When you consider cars from the 1950s, the cars that gave us the fins, standing like a giant before all is the 1959 Cadillac. Those enormous fins and bullet tail-lights were never designed to blend in. They were designed to make a statement, and this they did most effectively. With the values of these particular cars continuing to soar into the stratosphere, the chances of securing a good, restorable car are getting fewer and fewer. If you really want to get your hands on this ’59, it is located in Maryland and is listed for sale here on eBay.
So, stating the obvious, your chances of chucking a gallon of gas in the tank and going cruising in this Cadillac this weekend are about as good as my winning the lottery. Since I don’t have a ticket, that means it’s zilch. Don’t be fooled by that rather sad looking body. Under there rests a freshly cleaned and painted frame, so the car is structurally okay. There is rust in the body, but this can be addressed with no great problems. The trunk floor has rust, but the owner is including a good second-hand floor to replace it. There is also some rust in the floor pans that will need to be addressed. The owner has a Cadillac dismantling business, so he is accruing some of the parts that you will need for the restoration. There are a few minor trim items that he doesn’t have, but according to him, everything else is present.
The leather interior looks about as sad as the exterior, but at least the vast majority of it is present. In this shot, you can also see some of the rot that is present in the floor. The soft-top looks like it died at about the same time that Elvis did, but the frame does appear to be in good condition. There is no windshield in the car, but given the fact that it is not on his list of missing parts, that hopefully means that it is present.
Under the hood are a 390ci V8 and automatic transmission. The owner says that the engine may run, but he hasn’t tried it. As you can see, the inner fender wells are missing, so you will need to source new ones. The car was also originally fitted with air conditioning, but that now appears to be missing as well. The owner says that he is in the process of obtaining the build sheet from Cadillac, and that should help fill in the blanks for the person who takes the car on.
I hate using the word “iconic,” because it is a word that has been used to death. That word could so easily be used to describe the ’59 Cadillac, but I prefer saying that it is the car that really defined an era in automotive design. The popularity of these cars simply can not be understated, and really good examples regularly change hands for six-figure sums. The laws of supply and demand say that as demand rises and supplies dwindle, prices will inevitably rise. The owner of this project Cadillac has set the opening bid for the car at $39,500, and I won’t be at all surprised if it sells.
Adam, thank you for you opinion on (over)use of the word “iconic”–perhaps the most overused and mis-used work of the last five years and one of my pet annoyances.
$39,500. opening bid and you think it will sell?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!This thing needs more help than a red-headed stepchild! The seller is delusional; I don’t see more than $1000. worth of `59 Caddy here. He needs to come back down to earth……SMDH
The truth lies somewhere in between- the car is a ’59 Caddy droptop that is
restorable and has thousands of dollars worth of good parts.
That may be, but it will need at least $125K in professional restoration work to bring it back to showroom. That is, if that’s the buyer’s intentions.
Ooh crikey, 39.5k is pretty high up there…
I once delivered the next door neighbour’s ’59 Caddy convertible across town to my father at his shop when I was a teenager, back when these were still fairly new.
The things I remember about that drive were
1) the ride was so soft that it felt like I was riding down the road sitting on the softest couch on the planet;
2) the car was completely silent–no engine noises at all;
3) I felt like I was on top of the world, emotionally, not geographically;
4) lots of attention from people along the way
….but now that I think about it some of the attention might have been people wondering what a teenage kid was doing in a ’59 Caddy convertible.
At least nobody called the cops on me.
Seller said I bought it as a “Basketcase” (My word) and put it together to sell to you the next victim.
It’s still a “Basketcase” however it will be easier to transport this time for the next buyer after my substantial profit I made putting my “Basketcase” together to make look like something you might want!
Most likely will go overseas where the is more appreciation, labor rates a little lower with better craftsman and a desire for the 50’s Americana .
I don’t know how many of these soft top ’59s were produced but, sometimes, I get the feeling that everyone of them still exists in some form or another. They just keep coming. Yes, they’re one of the coolest fin cars out there but, they just keep popping up. It’s mind boggling.
How did this manage to get through the 80’s without being painted pink or some other neon color?
I’ve recently seen a few running ‘59 drop tops for sale for just a little more than this one, which is also listed on Hemmings. Hagerty, which shows a #3 car at $107k, is way off. The prices people see when they google these cars are typically cars that have been for sale at dealers for several years with no buyers. Although this is the gawdiest year, there is a really nice 3- condition ‘61 on eBay for $1000 less. Maybe 5 guys in the country that would take this project on and they already have one. All it takes is one buyer, though, so good luck with that!
you are going to need
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p pockets !
I bought one of these in 1980 for $600. Yes, I should have kept it… Would I pay $40K for this? No way! I currently own a beautiful sedan and paid half that price. I drive it almost daily. The parts for these are crazy high and hard to find, especially for a convertible. Done, perfectly you would have a $100+K car. Getting it there might cost you twice that.
Bob, what do you think would be cheaper, chroming all the chrome this car needs, or opening up your own chroming shop and doing it yourself?
Miguel, it might be cheaper to open your own shop. I LOVE chrome..