1968 Cadillac Deville Convertible - $18000 (Dallas Tx)

[Bruce Nunnally]

1968 Cadillac Deville title : clean

1968 Cadillac Coupe Deville Convertible

House of kolor Kandy organic green with ghost patterns
Fresh Dipped chrome all around
Rebuilt 472 with rebuilt Torbo 400 transmission
Rebuilt Chromed out Top with new rag and glass window
New rubber seals all around top, doors, trunk, hood
Clean Tx Title in my name

*ITS BROKEN 2 STARTERS NOT SURE WHAT THE PROBLEM IS *
*Not in A Hurry To Sell Just Lost Intrest in finishing it*
ASKING PRICE 18k

Read more: http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/4509701131.html

I have a theory about the breaking starter, but that would have to be looked at.

Does not say numbers matching, and may have a lot of 'improvements' besides the paint.

The interior looks like it has not been done or a tired restoration now. No posted mileage normally means well over too many.
No mention of the A/C likely means no working A/C? Same owner was posting just the engine earlier; I guess decided to sell the whole project now.

It would be interesting to see this car in person to tell more about it; every car of this vintage probably has a thousand stories to tell...

[Texas Jim]

He's proud of that one... $18,000.

In the pictures there is no radiator and no engine fan...

I don't remember which ones, but some of the starters need SHIMS for proper operation.

[Bruce Nunnally]

Yes.

Also thinking of this part description from the Cad Company catalog:

Starter Support Strap Supports the back end of the starter to prevent starter breakage $30

$20 with purchase of a starter.

If you are missing this support strap, your starter nose cone can break from even a minor kickback from the big 472 / 500 engine. It can even fail eventually without a kickback problem.

If you are missing the original starter support bracket, you need this item.

http://www.cad500parts.com/catalog/page29.htm

[cdgrinci]

Agreeing with Jim's observations: for $18k the car should be done, and, a starter needs to be indexed (to the flywheel) and shims may in fact fix the problem.

[Göran W]

At least it LOOKs good!

[Bruce Nunnally]

Not sure if the Dallas market is high for classic Cadillacs, or just have to weed through the high ask prices for the realistic prices.

For example, this 69 DeVille Convertible in Illinois looks to be in reasonable shape for $12,950 ask

[Cadillac Jim]

Texas used cars, particularly older ones, are worth more than cars from areas where snow and salt and the streets in the wintertime are common. Then, there's the salt belt, where people drive in salt slush in the depth of winter every year.

I was raised in Austin and found that a common practice was to ship trade-ins down from the salt belt, shine them up and sell them in Texas. I had a friend buy one of these and at the first rain all the Bondo fell out and it was so full of rust it didn't cast a strong shadow. The day he traded it back in to the same dealer a year later, an A frame broke and the front end fell to the ground right after the used car dealer took possession and was trying to drive it to the back for more Bondo. My friend said in his letter "the front wheel fell off" but I think it was probably just the lower A frame.

That was a long time ago and cars are far more corrosion resistant now, but there is still some price differential, and used cars still are shipped from the salt belt and sold in the sun belt, particularly Dallas/Ft. Worth and the other prosperous metropolises.