Post by Mike B on Mar 5, 2009 1:16:32 GMT -4
You can’t miss this Caddy
At more than 2 tons and almost 19-feet long, Sereni’s 1967 Coupe DeVille is a beast
By Laura Lane 331-4362 | llane@heraldt.com
February 21, 2009
Corinne Sereni drives a really big car, a four-door Cadillac Coupe DeVille manufactured 13 years before she was born.
“I always dreamed of getting a big old car,” the 29-year-old Bloomington woman said.
So a few months ago, she drove with a mechanic friend to Oolitic to check out a car she saw listed for sale in the newspaper. The owner was set on the $975 selling price, since he had done extensive mechanical work to get the car going. He wanted to break even, and Sereni decided she would pay full price to get the car she wanted.
So she gave the owner a handful of cash and drove her Cadillac home.
Corinne Sereni’s 1967 Cadillac Coupe DeVille has lost some of its shine, but not its power. The behemoth has a 429-cubic inch V8 engine and takes up two parking spaces. Laura Lane | Herald-Times
It had been sitting outside for 20 years or so, and was happy to be back on the road . if a car can be happy.
Maybe you have seen the beast parked around Bloomington, or heard its roaring 429-cubic inch V-8 engine as Sereni zooms down the street.
“I had a good feeling about the car when I saw it. And I definitely get some attention when I drive it,” the 5-foot-5 woman said. “It fits me. I am really surprised how easy it is to drive.”
Parking, though, presents challenges. When she parallel parks, it helps to have a friend along to get out and direct the very long back end of the car safely into a space. “It’s just to make sure I don’t hit any other cars,” she explained.
So far, Sereni said, so good. She hasn’t smashed into anything. “My mom had a really big old car and being in this one is comfortable, maybe because I’m reminded of hers.”
Sereni home schools her 7-year-old daughter, and they travel in the Cadillac almost daily to the Monroe County Public Library. The Caddy is tough to miss; it measures 224 inches long and takes up nearly two full parking spaces.
It’s heavy, too; with its cast-iron block engine and sleek steel body, Sereni’s new car weighs in at 4,505 pounds.
She likes it. A lot.
“This car only had two other owners before me,” third owner Sereni said proudly.
“I know it needs a lot of interior work, and a paint job,” she admitted.
She’s right. The car appears to be blackish-gray, but has no shine. But it does feature an interesting muddy footprint pattern left behind by her cat, who “walks all over it.”
And the red-and-black vinyl upholstery — or is it leather? — is torn in quite a few places, yellowing foam showing through. It cries out for attention.
And then there’s that annoying problem of the rusting-away floorboard. “You can see the road,” she said. “But we are using some rugs to cover that up for now. But pretty soon, I need to get some sheet metal and have it fixed.”
Sereni’s previous car was a Mazda MPV. Not a small vehicle, but no two-blocks-long Cadillac, either.
Tuesday, Sereni went shopping for tires for her new vehicle. Her next purchase: brake pads for the back.
The 1967 DeVille was loaded with options such as cruise control, a three-speed Turbo-Hydramatic transmission, a rear-window defogger and something called Guide-Matic headlamp control.
The late 1950s Cadillac’s grand art-deco 44-inch-tall tail fins were replaced on the 1967 model with vertically stacked headlights and a wide grille.
Sereni’s 1967 model is more angular, less curvaceous than the Cadillacs from a decade before.
General Motors made 59,902 Coupe DeVilles like Sereni’s in 1967; they sold for about $5,400.
Sereni, though, is more interested in having a classic car she can depend on. And that turns heads.
She’s found it.
Got a story to tell about a car or truck? Call 812-331-4362, send an e-mail to lane@heraldt.com or a letter to My Favorite Ride, P.O. Box 909, Bloomington, IN 47402.
Sharp-eyed readers
I wrote about Corrine Sereni’s 1967 Cadillac DeVille last week and called it a four-door coupe.
Coupes have two doors; Sereni’s Caddy has four big ones.
After I took a picture of the beast, I returned to the office to write the story and realized I wasn’t sure how many doors the car had.
A close look at the picture revealed two handles on the driver’s side. So I changed the story to say the car was a four-door, but forgot to change the word “coupe” to “sedan.”
Oops.
And, the car’s drum brakes would have shoes, not pads.
I appreciate my careful, devoted readers who keep me in line.
