Cadillac DeVille 1985 to 2005 including: 1985-1992 Fleetwood, 1993 Sixty Special, All FWD ForumForum for discussions regarding the front wheel drive 1985 to 2005 DeVille, 1985-1992 Fleetwood and 1993 Sixty Special.
Im not sure how it was done, i do know that it was already stretched when it arrived in the UK, i also know that he bought two Lincolns that are the same. One he kept as a standard wheelbase for use as a discreet limousine, and he had one "super stretched" This, as far as i can see is a good quality conversion. I havent looked closely, but it semms to have been done well,
I am unsure of how the other cars were converted, but they are all "executive" series cars.
I doubt he would risk his business on buying a poorly converted and unsafe car though....
Unfortunately, most customers have no clue about the quality or safety of their cars. Even fewer customers of the services that buy these cars from lesser quality coachbuilders have a clue about the cars they are paying to ride in.
Do you know what the name of the coachbuilder is? I can probably tell you a little about them.
No, no, no, guys - my '97 Deville is just that - a Deville - no Fleetwood.
However, the car was taken to Coachbuilders Limousine in Florida, before final delivery to the dealer (Port Ritchie, Coastal Cadillac). It has all the heavy duty accoutrements that you already mentioned, but also has regular 5 bolt wheels.
Okay, I know that company. They do nice work. They are the company that makes all of those custom convertibles, Edorados and 4-Dr '05 de Villes. The difference is this:
The cars we are speaking of were made BY Cadillac to certain specs., and then sent to Cadillac's personal aftermarket convertor, Superior .... which did
the work and returned the car TO Cadillac for their final inspection and then shipped it. Everything incl. the conversion is warranteed BY Cadillac. As far as the ultimate consumer is concerned, it's all Cadillac and nobody else was ever involved.
Cadillac has their people at Superior all the time as Superior makes trhe hearses, flower cars, and the
corporate limousines.
The car was ordered with all these extras (incl leather interior, the build sheet spec'd cloth!), then refused by the original purchaser, at the last minute - the car sat on their lot from April/97 'til October/97 when it was finally bought by the next guy - I bought it from him July/04 when he drove up to Ottawa and traded it in for a Buick Rainier up here in Canada - then he turned around and drove back to Florida in the buick - curious, non?
But I gotta say, this car has it's share of of oddities, mostly pointed out to me by the dealerships up here. I can't tell you how many times I've been told "American caddy, eh? Well, it's different than the ones we sell here"
Unfortunately, most customers have no clue about the quality or safety of their cars. Even fewer customers of the services that buy these cars from lesser quality coachbuilders have a clue about the cars they are paying to ride in.
Do you know what the name of the coachbuilder is? I can probably tell you a little about them.
Well this may be, but i seriously doubt that he would risk anything on this. I cannot remember the name of the coachworks he used, I'll ask when i next see him, but he used to convert cars in the UK himself, he used to own a coachbuilding 'shop. In 1964 he did some work on a Damiler for a customer, and the customers business went bust, so he took the car itself as payment for the work he carried out, he began to drive the car and made as much and at one point more than he was converting cars, so he became a full limousine company in 1972, offering no bodywork or repairs. From then the business expanded and he is where he is now, he personally flew out to America ( I THINK it was a dealership in Florida that he bought the two Lincolns from, so he probably used a coachbuilder there) and dealt with the whole thing himself, which he doesnt normally do.
No, no, no, guys - my '97 Deville is just that - a Deville - no Fleetwood.
However, the car was taken to Coachbuilders Limousine in Florida, before final delivery to the dealer (Port Ritchie, Coastal Cadillac). It has all the heavy duty accoutrements that you already mentioned, but also has regular 5 bolt wheels.
Once again, my '97 is NOT a Fleetwood
I think you'll find that the car is just a standard Deville. Do you have a picture of the SPID label? It would be a snap to tell you what the car has if we could see the label.
Also, do you have any info on "Coachbuilder's Limousine"? That name doesn't ring a bell. There are a lot of little customizers around the country that do custom conversions. I've seen a few in Florida that specialize in top-end cars like Cadillacs. Some do decent work, some don't. All in all, I would say that if you want a Cadillac or Lincoln customized, I'd stay with a coachbuilder that is certifed by the OEM. It's your best shot at getting a good car.
