FOR SALE: 1941 Cadillac Series 61 Sedanette *SOLD*

*SOLD*

Many of you already suspect how much I love this 1941 Cadillac Series 61 sedanette--a cousin to my 1941 Buick Century sedanette and if this car had floated past my radar when I was looking at Buicks, it would have been very hard to resist. It comes to us from Colorado where a wonderful lady finished her father's favorite car after his passing. He owned it for many years, restoring bits of it as time and money allowed, but it never needed or received a full-frame off restoration. In the past 3-4 years, it has been comprehensively freshened, including lots of new chrome, fresh paint in the original Valcour Maroon color, a rebuilt engine, transmission, and rear end, plus brakes and new tires. It is not perfect, but a lot has been invested and the major stuff is extremely good. As with many things, the devil remains in the details.

The Valcour Maroon paint looks incredible on the fastback shape and the finish is two-stage urethane, so it shines up beautifully. Thanks to a comprehensive cut and buff, it has a high-grade shine and really looks good even up close. There are a few bumps and bruises that inevitably happen over time, but this car really shows well. Panel alignment is one area that could use some attention, particularly the hood, which needs a little finessing to fit properly, but that's fairly common to these Cadillacs and could be remedied by someone with more patience than money. Experts will also note that the splash panel is missing between the body and rear bumper, but they're easy to find and I might even have a spare somewhere. Much of the chrome has been refinished, including the bumpers, taillight housings, fender spears, and trunk hardware, and I have to believe that the hood vents and grille have been refinished as well, although perhaps in the more distant past than the rest. The stainless trim around the windows has been recently buffed and looks great, including the unique Cadillac 3-piece rear window trim. It is fitted with reproduction fiberglass fender skirts which have an OK fit and really transform the car's look, so much so that I think I've decided my Century needs skirts as well. The fastback shape was just made for them. The medallions are also brand new.

The interior is a bit of a conundrum. It was professionally reupholstered in the late 1990s and uses what looks like period-correct materials. The seats are a handsome woven material backed by light brown wool broadcloth. But somehow over the years it has faded and I can't explain why or how. The fading is extremely uniform with no signs that it was, say, parked next to a window, because there are no shadow marks anywhere inside. Peel back the seat cushions to reveal unexposed material, however, and you can see that the color has definitely changed. We are looking into perhaps re-dying it to make it look correct, but even as-is, you can see that the workmanship is really nice it's just a different color than it used to be. You’ll also note the window garnish moldings and dashboard were beautifully restored and look spectacular, all the gauges were rebuilt, and the steering wheel was re-cast. As is typical, the radio and clock do not work, but the lights and turn signals are good to go. The trunk is also nicely finished with tan carpets that aren’t totally correct but are in excellent shape and expensively tailored.

The 346 cubic inch flathead V8 was rebuilt about 1000 miles ago and runs superbly. It starts without any fussing and an electric fuel pump was added to help prime it after sitting for a while (I’ve never needed to use it). You will note that the automatic choke is disconnected, and again, it’s probably not necessary because the sucker starts instantly and idles quite well without it. Olive green paint on the block works with the black exhaust manifolds to offer a reasonably correct look, and the water pump and generator have been rebuilt. The 3-speed manual transmission shifts easily without any clashing and there’s just a bit of clutch chatter on take-off that might go away with some use. Braking is confident and the suspension rides like the proverbial Cadillac, and the sucker’s surprisingly fast around town. It cruises at 65 MPH without strain and never even gets close to overheating or vapor lock. The underside is tidy but not detailed, and even with a layer of undercoating you can see that there has never been any major surgery on the floors. New BFGoodrich wide whites look awesome and give it a correct look.

As you can tell, I like this car an awful lot, and if I didn’t already have a large-size 1941 GM fastback in the garage, I’d have a hard time not owning this one. It’s not perfect, but the major stuff is excellent and a dedicated hobbyist could have a few projects to tinker with on the weekends and have a flat-out awesome car to enjoy on tour. We’re asking a very reasonable $34,900, which is a fraction of the restoration costs invested in just the past 4 years (receipts are included). Do a little research and you'll find that cars like this in top condition sell for anywhere from $50,000 to $80,000 making this an excellent opportunity to own one of the very best designs of the 1940s.

*SOLD* Thank you!

I think I saw this car on an open transport heading east on Rt 80 last night near Youngstown, Ohio.

I was merging onto Rt 11 North and almost went off the road trying to get a decent look at her. It was on the very top of the carrier and I was trying to get close enough to get a good look. The 3 horizontal chrome moldings on the front and back gave it away when I was trying to identify exactly what year and make it was last night. I knew the year was 40 or 41 but not sure of the make. A few minutes on the internet and I found it.

Absolutely beautiful auto.

Definitely not this car. It arrived in enclosed transport and is still in my shop waiting for the new owner to pick it up as of June 5. I always cringe seeing old cars going on open transport and discourage it whenever possible. I like this car so much it would absolutely break my heart to put it on an open trailer and send it out into the unknown. I can't control it when the owners set up shipping, but I think the guy buying this car knows it's worth protecting. I hope, anyway, since I didn't set up the transport in this case.

Thanks for the heads-up!

Sorry for the mix up. I saw a car that was similar and thought it was yours.

Thanks

Bill