I’ve got Cadillacs on my mind, late last week this fantastic 1962 Sixty-Two convertible surfaced and today, it’s a 1957 Fleetwood Seventy-Five Limousine – the one that doesn’t make an appearance very often. The seller mentions that this is one of 1,100 made but it’s actually rarer than that – more to follow on that point. I must thank Gunter K for this fabulous find, it’s located in Auburn, Washington and is available, here on craigslist for $11,500.
Cadillac offered two Fleetwood Model Seventy-Fives in 1957, a nine-passenger sedan and a limousine with the most notable difference being that the limo employed a retractable glass panel between the driver’s and passenger compartment, while the front seat was solely upholstered in black leather. Research indicates that 1,900 Fleetwood Seventy-Fives, in totality, were produced in ’57 but only 890 of those were of the limousine variety. As stated earlier, I rarely come across one of these that’s available for sale.
What we do know about this car, for the most part, is that it has been garaged since 1978, has not been driven in twenty years, has accumulated 74K miles, and has undergone a repaint. The seller mentions some surface rust has bloomed here and there, but a more invasive variety has afflicted the rear bumper – a common problem where bumper exhaust outlets exist. The sizeable body panels of this Seventy-Five are straight, the trim is all intact and the finish, other than the nicks in the driver’s side quarter panel, shows well. Note the old-school “boomerang” trunk-mounted antenna.
A non-running 300 gross HP, 365 CI V8 engine is perched between the front fenders and it will turn over, it just doesn’t start. The sole available transmission was a Hydramatic automatic and that’s what’s making the rear wheel connection here. If you’ll note, you can spy the Frigidaire A/C compressor on the passenger side of the engine compartment.
The interior reveals what looks like a dove-gray fabric upholstery covering both the rear and jump seat while, as previously stated, the front chauffeur seat is wearing black leather upholstery. What can be seen, including the upholstery panels and headliner, seem to be in fair condition with just some basic age deterioration occurring. The seller adds, “As far as electronics go. Dash lights up. All windows (including divider) and excluding the front passenger are in working condition. Headlights and brake lights work. Without being able to get the car running I haven’t been able to test the HVAC system“. And that Harrison A/C system air handler can still be spotted in the trunk.
Now, one thing to consider for future potential buyers – this is a big car! At twenty feet in length (12.4 of it in the wheelbase) and 80″ (6.6 ft) in width, it may not fit in a standard garage. And then again, there’s always the what to do with it question. It’s too big, in my estimation, for just tooling around but it could make for a spectacular rental limo i.e. prom, wedding, NFL celebration, or…?
Pretty cool limo, and appears to be in decent shape compared to many we typically see. I drove limo’s part time in the late 80’s early 90’s in Washington DC, it was a fun part time job. The best tippers were kids going to proms and wedding parties, celebrities were the worst. This would be beautiful restored, and the first thing to go would be that 70’s boomerang TV antenna!
Nice. The second thing to go would be the trailer hitch.
If you listen closely, you can hear Hank Williams.
Hank died 4 years previous to this car being produced.
Okay, so then listen earlier . . .
Thank you Mr.Buzzkill. I had Dave Alvin’s “Long White Cadillac” in mind. But you wouldn’t know that.
That’s more than chips in the rear quarter- there’s a trim piece missing
My uncle had one in green when it was 14 years old and used it to pull a trailer with his 1911 Peerless on it.
It was a cool rig and must have had air ride to do that.
It also helped with the 7 kids he had .
Great story – those are the times when gas was cheap because I can only imagine the gas mileage you would get with a full limo and a trailer behind it.
A white limo…Nice!
Great car
It is a beautiful car. The only thing that irks me a bit about these is I can see the 1958 Chev Impala hiding behind the Cadillac badging.
What to do with it?
We can paint it pink, park it out in back, and have a party in it.
I had a friend who owned a 57 Coupe de Ville (different fins) and was salmon in color (basically it looked pink). He allowed me to drive it on the Baylor campus my freshman year 1960 and all the girls just waved, wanting to ride in the “boat”. I loved that car.
What “different fins?” All ’57 Cadillacs had the same forward sloping fins except for the Seville and the Barritz which had “shark fins.”
They’re called Boat Tail fins. Most beautiful classic Cadillacs ever designed.
https://seattle.craigslist.org/skc/cto/d/auburn-1957-cadillac-fleetwood-series/7592043030.html
The link did not work but this should!
I’ve been buying and collecting vintage limousines for many years, and ran a large vintage limo service in a major metropolitan area for years. I have a few comments on this car;
1. The owner said he couldn’t determine if the HVAC was working or not. I can tell from the one photo of the engine compartment that the HVAC didn’t work simply because the 2 v-belts on the compresor are not present!
2. Each time I’ve seen a limousine with a tow hitch, the car had done work as a band’s tour vehicle, towing the group’s equipment, amps, and instruments. Tour mileage was typically hard miles.
3. Probably 95% of 1950s limousines that were repainted white, were used in the wedding trade.
4. The single photo of the interior shows seats that are in very nice condition, and that original material is a smooth 100% wool broadcloth, not the ribbed material typically used in Cadillac 75 interiors of cars built for commercial use, like limo service or funerals. It’s likely this car was sold for private use.
5. The asking price, assuming there are no expensive unknown repairs, is fairly cheap, and I’m not surprised the listing is already gone.
The guy that operates the blues tour in Memphis needs this.