It Is Like New! 1973 Cadillac Coupe DeVille
At 228.5 inches in length, riding on a 130-inch wheelbase, and tipping the scales at 5,000 lbs. qualifies this 1973 Cadillac Coupe DeVille as a true whammer-jammer – this is a lot of car! Looking oh-so early ’70s in its Saturn-Bronze brown finish, the seller tells us, “Must see – like new!“. Based on the images, I’d say so, this big rig from L.A. is in fabulous condition. Needless to say, they don’t make ’em like this one anymore, so let’s look her over and see what we’re missing today.
This Caddy is proof that there are perfect specimens of survivorship still lurking around but they seem harder and harder to find with each passing year – not really a surprise I guess. Several thoughts about this car, it was in its third year of being upsized and the last model year produced before the ’73 oil embargo which caused plenty of pause in the demand for such an outsized cruiser. Sales were brisk in ’73 with Cadillac delivering 216K DeVilles with the two-door version slightly edging out its four-door sibling – imagine that today! Also new for ’73 was the federally mandated five MPH front bumper and ever-tightening emission control standards – also courtesy of Uncle Sam and more on that to follow.
As for that front-end rammer, a lot of GM’s ’73 models wore it poorly but this brute is substantial enough in girth, that it blends right in. As for condition – no nits to pick, this Caddy looks like it just rolled off of Detroit’s Clark Street assembly line.
Moving along, the finish, chrome, vinyl top, stainless trim, glass – all of it, is about as perfect as it gets. The seller mentions that he has a custom-made cover that he probably sourced from Omar the tent maker – I don’t know where you would find one this size…Regardless, that’s probably helped this DeVille maintain its youthful appearance.
Back to that Uncle Sam business and messing around with the engine room, this big two-door hardtop is powered by a 220 net HP, 472 CI (7.7 liters!) V8 engine – yup that’s it, 220 measly HP out of a king-kong-sized powerplant. Of course, it’s torque-rich and that’s what you need to get a leviathan like this up and moving. The odometer reads only 46K miles so there’s a lot of go still to be had from under that Great Plains-sized hood. Gear changing is courtesy of GM’s fine Turbo-Hydramatic 400 three-speed automatic transmission. Interestingly, the first thing that I noticed about this DeVille’s engine compartment is the four struts needed to hold up the front end. Two were common in this era but I believe this is the first time that I have spotted a model that required four.
As for the interior, it wouldn’t be a true member of the “Standard of the World” club if the interior weren’t nicer than whatever you park your derriere on at home. In this case, it’s sumptuous leather upholstery with all of the standard trimmings. As with the exterior, it needs no attention. The seller does mention inoperability with the “dash lights, trip mileage (tripometer), and clock”.
I’ll cut to the chase, I’m generally not a Cadillac fan (or of anything mobile that’s finished in brown) but I would be willing to make an exception here – this Caddy is just that good. Thanks are due to Rocco B. for this tip and you can find this exceptionally clean two-door hardtop here on craigslist where it’s available for $19,900 OBO. Any takers out there?
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Comments
I like how the vinyl doesn’t extend all the way to the top of the windshield and doors. Great Caddy and worth the ask I think. Brown on a luxury car looks right especially the seventies.
I love any write up that includes the word leviathan
Wow! I’m not a GM fan, but like you I’m able to make exceptions as needed. I do have a few Cadillacs that have made it onto my all-time 10 most favorite list and the 73s are on that list. This is the way a Cadillac should look like. The exterior is smooth and elegant. The grill an headlights are commanding, as a Cadillac should be. I also like the taillights, they look like the traditional Cadillac taillights and yet very subtle. As soon as I saw the underhood picture I immediately thought the same thing you did regarding the 4 support bars. I’m sure they help smooth down the handling. I like the dashboard, which I don’t saw about Cadillacs. This was a very popular color in the San Fernando Valley California. There were a lot of them around in this color. I would say based on it’s condition, the price is very reasonable. I would have no problem paying this amount. One if my best friend’s dad had a Sedan deville, It was Dark blue metallic with matching vinyl top.The interior was dark blue leather. The 73 Cadillacs started something new with little colored LEDs positioned on top of the the leading edge of the front fenders. As I remember there was amber for the turn indicators and green when the brakes were applied. There was also on positioned on the rear package shelf. They would also let you know if a bulb was not working. We all graduated high school in 73. My friends dad let him have the car for us to attend all the grad night celebrations. My friend didn’t like driving it because it was so big,so I did all the driving. There were 6 of us all dressed up in our graduation clothes. We were living large. I remember that night like it was yesterday. I liked that Caddy. In 75, his Dad traded it for a new Seville.It was the same color as the deville, I drove that one a lot too. To me it handled very similar to the deville. It sure didn’t feel like the size if a Nova. By the way, you wondered where he could have found a cover that big. We had a shop called California Car Cover, they would create a custom cover to fit any size car. They included mirror and hood ornament pockets for a perfect fit. I bought a lot of them, I had one made for my 75 Mercury Colony Park full-size wagon. It was gray and huge. Seeing cars like this deville is kinda bitter-sweet for me. I love the big traditional full-size American luxury cars. But seeing them makes me long for those fine machines. In any event, thank you for an excellent article, please keep them coming, they keep me alive.
