Hello ,
There is a 1959 Cadillac on E Bay that has a letter J in the vin number Does any one know what the letter J means . It is listed as the Eldorado but is it a coupe Deville . A friend of mine asked me the question and i have no idea . any information will be helpful .
Thanks Bill
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cadillac-Eldorado-CoupeDeville-Cadillac-Elderado-Coupe-Deville-/130621880205?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item1e69abb78d
Hi Bill,
Letter "J" in a 1959 Cadillac means 2 door Coupe Deville - car is not listed correct on ebay.
//J Kjerrulf
This is typical of ebayers. They put in identifying catch-names to draw the widest viewing audience.
Bruce. >:D
I think it was an honest error on the seller's part; judging from the general wording of the listing, he doesn't seem to be particularly knowledgeable about the car. The "Eldorado" issue is addressed in the Q & A section where he freely admits that. I noticed the radio has been changed but otherwise it appears to be a nice car- especially if the paint is original.
And then you have those who deliberately misrepresent their offerings, like our old friend “Marv†and his unique “1959 Cadillac Motorama show carâ€, also vaunted as being unique custom job from Harley Earl’s own “skunkworks†and that looks like (is in fact) a 1960 convertible but mounted on a 1959 chassis with a “J†code VIN corresponding to a 1959 Coupe de Ville!
On this subject, I'm just about certain that the '59 convertible that Yann is referring to sold for $44,500 at a Mecum auction in 2010. It has to be the same car -- it is described as a 1959 Cadillac that had the front and rear clips changed to a 1960 model at some point inn the car's life. It also said the car was restored in Florida in 2005, and the pictures show the TV mounted in the dashboard. No reference to any modifications having been made at the factory.
At the Mecum auction in Monterey (August 2009, Lot S116) the car was listed as "a 1959 Cadillac Autorama Prototype Convertibleâ€. There was a high bid of $57,000, but no sale ensued (http://www.mecum.com/contact/contact_email.cfm). Here are excerpts of the catalog description: “ ... Built for the 1960 Autorama [what is THAT?] ... bold new grille-work front and rear ... dash mounted television ... prototype, shown at Autorama [???] …â€. In May and June, 2010 this hybrid "whatizzit" Cadillac appeared again for sale on Ebay, from the (respected) Daniel Schmitt & Co. of St. Louis, MO, an Ebay "Power Seller". The starting bid for both consecutive auction periods was set at $117,000 and there was a Buy-it-Now amount shown of $119,000. I Emailed the company, asking if they knew the real history of the car they were selling; I got no reply. Here is their Web page (included are aome 50 photos of the car): http://schmitt.com/viewimage.asp?ID=4255. The descriotion reads: "This spectacular motorcar has been beautifully restored with no expense spared. Nearly $100,000 spent on the restoration alone [that's what "Marv" asserted]! This unique and special motorcar just might be one of the most important American classics that you will ever have the opportunity to acquire. This exquisite motorcar comes with many unique features, including black and white TV.
We have definitely not heard the last of this car.
To my knowledge, one off "experimental" or "concept" design cars were assigned an "X" prefix followed by a two or three digit number. In the absence of factory documentation to the contrary, I would evaluate this example simply for what it appears to be: A 1960 Cadillac body mated to a 1959 chassis. Given the VIN begins "59J", I don't buy the story. Judging by the number of times it's been flogged in the marketplace without change in ownership- nobody else does either.
When "Marv" was trying to sell it, it was written up as having a Philco TV. General Motors wouldn't have been caught dead mounting a Philco (Division of FORD Motor company at the time) in ANY of their cars, let alone a Show or concept car! I can't read the nameplate on the attached photo, with my old small monitor. Does it say Philco?
Joe Gibeault