Worth Saving? 1961 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible
As we surmise from the seller’s ad, he found two 1961 Cadillac convertibles in California and had them shipped to him in Maryland. The better of the two cars have already been sold, leaving the other – which is far from complete – for the next enterprising soul looking for a project. These were grand cars back in the day, especially when you dropped the top on the convertible and went out for a ride. However, it will be a huge undertaking here to recreate that magic once again, so are you up to the task? Located in Poolesville, Maryland, this roller is available here on eBay for the Buy It Now price of $4,500.
Cadillac built 15,500 Series 62 convertibles in 1961, They were a bit more refined than their predecessors which the kind of tailfins you wouldn’t want to be impaled on. If you had $5,000 in 1961 money to s[end, that got you a lavish car that was nearly 20 feet long and weighed about one pound for every dollar! This once blue drop-top was one of those cars but has since seen much of itself parted out so it’s largely a rolling shell now.
The seller bought it and the gold one in the ad as part of an estate sale. A lot is missing on the car, including a title. Some of the pieces that have done a disappearing act include the engine, transmission, keys, pinch well, and interior. And there is likely more to be noticed when doing an up-close inspection of the car. To make up for the lack of a drivetrain, the seller has a period-correct partial drivetrain that he would be happy to drop in under the hood as part of the deal. And the convertible top frame you see is not hooked up and came from another car.
Lest you question the asking price, the seller says he spent $2,300 just to get the car transported across the country, plus whatever he paid to buy. So, he may not stand to make a huge profit, assuming you believe this car can be saved to cruise another drive-in again. Hagerty says that “top dollar” for a ’61 Series 62 sedan is $35,000, so you could add a premium to that for a convertible. But what would it cost to bring this old drop-top back to showroom condition?
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Comments
I believe in saving as many classic cars as possible, since so many went to the crusher, but, jeez, these are junk. Parts cars at best.
Put them in indoor storage and part them out. You MIGHT get some of your money back and you will be saving other classics.
JMO
“weighed almost $1 per pound?” I guess it’s Friday.
Perfect for a resto mod Caddy convertible. Not worth restoring to original.
If he could have found a scrap yard in California that would have taken it without a title, good luck with that, he should have. That move would have made the package deal considerably more profitable.
Steve R
“Cause he had high hopes”,,I say it was $2300 EACH to ship, car hauling has become SUCH a ripoff,especially cross-country. I think a classic swing and a miss here.
In April a friend had a non running car shipped from the Dallas area to the San Francisco Bay Area for $1,000. While he was unloading I spoke to the drivers wife, who handled all of the bookings. She said there are so many people buying California cars on top of those moving that any car going East will cost at least twice as much. The only reason they accepted his bid was because they didn’t want to have a partially empty truck heading west. The prices are about supply and demand.
Steve R
First 2300.00 to move a cay across the US is a good deal. That rig cost 250.000.00 dollars and gets 7 mpg Insurance
to haul cars is about 25,000 a year. So if he got them moved
for 2300.00 he got a deal I would not have done it for less than 3k. Just offering my first hand information.
When gas was low last year, I got an inop car shipped thru U-ship, Cali to NY for 1K, now that was a deal
I wonder if the cars underneath them made it without getting damaged. Seems doubtful.
Parts cars at best. The chrome bill on a 61 would be $20,000 minimum. I have paid $$$$$ for chroming and will never do it again. I love 61 Cads, but these are not worth restoring.