We’ve seen many vehicles here that were still with their original owners, but this 1939 Cadillac Sixty-Special has to rank up there as far as being one of the longest-standing ownerships seen on Barn Finds. This beautiful, sleek Cadillac can be found here on eBay in Canal Winchester, Ohio, on the route of the historic Ohio & Erie Canal. There is an unmet opening bid of $15,000 and no reserve after that.
I should probably explain the photos first. The seller provided all vertical-format photos, I’m assuming taken with a smartphone held vertically rather than horizontally. It’s really unfortunate when photos are like that, at least here, because in order to reformat them to a horizontal format they end up looking like the photos do here. My apologies for that, but until sellers realize that cars are horizontal and thus the photos should mainly be horizontal, there’s no other fix. Back to this gorgeous one-owner Cadillac.
The Sixty-Special name was used for some of Cadillac’s highest-end models. This appears to be a very rare sunroof sedan of which only 280 were built. Unfortunately, there are no photos showing the sunroof, known as the “Sunshine Turret-Top Roof”, either from outside or inside the car – just glimpses. A decade after the stock market crash in 1929, things were rebounding and the Sixty-Special was Cadillac’s biggest selling model line.
The seller says that this car is original and is offered for sale by the original owner. That’s amazing after over eight decades?! The seller must either be in their 100s or they mean the original owner’s family? Unless the original owner got it as a birthday present, as in literally received the car on the day that they were born 80 or 81 years ago. I’m not quite sure of the timeline of ownership but a quick message to the seller should clear it up.
The seller has provided a video, or a partial video, also in a vertical format so we don’t really see the car in all of its lengthy glory. The video shows more of the sunroof which is nice but we don’t really see anything that isn’t shown in the photos. There are no engine photos which is always unfortunate and they say that this car was driven into the garage but it needs new plugs and wires which they have and are including, along with a mess of spare parts. It should have Cadillac’s 346 cubic-inch V8 with around 130 hp. Check out the photos and let us know your thoughts on this beautiful Cadillac Sixty-Special.
Phone manufacturers should have their wares set to capture all photos and videos in landscape format, unless the user changes to specifically use portrait. I find it aggravating to view most pictures and almost all videos as vertical grabs as compared to horizontal. Personal rant!
Again, I don’t get it.
Why is it that anyone who wants to sell something can’t think a bit about how to show it properly, so that potential buyers can see it, and therefore have more confidence in what they bid on?
This seller states that the car was driven into the garage where it now sits. So, why not take and post photos of it outside? And a video of it RUNNING?
Looking at the seller’s history, he or she specializes in blades, often of the Japanese sword variety. With a stellar feedback rating.
So, I’ll just have to think that this person simply does not know how to sell a car.
Required photos (Basically ALL in Landscape) would include one each from front, back, and sides, at low angles. And, one each from 1/4 views. Add in several of the engine compartment, and the trunk, and of course a bunch of the interior and the dash. At least one from underneath. Maybe one of the roof, especially if it has an openable panel. The grandeur of this ride is simply not shown!
Extra added attractions, to show great features and good condition might be pics of trim, lower door edges, and multiple underside shots.
It is not that hard.
The ask for this Caddy begins at $15K, and I would be very surprised if it is not worth that, particularly with the apparent level of completeness and the spares included. So why not show it better? And wash off that layer of oil, stated as having been applied to protect the car. Geez.
That’s Guinness book material if so. I think 65 years original owner is the record.
I knew Bernie Couch, who just died a few months ago in December at age 95. He had owned his 1932 Ford Roadster since May 15th,1940, for an amazing 78 years. Bernie was a well known So Cal hot rodder and dry lakes racer who ran his roadster up to 135 mph on the lakes in the late 40’s after he returned from WW II in the Pacific. Bernie was an amazing guy that loved that car until he sold it on January 1st, 2019. It was on display at the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, CA this January. It is now in the care of Jeffrey Goldstein’s Piston Palace a private museum in Warwick, RI. (www.pistonpalace.com)
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/1203rc-the-bernies-couch-story/
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/rip-bernie-couch.1177575/
http://www.calroadsters.com/photos/ml/bernie-young.htm
https://images.app.goo.gl/rwcsH1pVrXiMGrvg6
Great story. This is from the original owner. Allegedly.
