I wouldn’t have much use for a nine-passenger vehicle but if I did, I wouldn’t get a van or anything like that. Why would I want a van when I could have something cool like this 1958 Cadillac Fleetwood Series 75 sedan? The seller has this twenty-foot-long Cadillac listed here on eBay in Miami, Florida. They have a buy-it-now price of $16,000 listed or you can make an offer.
You can see that this car needs a little work from the above photo. The first photo looked too good to be true for a $16,000 Fleetwood Series 75, which was the longer wheelbase version of this model. The sixth-generation Cadillac Series 70 and Series 75 would be made for 1957 and 1958 and a different frame design allowed Cadillac to lower the body a bit for a sleeker look over the previous cars.
They came with standard dual exhaust but I would want to reconfigure that system, it doesn’t look too elegant poking out of the bottom of the bumper like that. The rear view is impressive, to say the least. Those massive tailfins are a year away from the famous 1959 tailfins but they are still huge. The seller says that this car needs restoration and it will not be a project for the faint of heart or checkbook. The chrome bill alone would make anyone other than a space race billionaire wince.
Cadillac offered at least two models of the Series 75, a sedan and limousine, both with the capability to effortlessly carry eight passengers plus a driver. The limousine had a glass divider window which this car doesn’t appear to have. The interior photos aren’t real plentiful but I applaud the seller for giving so many good photos of this car overall. This car looks like it’s on the verge of being very doable for a home restoration enthusiast, but man, they had better have a big garage and a lot of money even if they do most of the work themselves.
Here’s where the cream of the crop passengers would have been riding while others could have been on jumpseats just forward of this area, covered with a tarp with who knows what underneath. You can see that there is a lot of work that needs to be done inside, too. These cars went for around $8,500 dollars in 1958. That’s $81,700 in today’s dollars, barely enough to buy a top-of-the-line Toyota SUV. I kid you not, a friend bought a new Sequoia and paid at least that much for it. I’ll take a ’58 Fleetwood.
We don’t see a photo inside the trunk area and I don’t see an air-conditioning compressor under the hood unless I’m missing it, which has happened one or two (dozen) times in the past. The engine should be Cadillac’s 365 cubic-inch V8 which would have had 310 horsepower. Now here’s an interesting thing, I got in trouble a few days ago on a Chevy Malibu post for rounding the car’s 267.9 cubic-inch engine size up to 268 which got tagged right away. This Cadillac engine is really 364.4 cubic inches but is commonly referred to as a 365. Why is this one not rounded down but is instead rounded up? All of a sudden I don’t feel quite as bad as I did a few days ago. This car isn’t running so expect to spend some big money and a lot of time restoring this one. Hagerty is at $28,600 for a #3 good condition car, any thoughts on this Fleetwood?
Looks like something ZIV would have used to carry Broderick Crawford to the set of Highway Patrol.
This looks like it might clean up pretty well. The interior looks better than I expected, as long as the fabric isn’t rotten and fragile. I think the gray vinyl on the front seat might, just might, be covering the original upholstery as I can make out a pattern showing though on the seat base.
The seller has a lot of really interesting cars. I’d love that Rover 3500 but it’s a complete no-go for California.
Why is the Rover 3500 a no-go in California?
Emissions certification would be pretty much impossible.
What do you have against duals on a Caddy limo? Most big car’s of the mid to late 50s had them!’ more notably the Buicks. Personally, I like them!!
Mike, I never, ever said that I had anything against duals on a Cadillac limo. What makes you think that I said that? That’s how fake news starts. I love duals but I don’t think they’re supposed to be poking out of the back like a 1974 Chevelle with JC Whitney exhaust extensions on them. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but for a by-God Cadillac “limo”, it should have a more elegant solution. They were standard on this car but not sticking straight out under the bumper like that.
