1956 Cadillac Series 75

Cadillac used its in-house coachbuilding division Fleetwood for bodying its upscale Sixty Special sedan and the Fleetwood 75. Much of Fleetwood's early work was for Packard, but by 1925 Lawrence Fisher of Fisher Body Corporation had acquired the Pennsylvania company and was moved to Detroit in stages between 1929 and 1931. It was integrated into General Motors in 1931, and although Fleetwood and Fisher body production became more integrated over the years, there were always separate Fleetwood semi-custom production facilities, where low-volume, high-end body styles were created, along with special orders from valued customers.

Cadillac's top-of-the-line model during 1956 was the Series 75 Fleetwood, available as an eight-passenger sedan, Imperial Sedan, or as a commercial chassis. Its wheelbase measured 149.75 inches (the commercial chassis measured 158 inches), much larger than the Series 62 of 129 inches, and the Series 60 Special of 133 inches. The overhead-valve, 365 cubic-inch V8 engine was shared with other models in the lineup, with five main bearings, hydraulic valve lifters, and delivering 285 horsepower at 4,600 RPM. An optional, higher specification version with two Carter four-barrel carburetors from the Eldorado, produced 305 horsepower at 4,700 RPM. Prices began at $6,560 for the 8-passenger sedan, a $400 increase over the previous year. Production for both 1955 and 1956 had similar numbers, with 1,095 of the 8-passenger sedan constructed in 1956, along with 955 of the Imperial Sedan. 2,025 of the commercial chassis were built, often outfitted with limousine coachwork for heads of state, presidential parades, hursts, ambulances, and various other commercial purposes. Changes for 1956 included a new grille with finer-textured inserts, and relocating the parking lights in the bumpers, below the wing guards. The Fleetwood nameplate was placed on the deck lid, changes were made to the bumpers, and slight modifications were made to the exhaust extension moldings on the rear fender.

The 'high-headroom' styling continued, first seen in 1954, as did the option of having a driver's partition on the imperial Limousine. Jump (auxiliary) seats were optional on the sedan and limousine.

The styling introduction in 1954 continued through 1956, and in 1957 numerous changes were made including a new tubular X-frame sans side rails. Body styles included a 9-passenger sedan or a 9-passenger Imperial sedan. Power was 300 to 325 hp.

by Daniel Vaughan | Sep 2020