For two years I have been driving down a street where there was a covered car. I never managed to see the car out in the open but knew it was long, way too long for the single car garage it was parked in front of. However, I could get a glimpse of the lower third of this front tire which might clue in a discerning Cadillac fan. The center was not visible. Lately the car was uncovered and then a For Sale sign appeared in front of the house. Oh oh…
This is the car in all its glory as per the license plate and what a story behind the car as I rang the bell to talk with the woman owner. I had known, through another neighbor, that a man and wife down the block had three Cadillacs. Two had been sold and one kept, this one, and the woman was always dealing with those who wanted to buy her car. The answer is always no and here is why.
Now I wasn’t sure she would open the door as the house was just sold and a sign outside said open house canceled. She might have thought I was a house buyer. The first person to the door was not the owner by a 15 year old white/gray Australian with brilliant blue eyes. My son was taken aback some by the dog’s bark. The woman came next and I asked about her car and if she could tell me it’s story precisely for us. Turns out the dog was quite friendly, as was she, and she opened the screen door for my son to pet the dog. We talked in the meantime.
The woman and her husband are the second owners of this car. The woman is currently in her mid-70s and her second husband passed away a little while back. Now the woman rode in this car when it was brand new. Huh! Her father was a Cadillac salesman and sold the car in 1961. Oh? The car was sold to their family doctor which is how the young woman got to ride in the car. Note the spotlights below.
The spotlights were installed by the dealer so the doctor, who made house calls, could use them to read street signs and house numbers. Ah, the older more simpler days long gone.
For most of her life she worked in payroll for health organizations. Her second husband had a car restoration shop up in Port Chicago. They were very active in the Cadillac Club and had a couple of others besides this one. A 1938 Sixty-Special and a 1972 Eldorado convertible for her daily driver.
This particular Cadillac was bought 15 years ago by them. It has been all over the country and now has around 124,000 miles on the original engine. The interior has been redone though. Guess by who? Her.
Turns out she did her first upholstery project when she was a teenager. I am amazed but it gets better. She did the upholstery work in her husband restoration shop. Gets better still. She also did the body work on the cars including painting but no welding. She no longer can do body work due to arthritis in her hands which I noticed. However, she told me she needs to replace the backs of the front seats once the car moves. She is a strong believer in original condition cars.
The owner and the car will be moving up to eastern Washington where her daughter lives. A nice dry climate with plenty of space to drive without having to worry about the nuts driving around here who might threaten older cars on the road. We talked about care of the car. She has original points and had thought about electronic ignition but didn’t know how. Her husband was the electrician. I would have helped but the car is leaving soon.
She intends to drive this more often once she gets to Washington State. Her son-in-law is interested in the car as is her teenage grandson who has no knowledge of cars. Hopefully her and the car have many more years of driving enjoyment before the day comes to pass it along.
The rear wrap round window on these is lovely and a rare version ! I just bought a 62 Park Avenue, one of only 2600 made. The 61 has the best rear end in my opinion.
When I was a little kid my grandfather had the 1962 version of this car. Right down to the bright white car getting a repaint in a slightly creamier white as it appears in your close-up of the hood crest. As a child (even one who lived in a GM world) it was clear to me that Cadillacs were special.
In the late 70s when I owned a 63 Fleetwood for a time, the kid who lived next door bought a 61 Coupe DeVille – silver blue with a white top. I had never been much of a fan of the 61, but looking at that car up close made me begin to appreciate them. They are a fascinating mix of 1959-60 audacity and 1962-64 elegance, their own unique thing really.
Was there ever a thinner C pillar for a 4 door hardtop than one of these?
Sure JP, lower level Impalas & 88s had thinner pillars.
Maybe b/c that were more numerous, their side window arrangement seemed more symmetrical to me.
“lower level Impalas & 88s had thinner pillars”
This would be one for the tape measure. The 59-60 B/C body certainly had thin pillars, but they were the same thickness top to bottom. These start wider at the top, but they appear to get even thinner at the bottom. Perhaps it is just optical illusion.
The wrap-around rear window and C-pillar narrowing as it tapered was meant to evoke the Jet-Atomic-Age architecture of the modern times, what we now call “Mid-Century Modern”.
The ’61-’62 Cadillac surface development of the sides can be seen first on the ’60 Eldorado Brougham but in a more subtle form. The production version is much deeper relief and pronounced creases and edges.
Of the two years, ’62 is my preference because of the vertical rectangular taillights and the 60 Special for Mitchell reinstating the formal roof quarters it should have always had.
For years, a medium blue metallic ’61 four window sat at a house on the corner of 13th and Allison Streets in Lakewood, Colorado. It was something of a landmark I would notice when I visited friends in the neighborhood. Then, one year, it disappeared, hope it has a new appreciative owner.
Love the one year only giant backlight on the GM’s 1961 4 window ‘C’ body four door hardtops – think it looks best on the Buick Electra. The C pillar does appear to be narrower forward the bottom.
The 61 Caddy was among my favorite Cadillacs, especially the Coupe DeVille. Right up there with it was the 59-60 Eldorado Brougham from Italy. Gorgeous cars. The regular 58-59 DeVilles belong in the dumpster.
Most Caddys from then on were pretty good, up to and including the downsized 77-78s. After that, not so much. Today? What’s a Cadillac?
“Today? What’s a Cadillac?”
Ans: A box-cutter on 4 wheels. Right down to the ubiquitous silver tone.
ITA – the 61 was beautiful automobile. Here’s a CDV that popped up in my neighborhood a few years ago – a museum quality car rolling along in regular traffic.
The Cadillac is certainly the looker in this pic but I have to admit the pristine Acura Legend alongside it is what caught my eye! Looks like an early 86-88 example. Interesting in that the two cars were flagships of their respective companies but of wildly differing sizes and concepts of luxury.
Nice story. I do not remember that GM still offered the 4-door flattop style for hardtops in 61; I had thought that only the lower-line sedans (2- and 4-door) had them, like our 61 Chevy Bel Air 2-door back in the day.
As a child, I recall being baffled by the back end of the 61 Cadillacs and did not like them. I thought the 60 with its fin-mounted taillight and twin vertical circular lamps below looked more logical. Then in 62, all was made well again with the rectangular lower lamp.
Now, the 61 is quite appealing, and I also like the front end, with the quad headlights in line with the grille, and the circular park/turn signal lamps below. Also love the creases on the side and the teardrop-shaped vent windows.
So today I stop by my bank to deposit checks into the ATM. When finished I turn around and see this gorgeous white 1990 Cadillac Brougham and this time I had my camera. Took a picture and then admired some more before leaving. Just then the owner walked out and I told how much I liked his Cadillac.
Turns out it was his father’s last car and he passed away in 2008 so it was passed on to him. Now at 154,000 miles and he does all the maintenance work on the car. Not driven much since every time he lets a family member take it out he said it comes back worse for wear as in a ding. Yep, father to son but other family members don’t appreciate the connection the same way many times.
I have a love-hate relationship with the styling of ’61 GM cars, sedan rooflines in particular. I understand the goal of toning down the bloated ’59-’60, but this derivative of the wrap around rear window four door hardtop just looks awkward. Not as bad as the B-body post sedans, especially the two door. Give me a Corvair four door for the purity of this styling concept. All the bubble top coupes look great, but for a C-body sedan, I’ll take the formal elegance of the six window version.
I read somewhere’s that Bill Mitchell did not like the ‘skegs’ at the rear quarters.
Great find and story TMB3FAN, thanks for the post. That’s one nice Caddy and nice to hear its been loved and cared for by the same owner for so many years. Let’s hope it is enjoyed for many more to come.