Patina At Its Best: 1956 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
Cadillac was enjoying increasing popularity in the 1950s. After having introduced the Coupe DeVille years earlier, Cadillac introduced a 4 door version of the hardtop, the Sedan DeVille, in 1956. There were 41,732 of the Sedan DeVille sold in 1956, making it Cadillac’s best selling model. Here is a 1956 Cadillac Series 62 Sedan DeVille for sale here on eBay in Port Rowan, Ontario. This car is patina at its best.
When I see this car, I immediately think of a widow in a town near where I grew up. She drove a 1956 Sedan DeVille and was famous for following the fire trucks to fires, as she did one day when one of our sheds caught fire. I looked out front and there was her Sedan DeVille sitting there. I guess she wanted to be first with the town gossip. Can you imagine social media back then for people like that? This car is a true survivor in original condition. One of its worst flaws is some pinhole rust in the passenger side rocker panel. This car has a power pull down trunk that still works. It has the unique feature of GM cars of the time, the hidden gas filler behind the left taillight. It also appears to have a lock for it. The car has fog lights that still work as well.
The interior is in remarkable shape except for some duct tape covering a rip on the rear seat armrest. There is also a tear in the dash pad, but the seats are in great condition. This Cadillac has a rare for the time option, air conditioning, however, it is not working. The panel under the glove compartment holds the controls for the air. Also, notice in the picture of the exterior rear, those vent housings between the back glass and trunk are rear mounted evaporators that handled the air. The air was routed through those vents and into the rear package shelf through clear tubes to further route the air through the headliner into vents inside the car. A good description of this is found in the video below. Another option you see in the picture is autronic eye, an automatic headlight dimmer. That is provided by the large fixture on the dash just to the left of the steering wheel.
The car has a 365 cubic inch V-8 that was rated at 285 horsepower. It has been driven 72,840 miles. The car runs fine and is frequently driven locally. The left vent window frame is broken along with the glass cracked, and a small stone chip in the windshield. While not perfect, it is in remarkable condition for a 1956 car. Bids are being taken on the car, but the Buy it Now price is set at $9,500. Is this the kind of car for which you would lay down nearly $10,000?
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Comments
Hey, I think I figured out what PATINA stands for, Paint And Trim Is Not Affordable. No, no, NO! Keep your stupid patina for a rusty Chevy pickup, this grand car deserves much more than that. This was the BEST American car one could buy in ’56, for shame to have it look like this. Nice Dagmars too,,, :O
HoA_ For the younguns.you’d have to say “Nice Beyonces”….but it doesnt have the same ring …………..lol
I agree,dont put a 454 it either
if I were to put in another engine, it would be an older Caddy… like a 472 or 500
I believe that the AC evaporator is located in the trunk as it was too large to fit under the dash. It’s similar to a rear mounted evaporator in a van and it takes a lot of refrigerant. Maybe it could be converted to a modern compressor and evaporator. With working AC and a disc brake conversion this could be a nice daily driver.
The air scoops give it away. The evap weighs about 70 pounds and on MoPars was attached to the hat shelf support.
To ‘thunk’ that we used to use Caddy car hoods to slide down snow covered hills…
That’s not patina. That’s just beat up and rusted. Caddys deserve better.
Neat car but the commenters are correct, it needs paint and not rust. Paint it that aquamarine and it would look fabulous. I would concur on modern brakes, air conditioning and would probably go to electronic ignition. Other than that a very cool beach or lake car.
Kevin is right, this would look stunning in the Aquamarine. paint, do the upgrades and drive!!! At 5700 now think its worth the BIN of 9500???
This caddy is a sweetie.
Good luck to the new owner.
Cheers
GPC
With all the work that needs doing, I wouldn’t pay more than $7k.
Patina… code word for beat up rusty piles of junk… who thinks of these things and better yet, how did it ever catch on as being desirable?
I love 56 Cadillacs. Own one and have owned three. There is no such thing as a nice rusty Cadillac. These were top of the line American cars in 1956. She should be clean and free of any rust. Hope someone saves this one.
The 56 was my favorite, also. This is when you knew a Cadillac. Now all of the cars look somewhat alike.
The dagmars will buff up well.
