Bucket List Styling Stunner: 1948 Cadillac Series 61
I was having a conversation the other day with my day job boss about bucket list cars. One of the cars I said that I would enjoy owning before I go to my reward (or punishment…) would be a 1949 Cadillac Series 62 fastback coupe. Well, wouldn’t you know it, a tip popped up in the Tips and Assignments section of Barn Finds that is exceptionally close to the car I am lusting for. The most painful part of this scenario is that I am in no position financially or storage space-wise to make an offer on this 1948 Cadillac Series 61 coupe for sale on Craigslist in Groton, Massachusetts. Owned for decades by an esteemed collector of Cadillacs, this fastback beauty has just 64,000 miles on the odometer and is in excellent shape. Is the $29,995 price for this pampered styling and engineering masterpiece correct at this time, or are these luxury coupes becoming more affordable as time goes on? Thanks to Mitchell G. for the finned tip!
For those who are not aware, the 1948 Cadillac is regarded as the starting point for the fins on the rear fenders movement that reached its wretchedly excessive apogee on the 1959 Cadillac. The fins on the 1948 Cadillac were inspired by the P-38 fighter plane of World War II fame. P-38 airplanes sported a twin tail, and the twin tails of a handful of P-38Gs were likely the last thing that Japan’s Admiral Yamamoto saw when his transport aircraft was shot down on a Pearl Harbor payback mission called “Operation Vengeance.” In styling the 1948 Cadillac, designers were looking to emulate the graceful twin-tail look and managed to hit a bases-loaded home run. Soon every car rolling out of US factories either had fins or there was a car with fins on the design boards being rushed into production.
Still, none of the cars that followed managed to achieve the balanced elegance of the simple, sloping fins paired with GM’s fastback (sedanet) body lines. Throughout the marque’s history, there have been many examples of Cadillac styling being flashy and sometimes overwrought. In 1948, with both the Series 61 and Series 62, GM’s top division got it right. They built upon their success in 1949 when an all-new overhead valve V-8 replaced the venerable flathead V-8 under the hood. The flathead V-8, in another tie-in with World War II, powered several light tanks and armored vehicles and had given a good account of itself during the conflict. However, there was a new emphasis on performance after the war and the 1949 replacement engine produced more horsepower and weighed 200 pounds less.
For many, the 1949 is the Cadillac to have due to the new engine. Yet it was the 1948 model that was first with the fins and the fantastic styling. This 1948 Cadillac Series 61 coupe is an excellent example of these milestone cars. The color you see is listed as Kingswood Gray. This dark shade of gray works well with the car’s understated looks. Unfortunately, the seller cannot tell us if it is a repaint or it is the original paint. It is said to still shine up OK with a few imperfections here and there. Another plus is that the body is described as without a dent or ding and all of the panel gaps are good. The doors, which on Cadillacs of this era evoke bank vault comparisons, are said to close effortlessly. There is no rust or rot, and the chrome is in very good shape. With just 64,000 miles, one has to wonder if this is an original car or an old restoration.
A look inside reveals a very tidy dash and what appears to be a semi-translucent plastic steering wheel that mimics woodgraining. The interior is covered in tan and gray broadcloth which is in excellent condition. Almost all of the lights, blinkers, and gauges are said to work, as does the radio. The only issues are with the horn and the gas gauge. The seller also makes mention of the glass being in very good condition. This car was built when curved glass was slowly replacing flat glass in automobiles. The problem was that the more of a curve there was, the higher the rejection rate at the foundry. One way around this is seen in the three-piece back glass. By making smaller pieces and joining them together with a piece of trim, costs were lowered, and the rejection rate fell. It wouldn’t be long before any technical issues were mastered, and wraparound glass became a regular feature.
Under the hood, the original flathead V-8 is described as capable of starting right up and running great. The four-speed Hydramatic automatic transmission is likewise in good shape and is reported to shift fine. With a new battery in place, the seller says that you can get in this Cadillac and cruise. It is a shame that the only picture taken under the hood is dominated by the front of the radiator and the pan filling the gap between it and the grille pretty much obscures the engine, thus making it unusable.
In all, this is a remarkably nice Cadillac that would make for a spectacular car to participate in classic automobile tours with. The flathead V-8 is a reliable engine that is very capable of propelling the car as fast as you would like to go on such a tour and the automatic transmission would make it easy to sit back and enjoy the ride without the chore of shifting. The simple elegance of this Cadillac makes it stand out among the rest of the Cadillacs made in the postwar years. If Cadillac could bring to market a beautiful, understated car such as this at a reasonable price, it might be possible for the brand to finally emerge from the doldrums it has found itself in for decades.
What do you think of this Cadillac? Is it on your car bucket list? If not, what car do you lust after? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
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Comments
You know what’s amazing, look at the previous listing, the Miata, an awesome car in its own right, then look at this. Who, in 1948, would buy a car like this, I wondered. It’s got peacetime military officer all over it. I read, this car cost around $2900 bucks, but options took it well beyond that. I think it was the least expensive Caddy at the time. Since a privates salary after the war then was around $50/month, and half sent home to “ma”, an officers pay was 4 times that. Besides, as kids, we all saw that someones uncle that was visiting from Texas in one of these. Here’s another, if the original buyer had just waited, the all new OHV came the very next year, but splitting hairs today. As mentioned, this motor will do everything, and with the swoopy styling, might get teens in mpg to boot.
