The 1957-58 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham was the crème of the crop as far as U.S.-built cars were concerned. It was on par with the 1956-57 Lincoln Continental Mark II but with two extra doors in the custom hardtop body. A little more than 700 of them were produced in total and cost $13,000 back in the day (equal to $135,000 now). The seller retrieved this 1957 edition from the crusher more than 10 years ago and describes it as a parts car since much of it’s missing. Located in Calgary, Alberta, this once elegant machine is available here on Barn Finds Classifieds for $7,500.
As might be expected from the brand whose mantra was “Standard of the World,” the Eldorado Brougham lacked for nothing. The automobiles were so lavish that they were priced about 30% higher than a Rolls-Royce. Other than choosing the paint color and interior fabric, there were no options. The Brougham was a tad smaller than a Series 62 sedan at three inches lower and two inches narrower. Gadgets were popular and the Eldorado had plenty of them, including the industry’s first production self-leveling air suspension (replacing springs with inflatable rubber bags). This was paired with Detroit’s first production four-link rear suspension.
The main difference between the ’57 and ’58 models was the addition of dual headlights in the second year. Production was split between 400 units in the first run and 304 in the latter. The seller’s car was headed to be pancaked when he/she came along. Too much time and too many other projects have made this Caddy the odd man out. The car appears to be packaged in two ways: the main body and chassis are on a flatbed and the surviving parts are inside an enclosed trailer.
This is a “what you see is what you get” type of project. The front clip remains but without a hood, the 365 cubic inch V8 has been stripped down to a numbered block, and the all-important air suspension components are present at each wheel, minus a holding tank and compressor. A combination of Sabre and Brougham wheels are affixed on each corner. Rust is present in some of the “usual areas” and the floors are said to be decent overall. But we don’t see much, if any, of the gobs of exterior chrome these autos wore. If you were to secure this Cadillac (without a title), would you try to restore it or harvest it for parts for another Brougham project?
Correction: dual headlamps were STANDARD both years! The Eldorado Brougham was among the few cars in `57 that DID offer those. The standard Cadillac line had single headlamps, however.
It was the ‘creme de la creme’ of GLOBAL cars, not merely the U.S..
A sad end for such a magnificent car.
@Russ – all Eldorado Broughams had quad headlamps, even the 1955 Motorama show car.
Any car is worth saving…this car too…you may not be able to put it back to ‘concours’ status…but to Hot Rodders, Lead Sledders or EXTREME Ridler Show Rod..ot can be done !…just how imanigative you are….and how deep the pockets ! Imo……
Unfortunately, some people have more dollars than sense. Not saying you, but I’m sure someone out there is thinking that they could possibly do about 1/2 the work in a weekend with a $150 set of craftsman tools and 15 cases of beer.
Only 15 cases…..wow…
Your a novice…..😎
I knew a car dealer who had two of these. One in black and the other was burgundy. The stainless roof was the attraction along with the suicide doors and the plush rugs. A collectible car from day one.
Too far gone, make it 399 built.
@Russ, re: “It was on par with the 1956-57 Lincoln Continental Mark II … ” There was no such thing, it was a Continental Mark II, produced by the Continental Division of Ford Motor Company …
https://www.hagerty.com/media/automotive-history/why-the-continental-mark-2-should-never-be-called-a-lincoln/
That was Perry Mason’s car.
Whenever my Father would attend any Kenosha meetings, he would scan the northern Cook county advertiser for hidden gems. His quarry was late model Cadillac and Lincolns, and Oak Park and environs were prime hunting grounds. A man who had worked for the McCormick family was given one of these in appreciation for years of service. It astounded my young eyes with all the electronics and pneumatic features. However, they wanted $5000 for the car in 1962. My Father passed saying “I can get four cars for that money”, and he was right. It always looked odd to me when my own preferred the GM to Imperial while doing business with a Chrysler-Plymouth Rambler store. PS- If anyone is serious about this, I will be in Calgary for Stampede for the next ten days.
Amazing that someone let a car like this get into this condition, unless it was used as a parts car long ago in order to save another.
Bob Mck it says in the description it was a parts car and saved from the crusher years ago. There was a old guy in a little podunk Ohio town that had a bunch of cars in a warehouse with Model A bodies stacked three high along one wall. He had a similar caddy but it had no tailfins, the body tapered down like a XKE roadster. It also had the stainless top but was odd looking without the fins. He said it was a special order car and only a few were built. Sounded like BS to me but with the quality of his cars it might have been true. It was on a rotisserie and I found no signs of any hack body modifications. Any ideas on what it could have been?
Correct, Will. The only difference between ’57 & ’58 was that the ’57s had dual quads and the ’58s had tri-power. I am fortunate to own ’58 #683 and have for 49 years. It’s an honor to own one and I couldn’t let it go.
Rolling art. My only complaint is they should’ve made the entire body out of stainless.
@Ron Schweitzer; you are a very lucky guy – at the same time you also have an obligation to keep her safe and sound for future generations
I don’t think Ron needs to be told his
“ obligation” since he’s owned his car for 42 years.
Never fear, “The Lady” will be handed down to his Daughter.
She is very safe, and loved.
If only GM had made the whole car out of STAINLESS!