Now an automaker that can barely keep up with German rigs from BMW and Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac was once America’s number one luxury carmaker. This 1961 Coupe DeVille comes from that glorious era, but the car itself is a terrible sight.
While the license plate suggests that this Cadillac was still road-worthy in 2012, the car looks like it’s been off the road for decades. Not only dirty and rusty due to sitting outside for years, but it’s also missing the front and rear bumpers.
The interior is also in poor shape, missing its seats, and some other components, and showing serious rust on the floor panels. Yup, this thing is far from road-worthy. The kind of car that most sane people would dismantle to have it scrapped.
But not YouTube’s “Dead Dodge Garage.” This guy is hooked on saving barn and junkyard finds. Yes, he’s a Dodge fanatic and he wouldn’t go near a GM, but he made an exception for this mossy Cadillac. There’s nothing wrong with getting out of your comfort zone, right?
But does this Coupe DeVille have a chance? Is the 390-cubic-inch (6.4-liter) V8 engine under the hood willing to run again? Well, it agrees to fire up with a bit of tweaking and it has just enough juice to the Cadillac out for a spin.
That’s a surprisingly solid engine given the condition this car is in. If this Cadillac won’t be restored, the V8 under the hood is probably the only major component that will get a second chance at life. In a different car, of course.
This two-door is part of the second-generation Coupe DeVille. Produced from 1961 to 1964 and designed by Bill Mitchell, it was offered in both two- and four-door body styles. Engine options included the 390 V8 you see here and a larger, 429-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) that was introduced in 1964.
Rated at 325 horsepower in 1961, the first-year second-gen Coupe DeVille was quite the potent cruiser, but this specific car won’t be turning heads anytime soon. Find out why in the video below.