1970 Cadillac DeVille Series

Cadillac was the leader of the American luxury car market during the 1960s, solidifying its place in 1965 with a completely restyled lineup. The iconic but dated tailfins were eliminated and replaced by blade-type rear fenders. The previous X-frame chassis was replaced by a new perimeter-frame chassis which allowed the engine to be moved forward six inches resulting in greater interior space. The year 1969 brought a comprehensive restyling to the Cadillac lineup and bore the influence of the 1967 Eldorado. Minor styling updates for 1970 included a body-color border around the edge of the vinyl top covering, DeVille script above the rear end of the belt molding, a pair of narrow V-shaped taillights, and a new grille with 13 vertical blades set against a cross-hatched rectangular opening.

The 1970 Cadillac DeVille was available as a four-door sedan, 4-door hardtop, coupe, and convertible. They were given all the features and amenities found on the Calais, plus two-way horizontal control front seat adjustment, rear center armrests (except for in the convertibles), and dual rear cigarette lighters. The extensive list of optional equipment included a remote control trunk lock, Twilight Sentinel, Soft Ray glass, Guide-Matic headlight control, leather upholstery, power door locks, power seats, and tilt and telescope steering wheel.

Body Styles
The list of body styles included a four-door sedan, four-door hardtop, 2-door coupe, and a 2-door convertible. 1970 was the final year for the convertible. Both the sedan and hardtop were priced at approximately $6,120, with the hardtop proving to be the more popular of the two, with 83,224 sales compared to 7,320 for the sedan. The coupe was priced at $5,885, and 76,043 examples were sold; the convertible listed at $6,070 and found 15,172 willing buyers. In total, 181,719 examples were produced in 1970, accounting for 76 percent of Cadillac production.

Engine
The 472 cubic-inch V8 engine, which had appeared in 1968, had overhead valves, a cast-iron block, five main bearings, hydraulic valve lifters, a Rochester Quadrajet four-barrel carburetor, and delivered 375 horsepower at 4,400 RPM, and 525 lb-ft of torque at 3,000 RPM. The transmission was a three-speed TH-400 automatic.

Dimensions
The Calais and DeVille rested on a 129.5-inch wheelbase chassis with an overall length of 225 inches, a width of 79.8 inches, and an overall height of 56.2 inches. The Eldorado was shorter with a 120-inch wheelbase and measuring 221 inches in length. The Fleetwood Brougham and Fleetwood 60 Special had a 133-inch wheelbase platform, and the Fleetwood 75 measured 149.8 inches (wheelbase).

The 1970 Cadillac
Most of the 1970s Cadillacs were priced in the high-$5,000 to $7,000 range. The Eldorado hardtop coupe was priced at $6,900 and 23,842 examples were built. The Calais hardtop cope was priced at $5,600, and the hardtop sedan at $5,800, with 4,724 examples of the former and 5,187 of the latter. The Fleetwood Sixty Brougham was among the most expensive vehicles in Cadillac's lineup, priced at $7,285 (production of 16,913 units). A total of 1,738 examples of the Fleetwood Sixty sedan were built with a base price of $6,950. The Fleetwood Seventy-Five on the very generous platform listed at over $11,000 and 4,622 were built. (2,506 were commercial chassis, 1,240 were limousines with seating for nine, and 876 were sedans).

Within the Cadillac lineup, the mid-priced DeVille struck a chord with buyers, with attractive styling, desirable amenities, and a wide range of body styles.

1970 was the last year of the styling theme introduced in 1965. An all-new design would be introduced to all GM full-size vehicles in 1971 and continue through 1976. The Cadillacs would have 64.3 inches of front shoulder room and 63.4 inches of rear shoulder room; this would set an interior width record that would be unchallenged until the full-size GM rear-wheel-drive models of the early 1990s. The standard engine continued to be the 472 CID V8, but its compression was lowered so it could operate on unleaded fuel (SAE gross horsepower was lowered to 345 and torque to 500 lb-ft).

by Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2012