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Is any other car a better representative of 1950s America than the 1959 Cadillac? It was born in the crucible formed by Harley Earl’s retirement and Bill Mitchell’s ascendency. Its fins were the tallest ever to grace a rear end. Chrome was crammed into every corner. And it was the last of its kind. This example has its warts, particularly a profound case of rust infestation. But it may yet provide parts to a more worthy candidate. It is listed here on eBay, enjoying frisky bidding that has brought the price to $7500, reserve not met. Eager beavers can shortcut the auction using buy-it-now, which will cost $11,901 (not a typo!). Does this Series 62 have enough merits to breach the reserve?
The Coupe deVille was delivered with a 390 cu. in. V8 dressed with a four-barrel carburetor. This one hasn’t run in many years, but when it does, you can expect 325 hp. The transmission is a four-speed HydraMatic automatic. Power steering and power drum brakes were standard. Befitting its very high price when new, the Coupe deVille was designed to convey its occupants fluidly from point to point – no sporting aspirations here.
Did we mention the car is rusty? The undercarriage has not been spared: it’s blotchy with corrosion, including a few holes to show for its time under siege.
Cadillac offered a lush selection of exterior and interior colors. This paint is Wood Rose Metallic, and the upholstery is Rose Coronado Metallic Cloth trimmed with Rose Metallic Leather. Oddly enough, given this car’s nasty exterior, its headliner is nearly perfect. Luxury touches include a vanity mirror, two-speed wipers. and a six-way power seat. The driver’s side door panel is currently in the trunk, which is devoid of trim or carpet.
In the 1950s, automotive stylists were enamored of the “lower, wider” look. The ’59 Cadillac was almost 4″ lower than the ’58. Curb weight was up by 100 lbs, largely thanks to the copious chrome elements – side and hood trim, massive bumpers, grilles both front and rear, and the new “dogleg” chrome window frame made to accommodate the elaborate wrap-around windshield. The very excess of its design set the stage for a backlash: beginning in 1960, the era’s most exuberant features began to recede. But today, the ’59 holds a special berth in the minds of collectors – and that’s reflected in realized prices of $35k to $50k for nice examples. Our featured car is a long way from “nice”, but someone’s bidding in here, maybe eyeing its usable parts or even considering it as raw material for a resto-mod.
By all means restomod it. A later
EFI 472 or 500 cube Cadillac mill
will fit in that cavernous engine
bsy with little trouble at all. You
can back the mill with either a T400 or a more modern GM auto
tranny if you so desire. Or…you
really make it yours by bolting up
an M-22 rock crusher 4-speed that would definitely get you looks at your local car show. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Cadillac so equipped but there’s
always a first time and it’s just too bad I don’t have the cash or
work space to make it happen otherwise I would. Everything else with the car would stay original except for the drive train.
Now if you wanna find a really nice Cadillac starter project, visit
a young lady named Sarah at Caddy Girl Garage up on YouTube. For you hearse guys and gals, she has a ’54 Cadillac
hearse and a very rare ’60 Pontiac
hearse by Superior. Both are for
sale and her contact info appears
at the end of all the videos she does. In fact, this may be one of
her offerings here. Wanna say I saw this car in one of her videos
but I’m not really sure. Drop by
and have a look. You”ll be glad you did.
I don’t know why, but these images look like they were either AI-generated, or filtered oddly
I doubt you’ll find one in this condition any cheaper.
It is a Deville, and no longer on Ebay, nor does it show up in completed or sold items. This could be fake.
I see it on eBay now as a completed listing – removed because it’s “no longer available.” It was listed by the Classic Auto Mall in Morgantown WV. Lots of full size photos to view. Looks like a sack of fertilizer was left on the left rear quarters to create all that localized “patina.”
Classic Auto Mall is in Morgantown, Pa. A former shopping mall turned car collector paradise. Most are also for sale.
If it was a de Ville, there would be script saying Coupe de Ville just above the chrome side molding at the very rear of the quarter by the bumper.
Even though there is a dent there, and the de Ville script could have been knocked off, there are no holes for it to attach to, so it’s gotta be a Series 62.
Not sure if they were still making the Series 61 in 1959, but it were a Series 61 it would have manual windows.
What I’m surprised at is it still has its horn ring. Those always break and are very expensive to replace, IF you can find one.
listing gone. shame it had poor storage conditions. hate to see these caddies like this
One word, Lipstick Pink! Well, two words…
My ’59 Coupe DeVille was Dover White with grey interior. That 390/325 is a torque monster. It was a great car til my brother borrowed it and rolled it while running from the cops on a county road. This one looks like a parts car at best and not worth the asking.
Was your brother’s name Hud?
Nope.
You know you are getting old when you see “stored 40 years “ and think it was only on the road for 10…
A person doesn’t truly understand the scale of how large these cars are, especially the fins on the ’59 until you see one in person. It is an Argentinosaurus in comparison to the size of other cars.
Hi Angel 😇! Was wondering when we’d hear from you. And no
dear, they didn’t make series 61
models in ’59. They stopped them in ’51 when the 62 became
the entry level Cadillac until 1965
when the entry level cars were called Calais through 1974. Still
Wanna do a hot rod Cadillac. If
Charlie Ryan could do hot rod Lincoln, then I should be able to
build a nicely rodded Cadillac
and this one’s a good place to
start. It’s pretty much all there, all
I gotta do is drop in that EFI 500
cube V-8 and M-22 rock crusher
just to give the old gal a bit more
get up and go then most Cadillacs have. Only thing it would need would be a 12 bolt
posi to take the torque of the elephant 🐘 motor under the hood. Yeah Angel 😇, I can just
see you now rowing through the gears and having a grand old time doing it. And besides, a 4-speed would be a great theft deterant as 99% of today’s kids
can’t drive a 4-speed. Had to teach my wife how to drive a
stick in a ’71 Vega wagon I borrowed from a friend. She did
okay till she downshifted in snow
and almost hit a viadoc at the
crossroads of Gas and Lumber
streets. Borrowed the car from a
friend named Davey Johnson, who played lead guitar for Marty
Olmsted when I used to play at
the Bolero Lounge when I was 14.
But again, I digress. Why be afraid to hot rod a luxury car? Who knows, you might like it.