1971 Cadillac Coupe DeVille

[electra225]

This is my absolute favorite Cadillac of all time. I had a customer, Mrs. Heeter, who had one and I got to drive it frequently. I rebuilt the Quadra-Jet in it enough I almost had the bolt holes worn out. Mrs. Heeter could not abide a rough idle in her Cadillac. I would take it out and "blow the cobwebs" out of it occasionally. The only thing bad about this one is the cheesy exhaust deflector. I even liked the '71 Cadillac hubcaps. Simple, yet elegant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TLSBAMjcm8

[walyfd]

My aunt and uncle had a '71 Sedan de Ville. It was light green with a white top and dark green cloth/leather interior. They bought it used around 1975 because I remember they had it when I was in kindergarten... yep, showing my age. This was my favorite Cadillac they owned. I loved the color.

They had it for awhile (like a year and a half. Family joke was the ashtrays were filled so they needed a new car) and the engine went in it coming back from upstate NY. I remember my aunt getting the call from the shop that they found an AVIS tag on the engine and asking her where they bought it. Apparently, it was a refurbished rental that ended up on the used car lot. They replaced the engine or had it fixed and the dealer paid for it. They soon replaced it with a silver 72.

[electra225]

I read someplace that the hood on a '71 Chevy Caprice was longer than the hood on a '71 Cadillac DeVille. I don't know if that was true, but it stuck in my mind........

[walyfd]

I'd believe that. The hoods had the "casket nose" design and the fenders were way different than 70. Actually, the 71 redesign had a LOT of 1959 influences... pontoon sides, the return of the fender windsplit.

I also remember they almost got gassed in that car. My aunt, uncle and cousin went to Niagara Falls in that car and the exhaust sprang a leak... it was the only year of that trunk grille and the exhaust got sucked back into the interior.

Oh... and no power antenna. It was in the windshield.

[Firedome]

We used to jokingly call these "Italian contractor cars". These looked good and were nice enough to ride in for a leisurely jaunt but assembly quality and fit & finish were leagues below Cads of 10 years before. To me by then they seemed like big flossy and floaty overdecorated Chevys. The roommate's parents who had a '66 Fleetwood traded it for a 1 yr old '71 DeVille in '72, and what a loose feeling fender flapping bucket of bolts it was, we used to make fun of it's crummy quality, structurally it was nowhere near as solid as the '66 or Cads before it. A truly sad comedown for a once great make imho, YMMV. This one is in beautiful condition it must be said however.

[electra225]

My '71 Buick was "floppier" than the '68, no doubt. I always thought, styling wise, that the '71 Cadillac styling corrected the horrible styling of the '68-'70 models and sort of resembled the earlier models. The formal roof style was shared with Buick, Olds, and even Pontiac with their new Grand Ville. They cleaned up the front end a tad and the rear end looked more "Cadillac-ish" than the '68-'70 models. Olds and Buick cleaned up their styling a bit in the '71 models, too. The vents in the trunk lid was not that hot of an idea. It caused the trunk lids to rust in salt country.

[walyfd]

One problem was cadillac opened Southgate in CA and Linden in NJ. Deville and Calais series were partially farmed out to supply the east and west with the B&B models. All Fleetwoods were still built in Detroit at Clark Avenue. If you wanted a real cadillac, you wanted a Detroit car.

Linden built cadillac and Oldsmobile on the same line and they were intermixed on final assembly. Supposedly, they were supposed to take more time when a cadillac came down the line but I doubt that happened. Quality was not the same as Detroit but they were in such demand that most buyers could swallow it just to have a new cadillac.

[electra225]

Grandpa always thought "real" Buicks were built in Flint. My Buick was built in Kansas City. Buick had a plant in Linden and in Southgate as well. I'll bet Electras were built there, sharing the "C" body with Olds and Cadillac. There is a '63 Linden-built Electra that was built with no power steering, no power brakes and three-on-the-tree transmission and two-barrel carburetor. It was a four door sedan, Desert Tan with moonie hubcaps and blackwall tires. It was at the Buick National show in Lisle, Illinois in 1995. The original owner typically bought standard shift LeSabres. He retired in 1963 and liked the new body style of the Electra, but didn't like all the "extras" that were standard on Electra. Linden built him an Electra with LeSabre equipment. It was the most stripped Electra I ever saw. At that same show, there was a '63 Invicta wagon with a 425 and factory four speed transmission. The most loaded Invicta wagon I ever saw.