Her husband bought the car new in NY, they retired to FL and sadly, he had passed a few years later. She has a live-in nurse who drives his own car when they go anywhere and the fleetwood sat in the underground garage at their condo building, harldy ever driven. The car was waiting on parts for the A/C when I happened upon it.
I just happened to be at his shop, having my preivous car fitted with a dash cam when I saw it in an adjacent service bay. He told me the story and I just had to buy it. It came with the original bill of sale for just over $7000 (paid in cash), the dealer window sticker, user's manual, and various service records. He put me in touch by phone and she told me she only wanted the cost of the repair as the selling price. I told her this car, actually 15 years older then ME, in such fine condition, was worth much more. But she wasn't really interested in advertising it, or having people call her home with questions, and she told me that if I paid for the repair, she would sign the title over to me. I eventually talked her into accepting $1000 plus the repair cost.
I wanted it cuz it's a tribute to the height of the horsepower years in US car building and the height of over-the-top luxury for it's time. In the 1960's, US car making was all about bigger is best, faster is best, lots of chrome was a sign of class, and a Cadillac was a symbol that you had 'arrived'. There was never ANY car like this back home (UK) as this car won't even fit on our roadways - it's way too wide and long. Even the Merc 600 Grosser was small compared to this beast.
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Here is an advert - depicting those who had the freedom to splurge, make a statement, and could afford a car as rich as this this in 1968:
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And here is what takes up more than half my garage and has maybe 2 spare inches between the rear bumper and the garage door, LOL:
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DETAILS:
Body by Fisher: (coach builder est in 1908 by the Fisher brothers in Detroit originally only for Cadillac models - eventually becoming the largest car body maker known for their exquisite wood interior trim and solid body construction - disolved into GM in 1984)
WEIGHT: 4,980 pounds (2.5 tons)
SIZE: 228 inches long (a smidge past 19 feet), 130 in wheelbase (nearly 11 feet), 80 inches wide (6ft 6in)
ENGINE: cast iron 472cu in (7.7L) V8 engine making 380 bhp / 525 ftlb tourque
CARB: Rochester quadrajet carburetor / 2 valves per cylinder
FUEL: I use 93 octane and a lead-type additive (no unleaded engines in the 1960's)
TOP SPEED: 125 mph
ACCELERATION: 0-60mph: 5.5sec (mine takes just over 6 sec)
MPG: (I reckon I average about 9-10 mpg combined, and nealry 14 on open motorway)
RANGE: less than 200 miles with 26 gal fuel tank (about $100 to fill = about $2 per mile to drive it, LOL)
MSRP: $6,899 before added options (about $48,000 in 2014 dollars - average home price was $26,000 in 1968)
PRODUCTION: only 15,300 were produced (*est less than 500 remained in 2012)
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Features:
1st year for power disc brakes (front only), pwr door locks, pwr windows, pwr vent windows front and rear, front seat warmer, tilt/tele steering wheel, auto headlamps with sentinel dimmer, remote trunk release, automatic climate control with rear headliner vents, folding rear foot rests, AM/FM stereo with 5 speakers, electric antenna, seat belts front and rear, real wood inserts on doors and dash, automatic level control - keeping it level and proper height even loaded with 6 people and luggage, adj rear reading lamps, front cornering lamps, cruise control, int wipers, hood-mounted driver facing turn indicators, 6-way power seat, padded roof, leather interior was standard, but ... for a significant cost, mine has the much more expensive combination of breathable "brocade" silk with silver accent threading and leather trim - not offered in any other GM car, it was woven on an actual loom by hand.
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The rear lamp assembly is a work of art. Using multiple bulbs, here is how they work. At rest, the entire lens appears white aside from the square reflector lens in the center. When the brakes are applied, the entire lens shines red. When in reverse, the lower half shines a bright white light. When turning, the upper half blinks red and the rest has no colour.
I don't plan on selling it ever. It cruises on the motorway at 75 mph in near silence, no rattles or squeeks, like sitting in a huge soft marshmallow, and the cruise control maintains this speed about 2000 rpms!
I was considering tinting the windows, but decided it would ruin the appearance. I had the front and rear windscreens covered with the same UV / heat clear tint I have on my M35 and that made a huge difference.
