Why I Drive a 1959 Cadillac Coupe Deville

We are back in Calgary and I'm going to be interviewing the owner of this beautiful 1959 Cadillac. This is the holy grail sort of of Cadillacs and right here is the owner. Do you want to introduce yourself? Hi, I'm Erin from Keep Classic Salive Appraisals. And this is your 59 Cadillac? It is my 59 Cadillac. So can I ask first of all, why do you drive this car? What inspired you to buy this? I mean, why not? Of course. I mean, it's a 59 Cadillac. This is the pinnacle of Cadillac design. I mean, they really gave everything they had this year when they made this car. It's the only year with the bullet tail lights. And I mean, it's 19 and a half feet of American luxury. It's an absolute pleasure to drive. It's got a great 50s vibe to it. And people just love it everywhere we go. So what is it like driving a car this long? It's really easy, actually. As you can see, there's a lot of windows. So it's like driving a big fishbowl. You can easily see out of it. And even though it's big, it's probably not any bigger than today's modern pickup truck. So it's really cool to drive. It's fun. It's a nice cruiser car. So parking, it's not too much of a problem? I feel very confident in my backup abilities. So I don't have any issues parking it. But a lot of times when I do go to car shows and you're trying to fit into a smaller space, people are there to help. And I'll just ask, where's my big... So obviously, this was the most famous of the Cadillac Finns. Can you explain to people what inspired the Finns on Cadillacs? I'm not sure. There was a lot of really elaborate designs at this time in auto manufacturing. Auto manufacturers during this era, they were changing the cars almost every year. You know, it's not like now where you would have a design that lasts 10 years. You know, they're changing little things every year. And in 1959, this is what they decided. It's a lot different than the 58 Cadillac. And it's a one-year only design because in 60, they stuck with the Finn, but not with the taillights. Yeah. So this is the most famous with the sort of afterburner taillight. Of course. People lose like all of their common sense around this car. As soon as they see the car, they just go directly to the taillights and they've just got to touch it. I'm not sure why. So it gets a lot of attention. A lot of attention. For sure, the biggest head-turner we have in our collection. It appeals to people, you know, every ethnicity, every age, men, women, children, thumbs up straight across the board for this car. And what was it that inspired you to get into sort of classic cars? I mean, I'm the only one in my family really who loves cars. My dad, you know, does have a soft spot for Mopars, but I don't know. I just have been into cars since I was a kid and it just kind of progressed over the years. And now I'm at a point in my life where they're just more accessible to me. And, you know, when this car came up for sale, you know, we just jumped on the opportunity to grab it. So these don't come up very often. You know, what is the kind of the things you should look for when buying a Cadillac like this? So, I mean, it's easy to find a project, but a project for a Cadillac is going to end up costing a lot of money in the end. You know, it's a lot to do chrome like this. Okay, the car has a lot of chrome. It's a lot of work to, you know, get panels that are this big to be very straight. So it's probably, you know, better on your wallet to buy one that's finished. So for a Cadillac, you need to look for rust. They're actually really prone to rust and not a lot of them survived. Also, you know, they're expensive cars, you know, when they were born. And so not a lot of people were able to purchase them. So they're rare because of that. And then, you know, because Canadian climate, they're prone to rust. And so that would be the number one thing you want to look for when you're buying one. And when you are buying Cadillac like this, what's the kind of value range between a project, a decent and then a top grade one? Oh, a project would cost you at least $40,000. And I mean, like a rough vehicle that you found in a field. Something that needs a lot of attention in every way, the interior, the paint, the body, mechanical, all the way up to $100,000 Canadian, actually, is what a really pristine example of them can go for. Okay. So if you want one that's kind of driver quality, you're looking at like $60,000 to $80,000? Yes, you would. Yeah. And what would you consider this car? Is this driver quality in the Cadillac world? This is definitely driver quality. So it's not perfect. There are some little imperfections on the vehicle, but you know, when your car is perfect, you have to worry about it a lot more. So there's a lot more pressure about where you drive it, where you're going to park it, you know, the types of things that you're going to be doing with it. And, you know, we like to enjoy our cars. So yeah, it's a driver quality car. It's super reliable. I can take it to get groceries if I want. And sometimes I do. So do you daily drive this car? No, I don't daily drive this car. I daily drive a Tesla, actually. Really? So Tesla is your daily and then this is the weekend car? Hey, got to save gas somehow. Yeah, I mean, we just drive it whenever the situation allows. But luckily, Calgary has a huge car scene, lots of variety, you know, shows and meets all over the place. So there's always a lot of opportunity to drive the vehicle. Cadillacs, they're meant to be cushy and quiet. And, you know, they just were the epitome of American luxury. Are you able to show me under the hood what engines in this one? Of course. So this car has its numbers matching 390, but a previous owner did add a Holley Sniper fuel injection kit to it. How do you open the hood on this car? You reach down in here and then you lift it up with all of your might because it weighs as much as the whole entire Volkswagen. Wow, that's some strong springs. There we go. That is a big engine. Wow. Yes, it is a big block. The Cadillac engines got bigger after this. We also have a 69 Cadillac convertible and it has