Restoreable 39 Cadillac Limo in NY.

[Jeff in NY]

Reply to add for more info,  I'm just sharing.

https://binghamton.craigslist.org/cto/5939542513.html

[harry s]

Pretty cool unusual car. Hope someone can save it.   Harry

[Ralph Messina CLC 4937]

I agree. I appears to be mostly there and looks like it was Cavern Green. The lower passenger doors have a questionable areas  but are still there.
It a shame that so many many closed cars like this don't command a selling price commensurate with the restoration cost.  You start out under water when you turn the first bolt.

Ralph

[Mike Baillargeon #15848]

Looks like Cadillac only made 53 of this formal sedan with trunk.

http://classiccardatabase.com/specs.php?series=90&year=1939&model=3816

For a big hard top like this..... I'd like $3,000 better than $12,000 to take this one on.

Mike   #15848

[Cadillac Nut]

I've always wanted a formal limo from this era, I got very close to a 42 formal about 2 years ago.  12k is a lot more than it's worth in my opinion.

[Bobby B]

WAY, WAY, Overpriced.    In my opinion, Mike has the right idea in the 3K ballpark......
                                                                       Bobby

[Steve Passmore]

I bought a few Cadillacs in this condition a few years ago that were in the $3K range but sadly sellers seem to think their sat on a gold mine these days'
The restoration of a car of that size would have you in the red even if it were given for free. Its a sad state of affairs really.

[Stinson]

True, but some day we will be very lucky if we can even find one for restoration - many approaching 80-years-old now. Paid $10,000 for mine and now have $89,000 in it after selling left over parts collected along the 7-year project.
Ty Stinson

[Bobby B]

True, but some day we will be very lucky if we can even find one for restoration - many approaching 80-years-old now. Paid $10,000 for mine and now have $89,000 in it after selling left over parts collected along the 7-year project.
Ty Stinson

Ty,
There's always a supply of overpriced cars out there waiting to be restored. That's why they're still available.You have to pick and choose your battles. I'll never restore a car that isn't worth big money anymore, just don't have the time. If I need to get out from under it one day, I'd prefer the loss to be minimal. I'd rather buy something that someone else is upside down in, and enjoy it then. It's a shame, but it's next to impossible to profit on restoring a car anymore. It's not like the old days, and personally, I'm a little more cautious about throwing my money away.
                                                                                         Bobby

[Steve Passmore]

True, but some day we will be very lucky if we can even find one for restoration - many approaching 80-years-old now. Paid $10,000 for mine and now have $89,000 in it after selling left over parts collected along the 7-year project.
Ty Stinson

I understand that Ty but the market is what the market is, and if the public are not falling over themselves to buy unrestored cars unless they are exotics you can't do much about that.
It never fails to amaze this limey the amount of cars that keep coming out the woodwork in the US. You never seem to run out. This sort of thing has long since dried up here as the majority got melted down for the War effort.

[Jeff in NY]

Pretty well preserved for a 78 year old car.   I would be tempted to just clean it up and keep it as much original as possible.  I'd like to know it's history, who owned it , why was it stored so long?  Who knows 12K  might turn out to be a bargain.

[Stinson]

Seems to me that lately people just expect to GIVE these old icons away. At the time of the war these cars were taken off the streets in the US mainly because of gas rationing and/or were scrapped for the need of steal for the war effort. I have read that soldiers coming back home developed the hot rod industry for the thrill of it all so many of the barn finds were used for racing and greatly modified. To find one of these limited production numbers would be a shame to let it rot away. Must remember, these cars are approaching 80-years old and some were very limited production numbers - there were only 450 V-12's of the "V" engine produced in the last year of 1937. We are simply at a time where the youth don't want these cars because they prefer the "Mussel" cars and/newer cars now. So, I think there are not many of us left here to really appreciate and over invest in the restoration of them. So the market for them has dried up but it disturbs me that people expect to get such a new find so cheap.
Ty Stinson
CLC22330
Please note that I have rejoined the CLC today (Thanks Sue, and Scott) and my old number has now been reauthorized - thank you.

[Bobby B]

   I would be tempted to just clean it up and keep it as much original as possible. Who knows 12K might turn out to be a bargain.

Jeff,
  You're not getting that car running/ driving for under $10K. So now you have $22K+ invested and a ton more to go. For $22K, you could buy yourself something real decent that you won't lose interest in. The older and rarer it is, the harder and more expensive the parts are to source. You'll have a lifetime invested in this car. They're fishin' if you get my drift......
        Bobby

$12K = NO Bargain in my book.......

[35-709]

Agreed.  There aren't many that are willing spend the mega-dollars needed to restore that car only to have it worth far less than what has been invested.  Many of us are "upside down" in our restored or resto-modded cars because we choose to be to get something we really want in the end --- and for me, something that is useable.  I, for one, can't see ending up with that particular car that is worth half (or less) of what I would have in it  --- and while rare (rarity does not always equate to high dollars), still a car that has little interest. 

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Plus, why spend money on a car that you can't actually fully enjoy.    Being a person well over 6 foot tall this style of car is meant to be enjoyed from the back seat, in total comfort.   Not from the drivers seat.   From what I have seen, these Limos are designed for the person of shorter stature to drive, as there is little adjustment of the drivers seat. 

Bruce.

[harry s]

Here's an example of one of those big old cars that is reasonably priced and still didn't sell. While it is definitely a parts car the cost of delivery is prohibitive.    Harry
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1941-buick-series-90-door-may-deliver-parting-cadillac-67-series-LIMO-Call-/302178533534?hash=item465b3e809e:g:cjwAAOSwZQRYa~Sa&vxp=mtr

[Jeff in NY]

If this add were for a 1939 Ford coupe "barn find" the price would not be an issue.  However it would most likely end up hot rod material.  So is this Cadillac a good candidate for an amateur backyard restoration since it's potential value when completed does not justify the cost of a professional job? Or is it destined to continue to decay like a historical home that would cost more to renovate than it's worth?  If nobody wants to save an old car just because it's an old car then our hobby is doomed.

[35-709]

So is this Cadillac a good candidate for an amateur backyard restoration since it's potential value when completed does not justify the cost of a professional job?

In my opinion, that would be the way to go for this car.  A talented person doing the car for himself and his own enjoyment would be just right.  It is having to pay someone else to do the job is where it becomes cost prohibitive.

[Bobby B]

If nobody wants to save an old car just because it's an old car then our hobby is doomed.

Is this a Revelation?   

Jeff,
  That car has such a limited range of enthusiastic individuals that would be willing to take this on, in ANY way, shape, or form ( e.g. Resto, Street rod, 100 point car). In all honesty, you couldn't give me this car for free, but that's just me.  And yes, the hobby is Doomed, and has been, due to the lack  of interest from the younger generation of individuals who find pleasure on their Electronic devices. Oh, and I also forgot to mention the fact that everybody thinks that everything they pull out of a barn that hasn't been run in ages is worth a Fortune. Those little scenarios don't promote our hobby any......
                                                                                                                      Bobby

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

Bobby is correct! That car should have been restored 40 years ago. Now it's just another money pit that no one wants. Not even the imaginary amateur backyard restorer. Yeah it's sad, but I've seen it happening in the club for years.
Bob