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Le Grand Bateau: 1976 Cadillac Fleetwood

left front

The pictures make this Caddy listed on craigslist in Westmont (west of Chicago) look amazing. Can it really have only 60,000 miles and be this nice? It’s from the collection of the estate of an 88 year old fellow. It’s said there are more than 40 vehicles in his barn. I wonder what other vehicles this fellow had and what shape they are in. It supposedly runs great, but there’s no word on any mechanical issues. The $9,000 asking will seem high to the usual cynics but if you want a Caddy, or any car this old and as nice as this one, how much is a well preserved original worth?

front seats

It looks like the owner took great care of his Fleetwood. This Caddy looks near perfect to these old eyes. The broken plastic filler piece on the back bumper is the only flaw I see. The interior looks showroom fresh in these pictures and the trunk looks new, except the trunk mat is not original unless that’s a new way to spell Cadillac.

engine

For many folks, it’s hard to equate the looks of this old barge to elegance, but this old Caddy sure looks grand, doesn’t it? You can’t tell a lot from the one picture of the engine, but it looks complete and unmolested from here.

right

Wouldn’t this be a great family barge? Would you do anything to this except drive it occasionally? One might do a fuel injection conversion for a little better fuel mileage perhaps or modernize the suspension perhaps but this would be a great driver just as it is.

Comments

  1. Avatar Charles

    The car looks great! Since it has lived its life in the rust belt, pictures of the underside are needed. My aunt had one of these in red. As she aged I had the chance to drive the car a few times, usually taking her to a doctor’s appointments and such. These are wonderful smooth drivers, with a footprint the size of a small bus.

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  2. Avatar JW454

    I would think the ride this would have would be very smooth. Just float down the highway. I think I would replace the lid to the windshield washer fluid bottle and just drive it the way it is. No other changes.

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  3. Avatar z1rider

    Was there ever a better integrated and styled 5MPH bumper than this? GM really put some effort into their compliance with that Federal standard.

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  4. Avatar Scotty G

    Dang, how many of these did we all pass on back in the 80s for a fraction of this price, like 1/10th this price?
    I wish that the Barn Finds folks could dig up an auction listing for a time machine..

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  5. Avatar AMC STEVE

    Looks comfy don’t it?

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  6. Avatar mike young

    Last year of the full size one! (No,that does not make the ’77 the “Fun size”…)

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  7. Avatar Larry

    My aunt (also in the Chicago area) bought a new 1976 Coupe DeVille. Metallic silver, with a padded roof and seemingly every available option. It was only the second Cadillac I had ever driven (after her beautiful gold ’68 Fleetwood). Quite classy for a malaise era boat, but an amazingly inefficient use of space (to twist the Doctor Who expression, “it’s smaller on the inside”). Still, I’d love to pilot this Fleetwood for a while…

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  8. Avatar Paulbz31996

    Looks just like the caddie that Jack Nicholson was in at the “road house” in the movie “Hoffa”. That said, I live 20 minutes east of Westmont and would welcome the opportunity to inspect the car (and the other 40 in the barn!) for any interested buyers. I may just head over there anyway…will check back in if I do.

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    • Avatar David Member

      Thanks for the thought. Those cars in the barn would make a great writeup and I’m sure lots of folks would like to know what the underside of this Caddy looks like.

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    • Avatar Roseland Pete

      Let me know when you go and I might join you. I’m not far from Westmont and am also curious as to what else is inside that barn.

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  9. Avatar Nessy

    The 75/76 Cadillacs along with the 75/76 Oldsmobile 98s and the 75/76 Buick Electras were the best looking sedans built during the mid 70’s. This Fleetwood is a huge car with 133 inch wheelbase. Make mine a 76 Brougham DeElegance in white with the factory moonroof please.

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  10. Avatar Joe Nose

    The only thing that makes this float-o-matic look interesting is the current gas price.

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  11. Avatar jim s

    seller also has a 79 lincoln with 5k miles for sale. yes the price of nice land yacths has gone up but there are still a lot to pick from on ebay. great find.

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  12. Avatar Roseland Pete

    Nice car but for that price I’d expect it to have been thoroughly gone through by a qualified mechanic and anything that needed to be repaired or replaced to have been done instead of it just being detailed. As far as not knowing if the deceased was the original owner, wouldn’t the title show the mileage on the car when it was purchased? I don’t have one in front of me so I don’t know.

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  13. Avatar John H. in CT

    IMO the $9K isn’t so far off if this thing is near perfect. I agree the only “enhancement” to consider is fuel injection which you can now do for under $3K.

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    • Avatar mat

      fuel injection was an option on this car. I had one.

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  14. Avatar mark

    WOW – nice car , clean – just one question:
    – what you can buy today for $ 9000? large, easy to drive, perfect interior, comfortable, NO ELECTRONICS – and one large front BUMPER with full frame.

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  15. Avatar Ron S. Member

    This car is exactly as nice as it looks here. I have seen it in person. We saw several of his Cadillacs and several of our members bought them.

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  16. Avatar Keith

    This will be heading to one of the Nordic countries……..wonder what else he’s got in the barn.

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    • Avatar Cademan

      Too late, locals grabbed all but this one and the Mark.

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  17. Avatar Cademan

    I’ve seen this car in person. Not perfect, but It is as nice as it looks. Didn’t crawl under it, but given the condition of its storage mates, no reason to beleive you’d be disappointed.

    Like 0

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