Um, you do one, and I’ll do the other. : )
Oh heavens for Betsy, there’s that word again. It’s just rust, just rust.
Aw for cryin’ out loud!, just paint the damned car will ya’!! These grand old gals should be all dressed up for the ball,
and not be offered or driven in this shabby condition. Were she mine, the
only time you’d see her like this would be on the drive back to my
home in Florida. Haven’t seen too many of these around in my
lifetime–the only ’56 Caddys I’ve really seen a lot are the Coupe
De Villes and convertibles. Growing up, I recall my Mom always
driving a used Caddy of some sort, but never a Sedan De Ville like
this one. Dad always put Mom into used Caddys because they were
a safe reliable used car that would give you many years of service.
Could see my SIL and neice driving this car after it was properly
painted and serviced. Once that happened, I wouldn’t be the least
afraid of using it for daily transportation. After all, this car is cheaper
to buy right now than a modern used car here in Florida. Car lots here
are charging between 20 and 25K for a 20 year old used vehicle and a
lot of folks are forced to buy ’em as the price of new cars and trucks
can exceed 70K or more. And there’s that satisfying feeling I’d get when
I’d hand my neice the keys to my Caddy, and tell her and her young man
to have a good time but don’t wreck it…It’s a doting uncle thing.
Don’t forget that the seller is asking $9,500 Canadian dollars. The difference in the currency exchange could go towards a repaint.
My old ’65 had no AC and standard 4 wheel drums, and I loved it the whole 4 years I drove it, but if the AC is there, it ought to work. And yes, paint it! If you can’t afford a perfect job, at least take it to Maaco. If I were living my life a little differently I would LOVE a ’56 Cadillac.
Andy, my ’66 Calais had power assisted
drum brakes too. You said that your car
had no A/C, did it have crank down windows as well? The reason I asked
is that I nearly bought a ’65 Calais 2-door
hardtop that was equipped in this way.
These truly were great cars and I loved
mine as much as you did yours. Would
love to have another like it but I ‘m priced
out of the market at this point. Doesn’t
hurt to dream though.
I had this same car but in baby blue.
There is nothing like an old Cadillac.
I loved the smell of the interior too.
We had a green ’56 convertible and a peach and white ’56 Coupe De Ville when
I was very young. I liked the ragtop more
than the hardtop especially when Dad
dropped the top on warm sunday evenings after leaving church. Absolutely
nothing like a ride in a ragtop after church
withe the wind in your hair and the radio
cranked up. It’s been just over 50 years
now and I still recall today how sharp that
car looked with its wide whitewall tires,
real wire wheels, and a continental kit
out back. Now that was motoring at its
finest! Too bad I can’t get my SIL to
feel the same way about it. She’s looking
for a good used car and all I can think of
is putting her behind the wheel of a good
used Cadillac. Beats all that other stuff
they pass off as good used cars here in
Florida. They’re charging as much as
$25K for a 20 year old jalopy that will
quit running long before the payments
will. Wish I had that ’56 ragtop today.
I’d show her what a good car really is.
My old man had a painter friend, that when I was a kid, had a mid 50’s Caddy. I always wondered how he got a Caddy on a painters salary, when my old man with his own business drove a DeSoto? It was the 1st car I saw that had electric windows and remember pinching my fingers in the back door window.
It’s pretty simple Howard, when the wealthy traded in their gently used
Caddys, guys like your Dad’s friend
and my Dad got the deal of a lifetime.
Oh sure, these cars may well have
been anywhere from maybe 3 to 10
years old by the time they bought them,
but Caddys from this era were built so
well that even a 100K mile example
would have made a great used car for
a working class family. Not only that,
working class income was on the rise
in the ’60’s–so much so that even a
police officer (my Dad) and your father’s
friend could afford to buy and own a
Cadillac. As I’ve said before, my Mom
drove nothing but used Caddys when
I was young. Don’t know if it’s still true
today, but I’ll still try and put my SIL into
a used Caddy. At least I won’t have to
worry about the damned thing breaking
down and leaving her stranded. Not
like a Toyota (2009-2010) or a Hyundai
(1986-2007) that seem to cause their
owners grief almost every day. Hope
that clears things up a little for you
Howard.