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.
Related CC reading:
Curbside Classic: 1977 to 1979 Cadillac Coupe DeVille – Hitting The Ceiling
Curbside Classic: 1978 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham – All That Glitters
Road Trip Classic: 1978 Cadillac Sedan DeVille – Across The Great Divide In A Grand Old Lady
Nice .
I know many don’t like these late land barges but to me they still have the Cadillac presence .
This one looks in good nick ~ the rain is beading up on the paint, always a good thing .
I bet you can $ave $ome ca$h by buying individual or off pair hub caps then painting them to match .
Come back and show it off please .
? Is that a factory DELCO /cb radio ? .
-Nate
Yes sir! AM/FM/8 Track and CB!
Still working on hub caps and I want to add the thermometer mirror-the only lacking option!
Congratulations on scoring a very nice Cadillac, Chip! Love the color and that sumptuous interior. Glad your dream came true – wishing you many happy miles “livin’ the dream”!
Thank you! 44 years of waiting.
Chip, you have a beautiful find! I agree 100% about cars (Cadillacs in particular) going downhill after about 1980. To me, Cadillac’s last REAL presence was in `76 before the downsizing. But the `77-`79 models are still near to my heart too. Your `77 is very nice and appears solid. what tips the scales on yours is the glass ‘Astroroof’ option! Not a huge number ordered those, and I hope yours operates as it should. I also agree 100% on the matching color-keyed wheelcovers. Here’s hoping you find a set! Enjoy your chariot Chip!
I have wondered how many people sprung for the Astro Roof? And it works perfectly.
Hey try this place for your wheel covers https://www.hubcaphaven.com/?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD_q_vyyAyZ7g5QhspMF3aIdBTZoY&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgKe36uK9iQMV3i3UAR2IFiu5EAAYASAAEgJ6EvD_BwE
And please post pics after the detail. Glad you found it
These were nice driving cars. I got to drive a 77 at a job. It was also a Fleetwood, but was silver with a black vinyl roof and black velour. The 425 was a great engine for that car, giving it plenty of power. My father had a 78 Lincoln Town Coupe with a 460 and that Cadillac was a much quicker car, probably owing to its lighter weight (and to FoMoCo’s weak engine tunes of that time).
An aunt and uncle bought a new 78 Sedan DeVille and my aunt kept it for many years. I would have liked to have bought it from her, but it was sold before I knew she was getting rid of it. These were far better trimmed cars than the pre-77s and were far more pleasant to drive than the later ones with smaller engines. Great find for you!
That’s a great story about helping your friend by posing as a Cadillac-driving collection agent! I have no doubt you acted the part well, but the car certainly deserved its supporting role.
And congratulations on getting the Cadillac! I’ve got a feeling you’ll enjoy this car a lot.
My last Cadillacs were a 1989 Brougham deElegance, still IMO the Standard of the WORLD. I’ll always regret selling it. The subsequent 93 Brougham, will much heralded Corvette motor, was a huge disappointment. Quality was inferior in every respect. Worst was premature rust though of rear wheel openings allowing moisture to get into the trunk and rear seats. Today, all are CADILLACKING. I. Subsequently started Thinkin Lincoln and have owned several Town Cars. My current 2007 low mileage Signature Limited is the last gasp of traditional American Luxury sedans and will (per my instructions) carry my cremains to my grave. On another note, I got engaged in the front seat of a 77 Coupe de Ville, borrowed from a close friend. The Cadillac lasted longer than the marriage!
I agree. I was exposed to Cadillac goodness in 1979 when a neighbor had me wash and clean his wife’s 78 Coupe DeVille. It was tricolor copper (Firemist paint I’m sure) with the 425. True luxury. I’ve desired a 2000’s full size Caddy as a driver for sometime but the Northstar engine was a deal killer. Thinkin Lincoln was not on my mind till my son found me a clean 04 Signature series. A few miles behind the wheel and I was sold. Rock solid from bumper to bumper, comfortable and stylish. I tell folks that it rides like Caddy!
