(first posted 1/6/2014) Finding this CC was all due to a battery failure. Not to get too deep into it, but I wear a cochlear implant, as I lost my “factory” hearing back in 1996. It uses rechargeable batteries, and when it goes out, I can’t hear. Really. You could fire a shotgun behind me, and I wouldn’t hear it. I’d probably feel the vibrations in the ground, but I wouldn’t hear it. So you can thank my forgetting a spare battery for this fine Caddy.
I was over at my folks, and we decided to go see Lincoln (sorry, no Continentals in this flick; good, nonetheless). About ten minutes after we got to the theater, my battery went flat. I normally carry a spare at all times, but for some reason, I didn’t grab it when I left my place. So, I borrowed my parents’ car, left them in the theater to get seats, and dashed back home for a spare. But as I was slowing to make a turn, I spotted this Cadillac at the K-Mart. Movie or no movie, I had to stop!
The 1963-64 Cadillacs were beautiful cars. I share Laurence Jones’ love of them, and always have time to check one out. But few are seen at shows. What makes this find all the more remarkable was that it was taken in December, in the Midwest! We had a rare run of nice weather at that time, so obviously this ’63’s owner took advantage. It was about 55° when these photos were taken.
Dusk was rapidly approaching too, so I must apologize for the shadowy interior pics. White with a black interior is about my least favorite color combination on a car, but the 1963 Cadillac would still look mighty fine in near any color combination!
Judging from the lack of stainless steel rocker trim and the upholstery style, this one is a Sixty-Two convertible. The 62 was the entry-level Cadillac, with the drop-top version starting at $5590. 17,600 were sold, and it was the only convertible Cadillac save the Eldorado, which sported a much higher $6609 sticker.
Despite being less dear than a de Ville hardtop sedan (the de Ville would not gain a convertible model until ’64, when the Sixty-Two convertible was dropped) or the top-trim Eldorado Biarritz, the Sixty-Two was still a plush vehicle, with standard power steering, power brakes, automatic transmission, and, of course, the mighty 325-hp 390 V8.
So the Sixty-Two was not exactly a skinflint’s dream; a ’63 Biscayne two-door sedan was $2429 with a V8; even the tony ’63 Impala convertible was a mere $3024 with V8 power. No, back then a Cadillac was still a Cadillac–even the standard model. Maybe with less gadgets, but still a fine car. And those power windows were just something else to break…
It seems like the Sixty-Two and later Calais are the Rodney Dangerfield of classic Cadillacs: No respect. Everyone wants a Coupe de Ville or Fleetwood. I don’t think that’s fair. Actually, I am of the opinion that any Sixty-Two was a great deal. It was much less than a de Ville or Fleetwood, yet still wore the stunning Bill Mitchell-designed coachwork that grabbed you by the head with two hands and said LOOK AT ME!
I mean, come on, how can you not love the lines on these things? Smooth flanks, nice fins, imposing grille, proven powerplant and every gadget known to mankind–if not standard, then certainly available for a bit more. I would rather have had one with a red interior, though.
This one certainly grabbed my attention on Blackhawk Road. And after my little detour, I got my battery and made it back to the theater in no time. A good movie, despite the lack of cars. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how I found a Cadillac while on my way to go see Lincoln.
When I was in high school I dated a girl who had a ’64 De Ville Convertible white with red leather interior. She was a tiny blonde and this gigantic Cadillac made her look like she was about 10 years old when driving it. The whole thing was hilariously adorable. We had a blast that summer taking 6 of our closest friends (4 in the front and 4 in the back was an easy fit) to drive-ins and joyrides. We both worked at a local coffee shop, but it took our combined income to keep gas in it @ 8mpg. At the end of summer she offered to sell it to me for $300, because her parents were getting her a new more practical Chevy Vega (yeah, little did we know) to take back to school. I wanted that car so bad, but knew I could never swing the gas on my own. Me, the tiny blonde and the big white Cadillac De Ville convertible soon went our separate ways, but oh, what a summer
Great find, but shame on you for leaving your parents at the theater 😉
In my experience, if you couldn’t afford the gas, you absolutely could not afford the repairs. I owned my 63 Fleetwood for six months. In that time, it sucked money from my wallet at an astounding rate. CV joint, transmission seals, exhaust system, rusted brake lines, blower motor, it just kept finding things to break. As a college kid, I had to give up on it because I had no money left. I still loved it, though.
But boy, had it been a white convert with red leather, who knows what I would have done in order to keep it.
