1956 Cadillac DeVille

Mild Custom Sedan

8 - Cyl.

Automatic

5662092060

Gasoline

My 1956 Sedan DeVille hardtop is among the best examples of this car that you will find anywhere. No, it's not perfect, but it is darn close, and truly an exceptional automobile... plus it has a good story. Well, where to begin? In 2007, my daughter and I were shopping for a bulldog. An American Bulldog, to be specific. We live in Denver, and through the internet we came across a breeder in Peyton, CO, which is a really small town east of Colorado Springs. The breeder had some acreage, and as we drove onto his property, it became apparent that this person was, shall we say, a car hoarder. I mean, whole fields full of cars of all years, makes and models. He justified his need for such a collection by telling us that he was retired, and needed a few projects. I saw my '56 DeVille out in the middle of one of his clusters of cars, dented, windows smashed, missing skirts, and after thinking about it for a few months asked if he would consider letting go of just this one project. I've had many classic cars, but once I owned my first Cadillac, a 1950 Series 62 to be specific, I was hooked. After catching Cadillac fever, I set my sights on finding a '56. I really believe that it is, arguably, the most beautiful Cadillac of the 50's, and 1956 is the very first year of the Sedan DeVille. Things just sort of come your way when you put the thought out there, don't they? And there it was, a gleaming white whale (faded Dawn Grey to be exact) out in the middle of a bone yard of cars. It had been sitting outside at this spot for 21 years. He had purchased it from a local garage who had done some work on the vehicle, but the previous owner had died before he was able to pick it up. I gave the current owner $3000, and he kindly hooked a tractor to it, and drug it up the hillside to the road where I had a friend with a flatbed waiting. I was really excited to get it home. It was difficult to get off the flatbed, because one of the rear brake drums was frozen and the tires were pretty flat. You can just imagine the scene. Some how, some way, though, we managed to muscle it into the garage. After acid-washing the gas tank, clearing out the fuel line, rebuilding the then single Carter WCFB carb, and changing plugs and wires, it fired up right away. Four months later, I had most of the mechanical work done and sent it to paint. It spent the next 3 years at the paint shop. Yep, 3 years. Auto Reflections in Wheat Ridge, CO did the work. They are a collision shop by nature, but the owner, Mike, has a strong interest and great skills in body restoration and did the majority of the body work in his spare time after hours. Overall it was a very solid original car with only 36,000 or so miles on it, with original paint and interior. The rockers and spare tire well had to be replaced, given its time outside, but between Mike and his painter, Emmit, they really did a spectacular job. So, now what? Why go through all that and then sell it? After it came back from paint, I completed installation of new air conditioning (from the Air Parts Store) and restored and installed a set of dual-Rochester 4-bbls from an Eldorado. It runs beautifully, idles great, and will cruise comfortably at 90-95 mph on the freeway straight as an arrow without a hitch. This car, though, is a daily driver for me. It's a really remarkablely restored car now with only 41,148 original miles on it, and I'm using it as my daily driver. It doesn't make sense, and it deserves better. So, you should buy it from me; that's the long and short of it. Take it to shows, drive it on the weekends, treat it with kit gloves... all the things I don't care to do. Heres a list of what was accomplished: Full frame-on body restoration, including new rockers and spare tire well. 90% of chrome re-chromed, 100% of stainless professionally hand-polished. New front windshield, some new flat glass. All window, door, trunk, and hood rubber replaced new from Steele Rubber (I missed a couple of pieces in the doors) Seats re-upholstered (NOS - exact match to original) with new material and leather, new carpet. Door panels were in good shape and simply touched up; dash top and headliner were perfect. New rear wheel bearings. All new wheel cylinders and rebuilt booster/master cylinder, turned drums. 1 new tie-rod end. 3" lowering blocks in rear. New adjustable air-shocks in rear, gas-shocks in front. New air conditioning (did not come stock with A/C) from Air Parts Store. Added Sabre wheels (factory option for '56) and Coker L78 4" white wall tires. Restored and added Rochester dual-quads (factory option for '56) and air cleaner. Air cleaner is modified for modern paper filters. Carbs a jetted for altitude; front .047, and rear .049. I have .049's for the front if you need them. New Xenon blue headlamps and bulbs. Rebuilt transmission. Kenwood stereo system with sub amp and subwoofer, iPod ready, completely hidden from view. New aluminized exhaust with glass-packs, new stainless steel exhaust port assemblies. NOS replaced starter switch. Generator replaced with new alternator. (Sub amp needed some serious power!) Restored "pearlized" steering wheel created by Pearlcraft in Australia. Rear trunk "V" re-plated in gold, every other badge, emblem, script, etc. (except grill script) is brand new. Some things to note: The vintage radio and Autronic Eye are still in place but neither functions. They just look good. Everything else works, including power windows, power seat, and all interior lighting. I have left a few small projects for the next owner, namely 1) if you live in a hot climate and plan to use the A/C regularly, you should replace the 2-core radiator with a 4-core... the unit will cost around $500, 2) I have not re-upholstered the trunk. It will need a panel and carpet kit, and 3) notice that the exhaust pipes dump out the sides of the car behind the back wheel and not through the bumpers as they were designed to do. There are brand-new stainless steel exhaust port assemblies in the bumpers that I never got around to connecting. An exhaust shop would probably charge 1 hour labor to connect them plus about $30 in parts. If you ask nicely, I'll have it done before you pick up the car free of charge. Every classic car that I've sold, and this is number 6, I sold on eBay. If you look at my seller rating, I am a trusted source. I try and be as descriptive as possible, sometimes to my own detriment, and everything I say is truthful to the best of my knowledge. Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions.