1955 S&S Flower Car

[Daniel Scully]

Maybe its just me but for 80K ,I think the brakes should work.

Selling our family flower car. Inbox me with offers. Runs needs brakes.
My current best offer is $80,000

 

[Bill Marcy]

Look on the bright side Dan, for that price you get a beautiful flower car and a sharp 55 Caddy convertible, what a deal!

 

[Paul Steinberg]

It looks like a convertible top, however, under the cloth is a steel top. That top was for looks only. The car was bought in NJ in 1962 from a used car lot.

 

[Bill Marcy]

It looks like a convertible top, however, under the cloth is a steel top. That top was for looks only. The car was bought in NJ in 1962 from a used car lot.

I had a feeling that someone would tell me about the top. I was only six years old in 1962, but I wish I would have been at that used car lot, they probably sold it for a grand, or less.

 

[Abe Bush]

I had a feeling that someone would tell me about the top. I was only six years old in 1962, but I wish I would have been at that used car lot, they probably sold it for a grand, or less.

Well in 1962 $1,000 was worth $8,565.50 in 2020 dollars.

 

[Daniel Scully]

55

It looks like a convertible top, however, under the cloth is a steel top. That top was for looks only. The car was bought in NJ in 1962 from a used car lot.

Where you the salesman.

 

[Walter Suiter]

I've never been shy so I'll just say it has all the charm of a M-715 that's been rolled 9 times.

If he has an offer of 80K he should be yelling sold loud enough to wake a 3 days dead man. I sense a bit of puffery in the presentation.

 

[Daniel Scully]

55

M715 Cool truck. Locale estate auction coming up has few for sale. ( Pic is for reference)

 

[Bill Marcy]

Where you the salesman.

I think he was the owner of the dealership.

 

[Kurt Arends]

It would look 100 times better if it had the proper-sized, proper white wall, bias ply tires on it! Based on the green interior, I would say that someone has repainted it that bore-@$$ silver-blue color at some point.

 

[John ED Renstrom]

I'm not convinced it is a true S&S creation. But i will pass to others that know more then me.

 

[Kurt Arends]

It is, in fact, a well-documented S&S Forentine flower car.

 

[Paul Steinberg]

Where you the salesman.

No, I was in negotiations with the owner for about 3 years, when I suddenly lost contact with him. Tried to get in contact with his brother, and learned that they both died about 3 weeks apart. Was never able to connect with the family, and put it out of mind for the last 2 or 3 years. I had talked to Tom McPherson about the car when I first learned about it.

 

[Paul Steinberg]

I'm not convinced it is a true S&S creation. But i will pass to others that know more then me.

It is, and the only thing that is missing on the car from the original pictures that I had of it, are the door name plates. I vaguely remember that it belonged to a mortuary in Baltimore or Philadelphia. I remember him telling me that he found it at a used car dealership in I think Camden NJ, and he still had the original NJ title with the car.

 

[Daniel Scully]

Flower car?

I'm not convinced it is a true S&S creation. But i will pass to others that know more then me.

Pic in front of the factory. Same year?

 

[John ED Renstrom]

I would call that proof positive. It had to be a special order. But they would do that

 

[Paul Steinberg]

I would call that proof positive. It had to be a special order. But they would do that

Can't be the same car.. The factory photo the car has wide whitewalls!!

 

[Peter Grave - Deceased - 1938 - 2022]

Sure was an FD who knew exactly what he wanted and had the $$ to pay for it. Interesting unless I miss my guess looks like a New Jersey license tag on the front. I don't think Ohio had tags with the letters on the left vertically on the tag but New Jersey did. Back in the 50s and into the 60s "Factory Delivery" was common on special order vehicles. The purchaser would fly in be picked up at the airport by a factory rep. and driven to their new vehicle at the factory delivery point.

 

[Kurt Arends]

I think that S&S offered this version of the Florentine at least 3 years, correct? It would be interesting to see the S&S tag on this Florentine to see what the original body color was. These "soft top" Forentines were documented in Tom's "black book" from 1973. I assumed that anyone with any degree of interest already owned this book.

 

[Paul Steinberg]

Sure was an FD who knew exactly what he wanted and had the $$ to pay for it. Interesting unless I miss my guess looks like a New Jersey license tag on the front. I don't think Ohio had tags with the letters on the left vertically on the tag but New Jersey did. Back in the 50s and into the 60s "Factory Delivery" was common on special order vehicles. The purchaser would fly in be picked up at the airport by a factory rep. and driven to their new vehicle at the factory delivery point.

That is a New Jersey dealer tag.. The double D indicated that it was a dealers plate. Later on, they differentiated new from used by small wording at the bottom of the plate.. New Car or Used Car.
The one thing that I find that is odd is the green interior with the blue exterior. When I was talking to the former owner, I asked about the paint, and he told me that as far as he knew, it had never been repainted. I wonder if he still has the original New Jersey title with the car. That will have the code as to if it were originally registered in New Jersey, and if so, how many previous owners it had. New Jersey has always required dealers to put the title into their own names, and didn't allow for transfer of ownership on the back to more than one person at a time, until about 20 years ago, when they changed the size and format of the title.