1981 Cadillac Fleetwood
The Fleetwood name started as a body manufacturer, and was acquired by General Motors in the purchase of Fisher Body in 1929, who purchased Fleetwood in 1925. From 1925-29 Fleetwood Body built Cadillac bodies exclusively, offering them as an option from 1927-1934. After 1934 Fleetwood bodies were only available on the exclusive Series 75 and Series 90 Cads. By the 1950s it was used as an umbrella to designate more expensive, exclusive Cads, and also as the body manufacturer for the Fleetwood Brougham from 1957-1961. With the addition of the Eldorado Biarritz in 1963 Fleetwood was the body manufacturer. The Eldorado, Sixty Special on the extended Cadillac chassis, and high end Series 75 models were placed under the Fleetwood banner, but there was no separate Fleetwood model. Bare Fleetwood chassis were used for professional coach builders. In 1977 the Sixty Special Brougham and Series 75 were renamed “Fleetwood Brougham” and “Fleetwood Limousine” respectively. In 1985 the Fleetwood name was used on the new front-wheel drive GM C-body platform, while the Brougham became a separate make on the rear-wheel drive GM D-body platform for a single year. In 1986 it became a DeVille option package, before becoming part of the Fleetwood Sixty Special on the stretched C-body platform, and the Fleetwood Series 75 used an even longer stretched C-body chassis. In this period there was a lot of back and forth with the Fleetwood designations and other models. In 1993 the Fleetwood name landed on the rear-wheel drive C-body four-door sedans. When this platform was retired in 1996 the Fleetwood name was as well.
1981 Fleetwood Brougham/Series 75
Available for the first time was the variable-displacement engine, commonly referred to as the 4-6-8 engine. On-board digital computers controlled spark to shut off two or more cylinders for better fuel economy. Unfortunately the technology was just not up to the task and the 4-6-8 saw only problems in normal use.
AVAILABLE MODELS:
1981
- Body Style
- 60-Four-Door Sedan
- 75-Four-Door Sedan
- 75-Limo
- 86-Commercial Chassis
- Engine Options
- 350ci-Diesel
- 368ci-4bbl
- 368ci-Fuel Inj
1981 Cadillac VIN Decoder:
First Character: Country
Second Character: Manufacturer
Third Character: Division
Fourth Character: Restraint System
Fifth Character: Series
- B ~ Fleetwood Brougham
- F ~ Fleetwood Limousine
- Z ~ Commercial Chassis
Sixth and Seventh Characters: Body Type
- 69 ~ Four-Door Sedan
- 23 ~ Six-Window Eight-Passenger Sedan
- 33 ~ Six-Window Formal Sedan
- 90 ~ Commercial Chassis
Eighth Character: Engine
- 8 ~ 350ci V8, Fuel Inj.
- N ~ 350ci V8, Diesel
- 6 ~ 368ci V8, 4bbl
- 9 ~ 368ci V8, Fuel Inj.
Ninth Character: Check
Tenth Character: Year
Eleventh Character: Assembly Plant
- 9 ~ Detroit, Michigan
- E ~ Linden, New Jersey
Twelfth-Seventeenth Characters: Production Sequence
Early Black Friday!