2004 and up Northstars have better head bolts and have had very few gasket failures. Unfortunately, they stiffened the ride a bit to handle all that power.
The 2006-11 DTS has had many water pump failures c. 100k miles, but it turned out most were caused by the belt tensioner pulley losing its lube, so it’s largely preventable.
Congrats on finally getting your Cadillac. Now that you officially have a classic auto suggest you find a Cadillac Forum to join which will be a great help with technical issues and finding parts.
Growing up in the 1950s-60s, I was lucky to be exposed to many upscale autos but one Cadillac has always remained memorable. It was 1959, Mom had just divorced, we moved to San Francisco and Mom had a circle of divorced lady friends who weekly got together for three-martini lunches. One girlfriend had a beautiful 1958 Cadillac Sixty Special, white with black & white interior. Those fins and all that chrome & stainless trim! I rode in the backseat many times but what I remember most was the trunk that seemed enormous to 8-year old me. One day her house started to move down hill so the ladies who lunched came to the rescue. There was the mad dash to rescue closets full of designer cloths. Ladies in heals and their children running back and forth from the creaking house to a line of parked cars on the street. I dumped loads of cloths into that Cadillac trunk until it could hold no more. Mom had her 1955 Olds Starfire convertible with the top down so cloths were piled into her back seat. Night came and I remember the ride back to our apartment in SF, across the bridge, me laying on top of the cloths looking up at the top of the bridge and the stars. Even small children make good weights to keep cloths blowing out of an open convertible. You would think Mom could have put the top up but that never happened unless it rained.
My only other experience with Cadillacs was about 1970, my first year of college in Miami, when I was a valet parker at a club on Miami Beach. I parked many a Cadillac and other luxury autos. What I remember most was many of the call-girls who frequently came to the club arrived in Cadillac limousines and gave $10-20 tips just for opening the car doors.
I personally only owned one Cadillac which was a new 1976 white Eldo conv. that was somewhat of a gift. I choose that car not because it was a Cadillac but because I was instantly attracted to the body style in 1975 when the rear wheel wells opened up. I loved that body style then and still love it today. It was a most enjoyable car for ten years and 100 thousand miles.
Don’t know why the negativity about the Olds Cutlass, but the Olds engine with the oil pump in the crankcase right above the sump provides instant lubrication for the engine, where the Cadillac oil pump hangs out front and starves the engine of lubrication each start up, thus wearing out the engine much faster. I prefer the turbo hydramatic 400 in the Caddy over the 350 in the Olds, but the 400 was an option for the Olds.
That is a story in itself. It’s like every car- some lemons in the bunch.
Mine (77 Supreme Brougham) was a superior car, hers fell short
Congratulations on fulfilling your long-held wish. May you long enjoy your Cadillac.
The Fleetwood was the creme de la creme of the Cadillac line. Yours looks to be in great shape, and it appears that it can be detailed out to look like new. My Aunt bought a new ’78 Coupe de Ville in this same color, and that was also her dream car. She kept it for a couple of decades. I bought my own dream Cadillac a couple of years later, a ’77 Coupe de Ville.
I enjoyed my car so much, it was great to drive, and it had so much presence that it made me feel like a million bucks. You have to own a Cadillac to appreciate one.
What’s interesting is that the Fleetwood has a different design of the “B” pillar and roofline compared to the regular Sedan de Ville. There is a separation between the door frames, which is a subtle design cue from the previous ’75 to ’76 Fleetwood roof design.
Either way, Sedan de Ville or Fleetwood, you cant go wrong! Enjoy your find, and like the others have said, share it with us after you’ve got it standing tall.
Here’s a picture of the SdV.
Thank you. Oh yea, I’ll keep everyone updated.
So far, I have found the original plugs and wires. I drove it 337 miles home from Nashville the day I bought it and did 16mpg.
Here’s a picture of a ’76 Fleetwood. This roof also differed from the regular Sedan de Ville.