a 472 in it. Dang, you know what the fuel economy is on this car? I don't know, it costs probably 20 bucks just to turn it on. That's crazy. So have there been any modifications to make it more modern, more suitable for daily use? Like I said, just the fuel injection. A lot of the vehicles we have are carbureted, which when you're driving them regularly, a carbureted vehicle is reliable. But it's nice, you just get in the car and you know it's going to start every time. It also was switched over to an alternator from a generator. So these cars would have had a generator, which is a similar idea, but again, not as reliable. And also it has Wilwood disc brakes on the front because this car weighs almost 5,000 pounds. And it takes a lot to stop it. Yeah, I bet. So what's the interior like on this car? Are you able to show me any of the features, anything that makes it special, unique? Of course. Well, firstly, it's gigantic. Okay, everybody fits in here. Wow. Yeah, it is pretty huge. You've got bench seats front and rear. That's right. And it would have come with power electric windows right here, all four corners. Oh, wow. And they still work? They do work. Wow. And, you know, a cute little thing is this little... Oh, that's for the... Oh, right. It's like your air conditioning. It does have air conditioning, but it's not hooked up right now. But the car did come with AC. So that's a nice way of getting like ventilation in the car. And yeah, I see right there's the air conditioning. Yes. You've got defroster. Yes. Right there, radio. It would have had an AM radio because it's 1959. And that's what would have been common at the time. So... And it does have seatbelts. It does have seatbelts. So, you know, safety regulations were a lot different in 1959. Seatbelts weren't likely mandatory at that point. So somebody would have intentionally ordered those for the vehicle. Oh, so these were like an option. Yes, they were an option. Side mirrors are an option. Seatbelts are an option. And whoever bought the car obviously decided to add those things to it. How much was this car back in the day, you know? The car would have been about $5,000 back in the day. But at this time, houses cost $20,000. Wow. So that's a lot of money, you know, for somebody to put into a vehicle. Yeah. And the boot of this car, I do want to look at that before we go for a drive. Oh, yeah. I just need to grab the key. It looks huge. I mean, this car is 19 feet long. So I can only imagine what's in here. But look how long this is. It is huge. That's just insane. You've sort of got a rear grille design. Yeah. Wow. Oh, my gosh, the chrome. Wow, this is massive. Is this your spare tire? Yeah. So it's a full-size spare tire. Obviously, like fully carpeted. And again, you know, it was just the epitome of luxury and design. So this is what Cadillac owners would have expected. It goes all the way back there. Yes. You have no shortage of luggage space in here. That's right. That's incredible. Do you ever take this on trips or anything? We actually purchased the car in Winnipeg last summer and drove it back from there. Wow. No problems at all. How far is that drive? It's about almost 20 hours, probably. Yeah. That's pretty impressive to drive a car this old that far. That's awesome. She did a great job. It's totally reliable. And hey, you know what? If you got to call a tow truck, well, then ask her to call them the tow truck. Yeah. Would you mind if we go for a drive in this car? Of course. I'd love that. That sounds so good. That sounds really good. Yeah. All right. This is crazy. The way the door curves. Wow. It actually shares the windshield with the Impala of this era. Oh, really? Yeah. General Motors. I thought I recognized that. No seatbelt for me. No seatbelt for you. Yeah. Optional. Extra. Having seatbelts. Seatbelts are optional in 1959. We don't need those. It's crazy how open it is in here. Even though it's big, it has high visibility. So it's easy to see out of it. So when you're trying to back up, it's not as big of a deal as you think it's going to be. No, it's actually insane. There's full view. There's no blind spots. Yeah. It's like driving an aquarium. Yeah. And the blue interior, is this original? Yes, it did come originally with blue interior. Wow. And then the white's original too? Yes. As far as I know, that it was born... It has been restored at some point in its life, but it was born with these colors. Wow. Well, that's about what I meant. It's incredible, the condition. Has this all been restored or is this original? The dash is original as far as I know. I don't feel like the dash would have been just, you know, survivor condition as they call it. It's crazy how big it feels. Like it looks on cameras how it feels in real life. It's massive. It is big. The fins too out the back are just so cool. Is that an exhaust leak? Yes, it's an exhaust leak. I was wondering. Because old cars. Yes. There's always something. How is it to drive? Pretty slow? Pretty fast? I mean, they're not meant to be fast. It's meant to be a cruiser car. So they're not meant to be fast. Even though it's a big block car, it's not meant for speed. You probably just need all that horsepower to move the 5,000 pounds of Cadillac underneath it. But I mean, as far as driving it, I mean, look at how much you can turn. This really turns. Yeah. This is where the boat came from. Yeah. So you don't want to try to do any rally or anything like that. Well, thank you so much for doing this interview. I really enjoyed it. This is a very unique car and a nice one to check off sort of the list of cars I want to interview. So you go get an appraisal done if someone needs, right? And in Calgary? That's right. So my business is called Keep Classics Alive and I'm an appraiser in Calgary and the surrounding area. And I do all types of, I do JDM, I do modern cars, whatever you've got. Well, there we go. I'll put the link down in the description below. But yeah, thanks for watching this video, guys. If you want to be interviewed by me, DM me on Instagram at Magnacars. And remember, never ever quit on your dreams. I'll see you in the next video. God loves you.