I posted this up a while back but have had a chance to get a better look-over of it in the last few days.
What it is: 1968 Cadillac Sedan DeVille. I forgot to look, but IIRC it has something like 70k ORIGINAL miles. My great-uncle for the last 30+ years used it mostly for occasional local cruising, taking long-ago-grown-up kids to Prom, occasional family road trips, and other "special" functions. So it's lived a fairly easy life.
Unfortunately, Uncle is an interesting guy and though he "maintains" his cars, he doesn't really "take care" of them in many ways (e.g. he's never parked in a garage or on a paved street I don't think). This one was one of the exceptions to some extent (parked on gravel, never in the grass, and not full of random stuff), but in the last decade as he got older he didn't drive it, didn't really work on it or keep it up so it just kind of sat other than occasionally being moved around the lot (he owns a 10-acre ex-farm in northern Va.).
So, some pics at the bottom and my take on it:
Engine: It's a 472 V8 (7.7L!!!), which IIRC is the 2nd largest engine GM ever put in a car behind the 500. It's been a year or two since he started it so today I went over to give it a go (using my own Red Top battery out of the e30, lol). Car cranks EASILY and evenly (and smoothly), and it's getting fuel (can smell it in the carb) but couldn't start it. Seemed like it was getting spark at the dizzy, but not sure what's going on in there. I'm not a GM V8 guy so don't know any "tricks" or things to look for. In any case, it cranks freely and maybe it just needs some good fuel or something, who knows. I know for a fact it was driven on occasion before it ended up where it is, and he didn't park it because of any transmission or mechanical issue....just didn't have any reason to drive it (and he's old, and this car is HUGE). Engine has plenty of pine needles and stuff sitting on it, and there are some vac tubes that are creatively plugged and some messy wires here and there. The car has A/C but it's not hooked up. All the components appear to be there from what I can tell, however.
Interior: Actually quite nice. The original seats have a nifty embroidered pattern on them, and are in really good shape. Rear seat has had a towel over it for the last 10 years so hasn't faded from sun or anything. Interior is complete, and other than a few minor trim issues it appears to be pretty complete, dry, and decent. I know issues can come under carpeting or whatever but I don't see any evidence of leakage into the car (the doors are like bank vault doors!)
This was an "all options" model so has all kinds of nifty things that I didn't think existed in 1968 that were "exclusive" at the time. Hell, the driver's door multi-swtich has 2 locks and 8 (EIGHT) window switches. Yeah, the quarter ("smoker") windows on the front and rear doors are power-operated. And they actually work (I tested them, very neat)....
Exterior: It was repainted about 15 years ago and not done well. Clearcoat is peeling on the passenger side, roof, and trunk. There are some dents here and there, and Uncle says there is a small Bondo area on the left rear end behind the wheel, but that's about it. A few rusty areas (bottom of c-pillar) but a cursory inspection didn't show much. ROckers are solid, just a bit of rust at bottom of doors maybe. I'm not getting underneath this thing (do I have a jack strong enough to lift it?) but from what I can see with my head on the ground the floorpan is decent.
In the pics you can see some trim is missing around the headlights and elsewhere. It's all in the trunk. Uncle is the kind of guy who keeps everything, I'm sure every piece is there down to the clips and screws.
And check out the plates. You know you want those.
ANYHOW....so Uncle is moving from the farm soon and this car (and a billion other huge things) need to be gone. He doesn't WANT to sell anything (he's an industrial/automotive hoarder of sorts) but the family knows the car and other stuff have to go. I'm sure he has an inflated idea of what the car is worth, but if there's an offer that I consider reasonable, I'll make every effort to make it happen (along with his daughter, we have some leverage here).
BTW, he has title in hand.
Will try to answer any other questions you might have and/or check out things for a prospective serious buyer. It's about 15 minutes from my house so I can swing by on weekends if required.
Hit me up on email if interested or if you want to throw out an offer. I'll pass along any offer as long as it isn't ridiculous. It may or may not be worth more than Challenge budget, IDK.
Some pics...
