(first posted 8/28/2016) Our motto here is “Every Car Has A Story”, which makes this Cadillac the CC poster child. How many other 52 year old cars can say they are all original except for the A/C compressor, seat upholstery, and bumper side brackets AND have 100,000 miles?
If you hadn’t guessed, this carshow find Cadillac is one of those cars. It’s currently owned by the original owner’s son; that’s right, this a single family car, with only two owners!
The owner’s dad bought it new in 1964, as a treat for himself. Remember, a Cadillac was THE luxury car to get back in the day. Cadillac had a reputation as being the “Standard of the World”- that was even their slogan! That reputation was well deserved- look how well this car has held up over these years. However, that reputation would soon change.
Seeing as how he was the proud owner of a brand new Cadillac, the original owner babied it. The Caddy was originally a Chicago area car, and the current owner remembers his dad taking a rag to wipe road salt and grime off of the rocker panels if he ever drove it in the winter, which wasn’t often. To this day, the car remains rust free- when the owner dropped the fuel tanks to inspect them, a mountain of factory undercoating that had been stuck to the tank fell on his face!
So how did the car come to be passed from father to son? Well, having grown up with the Cadillac, the owner had fond memories of it- ever since he was fifteen, he had nagged his father about selling it to him. His dad said that he would contact him first IF he ever decided to sell. Well, his mother wanted a new Buick, and she wanted the Caddy gone so she could park her car in the garage. She told her husband to put the DeVille for sale, which he did- he put a for sale sign in the back window, and parked it in the garage!
That went on for several years, until one day, his wife put her foot down- he’d enjoyed the Caddy for a few decades, and had a few other cars- now it was time for her to get one! So the car went up for sale. But he forgot one thing- to tell his son! Well, the current owner found out while getting dinner with his parents. He says he ran home to lay claim to the Cadillac before anyone else could!
There was one problem- his dad insisted that the car be kept in a secure garage. The owner didn’t have one at the time, so he improvised- he took the car back to where he was living at the time with the hope that he could convince his landlord to use another one on the property. His landlord was a car guy, and upon seeing the mint DeVille, agreed. They had to take everything out of the garage to make it fit, but it got in there!
All of the non original parts of the car are for functional reasons. The front bumper brackets (the part that connects the chrome bumper to the body) had to be replaced so the bumper didn’t fall off. The original interior was ratty, so NOS upholstery went in. The A/C compressor is a funny story- while back in the Chicago area with the car, the A/C went out, so the owner gave the compressor to his dad to repair. Well, instead of getting it fixed, his dad just bought a new one and installed it himself!
The owner still has all of the stuff that came with the car- the brochure, the keychain, the original rubber floormats, and a brush that came with the car to clean it off! The Cadillac is powered by the OHV Cadillac V8, displacing 429 cubic inches and producing 340 horsepower, and that engine is mated to a GM Turbo Hydra -Matic 400 automatic transmission. The engine is original, but was refreshed about 15,000 miles ago. That makes sense, as the car has covered 100,000 miles. When I asked the owner how often he drove the car, seeing as how it’s nearly mint, he told me he drove it often. In his words, “it’s just a car”, and one with a great story at that.
Seems to be a remarkably LUCKY car. Everyone who could have forced it out of its proper inherited pattern decided not to. Dad’s wife, son’s landlord.
Great story. Many luxury cars are bought as treats for successful older folks. If the goal is a maximum car life, I wonder what the optimum annual mileage is? Circa 2000k per annum on this car. Just 5000 miles per year would see this car at 260k, which is probably too much, but perhaps perfect for an annual service.
Great car. Gas tanks? Plural? Never heard of dual tanks other than on a Jaguar.
Dual tanks on my former 1993 F-150 short bed as well as on 1980s era Ford Club Wagons (van).
Dual tanks were available on early Ford Rangers also. My ’83 4X4 has them.
Great car, great story. Particularly impressive since it was from Chicago, which is a brutal place to keep a car in top condition. Glad this car had so many people watching out for it. Wonderful reminder of Cadillac in its prime.
When a Cadillac was a by God Cadillac.
Likely in 40 years a Lexus LS from one of the 00-12 model years will have a similar connotation.
There’s a white Caddy of around this vintage sitting in a garage not two miles from our rural farm – hasn’t moved since we came here 15 years ago, and is piled high with boxes and “stuff.” One of these days I need to stop and ask its story….
Beautiful. Simply beautiful. Both the car and its story. Can’t find any other words. This car is wonderful.
This story also hurts; there is a ’62 Cadillac for sale south of town. Had I money and space for a second car, I’d look into it. But I have neither, which kills me because I really want it. I absolutely love these cars.
I know the feeling! Many years ago I had a chance to buy a `60 Series 62 two door hardtop coupe in white.Car was very clean, the air worked, but the drivers side power window was broken.To this day, I regret that bad decision, but you can`t turn back time.
Wow! What a lovely Sunday morning surprise! Thanks!
Great car and story. Sometimes the hardest part of preserving a car is just having a place to keep it. When young adults move out of the family home they usually start sharing apartments and homes with a series various room mates. There is usually frequent moves until they are settled down. Then marriage and family intrude and there are more important family considerations. One of he guys I work with received an a early 70’s Corvette as a gift from his wife years ago. The situation arose where he had to sell the Vette for some reason. His father bought the car and held it for around ten years until it was resold back to his son. Lucky guy! I have told my son that he is inline to receive all my tools, equipment and work bench (and maybe a car or two) when I am ready to give it up. I will just have to wait until he has a more permanent living situation with a garage.
