Low-slung, stylish, and imposing, the 1957 Cadillac announced your success with class. This 1957 Cadillac Coupe de Ville in Fresno, California sat covered with barn dust until recently. Lacking a motor when found, the neglected Caddy soon gained an updated GM LS1 mill. Now it seeks a new owner to finish its transformation.
As we might expect, there’s plenty of room for the LS, the swap motor of choice if you need a V8. That original California metal looks great, which should help the sale. Plan on removing and re-installing that engine at least another two or three times before spending a day on the PCH.
Even dusty the all-original gold interior looks fantastic, and would have impressed anyone peering in the windows in ’57. Except for the possibly reupholstered front seat, the fabric looks similar to this silver pattern courtesy of lov2xlr8. But, really, crank windows in a Cadillac? My Dad’s ’53 Buick Roadmaster had hydraulic power windows and seats. Hopefully much of this interior survives the car’s return to the highways. Even for the Power Tour this ride deserves high style, not black bucket seats from a wrecked Camaro.
If you didn’t have fins in ’57, you might has well be driving a hay wagon, and Cadillac stepped up its fin game just as Chrysler went “all in” with fins across its lineup. By 1959 the fins would be reaching for the sky before retracting in the early ’60s.
From a set of needlessly crummy pictures, this one obscures the elegantly styled in-bumper exhaust ports and other classy details at the stern. Some punk pried off the Cadillac “V” and crest to put in their dorm room right next to that Mercedes star they ripped off another hard-earned ride. Check out the listing on Facebook Marketplace where the $16,000 asking price sets the starting price on an interesting and certainly costly return to roadworthiness. Thanks to reader T.J. for spotting this unfinished project car. How original would you keep this LS-swapped barn-find Caddy?
Pass on This one! Even Cadillac buyers felt the forward sloping fins made the cars look shorter. For 58, the longer fins made Cadillacs (especially Sixty Special) IMO one of the best looking Cadillacs of all time! The price for this 57 is way too high.
This is not a Coupe de Ville. It is a Series 62 Coupe. All Coupe de Villes had power windows.
Thank you–I was going to post that!
Great dust shot. No engineering pictures?
IMO, it Needs a DUSTBUSTER! 😉 at least it’s not a DUSTER and definitely Not a ROADRUNNER! 🤮
I agree with you about the price Rick W. If it was a convertible it would have more value.
Hey Frog! As usual, we’re driving the SAME road to the BARN! 🤣
Series 90 swap.
Let it stay on the market at that price tag till the seller comes to his senses. He may have been dazzled by it at one time and had an extra few grand to spend but a purchase on impulse better be of something you really need at least for parts. My message to the seller is “Just try and get your money back, at least you can say you owned one.”
The other day I used the word molestation and here it is, not even finished. Maybe it was a well conceived idea but to arrive unfinished is unfortunate. Good luck to whomever takes this one on.
Sellers seem to think an LS swap automatically increases the value by $10,000. I would have kept it all Cadillac with a 500 cubic inch torque monster.
Hold my beer engine swap.
What you get when you swap the engine FIRST, THEN check to see if there are any California laws on engine changes.
Wut a shame, car covered with chicken-flickings!
Hi Frog, hi Rick W!
I like the ’57s, awkward forward fins and all. Had an aunt and uncle had a ’57 Caddy, bronze with a black convertible top.
Series 62 was the entry level Cadillac, renamed to the Calis in 1965. You could order power windows at extra cost. All power accessories were on the option list. But why bother? Buy a de Ville and it all came standard.
The rubber tips on the Dagmars were a two year only and Dagmars disappeared after 1958.
Hello Angel,
Thanks for the greeting hope all is well with you.
Most Gracious Greetings to my fellow GALYS members! I hope you’re enjoying smooth sailing ⛵ in your current BIG Boats 🚢. The Heat is definitely on here 🔥. Thank God for Air Conditioning. This poor Caddie, IMO unfortunately looks FUBAR! 😉 .Anyone who doesn’t know what that means, sorry I can’t answer that question! 😁 🤣 I’m still Rolling down the hill, but finding it increasingly difficult to get up the next. That’s Life, So The People Say. 😔 😟
put an o/e caddy motor in it and drive it as a survivor. why does every car made need to have a ls motor? i don’t get it. i got a late model gmc with a 6.2 ls. motor is a p.o.s. i will take an old sb chevy.
Hilarious! Grab that old engine out of the pickup that your cousin wrecked on the way home from the tavern, and set it in grandpa’s Caddy. Hold it in there with tie down straps and put her on the Interwebs. See what happens.
Not too late to turn this misguided clinker into a real car again. It’s all the money at the current price. Maybe recover some after you unwind the mess?