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1937 Cadillac Series 75 – Custom Rollston Cabriolet Limo Sedan (auction site)


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https://www.allcollectorcars.com/classic-car-auctions/vehicles/1937-cadillac-series-75-sedan/

 

One Of A Kind Built By Rollston Coach In Manhattan For The Governor Of Minnesota

All Original And Everything Works

346 Cubic Inch Monobloc Flathead V-8 Engine With 135hp

 

Much more info and many pics at the link.   NOT MINE

Bid at time I posted:  $10K

 

 

 

 

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used-1937-cadillac-series_75-rollstoncabrioletlimo-8031-21706328-5-1024.jpeg

PXL_20221202_215411873-scaled.jpg

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1 hour ago, StillOutThere said:

https://www.allcollectorcars.com/classic-car-auctions/vehicles/1937-cadillac-series-75-sedan/

 

One Of A Kind Built By Rollston Coach In Manhattan For The Governor Of Minnesota

All Original And Everything Works

346 Cubic Inch Monobloc Flathead V-8 Engine With 135hp

 

Much more info and many pics at the link.   NOT MINE

Bid at time I posted:  $10K

 

 

 

 

PXL_20221202_214329783-scaled.jpg

used-1937-cadillac-series_75-rollstoncabrioletlimo-8031-21706328-5-1024.jpeg

PXL_20221202_215411873-scaled.jpg

Super ugly.  No way it was the governors car.  Would take a ton of documentation.   But who cares?  Super ugly. 

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15 minutes ago, B Jake Moran said:

Super ugly.  No way it was the governors car.  Would take a ton of documentation.   But who cares?  Super ugly. 

From the link

 

Quote

It was custom built in 1937 for the Governor of Minnesota, Elmer Austin Benson. The chassis was built in Detroit by Cadillac. It was then shipped to Rollston, a famous coach-builder in Manhattan where a custom coach was built to specifications. The build sheet comes with the car. It is documented as a “One-Off” in the encyclopedia of Cadillacs titled “80 years of Cadillac and LaSalle” by Walter McCall. Page 210. It is the only Cadillac limo Rollston. It is called a Town Car Cabriolet, featuring divider glass, jump seats, fold out mirrors in rear passenger

 

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I saw that but still question the authenticity of the Governor ownership comment.  Benson wasn’t rich by any means.  He was also only governor for 2 years and did not win another election after that 2 year term.
 

I am in Iowa.  If our sitting governor in 1936, at the depth of the depression, ordered a one off Cadillac limousine as his car, personal or state vehicle, he might get impeached!    Benson wasn’t a Democrat or Republican.  He was a member of some spin off Farmer Labor ticket.   
 

Would need to see documentation.   Plus - it’s still an ugly car from the back.  Looks like something that Potter would be driven in - in Its a Wonderful Life.  

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Jake's comment was pretty funny.  We saw that movie all the way through for the first time this year.  Does the wealthy pal show up in a Model J towncar?  Tough to ID except for the one hige signature tail light.

 

 

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When you have a mostly original, rare coachbuilt car the best thing you can do to "improve the looks" is to stick on some modern 
Cadillac bling.

"Yeah that'll add some class!" 

 

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PXL_20221202_214741261-scaled.jpg

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21 hours ago, m-mman said:

When you have a mostly original, rare coachbuilt car the best thing you can do to "improve the looks" is to stick on some modern 
Cadillac bling.

"Yeah that'll add some class!" 

Needs more ducks.....

 

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On 1/5/2023 at 2:38 AM, B Jake Moran said:

If our sitting governor in 1936, at the depth of the depression, ordered a one off Cadillac limousine as his car, personal or state vehicle, he might get impeached!    Benson wasn’t a Democrat or Republican.  He was a member of some spin off Farmer Labor ticket.   

 

1936 was NOT the depth of the Depression. That was 1933. Much of the economy had recovered by 1936, then a recession hit in May of 1937, which lasted for one year. Interestingly, in regard to car sales, 1937 was a banner year.

 

Also, Rollson records are pretty complete. I suspect there is documentation.

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I like this Rollson body (without the trunk). This car is listed on several other sites for sale at a price of $150,000, so the current auction price of 10k will have to jump quite a bit to hit the reserve. According to the Internet Movie Cars Database this car was in a music video in 1982 for Rainbow: Death Alley Driver. Interesting car!

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2 hours ago, Kblake said:

According to the Internet Movie Cars Database this car was in a music video in 1982 for Rainbow: Death Alley Driver. Interesting car!

Interesting! In ‘82 I was a pretty strong Rainbow fan. I don’t remember that video though. 
 

However, I do remember Whitesnake’s “Here I go again” video. 😀

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bscap0001qa4_4606.jpg.87b3cfd6da24b99dbdfd5e0d1b6bff47.jpgbscap0002yv0_6912.jpg.c1644eeb919ad9e31f5185ac9d8999e0.jpg

1 hour ago, Gearheadengineer said:

Interesting! In ‘82 I was a pretty strong Rainbow fan. I don’t remember that video though. 
 

However, I do remember Whitesnake’s “Here I go again” video. 😀

 

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On 1/6/2023 at 9:19 AM, West Peterson said:

 

1936 was NOT the depth of the Depression. That was 1933. Much of the economy had recovered by 1936, then a recession hit in May of 1937, which lasted for one year. Interestingly, in regard to car sales, 1937 was a banner year.

 

Also, Rollson records are pretty complete. I suspect there is documentation.

My apologies for providing incorrect information.  Perhaps the governor’s choice in motorcar did not sit well with his constituents.  

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At one point you were easily able to get factory build sheets for Cadillac's, including pre-war cars and still see the references today:

 

our company’s collection of vehicle build documentation, dealer invoices and/or build sheets, which contains information about individual vehicles produced by GM and exists on various digital and microfilm formats. The documentation is not available for all vehicles and dates only to 1977 for most brands. To request vehicle documentation please email vehicleinvoice@gmmediaarchive.com or call 1-734-261-5086.

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By the latter part of the 1930's up to the advent of WWII, the severely formal styles such as this rather tall Rollston town car were the stock and trade of the remaining coachbuilders.  The other style that generated some customer demands were Packard Darrin-style custom convertible victorias.

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As a lifelong Minnesotan, I have to say that I'm sort of dubious about this car's pedigree. I may well be wrong, but I can't imagine a car as ostentatious this ever being owned by a Minnesota politician. We're far too conservative, as a rule, to even drive regular Cadillacs.

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11 minutes ago, Hudsy Wudsy said:

As a lifelong Minnesotan, I have to say that I'm sort of dubious about this car's pedigree. I may well be wrong, but I can't imagine a car as ostentatious this ever being owned by a Minnesota politician. We're far too conservative, as a rule, to even drive regular Cadillacs.

I just made myself laugh. Actually, we're anything but conservative politically, but we are conservative in demeanor and decorum. I imagine that such an inconsistency stems from our Scandinavian heritage. I'm all Irish, though, so what do I know?

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17 minutes ago, Hudsy Wudsy said:

As a lifelong Minnesotan, I have to say that I'm sort of dubious about this car's pedigree. I may well be wrong, but I can't imagine a car as ostentatious this ever being owned by a Minnesota politician. We're far too conservative, as a rule, to even drive regular Cadillacs.

 

Maybe the gov was very very tall?

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