I’m glad the Caddy gets driven. Too many times an older car, whether it is in original condition or has been restored, becomes too valuable to use as a car. As the owner says, it’s just a car, and if anything happens to it then that can be fixed. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for Cadillacs of this era; I semi-seriously considered buying a 1966 Convertible de Ville last summer. It did need quite a bit of work but the deciding factor was that it would not fit into my garage and I wouldn’t want to keep any 50 year old car out in the weather.
It is also a SIX-WINDOW Sedan de Ville, a style which I have always liked but which was rapidly declining in popularity. 1964 was the six-window’s last year.
+1 That six-window style is the best on those C-body GM cars, especially the Cadillac.
In 1966 the family of one of my best friends (we were 16-17 at the time) had a 1961 Cadillac Sedan de Ville the family had bought new. It was a Detroit car and already rusting and fairly worn out. We still loved driving it around town. Very impressive for a Chicago car to have survived in this condition. Love the black and white interior, including the two-toned steering wheel – very Hollywood-glamorous style. I really prefer this Cadillac to the stacked headlight models to follow. It looks more lithe, less ponderous than the later cars. The 1961-64 Cadillacs were beautiful automobiles. I enjoy seeing this stunning 61 coupe around my neighborhood.
Two curbside classics in one photo!
So true – Tyson Hugie would love that Acura. You still see these old models around as DD’s here in SoCal. Good cars, benign climate.
Beautiful car and great story!
Somehow I’m not surprised the father never traded it in on a newer Caddy. He seems to have been a bit of a mechanic, and I can’t imagine him being all that enthused by the cars that followed.
Had neighbors around the corner with a pair of ’64 DeVilles. He was a doctor and drove a silver 4 window hardtop, she had a Coupe DeVille in the same color. They had plenty of money, but when we moved at the beginning of ’76, they were still driving them. I have a feeling they felt the same way…
Oh that’s sweet! I’ve always liked Cadillac cars from this era, and that one’s beautiful.
Lurking at home is a boxed Delco-Guide parking lamp assembly for one of these. Must weigh 5 pounds. I’ve been hanging onto it for almost 30 years in the hope of one day getting the car. That’s looking increasingly unlikely.
In the past I have owned parts before actually getting the car, thanks largely to trawling wrecking yards. Yes, this is probably a mental condition but also a warning to the onlookers/hostages. That would be the reason a NOS pair of RHD Fiat 130 Coupe headlamps were vetoed some time back.
Don A knows that story, and having had glimpses of 130 ownership, that was probably the right call for all concerned.
Cool. From back when Cadillac competed with Rolls-Royce, and often won.
Quite enjoyed reading the story of the ’64 Caddy. Still ready to rock ‘n’ roll in 2016!
I thought the for sale sign in the rear window, inside the garage was going to be the point where the son bought the car – who else was going to see the sign?
Very nice! I seem to have missed this piece the first time around, and as all here know, I still have a soft spot for a black Cadillac of this generation. I will confess to a preference for the 4 window Deville, but am not picky.
My grandfather had a white 62 4 window sedan with black/white cloth/leather interior, and it was a good looking car inside and out.
Good on the owner for keeping it in the family! I am sure there was a long period in the later 70s or early 80s when the urge to offload it must have been strong.
My grandfather had a light green 1964 coupe in the early 70s.
Even as a 12 year oldish kid, I could tell how the car was a quality piece, especially the interior. The only thing I remembered as “deficient” was that the air conditioning only had 3 outlets: A ball-type vent on either side of the dash, and one barrel type vent in the middle. Even so, the A/C made the car so cool you’d swear it was using liquid nitrogen instead of R12 ( in hindsight of course )
This was the first Cadillac that I ever rode in. Over 50 years later what do I remember? Unbelievable luxury unavailable today at any price. Bumps were not felt. Air conditioning was polar. The fabrics, the plush carpet, the absence of sound. Wow! Power windows, Holy shit! And, and this is huge and hard to imagine today. When you got to where you were going, and exited this car, everyone, yes everyone knew that you were stepping out of a Cadillac, and they were envious.
I didn’t realize it until much later (and while not young, I’m not thaaaat old) they were special cars back then. They were better than Chevy, Pontiac and even Buick. Now I’m not saying they weren’t worthy of criticism for being the land yachts that they were, but they were better engineered than the rest of GM, used better materials and were better assembled. Perhaps overpriced, perhaps not, but you did get something for the premium you paid.
Beginning in 1918, my grandfather usually had a big black Buick, the last a ’56 Roadmaster, but Grandma moved up to Cadillac 7 years after he died with a 4 window ’64 Series 62. She had 4 feet added to the former chicken house they used for parking 3 cars, including my great uncle & aunt’s, so the fins could stay out of the weather. I can remember riding on the rear center armrest.
It had enough mechanical troubles that she traded it for a ’70 Calais, whose seatbacks were too high for her. My dad gave her ’72 to my step-brother a dozen years ago, after spending several thousand and rarely using it. My dad’s childhood friend daily drove the ’70 well into the 90s.