I looked at a 76 Fleetwood Talisman but it was more than I wanted to spend.
Cadillac always made a great looking car for my tastes
Mazel tov on getting your dream car! I hope it gives you years of enjoyment – the hardest part will be finding places to park – we have a 1990 Brougham & a 1992 Brougham, and they make fantastic road trip cars.
It truely is his dream come true . There are still decent honorable people out there . This car was and will continue to be loved on .
Chase your dreams and you might catch Cadillac !
And it is you, my best friend for 41 years, who made it happen. Your support, love and commitment. I thank you, and I love you.
Well written and great read. Enjoy your Caddy, love the cloth interior.
Thank you so much! So far so great
I had a ’77 Fleetwood Brougham here in the UK- bought it for 2000 quid and sold it three years later for the same amount when I realised that rot under the vinyl roof had spread into the A pillars.
That’s too bad. Such a great looking example
I don’t remember the full-length chrome strip just below the beltline, but an image search shows a few had it. The 80+ Fleetwood had it looping around the back edge of the vinyl top, apparently standard. I prefer the taillights of the ’77, which had reading lights under every door pull, but getting the second year of an all new car might be worth it.
Ralph L: If I’m not mistaking, I think those brushed chrome strips were part of the D’Elegance trim. Or at least they were an option with that trim. But you didn’t see many with it as most were the DeVille or standard Fleetwood models.
Absolutely love the collection-agent tale! I have several times been involved in very similar scenarios, and it is just hugely satisfying to get a result for the person affected. Glad you collected!
Congrats on the big old barge, it looks very rust-free. I rather like the color – which would look plain silly on anything less sizeable and Cadillac than this – and it seems unusual to me. Is it?
I can’t see this color doing justice on another GM car. It is actually my favorite!
’77 to ’79 were the last of the truly excellent traditional Cadillacs imo (no experience here with the modern ones). I’ve only had 2 Caddys: a ’47 Fleetwood 60 Special and a ’75 Sedan deVille. The latter we once drove on a trip from MD to Dallas TX to Denver CO then Bilings MT and home, with my wife and our 2 kids,well over 3000 miles in 2 weeks. it was a superlative, spacious, and supremely comfortable car for that trip, and gas mileage from the 500 engine wasn’t as bad as one might imagine. That said I must say we liked our ’74 and ’76 Olds 98s even more, the Olds 455 had more power. Enjoy that top-of-the-line Fleetwood, everyone should experience Cadillac comfort and style at least once!
Can’t find any pics of our pea-green Caddy, but here’s our ’76 98, Olds take on a Cadillac… very classy in all silver.
Chip,
Congrats and welcome to the Cadillac family! I’ve been a huge Cadillac fan for 48 years now. My parents purchased the first Cadillac in 1976 and it was a 1975 Sedan DeVille in a stunning light green. Then two years later, friends of theirs purchased a 1978 Coupe DeVille in a sand or champagne color with matching cloth. Shortly after, they and my parents went on a vacation and they left the new 1978 in our garage next to my parents 1975. This is when I truly fell in love with the Cadillac brand. Then in 1981, my parents picked up a clean 1979 Sedan Deville. Such great cars. Now here I am many years later and I’ve owned several new Caddy’s along with a good number of used ones. Today I am proud to have a stunning 1986 Seville with 23,300 miles and a really clean 1988 Cimarron with 62,000 miles. Both are fantastic cars to drive.
It will be great to see an update article with the car detailed and the caps on. I will say, if that’s your garage behind the car in the pictures, I sure hope there’s a place inside for it.
So to bring you all up to date
I have found the original plugs and wires under the hood. It’ll be getting a tune up soon.
The interior will be shampooed tomorrow, and then it’ll live in our 24×30 HVAC garage!
I drive it daily and aside from adding the (GM talk) Theromirror, I will be leaving it stock.
I will be looking for a replication of a window sticker if anyone knows where I might find that.
It currently has 49476 miles!