As I recall the big GM car’s, more notably the big luxurious ones had the exhaust came out through the bumper. Exiting about where the taillights are of course the new owner may change the location. I think that this is a potential money maker weddings and the like
Routing the exhaust below is probably what saved this bumper – it’s impossible to avoid soot,condensation or other forms of contamination around the bumper exhaust outlet area thus leading to bumpers rusting prematurely
This land yacht has a real Michael Corleone vibe to it.
Someone make an offer the seller can’t refuse.
Now excuse me while I go swim with the fishes.
sweet :)
Without a membership in the Rat Pack, organized or disorganized crime, I’m not sure I could actually use this for work.
Fun to look at for sure…
A 16K ask? Not bad considering you could vacuum up that much in spilled cocaine from the back seat floor of this Miami daily driver…
Sold! That’s a lot of car!
Wanna bet it’s next paint job will be wedding white?
I have a 1958 Caddy Limo. The car is a beast. Beautiful to drive on the highway. A little bit of slug in the city. Turns a lot of heads. The dual exhaust is designed to exit below the bumper on this model. I put a chrome down cap over the exhaust pipe at the rear. Cleans up the back end nicely. I used to provide chauffeur service for weddings years ago. Now, I like my weekends off. This is not a car you lend out to Joe Blow. They only built 730 of these units in 1958. So, the chrome is not replaceable should your neighbour or brother-in-law damage it.
These would be so comfortable as you drive from gas station to gas station!
I can just imagine Marilyn Monroe stepping out of the back of this Caddy at a movie premiere.
The king of the “Jungle cruisers”!
Sold. “Best offer accepted”.
Someone got a bargain…
I’ll just ad to the exhaust debate that it came through the bumper from about ’53 to ’58. Done!
I lived in Miami in 1978 and worked at a motel on Miami Beach which had a small disco in it. The DJ drove a cream colored with black top ’58 Cadillac limo with the license plate “Devine”. Always thought that was pretty cool.
Glad he got a good sale out of it.
It is set-up for factory A/C; has the rear 1/4 scoops and the climate control has A/C sliders. The vents may be covered by whatever is thrown over the package tray, or it exits out of those industrial-looking ceiling vents.
Doesn’t look like the motor runs; no plug wires and no belts.
In addition to sourcing that driver’s side door glass, that windshield is broken.
Not for the faint-of-heart indeed, though the payoff would be worth it IMHO.
Yes, this car was built with factory A/C, those black squares in the ceiling have many little holes that allow cold air to “drift down” onto those seated in the car.
That said, the compressor is missing, and the generator support bracket is cut in half. I also don’t see the full width A/C heat exchanger in front of the radiator.
I hope whoever bought this is going to restore it back to stock. This is a very rare and beautiful car.
Good call on the AC scoops. The interior volume could use TWO AC compressors!
Yes, the a/c compressor is missing under the hood. The scoops on the top of the rear fenders are to provide air to the evaporator located in the trunk. The cold air makes into the cabin through 4 large ceiling vents. Notice how the doors open into the roof for additional clearance. Also, the rear doors open at a 90 degree angle for access. The left rear light fixture which swivels upward to access the gas cap. The 365 cu in & large 4 barrel carb are thirsty. These bad-boys are a real head-turner when polished up.
Wasn’t there one just like it in the movie
“The Gnome Mobile”?
My grandfather had a 58 Series 62. You turned left to get to his house and then a quick right into his driveway, which was also a hill. Being 16, I took it too quickly and the engine would almost always stall. That big car with no power steering was interesting.
Auction update: as JimmyinTEXAS mentioned above, this Cadillac has sold. They accepted an offer, I wonder how much it went for?
Probably a former funeral home car. Lack of divider window along with the colors point that direction. Lots of grieving widows in that back seat.
I would really hate to see this dignified old gal turned into a wedding car. Probably should have a divider window of some sort installed just in case it is though lol.
Stunning factory limousine. My friend owned a 1957 Cadillac Fleetwood series 75 limousine which I happen to prefer and like better than the 58′ model just for design aesthetics. Subtle yet more refined. This 58′ should most definitely clean up well and will deserve plenty of attention.👏👍