I want to hear from Angel on this one,,,
Miata HoA really? You just lost a spot as a honorary charter member in my exclusive club 😎. Me personally the only foreign car I’d consider is German made. Those Miatas are so tiny it leaves me scratching my head do I drive it or wear it or place it in the trunk in place of the spare tire?
If you find Miatas tiny, you might just croak after slipping into and winding up an S2000.
Years ago, viewing clay molds at the museum in Auburn IN, I was captivated at how those imaginative minds – surrounded by miles of cornfields in the middle of nowhere – shaped those molds into the inspiration and production of shapely and beautiful and memorable cars. Designers in Detroit weren’t slacks either, as this ‘Caddy turns my head too.
WOW!!! What beauty. Always one of my favorite cars, great styling and presence. Outstanding paint & interior combination. Little pricey at $29K+, that is probably negotiable. Whoever buys this fine ride will attract a crowd at a car show!
Just lovely..always reminds me of a US version of the fabulous Bentley Continental fastback of the same era.I would love this to replace the 1956 Coupe De Ville I had with the last year of those iconic taillights.I loved that car and would love this from a time when Cadillac really did rule in quality and style..
Last I remembered the Continental Fastback’s styling was inspired by the ’48-’49 Cadillac
absolutely…gorgeous…tho a 331 would make an improvement…
A 500 with a TH400 would make a better improvement.
Mitchell G..that makes total sense…I would be very happy with this lovely version and be saving $$$$ over an equally lovely Bentley.I so regret selling myCoupe De Ville but it was mainly an issue of space for a car almost 18 feet long! (parked next to my little A Porsche from the same year!!).Thanks for the info.
When I was a senior in high school,(’73) a classmate came by my house one afternoon with a black version of this car. A true beauty. He was looking to sell it for $450. I passed. Never saw it again. Not at school, not around town.
Over the years, I’ve wondered if I made the right choice. I convinced myself a couple of decades ago that I had. Going of to college, moving a lot, no covered parking, potential parts and maintenance issues etc. I would have needed to sell it somewhere along the way. But still…………
In 1986 I passed up a running ’49 for $700 .. can’t tell you how many times I’ve kicked myself in the butt for not buying it … being a single dad with three girls that was the right decision back then … but I still look back on it …
What a beautiful car. Can’t remember the last time I said that about a Cadillac.
Not in my bucket list but beautiful just the same. Reading these pages I learned a new word, sedanet. There was a Buick earlier here in that same style. So cool. That grey color almost looks like a modern shade you’d see on a Lexus. What would be in my bucket list is to drive one of these for a couple hours.
This Cadillac was the precursor of the 1949 versions of the “fastback” models with the same body from Chevy, Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Buick. Introducing this new style in their Cadillac lineup was a smart marketing move on the part of GM, as buyers would then associate that styling as “upmarket” (rather than “downmarket” if it had been introduced by Chevy instead).
1947-48 Pontiac had a style similar to this Caddy, but was called a “torpedo back!”
…this was the very obvious inspiration for the ’71 Buick Riviera.
Another beautiful automobile.
But this Caddy model is among the most inspired automobile designs in MY lifetime.
I do believe the 1938 Buick Y job was the inspiration for the boat tail Rivieras:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_Y-Job
Very nice. But like Jeff, money and space restrictions make this “not a chance” vehicle for me. And my wife thinks that I have enough play toys already. I beg to differ but realistically it is getting harder to keep five vehicles humming. Whoever buys this is getting a fine example of American car builder prowess when Cadillac was truly the standard for other car makers to follow. GLWTS.
Love the love this fine fast back is getting. IT MAKES MY HEART BEAT SOOO FAST. man would i love this in my 3rd garage, SOON I may be able .. for now its better that penthouse. .I DROOL every time I see the older fast back. . Wonder if Oo could get my wife to get it and get rid of the S7 Audi
Buy it, drive it, show it off! Its a HOBBY! Not a portfolio funding investment. So bored with the
“Oh its no longer appreciating in value” This is a beaitiful special car that you will not see very often.
Jeff you mentioned in your write up day boss. Is it speculation to assume you moonlight another occupation or your at home boss? If the latter no need to explain. I’ll leave that alone. Been there done that. For inspiration there is light at the end of the tunnel. Tell your day boss to give you a raise.
I always remember v ered the ’48 Caddy as having three little trim pieces under the tail-lamps, deleted in 1949 — or, was that only SOME of them???
The ’48 Futuramic Oldsmobile was elegantly understated also (somehow, Buick waited until 1949, then came with a beauty which they destroyed for 1950). Oldsmobile kept their “Futuramic” style after 1949 only in the 88 series, adding more trim as things went, up to 1950. The ’51 was the same, but had a single piece windshield.