1955 Cadillac Series 62 Coupe: A Beautiful Representative Of Midcentury Motoring, And One Of Cadillac’s Best

What car represents Cadillac at its very best, the true Standard of the World? Is it one of the magnificent sixteen-cylinder locomotives from the Classic era? The “take on all comers” cars of the early 1960s? The 1967 Eldorado? For my money, it’s the 1955 Cadillac, and more specifically, the 62 Series Coupe and the Coupe deVille. This Series 62 is a glorious example of a very good breed, and it’s for sale on Bring a Trailer in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The Fisher Body tag isn’t an exhaustive resource when decoding a GM car, but it’s a good place to start. This one tells us the following:

• 55-6237x: 1955 Cadillac 62 Two-Door Coupe with power windows
• FW21877: This is the Fleetwood body number
• 43T: Light Blue/Dark Blue cloth interior
• 12-26: Alabaster Gray and Cobalt Blue two-tone paint
• E-H-V: “E-Z-Eye” safety glass, heater/defroster, and power seat

It’s important to note that the Series 62 Coupe is not a Coupe de Ville, even though they look almost identical. A quick tell (if the car is original) is this gold script beneath the quarter window. The Coupe deVille cost a fair bit more than the “base” Series 62 ($4,305 vs. $3,882), but despite that, the Coupe deVille was the bigger seller by a decent margin: 33,300 vs. 27,879. The main differences were inside, as the deVille had a more luxurious interior.

It would be hard to tell, however, by looking at the Series 62’s plush cocoon.

For comparison, this is the interior of a 1955 Coupe deVille with air conditioning. Both this and our featured Series 62 Coupe have power windows, which were an option on both models.

All Cadillacs aside from the Eldorado (which used a dual-four-barrel intake manifold) were powered by a 250-horsepower, 331-cubic-inch Cadillac V8. Motor Life’s May 1955 road test of a Fleetwood Sixty Special found the Cadillac capable of a zero-to-sixty time of 11.2 seconds, a quarter-mile time of 19 seconds, and a top speed of 114 miles per hour. In other words, it’s no high-performer by 2026 standards; however, it’s more than capable of keeping up with traffic, even at interstate speeds. But can it stop from those speeds? Braking from 60 took 159 feet, which is certainly longish, so leave plenty of room in front of you.

The seller says that this car has had a recent fuel system servicing, and indeed the fuel pump and filter look fresh, as does the carburetor. As a matter of fact, everything looks fresh under the hood, right down to a tag on the radiator cap.

The luggage compartment is ready for enough luggage for a weekend trip to Palm Springs.

The only part of the car that isn’t detailed to nearly new standards is the undercarriage. The brakes have been serviced recently, and we can see that the Hydra-Matic transmission has been given a coat of light blue paint, something rebuilders sometimes do to identify their units for warranty work. Nothing regarding a transmission rebuild was mentioned in the ad, but an overall lack of oil and grease on the undercarriage makes it at least a 50/50 proposition. Those big, long mufflers undoubtedly do an effective job of muting the 331’s burble.

But nothing mutes the fact that the 1955 Cadillac in any variation is an example of Cadillac at its very finest, capable of standing proud against any motorcar in the world. It’s a well-crafted and well-maintained piece of sculpture that I’d be proud to park in my garage, if only my garage were about two feet longer.

Related Reading

Museum Classic: 1955 Cadillac Coupe DeVille – A New Contender for My Favorite Car (by me)

Curbside Classic: 1955 Cadillac Coupe DeVille – You’re The DeVille In Disguise, Oh Yes You Are (by me)