1957 Cadillac Cars Described

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1957 CADILLAC CARS DESCRIBED

1957 CADILLAC - GENERAL: For 1957 Cadillac adopted a tubular X-frame chassis on all models. It did not require side rails and resulted in greater structural rigidity while allowing lower body lines without loss of useable space. New front-end styling was marked by rubber bumper guard tips and dual, circular parking lamps set into the lower bumper section. Side trim was revised, and a dual taillight theme was used throughout the line. By utilizing different center frame sections, the wheelbases and overall lengths of specific series and body styles was possible. The Series 60S and Series 62 4-doors were now hardtops with the Series 75 being, the only closed sedan. The Series 62 hardtop sedan was a short-deck model with its trunk five inches shorter than the 60S hardtop sedan. Ball joint suspension was a new technical feature adopted this year. The export sedan was shipped in knocked-down, crated form to foreign countries. Announced in December 1956 and later released in March 1957, the Eldorado Brougham was a hand-built, limited-edition four-door hardtop sedan derived from the Cadillac Eldorado Brougham show car of 1955. That original 1955 show car, designed by Ed Glowacke, had featured America's first completely pillarless four-door body styling, later adopted in 1956 across all GM lines.

1957 SERIES 62 V-8: In the Series 62 lineup, including the Eldorado sub-series, three different overall lengths were available on cars with the same wheelbase. The Sedan Deville was bigger than standard Series 62 models, and the Eldorado Coupe Seville and Biarritz convertible were larger still. All models were now hardtops -- the sedan was relegated to the Series 75. Identifying the regular Series 62 models (the Coupe, Coupe DeVille and 4-door sedan) were vertical bright metal moldings just forward of the rear wheel openings and highlighted by seven horizontal wind splits. At the upper end this fender break trim joined a horizontal molding that ran along a conical flare extending forward from the tail lamps. A crest medallion was placed on the angled rear fins. Coups DeVilles and Sedan DeVilles had special nameplates on the front fenders. The export sedan was a Series 62 chassis shipped in knocked-down, crated form to foreign countries.

1957 SERIES 62 ELDORADO V-8: The Eldorado line was further distinguished by placement of the "Eldorado" name above a V-shaped rear deck ornament and on the front fenders. The rear fender and deck contour was sleekly rounded, and the wheel housing was trimmed with broad, sculptured stainless steel beauty panels. Also seen were pointed, "shark" style fins pointing towards the back of the cars. A three-section, built-in front bumper was another exclusive trait of the Eldorados which came with a long list of standard accessories.

1957 SERIES 60S FLEETWOOD V-8: The 60S Fleetwood was still the long rear-deck sedan, but it was now a four-door hardtop. It featured a wide, ribbed bright metal fairing extending from the lower rear half of the door to the back bumper. A "Fleetwood" nameplate was attached to the rear deck lid. Only on the 60S Series did the rear deck also house the backup lamps.

1957 SERIES 70 ELDORADO BROUGHAM V-8: The 1957 Eldorado Brougham was a completely pillarless 4-door hardtop with even ventipanes absent. The car was further distinguished by “suicide” type rear doors and a brushed stainless steel roof, the first appearance of quad headlights, and totally unique trim. The exterior ornamentation included wide, ribbed lower rear quarter beauty panels extending along the full rocker sills and a rectangular sculptured side body "cove" highlighted with five horizontal wind splits on the rear doors. The rear quarter styling treatment followed the Series 62 Eldorado theme. Buyers of Broughams had a choice of 44 full leather interior trim combinations and could select such items as Mouton, Karakul or lambskin carpeting. Standard equipment included all possible accessories including a dual four-barrel V-8, air-suspension, low-profile tires with thin whitewalls, automatic trunk lid opener, "memory" seat, cruise control, high-pressure cooling system, polarized sun visors, Signal-Seeking twin speaker radio, electric antenna, automatic-release parking brake, electric door locks, and dual heating system. Part of the option list were silver magnetized glove box drink tumblers, cigarette and tissue dispensers, lipstick and cologne, ladies' compact with powder puff, mirror and matching leather notebook, comb and mirror, and Arpege atomizer with Lanvin perfume. As optional equipment was an automatic starter with re-start function, Autronic-Eye, drum-type electric clock, power windows, forged aluminum wheels, and air conditioning.

1957 SERIES 75 FLEETWOOD V-8: These ultra-long-wheelbase Cadillacs came in Fleetwood limousine or Fleetwood nine- passenger sedan configurations, both with auxiliary seats. Side trim was the same as on Series 62 models except that the Cadillac crest was not placed on the rear fins.

INNOVATIONS: Air suspension was introduced this year, substituting rubber air bags for coil springs.

MODEL/ENGINE I.D. DATA: Serial numbers and engine numbers were one and the same. They appeared on the right-hand of the crankcase above the water pump and on the right frame side bar behind the engine support. The first two symbols were “57” to designate 1957 model production. The next two symbols indicated the series as follows: “62”, ‘60” or “75’. The remaining digits represented the consecutive unit number and began at 00000 for each series. All series had the same last (ending) number, which should not be misinterpreted if listed as part of the numbering sequence. Models designated by non-bracketed "X" in the body designation had standard power windows and fore-and-aft power seats. The symbol "X" after the Body Style Number and in brackets indicates power windows were optional, the "X" without brackets indicates power windows were standard.

