1963 Cadillac Coupe De Ville, California Car, On Air Suspension on 2040-cars

This 1963 Cadillac Coupe DeVille is an example of one of the great years of the early 60’s era Cadillac production run and represents an era of automobiles that will never be seen again…

The condition of this car is very nice “driver” condition and well presented.  It was restored sometime in the late 90’s/early 2000’s.  The car shows very few signs of age and shows only 96,422 original miles on the odometer. 

It is an original California black plate car that still retains its original California license plate. 

This Cadillac also features working air suspension, allowing the driver to raise and lower the car!

BODY:

This Cadillac has the original correct white paint applied.  The paint was done when the restoration took place and is still in very nice condition.  All of the body panels are ripple and dent free and have never had any sort of body or accident damage.

The finish is in extremely nice overall condition obviously the result of the car being garage kept and well cared for since the restoration.   

The glass and seals are in very nice condition and there are no leaks evident. 

INTERIOR:

The interior is stunning and trimmed in the white and black leather.  The seating areas are in almost flawless condition, as are the door panels.  The carpet is also in very nice original condition.

There is a minor crack that just started on the dash.  The photos exhibit the damage.  

The electric windows are in perfect working condition.  The electric window motors have been checked and re-installed.  The trunk area is in very nice condition, with no rot evident, and the spare tire and wheel are present. 

SUSPENSION:

This Coupe DeVille has had an air suspension installed when it was restored.  The system functions as it should and is a real experience to drive. You can change the ride height at any time, up or down, so if you want the car at the factory ride height, you can have it set there.  If you want the car raised in the back or slammed to the ground, all you have to do is push a button.  The suspension is not only gives you options on the way the car looks, it is also extremely reliable and easy to use.

UNDERCARRIAGE:

The underside of the car is in very nice condition as the photos show.

ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION:

All of the mechanical aspects of the car have been inspected and the car has had a complete tune up.  The motor is original to the car, with all numbers and codes matching.

All of the engine, transmission, and differential fluids have been changed, all belts have been replaced, the cooling system flushed out, and a new battery installed. 

ENGINE COMPARTMENT:

The engine bay is completely original, with all components in operational condition.  Every detail of the engine compartment is well preserved.  There is some minor wear to certain painted surfaces due to age, but overall, it is very presentable.

TIRES AND WHEELS:

The tires are new whitewall tires.  The wheels and hubcaps are also in very nice original condition.  

OVERALL DRIVING IMPRESSIONS:

This Coupe DeVille runs as any well sorted Cadillac does.  The 390 cubic inch V-8 powerplant runs and accelerates smoothly and very quickly and the automatic transmission shifts as it should. 

The car drives around town and on the open road with no trouble.  It has had all of the necessary service recently performed including oil change, tune up, installation of new battery and brakes, and gearbox and differential service, and needs absolutely nothing to drive, show, and enjoy.  All of the mechanical aspects of the car work as they should including the air suspension. 

PLEASE NOTE:

This 1963 Cadillac still retains all of its original components with the addition of the air suspension!  This means the engine, transmission, rear end, etc. are original to the car. All of the numbers, markings, etc., are correct.  It is an original and very special car that, as evidenced by the low mileage, has been driven very sparingly during the last 51 years…

This Coupe DeVille is a lot of fun to drive and can look  completely stock or slightly custom depending on your mood.  If you’ve never driven a Cadillac of this period that is  on  air suspension, you are in for a treat with this one! 

There is absolutely nothing that needs to be done to this car to drive it occasionally and enjoy it as a showpiece. 

I am always looking for new cars and motorcycles to add to my collection and have several other cars for sale including a 1957 E-Code Dual-Quad Thunderbird as well as motocross and enduro motorcycles and Italian, Japanese, and German road bikes.  Please contact me if you are interested or have something interesting for sale.

TERMS:  $500 DEPOSIT WITHIN 48 HOURS OF AUCTION CLOSE.  BALANCE OF AUCTION AMOUNT MUST BE PAID BY CASH IN PERSON, BANK TO BANK WIRE TRANSFER, OR CERTIFIED FUNDS (WITH VERIFICATION) ONLY WITHIN 7 DAYS OF AUCTION CLOSE.  SORRY, NO C.O.D. AND NO PAYPAL. 

The description of this vehicle is written to the best of my knowledge.  However, even though I have a serious interest in these cars, I am by no means an expert on them.  Please don’t hesitate to ask for more photos and, if possible, come and look in person before the auction ends.  ALL SALES ARE FINAL!  If you have any questions, please contact me before the auction ends.