“And those power windows were just something else to break…”
This is funny because I remember the power windows stopped working, but it was an easy fix, a bad relay if I remember.
CV joint in a ’63 Caddy? U joint, maybe?
Nope. 2 piece driveshaft with two standard joints and one CV.
Also I have 63 Eldorado convertible caddi building process any parts available interior….. Thanks
Keep it going Curbside
A Maroon ’64 Cadillac convertible was used in the movie “Shag” where 4 teenage girls went to Myrtle Beach, SC for an end of the school year vacation.
The car was beautiful, maroon with a maroon interior. I don’t think the top was ever up.
In the timeframe of the movie, it should have been a ’63, but the car used was a ’64.
I too have a thing for 63 Caddies, having once owned a black 63 Fleetwood. I have a hard time deciding whether the 62 or the 63 is my fave.
Also agree that the black leather in the white car is not really the nicest combo (though it was quite modern at the time). Would much prefer red or turquoise leather. There is a beige 2 door hardtop that I see out occasionally, but have never been able to catch when parked.
I know all about the battery thing, as my daughter is “battery-powered” as well. Its good to know that one of those “oh crap, no batteries” moments can have an upside.
Great find, and reminds me of one of mine which I haven’t had time to write-up. It was last year in March or April. There had been a warm spell and the roads were dry and clear of road salt. Somebody got out their red ’59 Caddy and drove it to Walmart. I saw them turn into the parking lot while I was waiting at the stoplight. I was already late to pick up my son from his Beavers meeting, but I had to follow it nonetheless.
Klockau is a cyborg! Should have known when I saw that “Broughaminator” byline…
Cadillac often used CV joints.
Don’t see many of these rolling around here though it is a familiar car to me from where I lived in outer Sydney one used to park in Windsor out side a bar regularly metallic green of all colours two door LHD so somebodies private import nice cars though too wide for the narrow Maquarie town streets laid out during the horse and cart era.
This and the ’64 are my favorite Cadillacs. But for the reasons JPC gives, I’d never buy one now on a NYC budget. I think my biggest concern on owning anything made before 1975 would be finding parts, particularly as the ’63 also pre-dates certain interior trim parts that were common from ’65 to about ’92.
That said, what a beauty!! Give me the Fleetwood 60 Special version. In black or that silver-grey color.
The 63 predated a lot of things. The blower motor was an old design, replaced for 64. When mine went out, everyone stocked the newer one, but i had to go to the Cad dealer and pay a fortune for mine. Also the old 4 speed Jetaway Hydramatic instead of the THM that came along in 64.
THM for ’64 was an option . . . standard for ’65. The older 4 speed HM was the standard tranny in MY64.
I wonder if Cadillac was hesitant to jump “all in” with the superior, new, Turbo HydraMatic, and so ’64 was something of a phase-in year? I did not know that only some ’64’s got it.
For ’64 Cad applications TH400 install was a factory coble job, using an engine adapter plate to make do with Buick case, and a special crankshaft.
My guess is that production ramp-up limited the number of available TH400 units. Even though Cadillac’s own proper case was in the works for ’65, still, Cadillac couldn’t be left to go completely without and allow Buick a big one-up.
My memory is a bit foggy, but I don’t think there were any transmission options. The base Series 62 still had the old HydraMatic, while deVilles and above got the new TH400. Not sure about the limos and commercial chassis(funeral and ambulance), but I think they still had the 4sp HM.
As someone once said,” I like a lot of car around me”.:-) Got to love those period ads…..the American Dream!
I love these ads too. Cadillac ads in particular just had that unmistakable confidence that simply assumed the top of the aspirational heap–casually asserting that the true key to the ultimate automotive “good life” could be none other than a Cadillac. That kind of subtle swagger is so compelling for luxury goods marketing, and I hope Cadillac one day finds it again (a contemporary version, backed by genuinely good product, not some retro-inspired knock off hawking Chevy-powered “Art and Science”-mobiles while masquerading as a BMW rival).
The Sixty-Two series in the hardtops and sedans was somewhat de-contented compared to the de Villes, but the convertibles had long been equipped much more like the de Villes (power windows, power seat standard, and trim much more like the de Villes). I guess in 1964 Cadillac decided to rationalize their lineup a bit.
I, too, always noticed this difference. I could never figure out why the Series 62 convertibles were trimmed out like the DeVilles, but carried the lower level designation. Made perfect sense to upgrade them in ’64.