A special thank you to George Rehrey, whose e-mail address — which contains the word “cadilacgeo” — made me laugh.
At more than 2 tons and almost 19-feet long, Sereni’s 1967 Coupe DeVille is a beast
By Laura Lane 331-4362 | llane@heraldt.com
February 21, 2009
Corinne Sereni drives a really big car, a four-door Cadillac Coupe DeVille manufactured 13 years before she was born.
“I always dreamed of getting a big old car,” the 29-year-old Bloomington woman said.
So a few months ago, she drove with a mechanic friend to Oolitic to check out a car she saw listed for sale in the newspaper. The owner was set on the $975 selling price, since he had done extensive mechanical work to get the car going. He wanted to break even, and Sereni decided she would pay full price to get the car she wanted.
So she gave the owner a handful of cash and drove her Cadillac home.
Corinne Sereni’s 1967 Cadillac Coupe DeVille has lost some of its shine, but not its power. The behemoth has a 429-cubic inch V8 engine and takes up two parking spaces. Laura Lane | Herald-Times
It had been sitting outside for 20 years or so, and was happy to be back on the road . if a car can be happy.
Maybe you have seen the beast parked around Bloomington, or heard its roaring 429-cubic inch V-8 engine as Sereni zooms down the street.
“I had a good feeling about the car when I saw it. And I definitely get some attention when I drive it,” the 5-foot-5 woman said. “It fits me. I am really surprised how easy it is to drive.”
Parking, though, presents challenges. When she parallel parks, it helps to have a friend along to get out and direct the very long back end of the car safely into a space. “It’s just to make sure I don’t hit any other cars,” she explained.
So far, Sereni said, so good. She hasn’t smashed into anything. “My mom had a really big old car and being in this one is comfortable, maybe because I’m reminded of hers.”
Sereni home schools her 7-year-old daughter, and they travel in the Cadillac almost daily to the Monroe County Public Library. The Caddy is tough to miss; it measures 224 inches long and takes up nearly two full parking spaces.
It’s heavy, too; with its cast-iron block engine and sleek steel body, Sereni’s new car weighs in at 4,505 pounds.
She likes it. A lot.
“This car only had two other owners before me,” third owner Sereni said proudly.
“I know it needs a lot of interior work, and a paint job,” she admitted.
She’s right. The car appears to be blackish-gray, but has no shine. But it does feature an interesting muddy footprint pattern left behind by her cat, who “walks all over it.”
And the red-and-black vinyl upholstery — or is it leather? — is torn in quite a few places, yellowing foam showing through. It cries out for attention.
And then there’s that annoying problem of the rusting-away floorboard. “You can see the road,” she said. “But we are using some rugs to cover that up for now. But pretty soon, I need to get some sheet metal and have it fixed.”
Sereni’s previous car was a Mazda MPV. Not a small vehicle, but no two-blocks-long Cadillac, either.
Tuesday, Sereni went shopping for tires for her new vehicle. Her next purchase: brake pads for the back.
The 1967 DeVille was loaded with options such as cruise control, a three-speed Turbo-Hydramatic transmission, a rear-window defogger and something called Guide-Matic headlamp control.
The late 1950s Cadillac’s grand art-deco 44-inch-tall tail fins were replaced on the 1967 model with vertically stacked headlights and a wide grille.
Sereni’s 1967 model is more angular, less curvaceous than the Cadillacs from a decade before.
General Motors made 59,902 Coupe DeVilles like Sereni’s in 1967; they sold for about $5,400.
Sereni, though, is more interested in having a classic car she can depend on. And that turns heads.
She’s found it.
Got a story to tell about a car or truck? Call 812-331-4362, send an e-mail to lane@heraldt.com or a letter to My Favorite Ride, P.O. Box 909, Bloomington, IN 47402.
Sharp-eyed readers
I wrote about Corrine Sereni’s 1967 Cadillac DeVille last week and called it a four-door coupe.
Coupes have two doors; Sereni’s Caddy has four big ones.
After I took a picture of the beast, I returned to the office to write the story and realized I wasn’t sure how many doors the car had.
A close look at the picture revealed two handles on the driver’s side. So I changed the story to say the car was a four-door, but forgot to change the word “coupe” to “sedan.”
Oops.
And, the car’s drum brakes would have shoes, not pads.
I appreciate my careful, devoted readers who keep me in line.
A special thank you to George Rehrey, whose e-mail address — which contains the word “cadilacgeo” — made me laugh.