The indicator lights on the fenders and rear package shelf were not LED. It was a fiber optic setup so that you were actually seeing light from the bulbs. I think they started installing these indicators in 1972, but happy to be corrected.
My ‘71 Buick Electra 2 door HT had the fender “lights”. A neat idea!
I had a 1967 Impala SS with the fiber optics from the factory. Front fenders were turn signal and headlamps/high beams. Rear deck had stop and tail. Really neat at night!
The front lamp monitors…..amber for the turn signal, green for low beams and red for high beams. Rear monitor….red for brake lights.
They were not red for hi beams, they were white. Red was not allowed on the front of a vehicle.
Yes that’s a beautiful Caddy, I had several like that. It did not have LEDs on the fenders. They were fiber optics that indicated the operation of the high, Low beams, parking lights and turn signals. You could walk-in tell if one was out. Had two red ones in the back above the window. The hubcaps are nice but not original.
That is an excellent company. I ordered 2 Flannel lined covers for my 65 and 69 Coupes. After 12 years of pampering them, I lost both and more to my rising creek. I still have the covers.
They don’t fit my Escalade.
I will say this the engine bay while I’m positive recently was detail at least to my eyes & phone screening looks exceptional! The price seems over the top but where do you find one like it? Simply the cleanest 1973 Cadillac engine bay with rusty this or even a bad looking power brake assist ! Sure I would love it , just can’t afford it
A very new CA license plate. Always raises questions with me – just bought, lost prior plate? Seller says they “need room”.
How bout some Meat Loaf t-bone?
🎤 🎶 🎹 ” baby we can talk all nite, but that ain’t getting us nowhere, I’ve told you everything i possibly can, there’s nothing left inside of me” And baby you can cry allnite, and that’ll never change the way that I feel, the snow is really piling up outside… ” 🎶
I prefer the look of this ’73 Coupe deVille with the hard top roofline. Beautiful in the dark brown.
Cadillac had no business building ~216,000 deVilles in a single model year. Cadillac’s quest for ever-increasing volume is a big part of why the brand lost much of its luster. Quality suffered, and the exclusivity that drove people to spend more on a Cadillac was gone. Cadillac has never fully recovered from the mistakes they made in the 1970s.
To Timothy. Your Buick Electra did NOT have those fiber optics. It only had turn signal indicator bulbs.
That was the last year for the big speedometer that went up to 120. I did hit that a few times in my younger days.
Too bad its missing the tilt/tele wheel and cruise control.
Ah, Miss Divas land yacht. I love this car. Cadillacs from 1971 to 1976 are my all time favs. This one,however, would look better with a white or cream colored vinyl top. JMO
The stand up hood ornament is indicative of ’74 and on. ’73 did not have them.
The hubcaps are wrong. Maybe ’75?
Other than that gorgeous car. If I had a daddy I’d ask him to buy it for me. 😆
First thing I’d do is put wider whites on it. 3″ maybe.
That’s mind boggling. My 73 Sedan had a standup emblem with a long chrome strip to the windshield edge.
My 73 Fleetwood Limo did not have one when I bought it.
But it did shortly afterwards.
Beautiful automobile! I could repair the original clock. Nice ride — not a bad price for what you get here. Wonder what became of the original hubcaps???? I couldn’t afford the gasoline to RUN this pretty beast! I mean, what does it get: about 11.5 miles per gallon of premium fuel? And, will 94 octane Sunoco unleaded even power it properly? I could just SEE myself making pilgrimages to the airport to buy 109 octane LEADed fuel for this! Ah! — the days when we poured-in accessory lead additives and octane boosters in the early unleaded days! I’m too old for this now… sorry to say. But I’d still love to own it and drive it anyway, because I’m crazy.🤪
@TCK
It’s always been my impression stand up hood ornaments started in ’74. Maybe not. But I know ’70, ’71 & 72 didn’t have them standard. Maybe they were on option in ’73?
All my ’74s, ’75s & ’76s had them, all with the laurel wreath
I believe ’77 had just the Cadillac emblem outlined and no wreath
How are you, TCK?
I am ok and thank you for asking. Hopefully you are well too. I will check my 73 sales info, I’m curious.
I do know my 72, 70,69 67 66 and 65 did eventually have them, but not when I bought them. I did not put one on my 60 however.
Two things that are important to me in a car is how it takes bumps and quietness this car delivers. 0-60 times aren’t nothing to brag about but when already rolling the 472 will deliver.
ClassicP, I agree. If someone wants “hot performance”, there are plenty of cars designed around that concept. The objective, here, is COMFORT, and that sense that you are riding in one of the finest vehicles made. How it rounds sharp corners at higher speeds is meaningless, when what you are after is an easy ride and gentle upholstery. As long as it is capable of Interstate speeds, with room to spare, what MORE could you ask? One other vital thing: RELIABILITY. It doesn’t matter how smooth and accommodating a car is, if it keeps returning frequently to the repair shop for this or that above and beyond regular maintenance. My only questions, here, would be the practicality of feeding its thirst and finding parking spaces vast enough for it to fit it into!