'70 Sedan DeVille - 20 years in a field - driven 30 miles to home

[savemy67]

Hello all,

Whether or not the video in the link is actually what took place in the time-frame indicated, I still found it amusing and instructive.

For all of you who have ever contemplated how to start a Cadillac that has been sitting for years, this is one man's approach.  The video is about 65 minutes in length.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0ItpbPWEgA

Christopher Winter

[wrench]

Lol, ‘we got rodents...hello, come out!’...

Didn’t watch the whole thing yet, but so far it’s pretty funny...

Maybe they explain how it got out there.

I’m thinking a UFO dropped it there...

Thanks for posting. I will definitely check out the whole thing...

[Lexi]

Very entertaining and humorous in a dry way, video. Says a lot about the build quality of this Cadillac. Clay/Lexi

[TJ Hopland]

Is it a white one?  If so I have seen the thumbnails.   Maybe I will have to click on it if its amusing.   I was just expecting it to be like the typical tv barn finds where they carefully remove a car from archival museum quality storage and place it to be found.   Somehow those cars never have rotten gas mice or rust like the cars the rest of us find in fields and barns.

[Lexi]

It is white, and also a rodent hotel. It wound up running so well that I can't imagine why someone would have abandoned it in the first place. Clay/Lexi

[savemy67]

Hello TJ,

Yes, it is white, and it is in your state!  I have cousins in Minnesota, and I went to the U of M for a year back in the '70s.  The accent then was no where near as pronounced as it is now.  I think the movie Fargo had something to do with that.

Christopher Winter

[cadman56]

I once drove a 69 convertible to a friends home right out of a field.  RF tire separated right before crossing the most major 4 lane west of Wichita.  Did make it at 5 mph.
Quite a story.  Thanks for posting.

[Rich S]

The guy is "funny" with lots of one-liners! It amazes me that the car ran as well as it did!  In the comments the narrator says the history was that someone drove his "twenty-ish" son's car into a field and admitted his son into a drug rehabilitation facility and they did not return for it.  For some period of time the car was initially covered by a tarp. Another comment says the car has always been a "local" car to the Minneapolis area (having been sold at "Andersen Cadillac.") The odometer read 52,xxx miles and the car looks like all the trim is present. It's always interesting to hear the history of something like this old car.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

I take it that the owner kept it registered all the time, as the thought of the person driving it on the open road to get to the Gas Station with an unregistered vehicle, and possibly no Insurance, is really asking for trouble.

Bruce.

[TJ Hopland]

I have not had a chance to watch it yet.  Anderson Cadillac hasn't been gone too long.  Their last location is still a Cadillac dealer but its now owned by a chain or group or what ever the multi location places call themselves these days.   I bought parts there where it was still called Anderson in the mid 90's.   My 83 FWBC came from there.   

Since Fargo came up a bit of useless trivia was one of the restaurants used in Fargo was across the street from Anderson Cadillac and you can see and read the sign in the movie in one scene they are outside.  It wasn't the Olds dealership where Jerry worked in the move,  that was an actual Olds dealer called Wally McCarthy's Lyndell Oldsmobile.   

[chrisntam]

Somewhat nicely optioned:

Leather
Cruise control
Auto dimming headlights
Auto trunk pull down
Auto leveling
A/C
Right side mirror
Power door locks

Radio is standard, no seek function.
No trumpet horn seen.

Dash bezel looks to be in great shape as does steering wheel.

His mpg is about right.   

[Cadman-iac]

I like the guy's humor. He's got a lot of good one liners. Like the "lightning hoses", otherwise known as spark plug wires, and "fire juice" for gas.
  I was really surprised when he got it up to 70 plus on the freeway. That is taking your life in your own hands and putting a lot of trust in some old equipment.
Very impressive though. The car obviously didn't have any issues when it was parked, or he wouldn't have been able to drive it out of there.
I wonder what the underside of the car looks like, and how much rust it has now. Sitting in mud for 20 plus years can't be good for any car.
Still,  if he can get the smell out of it, and it's not too rusty, he may have a really good car on his hands.
Thanks for sharing this.

Rick

[davedeltadog]

Hey Bruce
We drive all over without paper work on our cars her in the south. I bought a Corvette in Huntsville Al. and drove it to Nashville without license a few years ago and bought a Corvair last year that I drove home 135 miles the same way. you have three days grace to get the car moved. I like the video, the Dude is cool! 

[Saturnin15]

He’s got nerves to go on the interstate!

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Hey Bruce
We drive all over without paper work on our cars her in the south. I bought a Corvette in Huntsville Al. and drove it to Nashville without license a few years ago and bought a Corvair last year that I drove home 135 miles the same way. you have three days grace to get the car moved. I like the video, the Dude is cool!

Thanks Dave,

Down here, the Law would use the video footage for evidence for the Prosecution.

No grace when driving on the roads.

Bruce.

[chrisntam]

You should move to the good ol U S of A, lots of freedom here. And when you do, bring our cars back and put the steering wheels back where they belong.

      

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

What?   And have to lock up everything when the Hurricanes come, drive in Snow, and survive the Tornadoes?

Bruce.

PS.   Nearly forgot the humidity of the South, the heat of the Desert, and learning Spanish?

PPS.   Would have to sell all my 240 Volt tools and buy a new set of 110 Volt stuff.

[MaR]

I love that guy. You should see some of the buckets he "rescues" and drives home. The car before this one was a Chevelle with SERIOUS frame rot.

[TJ Hopland]

I finally had a chance to watch it.   His accent sounds a lot more northern than the Minneapolis area which appears to be where he is based now.    Calling rust holes weight reduction is a new one on me,  I like it.

I have never heard anything about 3 days grace to move a car so that must be something in states far from me.  He mentioned he bought the car 'last winter' so he presumably got the title then and since we don't have any inspections in Minnesota as long as its a 'clear title' for about $100 he could have easily got the title transferred and got new standard plates with current tabs before he even touched the car.  Same with minimum insurance just a phone call.   I don't know anything about the guy but if it does this sort of thing all the time its possible that he has some sort of auto dealer license which then gets you special plates and insurance that allows you drive and move cars around as needed to do business.

It looked like the car was in a rural area to start with and while the laws are the same state wide in the rural area its much less likely to get questioned and if you did it would most likely just be a warning.   I was expecting him to also live in a rural area but based on the end of the video he ended up in the metro area.   That makes me think he had some sort of plates on the car.   Maybe dealer plates,  maybe plates that were borrowed from another car,  maybe the correct ones?   Who knows but driving into a major metro area you increase your chances of driving by police by a lot and you are already in a unique car that is going to get attention so no plates would really stand out. 

When he ran out of gas and said he had to hurry I suspect his concern was not that he didn't have plates it was if they saw that it was what it was (no brakes and gas tank in the front seat) that he could end up with at least fines for being unsafe.         

[chrisntam]

It's an internet video, take it with a grain of salt.