Bucket seats aren’t usually associated with vintage Cadillacs, but they were a factory option through most of the 1960s — for a while, they were even available on the four-door De Ville. This 1963 four-window Sedan de Ville has leather buckets and the new-for-1963 center console.
Cadillac first offered front bucket seats as an option “for the more sport-minded” on the 1959 Eldorado Biarritz convertible. For 1960, the availability of buckets expanded to include the Eldorado Seville hardtop, for 1961 the Series 62 convertible, and for 1962 any closed-body De Ville.
In those days, bucket seats weren’t commonly offered on four-door domestic models. There were some — the Corvair Monza was available as a four-door sedan by 1961 — but they were never as popular as two-door hardtops and convertibles.
However, Cadillac buyers seemed to have seen things a little differently than most. No one was buying a Sedan de Ville as a sporty car, but buckets offered a touch of novelty, a way to stand out even if you spent a lot of time in Cadillac-heavy ZIP Codes. I think that same factor was what really sold many of the sometimes outlandish trim options of the ’70s, all the gaudy Designer Editions and Talisman packages — they were something you could get that your neighbor or golfing buddy didn’t have.
By comparison to the stylistic excesses of the ’70s, this Sedan de Ville seems quite restrained and generally tasteful, although its bright red leather interior would still have been à la mode 15 years later.
The Bring a Trailer listing thankfully includes the body plate, which is always useful and sometimes instructive. The “63” after “STYLE” is the model year; “6339” is the model number, with “63” indicating a De Ville and 39 indicating a four-window Sedan de Ville. The “FW” code after “BODY” indicates “Fleetwood,” meaning the Cadillac Fleetwood Plant, followed by the production sequence number. The trim code “59” is red leather upholstery, with the “B” suffix meaning “Buckets.” The paint code 12 is Aspen White, by far the most popular Cadillac color in this era.
The accessory codes “ETK” mean the car was ordered with Soft Ray tinted glass ($51.70), a 4-way power driver’s seat ($53.65), and air conditioning ($473.60). Although the dashboard photos are unfortunately a bit blurry, this car also has an AM radio, for which Cadillac charged $164.60. 1963 was the first year for a factory AM/FM radio option at Cadillac, although it cost a hefty $191.40.
In this period, ordering bucket seats on a Cadillac normally required leather upholstery, which was optional on a closed De Ville. With a bench seat, leather upholstery normally cost $134.20. Adding bucket seats cost an extra $187.85 on top of that, which included fore-aft power adjustment for the driver’s seat. Buckets with cloth upholstery were available only by special order, so they actually cost more than leather bucket seats.
In 1963, the De Ville had four “standard” leather options: white, black, red, and Sandalwood. Cadillac offered an additional 11 colors as “Special Request” options for the De Ville. To order a color on the special leather list, a buyer would pay at least extra $86; the dealer data book I have is silent on the cost of special-ordering buckets with cloth upholstery, but it was probably similar.
Starting this year, if you paid the hefty surcharge for bucket seats, Cadillac threw in this short center console, which had a lockable lighted storage bin.
You’ll notice that while the 1963 Cadillac retained its fins, they were a bit lower before, and the body-side skegs were gone completely. According to Chuck Jordan, chief of the Cadillac studio in this era, the designers had originally considered retaining the skegs in some form for 1963, but Styling VP Bill Mitchell finally threatened to fire everyone if the skegs weren’t removed. Personally, I liked the skegs, but the ’63 was certainly cleaner, and some people rate this year tops among postwar Cadillacs.
The 1963 also had what Jordan called a “more regal, snooty front,” a return to the front-end themes of the 1959–1960 cars with less glitz. Mitchell had thought the 1961–1962 nose lacked Cadillac character.
Those judgments seemed to pay off. Cadillac sales were better than ever (163,174 for the 1963 model year), and this time, the only dud in the lineup was the slow-selling short-deck De Ville Park Avenue sedan, which wouldn’t return for 1964.