I love the mountain of “spares”. It looks like the owner bought another one then dismantled it to form “Cadillac Mountain”. Every vintage car should be so lucky. Looks like a winner at 15K.
Yeah, there has to be more to the story here. If the owner is 100 years old, he would’ve received the car when he was 19 years old. Not likely unless it was a gift and he was in a wealthy family.
While I agree that the photos probably would have been better in landscape format, this web page is vertically oriented (to display on landscape PC monitors!) And there’s really no reason they had to be altered for display on the web. Just like the column of text, they could have been displayed in vertical format.
When somebody says ’39 Cadillac, that blue is not the color I would think of. But it’s fantastic. I hope it’s original.
These are incredibly beautiful cars, the peak of Art Deco styling. Would love to see a well-done photo spread of it!
Aaaaaaaand, Gone!
As in….
Not sold? NO bids were recorded/listed by eBay. No retractions.
This was a 10 Day auction.
Would better photos/advertising have attracted an audience?
I’d hope so, but I don’t claim to know the market on a car like this. Seems quite fair to me at $15K.
Cool car, and I hope that it finds a good home, to be restored and put roadworthy again.
AutoTrader has a clean one ready to run at 12 thousand. The owner’s seller posted it at 15 grand right off the muscle, I smell fish. 8 grand max. Engine swap so there goes matching numbers. This car is massive so you’re talking double the work and $ of a regular-sized auto to resto. Good luck with the sale
That’s one very imposing motor car which I would love to see restored back to original.
Can’t believe the overall condition of this 60 Special; it’s beautiful! And with so much of the original paint still intact, color-matching shouldn’t be a problem in restoration. The interior is what amazes me!! Door panels and seats only look dusty; nothing really torn or worn through. THIS deserves a full body-off! And the ultra-rare sunroof option only adds to it! A guaranteed classic.
“They are only original once”. It would be interesting to see the car simply cleaned and mechanically reconditioned to driver quality. It’s price is certainly fair, impeded by financial uncertainty with the global pandemic. A re-listing in a couple of months with more comprehensive photography should send it down the road to some fortunate buyer. Terrific and interesting “find”.
I’m often perplexed by the its only original once statement. Then followed by a let’s fix it up mechanically which in-tales a host of new parts. Won’t that mean it’s no longer original…? In my mind even though you don’t see a lot of the mechanical parts aren’t they as important as the protective coating on the sheet metal known as paint. The minute you change anything the car technically is no longer original. So here in lies the question when does a car no longer hold the distinction of being original. Frankly I think this whole it’s only original once idea is total nonsense, and with that I say restore it paint and all.
From the cowl back it was basically the same through ’41, and to me, the ’41’s had what is now a “front clip” but was then fenders, hood, and grill, which are much more attractive than the earlier versions. Like the Lincoln Continental of the era it was ahead of its time, styling wise, but not so far ahead that it wouldn’t sell.
Why is everyone so hung up about the photos. When see you a nugget you grab it and run.Leave everyone standing with hands in their pockets.
because the other pieces of s**t get in the way of seeing the car. Just like puttin a skimpily clad babe in da way. 1st comment – right on. Let’s C it. Also poor shots due to laziness. (Can’t take stuff off the floor or seat, roll out of the garage, pull off boxes, etc). It tells us U don’t care, wish to really sell, have desire on marketing, “Gimmie some money or go away.” (uninformed of the lemon laws).
A guy hada Studie ina storage unit. Would not roll it out for pic, pushed it to the end, kept it in w/a chock @ the wheel. Asked to show it he say “No, I’ll hafta roll it back in.” Seems a lill odd for a car sales attempt. I put them in the best shape I can 1st. Give as much info as possible.
Different strokes I guess. I shine’em on tho. C Ya !
Take your hands out of your pockets grab a pen and learn to write and spell then I might take it seriously
The original owner has to be in the triple digits by now, he’s in no shape to push it out for photos. His great grand kids must be handling all the digital photos and the listing…damn Millennials
This is so simple, if I had $15k, I would by it no questions asked.
Like someone else said, $8k tops. Sure it’s ‘all there’ but what is the market for these old relics these days? Seriously. It’s bad enough the muscle cars will be tanking very soon enough as the millenials have hardly an interest at all in them. A car like this restored is good for some Hollywood people looking for these for an old movie remake.