Oddly optioned and uniquely ordered Cadillac's

[Bill Young]

I have always been interested in Cadillac's that were off the beaten path optioned ( Or lack there of ) , like a 1967 Calais Sedan in black with a black cloth interior ordered with no power windows and manual seat , Radio delete and no EZ Eye glass by a small town Funeral Home for example. What do you own or have seen ?

[chrisntam]

It's always interesting (to me) to see a '70 Cadillac without air conditioning.

[wrefakis]

radio delete no,  radio was option
have many photos and files on rare SO cars they are a favorite of mine
59 Eldo factory 2 stage white pearl paint?
right now a member is starting restoration of 59 Eldo Biarritz with factory cloth interior

[Bill Young]

Please share some Bill , A friend of my Grandmother ordered a new 1968 Calais Coupe in Silver with black cloth. No options including no radio with manual seat but ordered Climate Control and plastic seat covers.

[wrefakis]

59 eldo so one of one

[spolij]

What is  EZ Eye glass?

[wrefakis]

tinted glass

[TJ Hopland]

I always thought it would be interesting to talk to the people that did the ordering and hear why they did it how they did it.  I can see not ordering AC in a convertible or power windows of you never roll them up or down or no radio of you just don't listen to the radio but other things seem odd.

My 73 for example has the bench seat.  Every other 73 I have seen has the split bench. It wasn't like the person was just cheap.  Car has cruise, power locks, radio with tape, climate control, and more.   Maybe figured they were always going to be alone so one setting was good?  But then why power locks?  Thinking of comfort of the 6th passenger? Then a coupe isn't the best choice to start with.  Maybe just had to be FWD so they were stuck with an Eldo?

I know these days they just build the cars they think people may want so you kinda get what you get but then they also build oddly optioned cars for the rental and fleet market.  You would think they would build those too with options they thought people wanted so they would be easier sells after the lease.  You would also think maybe they would load them up to try and get people hooked on some of the options.   

[Cadillac Fleetwood]

In December of 1969, Marvin K. Brown Cadillac in San Diego delivered a special-ordered Fleetwood Brougham to a customer as a Christmas gift for his wife.  It was Nottingham Green Firemist (Code 96), white vinyl roof, and red leather (Code 088).  Understandably, the dealership had the customer pay in full for the car at the time it was ordered.

-Charles Fares

[wrefakis]

I really only researched true special order unique cars, the Nottingham Fleetwood although unusual was a regular production car.
I one turned up a 70 Fleetwood with no AC, again just a no option car

Real special orders were in most cases unique.
59 Biarritz 171 unique 2 stage paint white pearl 2 tone buckets

Have owned my share of one of ones, never found this one though

[wrefakis]

correct so sheet

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

One of the weirdest '77 I ever saw was a Coupe deVille ordered (to the best of my memory) without vinyl roof, with optional Thyme Green Firemist paint. Bench seat with power recliner on driver side. (Until then I never realized power recliner could be ordered on a bench seat car - but only on a Coupe because the backrest was divided on a two door). Also had 8 Track and power trunk realease/pulldown and leather.

Did not have tilt/tele, cruise, r def nor passenger side rearview mirror.

Other was a '77 Fleetwood Brougham. Only option was cruise control. Was ordered in Sovereign Gold, Dark  Green vinyl roof with Med Green Florentine cloth. I knew the salesman who took the order for the car - and like the example Fleetwood Charles mentioned above, payment in full upfront was required before the dealer would put it through.

It should be pointed out that oddball color combinations alone do not make an SO. It is simply an "ordered" car, regardless of how unorthodox. Depending on the combinations chosen, such orders would be annotated "Special Request" simply to provide reassurance to the factory the choices indicated were not made in error. 

In order to qualify as an Special Order, either the paint and/or interior would need to have been ordered in non-standard colors/materials for the model year of the car in question. It is important to recognize the distinction between Special Request and Special Order. 

[Bill Young]

At the recent 1st. Annual Cadillac and LaSalle Club meet in Ft. Lauderdale Florida , one car in attendance was a Sable Black slick top 1968 Eldorado with Code 489 Dark Burgundy Deuville cloth sporting NO options including No Climate Control. The car was apparently originally from Maine.

[TJ Hopland]

Wasn't climate control in the $500 range and the most expensive option?  I suppose radios were next?  Lot of money compared to a $10 floor mat.  And a 68 Eldo was what $6000?    Do you remember if it had disc brakes?

[rwchatham CLC 21892]

59 eldo so one of one

That is the rarest of the rare !!!!!

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

correct so sheet

Bill,
So... does #171 still exist??
Bob

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

Wasn't climate control in the $500 range and the most expensive option?  I suppose radios were next?  Lot of money compared to a $10 floor mat.  And a 68 Eldo was what $6000?    Do you remember if it had disc brakes?

All 68 Eldos had disc brakes.

[rwchatham CLC 21892]

And that body number 171 was 8000 vins apart from the cars around it , was it held back for something special for gm perhaps ?

[TonyZappone #2624]

I began ordering the cars in our Chevy-Olds dealership in the middle 60's.  I wasn't a principal then, but I would do anything to get ahead, and make a little extra money.  I can tell you that anything was possible.  I can't tell you the Cadillac approval option, because we didn't have Cadillac.  On an Oldsmobile, there was an option I think down on the right hand corner, called ZP2.   If ZP2 was checked, it told the girl in the Buffalo Zone doing the punch cards, that the option was meant to be ordered, and it wasn't a screw up, and you weren't crazy.  More amazing were the build out cars.  This was true through all GM divisions.  During the last month of production, or perhaps even earlier,  you got what was left.  eg. a white chevy convert with a blue top and interior, arrived as that ugly metallic beige, blue top , and blue interior.  It was YOURS.  You wanted to keep in good with the factory, you kept it, and eventually everything got sold.  (The clichet was an ass for every seat).   Bill Young probably remembers my pair of '56 Cadillac Derham limos.  One with no EZ eye glass, no air, no fog lites.  The other with genuine leather top (not vinyl like the other one), mouton  rear carpets, dummy antenna on the driver side, electric trunk, air conditioning, EVERYTHING.  The best thing that ever happened for the dealer was when group ordering came to be.  No more black Biscayne four door stick 6 with 6 way seat.  Was sure easier to dealer trade and deliver cars quicker.  You want 6 way seat, order a high group.  "Egg roll only comes with number 3"

[Jason Edge]

This discussion triggered my memory on one item in particular you could delete on the 63 & 64 Cadillacs at a cost savings and just posted it to the 63/64 site as a trivia question. Anyone want to guess at what it is? Perhaps there are others, but this one always stuck in my mind and have never seen one on the many parts cars and driver 63/64's I have brought in.