three decades so of course it’ll need to be totally gone through top to bottom, inside and out. The seller is a friend of the owners and is selling it for the widow. I always hate to read that, knowing that someone won’t get to that restoration dream that they’ve been thinking about for so long. It just proves yet again that life is way too short. This car would be an unreal piece of beauty if it were to somehow get restored, but it will be a lot of work, to say the least.
The seller says that the right side fender skirt is missing but it may be there somewhere. Other than that, it’s a complete car. I believe that this is a Series 6700 car since those were full-pillared, six-window cars. There were two models of the Fleetwood 75, the four-door sedan and the four-door Imperial sedan. I’m not sure which one this is, would anyone know that by looking at this car? This car has the optional air-conditioning as seen in the rear intakes on the top of the rear deck by the rear window; $624 well spent in 1961, especially for those Kentucky summers.
This project car also has the $46 Autronic Eye option seen on the top of the dash, an early form of automatic headlight dimming. I can’t tell if this one has optional power door locks but it has the $85 power windows option. The interior looks complete but who knows what’s lurking under the carpet, it looks like it’s rusty which is never a good sign. It’s humid in Kentucky and they get their share of rain and snow so expect to do a lot of rust repair on this one. In fact, if you look at the interior in detail you’ll see that a lot of the pieces have heavy surface rust on them. The chrome-plating bill for this car will be legendary.
Here’s where the well-heeled folks once spent a lot of time. I’m not sure what happened on the right side of the rear seat, but it doesn’t look good. This interior is a total gut-job and that will not be inexpensive. The jump seats will come in handy when you rent this out for weddings, though. There are no engine photos, unfortunately, but this car should have Cadillac’s 390 cubic-inch V8 with 325 hp. This car weighs three tons so you’ll need all of that power. The engine is stuck but hopefully it can be coaxed back to life, somehow. The valve covers are off but they come with the car. This is not a project for the faint of heart, or wallet. But, anything can be restored if a person has the gumption and a lot of time and money. With a #1 concours car valued at $27,500, is this one worth bringing back to its former glory?
I’m no detective and may be way off base, however, that appears to be dried blood on the right bottom seat section and upper left seat section. That would keep me away for sure.
Great imagination, RD. But without bullet holes ala~ Bonnie and Clyde, probably just that.
Of course not NEARLY as cool, but for 4 grand, I’d take the ’86 limo posted earlier. That one, you’d never be upside down in, unless you trashed it. This one, hard to be anything but on the red side of the ledger for many years, if not forever. If you weren’t on a first name basis with the guy at the chrome shop before starting a restore job on this, you’d certainly be that close afterwards. Unfortunately, he’d also have a significant chunk of your change! ;-)
Love those tail fins. And I spy another, newer Caddy in the background of the trunk lid side shot.
cool car, but know way it is worth 6500 in that condition with a locked up motor! anyone know if these were built on the assembly line or subbed out to a coach shop?
Pretty much hand built, but by Cadillac. Build quality was quite good. I had ’57, ’60, ’61, and ’62 75 sedan and limo versions (bought from family friends when cycled out of the funeral home), all done in black with gold painted roofs. After the 1960 model year, through the 1965 models (which was still the ’64), the entire roof, windows section was retained, as well as the four doors. the front and rear fenders were unique to the limos as they had to match the contours of the 1960 doors, and the lower skeg fins were bolt on except for the rear fenders, I believe the trunk lid may have been unique, I had a ’62 Cad convert and the lid was shorter, but longer than the park avenue model. The 75 sedan did not have a division window, the 75 Imperial sedan did, which accounted for the higher price. As far as I know the bumpers and interior dash/steering wheel chrome was standard, parts cars here in California are around. I’d switch out the chrome, I don’t remember if the skeg trim was chrome, but think it was stainless, I would use a ’63 engine which even though same cubes was completely new.. I’ve had two ’61 Cad engines break the crankshaft, lots of those ’63’s setting here too, most with bad trans. I think the red seen in the rear interior is rust, the rear side window slides back with the handle seen at the corner of the window by the door. If left open rain reaches the side panel metal and can send rust onto the fabric.and would account for the seat sagging from wet. It looks strait enough it deserves to live, I found this a year after the other post, hope someone is doing it right. The frames were heafty on these, and hope it was unnder cover enough it’s still viable.
Lawrenceburg is in the heart of Bourbon country. Well worth a trek on the Bourbon Trail, especially in a conveyance like this. In mint condition it would be a great basis for ferrying the tourists through the gorgeous Kentucky countryside while they discover the glorious amber liquid only truly made in the bluegrass.
Then there’s the first Saturday in May and you could make a month’s worth of income driving the swells around Louisville for Oaks and Derby.
Somebody needs to buy this car.
Buy a nice one for $25k and save yourself 2-3 years of resto time and at least $10-20k.
I wonder if you can track the ownership like you can track the deed to property. Vivian Liberto (first wife of Johnny Cash) got one as part of her divorce. A ’61 model 75. She had four of Johnny’s kids, the youngest being seven years old and they didn’t have SUV driving soccer moms back then. When she moved the kids to Ventura, CA in 68, she bought a station wagon and the limo driver went back to working for Johnny in TN..
If this car were FREE you still could not afford to RESTORE this car for the price you can purchase an already restored & nice 1961 Series 75 Cadillac.
Having said that this is the situation with most old cars in general and “Chromed Up” late 50’s and 1960’s Cadillac’s in particular!
This is a 1961 Fleetwood Series 75 Sedan. The Series 75 Limo would have the divider window and a leather chauffeurs compartment. It has 2 A/C units; one for front and one for the passenger compartment. Power windows were standard on all of the Fleetwoods.
And typically, a ‘Divider’ window on the limo’s.
Ron – You are correct it’s a sedan 75, and the rear A/C has 4 vents in the roof that send diffused air flowing downwards, not a blast of cold air coming out of the package shelf like other rear A/C cars.
There was an option of cloth seat in the limo (have seen a couple of them), and the sedan version often had the dual air if in a hot, humid area. I found an oddity on some of the ’61-’62’s that with the division window, the chauffeur only had control of the two front side windows, the rear controls did the others, but the sedan the drivers switches controlled all. It seems it may have been by customer preference as I’ve seen it both ways. Also the gas filler door didn’t fit as well as the regular Cad’s and some broke off, my ‘1962 stayed on, but drooped.
I could put this on my property and it could be my mother-in-laws living quarters when she visits!! Although my wife see this I’ll be taking up residence in it.
Don’t re-chrome. Make it all black. Stick any old engine in that you may have laying around. (there is plenty of room no mater what you decide) And rent it/chauffer it out for Halloween parties!
The difference in the two models of this car is the imperial had the divider window between the front and back seat.I had one of these cars for over 40 years. The transmisssion and speedometer are problems.