If you have any questions, please contact me.  If you live close to Chicago, I encourage you to come and inspect the car in person!

In an effort to protect the eBay user information and to help ensure the authenticity of correspondence between sellers and bidders, eBay’s new listing format does NOT display any bidder information.  Nevertheless, I STRONGLY encourage bidders to contact me directly to answer questions or to verify correspondence.  Seller reserves the right to not accept bids or sell the vehicle to anyone with a zero or negative eBay feedback rating.

This vehicle is being sold as is, where is with no warranty, expressed, written or implied unless there is a warranty in effect from the factory.  The seller shall not be responsible for the correct description, authenticity, genuineness, or defects herein, and makes no warranty in connection therewith.  No allowance or set aside will be made on account of any incorrectness, imperfection, defect or damage.  Any descriptions or representations are for identification purposes only and are not to be construed as a warranty of any type.  It is the responsibility of the buyer to have thoroughly inspected the vehicle and to have satisfied himself or herself as to the condition and value and to bid based upon that judgment solely.  The seller shall and will make every reasonable effort to disclose any known defects associated with this vehicle at the buyer's request PRIOR to the close of sale.  Seller assumes no responsibility for any statements regardless of any oral statements about the item.

Please remember that your bid constitutes a legally binding contract to purchase this item.  If you require an inspection, have it done prior to bidding.  I strongly encourage all bidders to inspect the motorcycle personally or enlist the services of a professional inspector prior to placing a bid.  After the sale, inspections are not recognized as a contingency to completing your obligation to your winning bid.  If there are any questions regarding the above terms, please e-mail prior to bidding.

Please do not waste my time or yours bidding on an item you do not intend to pay for.  If you bid on this part and win, you are expected to pay for the part and pick it up in a timely manner!

I welcome ALL international bidders and am happy to assist with making shipping arrangements.  If you are an international buyer, I understand it can take some time to arrange shipping, so I do not mind keeping the vehicle for a longer period of time until pick up.  Please contact me before the sale ends, if possible, to discuss the specifics.

Thanks for your interest!

For more on the 1963 Cadillac Coupe DeVille, read past the photos…

The De Ville was originally a trim level and later a model of General Motors' Cadillac marque. The first car to bear the name was the 1949 Coupe de Ville, a prestige trim level of the Series 62 luxury coupe. The last model to be formally known as a De Ville was the 2005 Cadillac DeVille, a full-size sedan, the largest car in the Cadillac model range at the time. The next year, the DeVille was officially renamed DTS (an abbreviation standing for DeVille Touring Sedan, itself a trim level on earlier models).

The name "De Ville" is from the French de la ville or de ville meaning "of the town". In French coach building parlance, a coup'e de ville, from the French couper (to cut) i.e. shorten, was a short four-wheeled closed carriage with an inside seat for two and an outside seat for the driver and this smaller vehicle was intended for use in the town or city (de ville). An (unshortened) limousine or (in the US) town car has a division between the passenger and driver compartments and if the driver's seat is outside it may be called a sedanca de ville or town car.

The first Cadillac "Coupe de Ville" was shown during the 1949 Autorama. It was built on a Cadillac Sixty Special chassis and featured a dummy air-scoop, chrome trim around front wheel openings, and a one-piece windshield and rear glass. The interior was black and trimmed in gray leather, including the headliner, to match the roof color. It was equipped with a telephone in the glove compartment, a vanity case and a secretarial pad in the rear armrest, power windows and highly decorative chrome interior trim. The prototype "Coupe de Ville" was used by GM President Charles E. Wilson until 1957 when he presented it to his secretary. At some time during this period it acquired a dark Vicodec roof. The prototype "Coupe de Ville" was still in use as of 1976.

In overall terms 1963 Cadillac was essentially the same as last year. Exterior changes imparted a bolder and longer look. Hoods and deck lids were redesigned. The front fenders projected 4.625 inches further forward than in 1962 while the tailfins were trimmed down somewhat to provide a lower profile. Body side sculpturing was entirely eliminated. The slightly V-shaped radiator grille was taller and now incorporated outer extensions that swept below the flush-fender dual headlamps. Smaller circular front parking lamps were mounted in those extensions.

A De Ville signature script was incorporated above the lower beltline molding near the rear of the body. A total of 143 options including bucket seats with wool, leather or nylon upholstery fabrics and wood veneer facings on dash, doors and seatbacks, set an all-time record for interior appointment choices. Standard equipment was the same as the previous year. The engine was entirely changed, though the displacement and output remained the same, 390 cu in (6.4 l) and 325 hp (242 kW).

