how many 1963 cadillac convertibles are out there?

[Frank Murch]

Does anybody have a guess?  I think 15,000 were made and I guess 1,000 remain, but I really have no idea. Also I don't know how many are road worthy vs cars waiting for somebody to restore them

Any idea??

[Jason Edge]

Looking at the Price and Production Total Help Page article at http://6364cadillac.ning.com/profiles/blogs/price-and-production-to..., there were 19,425 convertibles produced (17,600 Series 62 + 1,825 Eldos), or approximately 12% of the 160,840 1963 Cadillacs produced..

There are a couple things to consider. One is that the convertible survivor rate is considerably higher than most other body styles. That is for example, you would find a higher % survival rate for the 1963 Eldorado than say a 1963 Six Window Series 62 Sedan.  Off the top of my head I would estimate at around 25% of the survivor Cadillacs (license, registered, or at least a marginal #4 car, but not a Parts Car) would be a convertible.

Luckily, I use to work for NC DOT and had access to their system up until the day I retired on Jan 1, 2015. Looking at my notes 53 of 234 on the system (may or may not have current tags but on the system within the last few years) were convertibles. 

So that is roughly 22.6%... so my hunch was not far off. BUT, to determine how many convertibles are out there you need to know the TOTAL # of survivor 1963 Cadillacs.   So.. we are really not much closer to knowing the total.

But Wait a minute... I said there are 53 convertibles on the NC DOT system. And NC has a population of 9.944 Millions. And NC is about 3.11% of the US Population of 318.9 Million (2014 #'s), So, if we divide 53 by .0311 we can get at least an approximation of the # of known/survivor convertibles in the United States. Run the numbers and you get 1704 and some change.  I did say all things being equal? That would mean each state would have the same proportion of Survivor Cadillacs to their population base, and all the same approximate convertible %.  Well, I think NC is a reasonable state in terms of convertibles since I would assume and expect some states such as FL, CA, TX to have more convertibles, and perhaps some neighboring southern states such as SC, TN, GA to perhaps have fewer overall Cadillacs (hey, we like Novas, Camaros and Mustangs down here!) But I think NC would be a good approximation.

So. Roughly 1700 convertibles in the USA.  What about the rest of the world. I don't really know, but would expect at least an additional 15 to 25% throughout the world. So I'll just say 20% which is about 340 extra 1963 Convertibles. Do the math, and we get about 2040... so, with all that I'll say around 2000 1963 Convertibles worldwide.

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[Frank Murch]

Hi

I like your math - I follow your thinking and find it totally understandable - the total produces (62 convertibles) from your link is 17,600.  and a reasonable guess is 2000 (2040) and still on the road 11.6% survived ?  Certainly wrong, but likely very close to right

Love it - great answer Jason!!