1956 Cadillac Fleetwood Sedan

Besides being a great example of a Cadillac, this car has optional air conditioning. The evaporator is mounted in the car's trunk. You will notice the tubes that rose from the "parcel shelf" immediately in front of the back window to either side of the vehicle, with outlets for the passengers. There are rotary controls to shut the air off in the back, and to control the blower speeds and temperature up front, under the dash. Notice how large the compressor is under the hood. Truly, A/C was coming of age in this car. A/C was first offered in the 1940 Packard..and guess where the evaporator was??..in the trunk!

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• raconter1
• antique
• car
• show
• Cadillac
• Fleetwood
• 1956
• air
• conditioned

[1musiclvr]

Nice car. I had one just like it but it had the Eldorado dual quad engine.

[raconter1]

@1musiclvr  Cool! That's quite a car! I hope you had good memories of it! Thanks! :) Jack

[nomebear]

The '56 Rolls Royce used the same trunk mounted A/C and outlets. The tubes were hidden in the headliner.

[raconter1]

@nomebear Hey, Pat! Very interesting! I wonder if they purchased the system from Frigidaire or was it A/C Delco at that point... Thanks!  :) Jack

[drewerz01]

This is a beautiful car, Jack, there was a '55 convertible at a show here a couple of years ago, it was white with red leather.... Very beautiful :D ... And very large LOL

The only other time I've seen rear mounted A/C evaporator's is with the '40's Packard, that set up has to be pretty rare, even back then :D

[raconter1]

@drewerz01 Hey, Mike! You are so right..these cars were BIG! And they represented the very top of the ladder to which GM buyers could ascend. Our neighborhood grocer had one of about this vintage....I had a ride in it once..he only used it for weekend rides with his wife. His go to work car was the lowest priced two door sedan he could find from Ford, or Plymouth or Chevy! This was in the days of the local corner grocer! I remember seeing an A/C Packard like that years ago. Thanx! :)Jack

[raconter1]

@brians09challenger Hey, Brian! Yes indeed...so much of Cadillac's image centered around the grille, those fins and tail lights...and of course, the bumpers! Glad you had one of these fine machines! Thanks! :) Jack

[raconter1]

@jferg7159 Hey, Joe! Wow! This is really a historical car for you!  Methinks my ride home was via taxi!...we didn't have a car until 1952, and then it was the Henry J, a major embarrassment for me in high school! Cool about the timing marks...I notice some cars now give the choice of grade and adjust themselves for ping free driving! Thanks! :) Jack

[raconter1]

@yellowdrinker Bravo that you had the system in your 56 Mercury. I filmed one some time ago, but took it down because of the license plate and music thing...I look thru those vids occasionally and I'll see if I can locate it and scrub it of music and plates. Zephyrhills is coming up soon..and i will be there! Yep, they are famous for their spring water! Thanks! :) Jack

[raconter1]

@monarch1957 Hey, Barry! I have seen a 56 Mercury with this arrangement...at Old Town..but have not seen it in a long time. I've also seen the Lincoln with that arrangement. As I remember, Chrysler 300B in 1956 also offered A/C and it was a rear mounted unit in the trunk..but instead of wands, there were openings in the parcel shelf that fed the cold air. Outside air intake was via pods just like the Cadillac. This was indeed the early days of A/C in cars! Thanks! :) Jack