…And more on the ’63 Cadillac by the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide…

1963 Cadillac

Jerry Brochstein, who arrived in the Cadillac studio in 1959, recalls that the 1961 Lincoln shook everyone up and made Cadillac designers think about simplifying the body sides for the 1963 Cadillac, "... to get away from those corrugated surfaces."

Brochstein says that on one of Jordan's flights back to Detroit after visiting his parents in California, the studio chief sketched what essentially became the 1963 Cadillac on an air sickness bag. He brought the very sketch into the studio, where it served as the concept drawing for the production car.

"The 1963 Cadillac had more of the substance, the solidity, and presence of the 1959-1960 production models," contends Jordan. "We never wanted to make it as heavy in appearance as those earlier cars. We were after a leaner-looking Cadillac; lighter. You'll notice that in 1963 and 1964, we went back to that smoother, more solid shape, and the more regal, snooty front. I think the 1963 was the best of those cars."

The two 1963 Cadillac two-door hard-tops had noticeably longer rear decks as a result of the adoption of shorter roof sail panels. "We started working on the 1963 models by first doing the Coupe de Ville. Well, I had an idea one day when I saw this new four-door hardtop they were working on at Chevrolet," explains Chuck Jordan.

"I said to myself, 'Hey, why not put the Chevrolet four-door hardtop roof on the Coupe de Ville ... mount it physically on the Cadillac lower and see, because of the Cadillac's extra length, if the Chevy sedan roof doesn't make a good Cadillac coupe.' And boy, that was it. That was it. We couldn't afford another upper, but with that shorter four-door Chevrolet roof, nobody ever caught us. And it looked great."

The more compact roofline gave coupes a seven-inch increase in rear deck length, despite a one-inch gain in body length for all Cadillacs (except the short-deck four-door, which remained at 215 inches).

Fins were reduced about an inch in height. A simple thin chrome strip ran front to back on the sides of Series 62s, De Villes, and Series 75s. With the skegs gone, heavy rocker panel trim bands were extended from behind the front wheel openings to the back bumper on the 60 Special and Eldorado convertible. They also both adopted chrome block-letter identification forward of the front doors and wreath-encircled Cadillac crests on their rear fenders.

Perhaps it was no surprise, then, that the Eldorado had its best year since 1959 -- when it came in coupe and convertible form. The short-deck Series 62 Town Sedan was discontinued, leaving the De Ville-based Park Avenue to soldier on by itself. But after just 1,575 were made for the year, it, too, was consigned to history.

A new dashboard design placed the fuel and temperature gauges to the right of the carryover strip speedometer, and pulled the clock and radio closer to the driver than they had been previously. Cadillac made a tilt steering column available in 1963, but the most important mechanical difference was an engine not derived from that of the 1949 Cadillac.

Cadillac engineers knew that anything bigger than 390 cid would be pushing the old V-8's displacement limit. They also recognized that cars would become bigger, heavier, and more power-hungry, especially Cadillacs.

So the division's chief engineer, Charles F. Arnold, decided to develop a new V-8, one that was lighter, stiffer, more durable, easier to manufacture, and easier to work on. It turned out to be one of the quietest re-engineering jobs on record. Few Cadillac partisans were aware that the 1963 engine was altogether different from the previous V-8.

That was because, for one thing, the 1963 Cadillac engine displaced the same 390 cubic inches as its predecessor. It even used the same bore and stroke: 4 x 3.875 inches. Horsepower and torque stayed the same, too: 325 bhp at 4,800 rpm and 430 pound-feet at 3100, respectively. Compression held at a ratio of 10.5:1.

So why did Cadillac go to a new engine that was so similar in so many ways to the one it replaced?

First and foremost, the new V-8 had a lot more growth potential. The 1963 powerplant contained enough meat to go out to 500 cubic inches, which it would for 1970. Another reason had to do with compactness and the rapid disappearance of under-hood space due to an expanding accessory list. The new block stood an inch lower, 1.25 inches shorter, and four inches narrower. It proved to be sturdier -- and lighter than its predecessor by about 50 pounds.

A new ArmaSteel cast crankshaft could handle greater loads, especially with its main-bearing widths going from 2.63 to 3 inches. Accessory drives became more compact and accessible, and the front covers used more alloy for less weight. The only components carried over from the previous engine were the heads, connecting rods, valves and rocker arms.

The package of new styling and engineering added up to another record year for production with 163,174 1963 Cadillacs moving off the lines. Output moved up to 165,959 for 1964, the final go-round for the 1961 design generation.