A person (or thing) can coast a long way on image. By 1983, Cadillac had suffered from a couple years of powertrain misses such as the V8-6-4, the (not their fault) Diesels, and the HT-4100 aluminum V8. These engines and the downsized Cadillacs of 1985 and 1986 drive a lot of buyers into the leather seats of Lincoln Town Cars, but the Cadillacs that have survived today have stood the test of time; they were the “good ones.” Even considering their woes of the time, Cadillac still sold a lot of Eldorados, because they were Cadillacs (and I think they look great, too). This one has a mere 38,000 miles on the odometer, according to the craigslist seller in Dayton, Ohio. Barn Finds reader Rocco B. spotted it and sent us the link, and the asking price is a reasonable $5,500.

Yes, Cadillac moved 67,416 Eldorados in 1983, most of them powered by this 135-horsepower 4.1-liter V8. People’s opinions on this engine are no secret in the comments section of almost any automotive forum, so there’s no need to tread the same ground here. The 4100 had “digital fuel injection,” which was apparently quite complicated but also quite reliable, and the transaxle was a four-speed automatic. The seller says that this car has “no leaks” and “no mechanical issues,” and it has all-new exhaust, in addition to new brake rotors, calipers, and lines. Four-wheel disc brakes were standard on the Eldorado.

The interior appears to be in very presentable original condition. It has a new air conditioning compressor and “the air blows cold,” and in general, this simply looks like a well-maintained old luxury car. The original owner paid 22,024 dollars for the privilege of purchasing a new Cadillac, so it makes sense that this would have been a meticulously maintained car when new, and it seems that the current owner has continued that tradition.

You may have noticed that this is one of the (seemingly) few Eldorados with no vinyl roof, which is one less place for rust to hide on an Ohio car. The owner has had the car “professionally repainted” in its original color (the ad says “Australian Blue,” but all I can find in the color chips is “Light Royal Blue,” and browns…so many browns), and the car has a new set of whitewall tires. Based on the pictures, all that is obviously needed is a headlight alignment; according to the ad, the Cadillac can be “driven every day as a daily” and to two car shows on the weekend, so there’s a lot of confidence that this is a good old car. I’ve always been a fan of this generation of Eldorado (and Riviera…and Toronado), so if you aren’t scared off by the engine, this looks like a really nice Cadillac.