The Series 62 – Series 63 de Ville – Fleetwood Sixty Special mirrored GM practice for its higher-priced lines – a solid, well-equipped base model, a sportier, more nicely equipped middle series sharing the same body, and a more luxurious top line model on a longer wheelbase – a la LeSabre – invicta/Wildcat – Electra 225. Like the LeSabre, the Series 62 was the volume seller for Cadillac, even though de Ville volumes were growing through the early 60s. When they switched to the Calais, the formula went out the window, and the de Ville (minus its Series 63 designation) became the volume line, while the Calais was more of a stripper and sales tanked. It was the Biscaye/Bel Air to the de Ville’s Impala, with the Sixty Special playing the Caprice role. Why GM matched the model structure of it’s highest priced brand has never made sense to me.
GM’s three levels to Nirvana. Each brand had it’s three levels, low, medium and high. The brands themselves played into this as well. Entry level: Chevy/Pontiac, stage II: Buick/Oldsmobile, The Holy Grale: Cadillac. I think the Calais was a failure because it made the buyer look like he was trying to ascend to the top level too quickly and made him look pretentious. The Fleetwood was a case of, we made it (Cadillac level), but I made it just a bit more then you (De Ville under Fleetwood/El Dorado )
The El Dorado was the Fleetwood guy who just got a divorce
I still remember the Cadillac salesman telling my dad in 1962 that the Series 62 was a “poor man’s Cadillac.”
Hey, I have a car like that!
More like, “Hey, I have a RADIO like that.”
It’s a 1963 Cadillac convertible, made in Hong Kong in plastic model form, including an AM transistor radio (the knobs are underneath where the engine compartment would be). My late father aspired to a Cadillac, and a 1963 Sixty-Two four-window sedan in Bahama Sand was his first one. It was followed by a 1966 Sedan deVille, a 1971 Sedan deVille and a 1969 Eldorado which finished Cadillac for him…his next car was a disappointing Mercedes which was followed by a minivan.
When I saw the 63 Cadillac radio on Ebay, I had to have it and bid high enough so I was just about certain I’d get it. But nobody else bid, so I got it quite cheaply.
It came in its original box, still with the original nine-volt battery from Hong Kong, in the Styrofoam packing.
And it works (with a modern-day battery, I’m only keeping the original one for originality’s sake). The metalplate finish is a bit oxidized and shows fingerprints, but I just call it “patina.”
Hi Tom,
great tale, great car.
Do you know the origin of the 62 series name for this car?
Roger,
The Series 62 designation appeared in 1940. There was also a Series 61 at least through 1951, but I’m not entirely sure of the differences. After ’51, the model lineup went Series 62, de Ville, Series 60 Special (A/K/A Fleetwood), Eldorado, and Series 75 (LWB limo and sedan). Between 1957 and 1960 there was also the Eldorado Brougham four-door hardtop, which cost even more than the Series 75s. Here is a 1960 Eldo Brougham; the 1959-60 model predicted the 1961 standard Cadillacs.
The Series 61 came out in 1938 when the Fleetwood 60 Special was introduced. So the 61 was the basic Cadillac. In 1940 it became the Series 62, so that in 1941 the Series 61 became the lower end Cadillac to replace the LaSalle. There was also a Series 63 until World War Two. The Series 61 continues to 1952, when there is only Series 62 and 60S (and the 75). The DeVille’s are hard top Series 62s. Cadillac drops the series numbering eventually. They did add the 63 and other numbers again, but like the current 3 letter series names, things were muddled.
I believe that in the era of this car, the series 62 and the Coupe/Sedan deVille were offered at the same time. The deVilles were definitely a step up and were trimmed out a little nicer. Both the 62 and deVille, whether 2 or 4 doors, was a hardtop in these years. I believe that the Series 62 was renamed the Calais in 1965 (?)
I have a Cadillac history book. The de Ville’s were considered Series 62 until near the end of the 50’s, when they upgraded to Series 63 (1959 to be exact). When the Calais was put into production the series numbering was dropped.
The Eldorado Sedan was a 70 Series in 57-58, then a Series 69 for the last two years. The “plain” Eldorado’s were Series 62 until 1959 when they became Series 64. The Series 75’s became Series 67’s in 1959 too.
These are some of my favorite Cadillacs. I had a ’64 convertible back in 1975, a couple of years after graduating from high school. I have some old Instamatic pictures but unfortunately haven’t scanned them into my computer files yet. I remember pulling the tranny to change out the front seal in my folk’s driveway, made a pretty big mess.