1976 Cadillac Coupe de Ville

[smellyfatdude]

I had only just found out that a co-worker of mine owned this vehicle, and some of the history behind it, when Modelhaus a short time later released their kit of the same car. The mileage you see is original, 00095. To make a long story short, this car was driven on the street exactly once, the day it was purchased. It's been garaged it's entire life, and even though I haven't gotten around to snagging the kit yet, I fully intend to.

I did manage to get my friend to let me photograph it, last spring. A car this original, as in totally original, is for certain an excellent source of reference for someone restoring one, or for builders. Here's a link to the Photobucket album.

http://s983.photobucket.com/user/smellyfatdude/library/#/user/smellyfatdude/library/1976%20Cadillac%20Coupe%20de%20Ville?sort=3&page=1&_suid=1408034593031048970879239454123

[bbowser]

Unbelievable, what a time capsule!

[DynoMight]

Huh. Interesting how people buy cars and then never drive them...

[JTalmage]

If I had the time, the money, the space, and a time machine.. I'd do the same thing. I love driving cars, but some of them I want just... to have. I have 5 vehicles currently myself. I had 6 but needed money and sold one.

I just like having as many as possible even If I never do anything with them. I just wish I could put them all in doors.

[smellyfatdude]

Unbelievable, what a time capsule!

Yes, you're right. That's exactly what looking at this beautiful Caddy was like, that day I took the pictures. Not only did it smell like a brand new car inside, but what really got me was the original dealer sticker on the back. Ted Henson Pontiac ceased operations many, many years ago. While they were in business, they were located at the bottom of the Broadway bridge, here in Saskatoon. I can't count how many times when I was a child, we would drive right by the dealership at night, when the showroom lights were on and I would gawk at all the beautiful Caddys and Buicks in the showroom window.

The owner, incidentally, was offered $55,000 for this car about four years ago. He turned it down.

[Tonioseven]

Beautiful!!!

[FASTBACK340]

As beautiful as the car is, I find it odd that it's parked in a mud puddle. Boy did he ever do you a favor! 96 miles…. wow.

[ChrisBcritter]

Wow! Original non warped fender extensions! So how does he maintain it? Hopefully he runs it up often enough to keep all the seals tight, never keeps more than a gallon of gas in it, and drains the cooling system every winter. And tell him for heaven's sake, don't wash it without taping off the vinyl roof trim and window moldings - I know of a pristine 14K mile '74 CDV that's spent most of its life in the hands of two very careful collectors in California, and it still has a tiny rust spot peeking out below the rear window.

So why was this one put away? Most of the speculators in 1976 bought Eldorado convertibles.

Edited August 30, 2014 by ChrisBcritter

[smellyfatdude]

I can't say I know any of the particulars regarding the storage of the car, other than that the owner does indeed run it regularly. According to him, his father purchased about twenty new cars and trucks over the years, and drove every one of them. Except this one. Apparently, he just simply decided he didn't need the Caddy, and while it was plated for the first two years after he bought it, it was never driven aside from the initial trip home. Most of the miles shown on the odometer were accumulated merely from moving it in and out of the garage, over a span of several years.

I know it seems odd that someone would pay over $28,000 for a car and then never drive it. Before anyone starts to question that figure, remember that this is Canada, and vehicles then and now cost more up here. Plus, I have seen the original dealer paperwork, and can verify that figure. What is even stranger is the fact that the car was not simply purchased out of the dealer's inventory, but ordered and built to the original owner's specs. Yes, strange indeed. But it's the very fact that some people do strange things with their cars, that leads to those rare gems like this Coupe de Ville being so incredibly well preserved.

Interestingly, my co-worker, whose name is Wayne also not only owns the car his Dad bought new and never drove, but now that both his parents as well as a brother have passed away, he holds the distinction along with his sister of being one of only two living persons who actually rode in the car, the one time it was driven.