The Eldorado was typically one of the more top-of-the-line offerings from Cadillac ever since its inception as a 1953 model, but for buyers who wanted some extra bling a package known as the Biarritz could sometimes also be added. This option took a long break after the ’64 model and didn’t return until 1976 on the Eldorado, but did end up carrying over to the tenth-generation cars introduced in 1979. One such equipped example can be spotted here on eBay, and this 1979 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz has low miles and seems to be in exceptionally well-preserved condition. You’ll need to head over to Cresco, Pennsylvania to see the car in person, but plan on spending more than $14,100 as that’s where the high bid is resting right now yet it’s short of the reserve.
This Eldorado is another car that presents beautifully for its age both inside and out, but we get very little information about its past whereabouts or anything else regarding the ownership history. What we are told is it’s triple Colonial Yellow in color and that the paint shines like new, yet there’s no mention of whether or not that’s still the original GM finish or if the car has gotten a respray at some point.
One of the niceties the Biarritz got you over the standard model was a stainless steel roof topper, and from what I can tell it appears to still be in very good shape here. The seller also states that those fragile pieces used between the bumpers and body have been replaced on both the front and rear, so that’s always a plus, and also says the vinyl top is in mint condition, but then goes on to tell us about a small gap between the vinyl and side trim piece on the left side, though he says it’s not very noticeable.
Along with a new body, the 1979 Eldorado rode on a new chassis and utilized the Oldsmobile-sourced 350 Rocket V8, and while its horsepower was down to 170 the engine did feature fuel injection. This car has a claimed 41,000 original miles with the seller saying it runs and drives excellently, plus a smooth-shifting automatic transmission.
The two best interior photos were taken with the California cover over much of the glass so it’s kind of dark in there, but things inside look nicely preserved and those seats look like they’ve got comfort that would last for hundreds of miles at a time. The owner also mentions the tangier carpet, which he says was a ’79 only feature, and points out that the floor covering still smells like new. He also says this is one of the best 1979 Eldorados out there, and it’s no doubt a nice car but I’m curious how much higher the price will have to go before this Cadillac can exchange hands. How much would you be willing to spend on what we’re seeing here?
My best friend and next door neighbor’s Mom had one of these, very similar, looks like the same exterior and interior (maybe interior could have been a touch darker, iirc) colors. I remember many trips to Gemco in that car as my friend and I would go hunting for Hot Wheels and G.I. Joes as his Mom would go shopping for household stuff. I don’t remember much of the Cadillac one way or the other other than in the summer time, those damn puffy leather seats would be stuck to your thighs and legs unless the A/C was kicked on. His Mom loved her Cadillacs though, every few years she had a new model.
Dad bought a Cadillac just like this same color & it was a sweet riding & comfortable car. It also had that premature fuel injection unit on it & you never saw someone so mad at a car ! It stalled , dieseled & did everything but run right when it was hot. He had Cadillac work on it several times & it did seem to be fixed after that . When I drove it at the ripe age of 17 playing the 8 track player with Led Zepplin II on I’m sure way past recommended levels nothing could be finer!
This year the Caddy had the Oldsmobile engine.
With that mileage, it’s worth every franc up to $25K or so. These are really handsome automobiles.
Hmm, what’s the exchange rate on a franc?
Better engine , clean car, very nice.
The Biarritz came with those wonderful pillow-top seats, and other models called it d’Elegance. Too bad overpriced luxury cars today can’t be bought with cushy seats like that, and instead have the same seats as any other manufacturer, hard foam over sheet metal instead of springs and softer foam. It’s in nice shape but I hated that pale yellow I saw on so many Devilles in those days. Still, I would probably accept it and enjoy this car if it were mine.
I would sell my 73 Corvette to own this beauty. 79 is the best year, buy in 1980, I believe you could still order the Cadillac 369 CID engine. After that, the only choice from 81 to 85 was the dreadful 4.1 boat anchor. Before you blast me, my brother in law had a brand new blue 81 with that engine. He over maintained his cars, owned Cadillacs his entire life, waxed them, garaged every night. Yet, the crankshaft let go in that POS. This yellow beauty is worth 25K to me.
Very nice! These cars are finally getting attention from collectors.
These were a pretty nice car with the Olds engine Not so much with the 4100 Caddy engine ! I had a few customers that owned one of these and the seemed to have some electrical gremlins!
🎯 Nostromo, 350 Olds, plus the luxury on the inside of these cars, and the pillowy 💤 😴 ride.
The interiors were sublime, and somehow seemed even more special when driving at night. 🌙
Right you are!
As beautiful as those GM cars were Riviera, Tornado, El dorado,Allante they were all front wheel drive cars. l could never seem to appreciate these beautiful cars for that reason although my mom had a gorgeous 76 Tornado and it rode and drove pretty good. If only these cars could have been rear drive because the 79 Eldog was gorgeous.
A true hardtop that somehow went unnoticed by the feds. Should have had roof post bracing support between the 2 side windows on each side even back for ’73 model year – or opera windows.
Too bad the rear side windows don’t roll down(or backwards into the sail panel, like on ’67s!).
Odd that McGarret’s ’68 Lux Merc sometimes wore ultra thin whitewalls, but 11 model years later this car wears whitewalls this wide?
I’d hope it’s not rolling on 44 year old rubber, so the whitewalls are probably either personal preference or what the owner could find when he needed them. And shouldn’t a Cadillac have wider whitewalls than a Mercury anyway? A Cadillac should have more everything, really.
Also, I had a ’76 Olds 98 that was a true 4-door hardtop, AND had semi-opera windows. Definitely got my money’s worth out of that car for $100.
There were never any federal regulations against hardtop cars anyway so why would the feds care or notice?
Whitewalls started getting wider again in the later 1970’s before starting to slim down again in the early 1980’s.
There must have been some regulations since at least 2008, because the 21st century Challenger & Camaro are not true hardtops. Oddly, i remember seeing some 21st cent BMW 2 door coupes tho that were true hardtops & the rear side windows even rolled down as well. hmmh
No, its just that most companies don’t want to spend the money, Mercedes-Benz, Bentley, Rolls-Royce still offer hardtop coupes.
These were hard for me to accept when they were all around. Having a 60 Seville, a 67 Eldorado and a 76 convertible, then this rolls out. It is good it has the Olds engine, otherwise…yuc! I opted for the Riviera convertible of this Era as I think it was much more attractive. I am still not sold on these today, everyone I knew with one had the blues and traded them off. I tried a convertible version, an 84 but one month into it, a rod knock or as we called it ,” the 4100 death song” began its symphony. That ended with the last act at the scrapyard. I look back a think what ashamed it was that so many near mint copies went to their doom because of those engines that followed after this unit. If you like this body style. this is the one to have, just don’t try to compare this stainless topped version to its Brougham predecessor, for there is none.
Moved from Wi. to south Florida as an entrepreneural young man in the early 80’s towing a Uhaul with my ’79 Eldo B, midnight blue w/baby blue int., it rode like a dream, only damage was it pulled out the rear bumper about 2″. After a year in S.Florida I traded it in on a ’82 280ZX!
Great now all the mobsters know this model has the steel plate under the driver’s seat for protection.
Only the 82’s did
I had 2 Eldos . . The infamous 81 V 8-6-4 and the pos 85 with the small aluminum block/cast iron head engine . . The 368 in the 81 was a good engine but the electronics couldn’t keep up . . I unplugged the high gear switch to make it run on all 8 . . The transmission then shot craps . . The 85 developed a Rod knock . . No more Cadillacs . .
Hmmm. No mention about how the seats smell….