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HomeFeatured VehiclesMy Classic Car: Sixteen year old gets a 1965 Cadillac Fleetwood 75

My Classic Car: Sixteen year old gets a 1965 Cadillac Fleetwood 75

What started as joke became a reality

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When I was growing up, my grandparents always took me to this specific steakhouse every Sunday. All of their friends would be there and basically they would all hang out for the evening. One of my grandpa’s closest friends owned two 1965 Cadillacs. There was an ongoing joke that when I turn sixteen I’ll get one of the Cadillacs.

Patrick’s 1965 Cadillac Fleetwood 75

Both Cadillacs were the same year and model, but the only difference was color: one was red and one was silver. Both were Arizona cars originally, and the interior and the paint have been redone. Everything else was completely original (even the engine; it’s a 429 with 345hp). The cars were from a town called Jerome in Arizona, and they were kept at the famous Jerome Grand Hotel. The hotel is hotspot for people in the paranormal world as it’s supposedly super haunted and has even been on a episode of the TV show Ghost Adventures.

The cars were then bought by my grandparents’ friend and moved to Nebraska in 2007. In 2019 the friend decided to downsize and put the cars up for auction. On the way to the auction, the red Cadillac decided to blow an engine. The silver one went across the block and it ended up in Des Moines, Iowa. The red one he kept to fix up, then realized something. My sixteenth birthday was coming up. So, he called my grandpa and my grandpa bought the car from him to give to me.

Patrick’s 1965 Cadillac Fleetwood 75

I was now a teenager who had a twenty-one foot first car that takes up two parking spots in the process. The car was kept about forty minutes west of Omaha, so when I took it to Elkhorn, a suburb of Omaha, I realized it was the only car like it in the city. I had the only Cadillac here. It soon became a instant hit at the local car shows. A little over a year later it won its first car show and came third in its class at another one.

Patrick’s 1965 Cadillac Fleetwood 75

Since I’ve had the car, it’s been on a calendar, on the local news and even been featured on 1320video.com twice. Last time I checked it had over 5,000 views. To document its adventures I made an Instagram account for it (you can follow here). The account has hit 300 followers, and two of the biggest Cadillac clubs in the world (the Cadillac La Salle Club and the Cadillac Kings) follow it. We also have followers as far away as France and Germany. I’m ecstatic to see how far it’s come and surprised on how popular it is.

Patrick R., Nebraska

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18 COMMENTS

    • Thank you. Good grief it drives me crazy when people mislabel their vehicle’s year. You and I, and anyone who knows Cadillac, know 1965 was a significant model year change.

      • I believe you are correct, it is a 65. The 75 limousine roll over the styling from the previous year hence the misunderstanding.

  1. Just a beautiful automobile and one that stands alone in style and memories of great American Limos! Thanks for sharing and enjoy showing it often.

  2. I often say, “Those who are most adamant are often most wrong.” But, it’s an opinion based on experience, not fact. That the 1965 Fleetwood 75 Limousine kept the ’64 body style is fact. The 1965 Fleetwood SEDAN (Series 60) got the “new” look. Hagerty had a great article about this a couple years ago. It is still up online. Second paragraph is ironic…..
    https://www.hagerty.com/media/opinion/1965-cadillac-fleetwood-seventy-five-yes-it-really-is-a-65/

  3. Thank you Kilroy! So, Mssrs. Eddy, MacAuley, Sted and Drew….not even an ounce of courtesy, or guts, to apologize for piling on your incorrect commentary?

  4. 65 and 66 have stacked headlights. 63 and 64 have similaar body and horizontal hradlights, 64 has a body colored strip through centsper of grill. This is a 64.

  5. Because of the low volume of production of the Fleetwood 75 model, Cadillac carried over the 1964 design (with the 1959 greenhouse) for the 1965 model year. Note that the same wheel covers as the other 1965 Cadillacs were used, however. The Fleetwood 75 design, including the greenhouse, was updated for the 1966 model year.

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