RIDE OF THE WEEK: 1968 Cadillac Sedan DeVille

by Michael Golubiewski
Production Editor

TLC paid off for this Caddy

For Benjamin Mirra of Scranton, the love of the 1968 Cadillac Sedan DeVille began at a young age.

“I remember — and I had to be only three or four years old — when my Grandpa had this black 1968 Cadillac,” he says. “The back seat was huge. It was like a playroom for me, my sister and my cousins.”

When Mirra had the opportunity to buy and restore a red 1968 Cadillac Sedan DeVille, he jumped at the chance.

“I’ve been tinkering with cars since I was a teenager,” he shares. “My father and I restored and rebuilt a 1970 Dodge Charger, the Cadillac I did myself, with some help from my brother-in-law.”

The DeVille was originally a trim option, then an actual full-size model of Cadillac, the luxury division of General Motors. The DeVille was produced for 56 years through 10 generations, from 1949-2005. The 1968 model was the fourth generation of the DeVille, and it became Cadillac’s “middle” model, falling between the higher-priced and more luxurious Calais and the more basic Fleetwood.

The 1968 model saw the end of the Cadillac tailfins and headlights were stacked vertically, rather than horizontally. The length of the 1968 Cadillac is a whopping 224.7 inches, and the car is powered by a 472 cubic-inch 8-cylinder engine.

“The engine is huge — and powerful,” Mirra says. “I’m pretty sure my Cadillac could easily handle some of these little cars on the road today.”

The engine features overhead valves and a cast iron block. The DeVille is capable of 375 horsepower and the carburetor is a Rochester Quadrajet four-barrel. The DeVille has a 3-speed automatic transmission. Around 72,662 units of the Sedan DeVille hardtop were produced by Cadillac in 1968 model year, and they sold for around $5,785 each.

Mirra has been doing research on his Cadillac and found that it was purchased new in Reading and spent most of its life in that area.

“I bought the car in 2004,” Mirra says. “It was pretty weather-beaten and a bit rusty then, but it still was powerful. I knew with a little TLC the car could turn heads.”

Mirra restored the car’s black top and repainted the exterior the original bright red.

“It is just a fun car to drive,” he says. “And it’s definitely bigger than most of the cars on the road today, even SUVs.”

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