My 1978 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham - Finally, I Get To Experience Cadillac Style

This article is dedicated to Doctor Myron Porter.

He served his country in the Naval Reserve. He was stationed in Southeast Asia for two years and then spent another 20 years in the reserves. A wonderful husband, father, brother, son, and generally compassionate man. You are missed every day.

Over the past several months, as I’ve been writing different articles, there has been a common denominator that maybe some of you have gleaned. That would be my overwhelming desire to own and drive a Cadillac. So, allow me to bring you up to how I truly became interested in the brand.

I recently wrote an entry about my dad’s first Cadillac experience, with a 1970 Calais. If you read that piece, you’ll recount with me that back in those days people talked about wanting to own a Cadillac someday. And back then, you always had a product line that was “… the Cadillac of this or the Cadillac of that…”, just stating that you instantly recognized it as the best of the best.

Dr. Porter was the one who actually gave me my first opportunity to live with a Cadillac for about five or six days. Let me tell you the story:

I have a friend that I’ve known for over 47 years named Teresa. When I moved away from Columbus Ohio to live in Fort Myers Florida, we always made travel arrangements around being able to visit one another. On one occasion, she told me that her dad wanted to talk to me when I got there. Well, that put me on edge I must admit. What could he want to talk to me about? Did I do something wrong? Had I run over their cat accidentally?

In my mind, a talk with Dr. Porter couldn’t mean anything good!

When I got there, he could tell I was nervous. Thankfully, Teresa’s dad really liked me and it was simply a matter of helping them out with some jobs.

He said “Hey I need your help finding a car for Teresa. I know you’re a car person and her car was totaled about a month ago, so would you mind helping her find a car?” With that, he handed me the keys to his wife’s 1978 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham. He told me to use it so that I wouldn’t burn up my gas or put miles on my car. I was feeling like $1 million folks.

1977 Cutlass Supreme photo from the Cohort by Mike Hayes.

At this time, I was still driving my 1977 Cutlass Supreme Brougham. It was a car Teresa had driven both in town and on the highway and she had liked how that car handled, wondering if we could find something in similar condition within her budget.

Well, we did. And I got a terrible feeling about that car. Anyway, she went ahead and bought it, and all I can say is: Teresa, I told you so… (More on that piece of junk in a future entry.)

…

We had one other task to perform for Dr. Porter, and the Fleetwood was part of that performance. Teresa had been working for a small restaurant and decided it wasn’t her cup of tea. (Pun intended!) The two people who owned it were kind of jerks and told her that since she didn’t give her two weeks’ notice, they wouldn’t give out her last paycheck.

Teresa has a very creative mind and decided that she was going to make it appear as though I was hired to be a collection agent of sorts. So I picked up a pair of very dark sunglasses, and drove up the Cadillac to the front of the restaurant, close enough that everybody could see what kind of car I’d arrived in!

When we got inside, the waitress knew Teresa. It was our intent for me to say nothing and just look around the whole restaurant constantly. Teresa ordered a cup of coffee and a slice of pie, and the waitress tried to get me to order something as well. But I kept my mouth closed.

Teresa said to her “He doesn’t want anything, thank you.”

By this point, the lady’s curiosity had completely peaked. So she tried to get Teresa to say who I was or where I had come from. Teresa simply said “He’s somebody I know from down in the Miami area. I hire him whenever I need certain work done.”

The waitress asked Teresa if she had ever gotten her last paycheck, to which she told her “No”. The lady then volunteered to give the message to the two owners who were “…currently out of town on a two-week vacation.”

Interestingly, as soon as she went back to the kitchen to place our order, two faces showed up through the kitchen door’s glass. It was the two owners! Without hesitation, they both came out to the table and handed out her last paycheck. It was $155.68!

They kept trying to get me to talk, but I refused. Isn’t it funny how gullible some people are?

May I present to you, my Cadillac!

Well, I want to close on a great note. I know many of you out there have been encouraging me and sending me good thoughts as I went hunting for my Cadillac.

I had discussed the matter with my wife and I have been looking for just the right car. I mean, in my opinion, Cadillac really went downhill starting with the 1980 model year. They tried the diesel option, the V8-6-4 engine, and then they just began putting much too weak V6 engines into their biggest cars. I knew that I didn’t want anything that needed a ton of work nor did I want anything 1980 or newer.

Eventually, I met the nicest man on the Facebook marketplace, Demond. He had a 1978 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham d’Elegance. As you’ll see in the pictures below, the car has been very well-kept and appears to be a low-mileage car.

I cannot thank Demond enough for his trustworthiness and the fact that he communicated so well with me, answering every question I had. At one point he had a previous interested party try to buy the car out from under me. Sticking to our arranged deal, he told the other person that the Cadillac was sold.

It is my understanding that this was the top-of-the-line model for the day. It runs and drives perfectly.

My plans are to find an original set of color-keyed wheel covers, do a good detail including deep shampooing, waxing, install a new headliner, do a tune-up and oil change, and drive it as long as I can!

My message to everyone: don’t ever give up on your dream. It took me a long, long time. But I never stopped looking. As for my loving wife who’s made this possible, I believe she really, truly wanted me to own a Cadillac.

Thanks for going down memory lane with me.