I have so far been unsuccessful in finding any numbers for how many Cadillacs of this era had bucket seats. It doesn’t appear that the automotive trade publications (or at least any of the ones I’ve got) tracked installation numbers for buckets in this period. Sale listings for ’60s Cadillacs with bucket seats inevitably describe them as very rare, but the mere fact that Cadillac kept offering them (and even expanded their availability) suggests that some people were interested.
Cadillac continued to offer bucket seats on the De Ville through 1968; the above image is excerpted from the 1968 brochure. By 1965, buckets could be also special-ordered on the Sixty Special and Fleetwood Brougham.
The buckets and console were also optional on the new FWD E-body Eldorado, although they did clash with the flat-floor theme.
By 1698, what interest there was in bucket-seat Cadillacs seemed to have dried up. For 1969, bucket seats were listed as a factory option only for the Eldorado, and they weren’t common there. The big news was the Dual Comfort split bench seat, which was standard on the Fleetwood Brougham and optional on the De Ville. The Dual Comfort seat was really more in character for Cadillacs of this era than buckets, and proved much more popular.
Nevertheless, a bucket-equipped ’60s Cadillac like this one has plenty of appeal, not to mention novelty value. This Sedan de Ville sold for a healthy $45,500 on Bring a Trailer back in 2022.
Related Reading
1963 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible – Search Engine Snafu Returns A Magnificent Special Order Treat (by me)
1960s Cadillac Special Orders: Non-Standard Color And Trim Options By “Special Request” (by me)
Curbside Classic: 1963 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible – What’s A Caddy Like You Doing In A Place Like This? (by Tom Klockau)
1962 Buick Electra 225 Sport Coupe: Rare Bucket Seats In A Loaded C-Body Hardtop (by me)
General Motors Greatest Hit #13: Were The 1963-64 Cadillacs the Greatest Postwar Cadillacs? (by Laurence Jones)
I grew up in the 1960s. We had a 1967 Coup DeVille. It was white with red leather interior. No buckets, we had the Dual Comfort seat. I always felt like these were the last of the great Cadillacs . The brand seemed to lose its mojo in the 1980s.
What a stunner .
I’m a sucker for white with red interior .
-Nate
The person who ordered the Eldorado with black leather bucket seats also paid to get the optional headrests, which I think was an excellent choice.
I wonder if the take rate on buckets was low because there was no armrest. That would be a deal killer for me.
What a beautiful car, but I tend to like the 1962 more, because the rear end treatment was so cool that year. I had no idea that buckets and console were available on these cars. The ones that I have seen all had the split bench.
These cars were truly standard of the world. That GM cheapened them out is a major Deadly Sin.
Dad was awarded a ’69 deVille convertible, as a high achiever at work. Bench seats, but what a rig.
Skinny, 16-yr-old Me was actually allowed to drive it. The gear shifts were so smooth, it may as well have been a CVT.
This ’63 is a winner!
I favor the 63. The 69 and 70 has their vitues.
If one ordered bucket seats in a 1966 Fleetwood Brougham, they would not get the rear fold-down tables. A bit of a compromise.
I wonder if the biggest attraction for buckets in a Cadillac was to accommodate short drivers with taller spouses/frequent passengers. The Twin Comfort style would accomplish the same thing, plus add room for that occasional center passenger in front. As you say, “sporty” was not this car’s mission.
Came here to see the same thing. I’m shocked that so many people suffered this obvious shortcoming of bench seats for as long as they did. As was often the case back in the day, Cadillac was ahead of the curve on this.
There’s also the fact that every Mercedes, Jaguar, R-R, Bentley and other European luxury sedan had individual front seats. Cadillac was obviously aware of the growing sales of these imports and offering individual leather seating was undoubtedly seen as a way to stay competitive.
Frankly, bench seats in a true luxury sedan really don’t cut it for the reasons JPC gave, as realistically no one was going to invite two adults to sit with them in the front seat of a new Cadillac. Cadillac should have made split or individual seats standard.
Wonder if anyone ordered a ’63 Deville Park Avenue with bucket seats and console. Now, there would be a real unicorn.
Buckets WERE available on the De Ville Park Avenue, the dealer data book says so unequivocally. Whether any were ordered, I dunno.