Cadillac Full Size buyer's guide

Overview

Cadillac's rear-drive full-size line — Series 62 and its successors the Calais and DeVille, the Fleetwood flagships, and the front-wheel-drive Eldorado from 1967 — defined American luxury from 1946 to 1976. The span covers the tailfin's birth (1948) and its 1959 climax, the elegant restraint of the early 1960s, the vast 1971–76 cars that were the largest Cadillacs ever built, and the Eldorado's parallel life as a personal-luxury flagship including the last American convertibles of 1976. These cars were expensive, complex and built to a standard rather than a price: power everything, air conditioning, automatic everything. A good one is a magic carpet; a neglected one is a warehouse of failed accessories. Buy the best-documented, best-kept car you can find — with Cadillacs, condition gaps cannot be closed cheaply later.

Generations and year breaks

1946–1948 and 1949–1953 — the post-war cars and the OHV V8

• The resumed pre-war designs for 1946–47; the 1948 car added the tailfin and (for 1949) one of the industry's first modern overhead-valve V8s, the 331 — an engine so good it powered the early hot-rod world too.
• The Coupe de Ville hardtop (1949) and the Series 62 convertible are the collectible bodies.

1954–1956 and 1957–1958 — fins and the Eldorado Brougham

• The 1954 redesign set the 1950s template; power grew yearly, and the Eldorado (from 1953) became the top convertible.
• 1957–58 brought quad lamps and the Eldorado Brougham — a hand-built, stainless-roof, air-suspension flagship at twice a standard car's price. A Brougham is a restoration of last resort: buy a finished one or none.

1959–1960 — the fin climax

• The tallest fins in the industry, twin-bullet tail lamps, and acres of chrome: the 1959 Cadillac is a design icon, with the Eldorado Biarritz convertible at the summit.
• Mechanically straightforward (the 390 V8), which is merciful — everything else on a '59 is show.

1961–1964 — the elegant years

• Fins receding, styling sharpening: the skeg fins of '61–62, the clean '63–64. Many judges consider these the best-driving classic Cadillacs — a 1963–64 Park Avenue or de Ville is the connoisseur's pick.
• The 429 replaced the 390 for 1964 with the new Turbo-Hydramatic.

1965–1970 — the big, confident cars

• Stacked headlights (1965–68), then the smooth 1969–70 cars; the 472 (1968) and 500 (1970, Eldorado) are the great torque engines.
• The Eldorado went front-wheel drive for 1967 with a landmark E-body design — a separate classic in its own right.
• Convertibles were DeVille-only by now and ended (in the rear-drive line) after 1970.

1971–1976 — the largest Cadillacs

• The final, biggest generation: fuselage styling, the 500-cube engine softening yearly, and luxury equipment at its densest.
• The 1976 Eldorado convertible — "the last convertible" — was sold as an instant collectible and hoarded; low-mileage examples are common and still carry the premium.
• The Bicentennial-era cars are period pieces of real charm at modest prices when bought well.

Engines and options that matter

• 331/365/390 (1949–62) and 429 (1964–67) — the classic Cadillac V8s: smooth, torquey, well supported.
• 472/500 (1968–76) — the torque giants; the 500 in a 1970 Eldorado is the full expression. Later emissions-era versions in the heavy 1975–76 cars are leisurely.
• The 1976 Eldorado convertible and the Eldorado Brougham are the collectible summits; the Series 75 limousines are a specialist taste at specialist prices to run.
• Air conditioning is near-universal and expected to work; the automatic climate control systems are complex — a car whose climate system works perfectly has been maintained by someone who cared.

What to check before buying

• Complexity is the risk: power windows, seats, antennas, cruise, climate, air suspension (1957–60 Brougham and some others) and (on Eldorados) the front-drive unitised power package. Test every switch on the viewing. Deferred electrical work is where cheap Cadillacs get expensive.
• Rust: floors, trunk, rocker panels and the frame's X-member on early cars; on 1971–76 cars, the vinyl-roof traps at the rear window and the immense quarter panels. Chrome is a major cost on the finned cars — pitted '59 die-cast can cost more to restore than the mechanicals.
• Convertibles: the top mechanism and hydraulics, the frame's added bracing, and floors. A '59 Biarritz's accessories list runs to power trunk and dual everything — all of it must work to justify the price.
• Numbers: the engine number is stamped on the block (left rear on the early V8s); matching-numbers culture is milder than Corvette's, but originality of specification (colours, trim) still shows on the cowl data plate.
• Parts: mechanical support is good; trim, die-cast and model-specific brightwork are the costs. Eldorado front-drive components are shared with the Toronado and available, but specialist.