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BODY PAINT CODE/COLORS:

 10 Black  12 Alpine White  14 Polo Gray  16 Eton Gray  18 Camelot Gray  20 Orion Blue  24 Tahoe Blue  26 Cobalt Blue  30 Glade Green  32 Thebes Green  34 Turquoise  36 Arlington Green  40 Leghorn Cream  44 Buckskin Beige  45 Mountain Laurel  48 Dusky Rose  48A Dusky Rose  49 Amethyst  50 Dakotah Red  52 Castile Maroon  90 Olympic White  92 Starlight  94 Bahama Blue  96 Elysian Green  98 Copper  110 Ebony Black  112 Chamonix White  116 Wimbledon Gray  118 Deauville Gray  122 Lake Placid Blue  124 Copenhagen Blue  126 Fairfax Blue  132 Jamaican Green  134 Laurentian Green  136 Plantation Green  140 Manila Cream  144 Sandalwood  148 Kenya Beige  149 Nairobi Pearl  152 Mharani Maroon

CADILLAC ENGINES:

 Series 60-62-75 V-8. Overhead valves. Cast Iron Block. Displacement: 365 CID. Bore and stroke: 4.00" x 3.625". Compression ratio: 10.0:1. Horsepower: 300 @ 4800 RPM. Torque: 400 @ 2800 RPM. Five main bearings. Hydraulic valve lifters. Carburetor: Rochester four-barrel Model 7015701.  Eldorado, Eldorado Brougham and Series 62 Eldorado Optional V-8. Overhead valves. Cast Iron Block. Displacement: 365 CID. Bore and stroke: 4.00" x 3.625". Compression ratio: 10.0:1. Horsepower: 325 @ 4800 RPM. Torque: 400 @ 3200 RPM. Five main bearings. Hydraulic valve lifters. Carburetor: Carburetors: Two (2) Carter four-barrels Front Model 25845 With A/C, Model 258S without A/C, Rear (all) Model 2583S.

CHASSIS:

 Wheelbase: Series 62 129.5", Series 60S 133.0", Series 70 126.0" Series 75 149.7" The commercial Series 75 chassis utilized a 158" wheelbase. This was provided for construction of funeral cars, ambulances, etc.  Overall length: Series Sedan 215.9", All other Series 62 220.9" Series 62 Eldorado 222.1", Series 60S 224.4", Series 70 Eldorado 216.3" Series 75 236.2"  Front tread: All - 61.0".  Rear tread: All - 61.0".  Standard tires: Series 75 8.20 x 15 6-ply blackwall, Series 62 Eldorado 8.20 x 15 whitewalls, Series 70 8.40 x 15 high-speed design, All Others 8.00 x 15 blackwall.  Optional tires: Series 60 and 62, Except Eldorado, 8.20 x 15 whitewall.

POWERTRAIN OPTIONS:

 Hydra-Matic drive, power steering and power brakes were standard in all Cadillacs.  The 325-horsepower dual four-barrel v-8 was optional on the Eldorado SeVille and Biarritz only.  Dual exhaust system was standard on all Cadillacs.

SIGNIFICANT OPTIONS:

 Air conditioning (standard in the Eldorado Brougham).  Autronic eye automatic headlamp dimmer.  E-Z-Eye safety glass.  Power seat, six-way (Standard for Eldorados).  Power seat, two-way posture.  Power window lifts (see above).  Signal-seeking radio with pre-selector and antenna.  Six-Way power seats were featured on Eldorados and Series 60S models.  White sidewall tires.

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HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: The 1957 Eldorado Brougham was designed to compete with the Lincoln-Continental Mark II. The new dual quad headlamps seen on the Brougham were illegal in some states during 1957. The Eldorado Brougham's air suspension system proved unreliable, and Cadillac later released a kit to convert cars to rear coil spring type suspension.

PRODUCTION:

The 1957 model year sales were 146,841, down from 1956's 155,577, but still earning Cadillac Division ninth in industry ranking for two years in a row.

CAR IMAGES

The Series 70 Eldorado Brougham was a production version of the 1955 show car. It was loaded with every possible option - and some not available anywhere else. It was hand-built, cost $13,000, and was designed for exclusivity - only 400 were sold.

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The 1957 Eldorado Biarritz Convertible was now over $7,200 in its base price. Even so, 1,800 were delivered.

The 1957 Eldorado coupe was seen as more practical and sold even though it listed for the dame price 2,100 were produced. Note: A 4-door hardtop was developed and 4 units were made, but it was sidelined by the Eldorado Brougham.

Sales of the ever-popular 1957 Series 62 convertible kept rising and given it was $2,000 under the Biarritz’s list price, it is not surprising that sales reached 9,000.

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The 1957 4-door hardtop Sedan DeVille sold well with 23,808 delivered. Buyers were moving away from traditional sedans to more stylish hardtops and this bode well for this model.

The 1957 Coupe DeVille was quite popular with 23,813 sold. It would move on in later years to become a bread and butter Cadillac.

The 1957 Series 60 long-deck 4-door hardtop was even more popular being the junior Fleetwood line with 24,000 delivered. The stainless rear lower body molding was intended to accentuate the rear deck’s extended length.

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CAR IMAGES Continued

The 1957 Series 62 4-door hardtop replaced the old 4-door sedan. 32,726 were sold, making it the most popular Cadillac in this year, and proving the demise of the traditional sedan was on its way.

The 1957 Series 62 Coupe was the least expensive Cadillac at $4,609 base, and 25,120 were produced.

If you were in the long wheelbase market, then the 1957 Series 75 Fleetwood was for you. Now the only true sedan in the line and more expensive than the Series 62 Eldorados, production was still strong with 1,900 sold.

The 1956 Series 62 sedan lost sales to the new Sedan DeVille but still hit 26,222 in total deliveries.