There are some cars you expect to see as barn finds, or long-stored garage finds. Your Town Cars, front-engined Porsches, old Beetles – the usual fare. What you don’t necessarily expect to see is a chopped Cadillac Seville in the finest of “shorty”-conversion tradition. The car shown here has been hidden away under a tarp and protected by traffic cones, and it’s now listed here on craigslist for $25,000.
Over the years, we’ve written about these two-door conversions of luxury models, which predominantly seem to be Cadillacs. There was apparently a fascination with making coupes with seriously funky proportions that rendered the interior useless for all but two vanity-stricken individuals, which explains why these chopped Caddys sold so well with the Hollywood set. Throw in the obvious references to luxury what with the spare tire mounted on the fender and wire wheels and you have a perfect ride for a high-end lifestyle.
The interior was the same car as the pre-chopped form, just with less space – which is ironic, considering spacious interiors were a Cadillac hallmark. I can’t recall seeing a “bustle back” Seville converted into a custom two-door before, and while this is definitely not a car for everyone, the proportions aren’t terrible (from the outside, at least). The gold badges and vinyl roof are additional hallmarks of the personal luxury coupe era.
Mileage is low at just 37,000, which is about what you’d expect for a car that was perceived as a sure-fire collector’s item by car fans of a certain persuasion in the 1980s. If you weren’t the type to squirrel away a Corvette pace car, you might consider a limited-production luxury model to be a smart long-term investment. Time has proven otherwise, but that hasn’t stopped the seller of this low-mileage Cadillac from asking a strong number for what looks like a long-dormant garage find. Do you think this unusual Seville “Opera Coupe” is worth $25,000?
Intriguing item, but I would want to see if there was a way to incorporate modern telemetry apps to avoid problems with the HUUUUGE blindspots.
Yuck !!!
This is one where they should have left the cover on!
We had a first gen Seville shorty convertible at a GM dealer I worked at in the 80’s. It looked ok, sort of a 450sl feel. This is trying to make an ugly car less ugly…..and failing.
Nothing “rare” about an abomination. These morphadites were is poor taste back when they were new. I like the way the owner cordoned off the area around the car–as if it was something “special”. To a pimp, maybe….
In a more genteel era our mothers used to tell us, “If you can’t say anything nice don’t say anything at all.” Cars like this pose a real challenge to that concept.
My Dad also said, “The truth never had to stand up in a fight,” and the truth is that this car is Ugly.
But getting back to dear ol’ Mom’s admonition, Cadillac had some truly elegant Seville prototypes before they settled on the bustle-back.
And Finally: “No one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American people.” – erroneously attributed to H. L. Mencken. But that’s a whole ‘nother story…
It’s better than that bearcat Stutz wannabe made like a kit car we saw on here a couple months ago, I would rather drive this car any day than a prius which I believe is short for pry us out ! I’m 6′ 4 so anything smaller than a front seat of a caddy is comical, my daily is a full size truck & fits just fine.
The traffic cones are a warning to potential buyers of the hazards to avoid under the car cover
Another car from the esteemed “Huggy Bear” collection. Awesome.
“ They missed the boat “. Nice Caddy Roadster but the “peak “ pricing for these cars has come and went. Too bad in a way – such a beautifully preserved Custom Cadillac Seville Roadster, saved all these years, isn’t admired like it was. If they DO get a buyer for this car at $20,000.00 – I’d take it if I were them. Good luck. Nice article.
What’s sticking up in the air in back? Never mind.
I have one and love it. Everyone here does as well. Don’t understand the lame comments