Styling and horsepower sold cars in the Fifties, and
nobody knew that better than Cadillac. Stylewise, its famous tailfins debuted on the
1948 models, a design hallmark that was destined to last nearly two decades. A year
later the trend-setting Series 62 Coupe de Ville hardtop bowed. Although styling
changed from year to year, Cadillac carefully maintained a continuity of design so
that even though the car always looked "new," there could never be any mistake that it
was indeed "The Standard of the World."
In 1949, Cadillac and Olds were the first to market new lightweight, high-compression,
overhead-valve V-8s, which marked the beginning of the horsepower race. Caddy's version
churned out 160 horses, 18.5 percent more than Olds, even though its 331-cid engine
was only 10 percent bigger. It thus became one of the fastest cars of its time.
Cadillac also enhanced its image with some of the classiest advertising of the day. In
the early '50s it ran a series of ads with the car displayed above a necklace of
diamonds, emeralds, or rubies, with simple, direct, and devastating mini-stories
underneath. For example, one of them told of the paperboy who had admired Cadillacs
31 years earlier, and now was an industrialist about to purchase his first one: "No
compromise this time!" the ad declared.
Three GM divisions had 50th anniversaries in 1953, and celebrated by issuing expensive,
flashy limited editions, all big convertibles with Motorama-inspired styling features.
Buick offered the Skylark and Oldsmobile the 98 Fiesta. Cadillac's birthday model
appeared in the Series 62 as the Eldorado. Only 532 were built
that year, largely because of a towering $7750 price. Among its attractions: custom
interior, special cut-down "Panoramic" wraparound windshield, sporty "notched"
beltline, and a metal lid instead of a canvas boot to cover the lowered top. A
striking piece, it was a preview of Cadillacs to come-and, of course, the start of a
now long-famous line. Incidentally, some '53 Cadillacs were built with Buick Dynaflow
after a fire in the Hydra-Matic plant at Livonia, Michigan reduced available
transmission supplies, though this situation lasted only a few months.
George M. "Rick" Shahovskoy, who worked at the Hartford Fire Insurance Company for
a few decades wrote to correct my statement that the fire was at Willow Run. It was at
Livonia. He says, "The insurance industry calls the fast spread of the fire due to the
infamous 'Livonia Roof' which all insurance inspectors must be on the lookout for
whenever inspecting commercial buildings."
Changes seen in 1953 included a redesigned grille with heavier integral bumper and
bumper guards, the repositioning of parking lamps directly under the Headlights,
chrome "eyebrow" type headlamp doors and one-piece rear windows without division bars.
Wheel discs were fashioned in an attractive new dished design. Series 62 models were
identified by non-louvered rear fenders, the use of thin bright metal underscores on
the bottom rear of the cars only and the decoration of both hood and deck lid with
Cadillac crests and V-shaped ornaments. As was the practice since 1951, Series 62
sedan bodies measured five inches less than the other styles.
A Coupe DeVille roof pillar script was seen again on this luxury hardtop. Standard equipment included all items
featured the year before. Late in the production year the limited-edition Eldorado
luxury convertible was added to this model range. A full assortment of DeLuxe accessories, including wire
wheels, were standard on this specialty car which introduced the wraparound windshield for production models.
On August 12, a fire at the Hydra-Matic transmission factory in Livonia, Mich. broke out and would bring a
damaging halt to production within a week. It was September 8 before Cadillacs began leaving the factory again.
| Serial numbers and engine numbers were again one and the same. |
|
| They appeared on the righthand side of the crankcase above the water pump and on the right frame side bar behind the engine support. | |
| The first two symbols were "53" for 1953. | |
The next two symbols indicated the series as follows:
|
|
| The remaining digits represented the consecutive unit number and began with 00000 for all series. | |
| All series had the same ending number, which would be misinterpreted if listed. |
| Model Number | Body Style | Doors | Model | Seating | Factory Price | Shipping Weight | Production Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 53-62 | 6219(X) | 4-door | Sedan | 5 | 3666 | 4201 | 47,316 |
| 53-62 | 6219(X) | 4-door | Sedan | 5 | 3666 | 4201 | 324 |
| 53-62 | 6237(X) | 2-door | Coupe | 5 | 3571 | 4189 | 14,353 |
| 53-62 | 6237DX | 2-door | Coupe DeVille | 5 | 3995 | 4252 | 14,550 |
| 53-62 | 6267X | 2-door | Convertible Coupe | 5 | 4144 | 4476 | 8,367 |
| 53-62 | 62 | - | Chassis only | - | - | - | 4 |
| ELDORADO SPECIAL | |||||||
| 53-62 | 6267SX | 2-door | Sport Convertible Coupe | 5 | 7750 | 4799 | 532 |
| Type | V-8 Overhead valves. |
|
| Block | Cast iron block. | |
| Displacement | 331 cubic inches. | |
| Bore and stroke | 3-15/16 x 3-5/8 inches. | |
| Compression ratio | 8.25:1. | |
| Brake horsepower | 210 at 4150 rpm | |
| Bearings | Five main bearings | |
| Valve lifters | Hydraulic valve lifters. | |
| Carburetors: |
|
|
| Note: After the Hydra-Matic plant fire approximately 19,000 Cadillacs were sold with Buick Dynaflow transmission attachments. This was referred to as the "Twin Turbine" drive. | ||
| Wheelbase | 126 inches |  |
| Overall length (Sedan) | 215.8 inches | |
| Overall length (Other) | 220.8 inches | |
| Tires | 8.00 x 15. | |
| Dual exhaust system | standard. | |
| Rear axle ratios | 3.07:1 |
| None available. |  |
| Hydraulic window lifts optional on some Series 62 models. |  | |
| Heating and ventilation system | $199 | |
| Power steering | $177 | |
| Signal-seeking radio with preselector and antenna | $132 | |
| Remote control signal-seeking radio with preselector and antenna | $214 | |
| Five white sidewall tires | $48 exchange | |
| Tinted E-Z-Eye glass | $46 | |
| Autronic Eye Automatic headlamp beam control | $53 | |
| Chrome wire wheels | $325 | |
| Air conditioning | $620 | |
| Other standard G.M. accessories. |
28000 Cadillacs were built with Buick Dynaflow transmission after GM's Hydramatic plant burned to the ground.
Books about Cadillac |
History of LaSalle |
Books on other automobiles |
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