Although the Eldorado nameplate had been a Cadillac staple since 1952, the automobile went in a different direction in 1967 as a personal luxury car with front-wheel drive. It would share the GM E-body platform that the Oldsmobile Toronado debuted with the year before (also FWD) and the Buick Riviera (oddly RWD). An auction and real estate company is offering this 1968 Eldorado for sale, suggesting that its owner has passed away. Located in a garage in Lawrence, Kansas, and covered with dirt and dust, the old Caddy is available here on craigslist for $3,500. Thanks for the cool tip, Gunter Kramer, and dig the custom license plates: BATMOBL. I can see Bruce Wayne’s alter ego behind the wheel!
The eighth generation of the Eldorado brand would be produced from 1967-70, at first pairing Cadillac’s 429 cubic inch V8 with GM’s TH-425 automatic transmission which was designed to work with an FWD layout. Its styling was a departure from other Cadillacs of the day and would be the only production Caddy to be equipped with concealed headlights behind vacuum-operated doors. Despite their size and weight, the cars were powerful and quite roadworthy with their handling praised by the automotive community.
For 1968, the car was little changed in appearance but got a bigger engine at 472 cubic inches that produced 375 hp. Front disc brakes were now standard and helped a lot to bring the big car to a stop. Sales increased from 17,930 units to 24,528, so one out of every nine Cadillacs built that year was an Eldorado. We don’t know much about the seller’s car other than it’s a one-owner machine that has seen only 68,000 miles of use. It appears to have been inactive for a time and no mention is made as to whether it runs or not. Seeing that an auction house is involved, the listed price may be the starting point for bids.
With all the dirt and so forth, it’s hard to tell if there are any issues with the body to be worried about. The color combination is black on black which certainly would have looked sharp back in the day. There is no obvious rust or dents on the outside and the interior may be okay although what we see of the leather upholstery could be cracked with age. The car was supposed to have been moved to Paola, Kansas for an auction on New Year’s Day, but some issue with the vehicle prevented it from being moved. We don’t know what that was, but the seller’s language suggests that the problem has been fixed. For more photos, you can visit here.
The grille, and the non-hideaways – I think this is a 1969 Eldorado, even though auction had it listed as 1968.
Too bad in the time they had, someone couldn’t offer a kid or grandkid of the auctioneers $20.00 to vacuum and take stuff out of car…
At least wash the darn thing!
Yep, `69 headlights and seat pattern as well.
Oh God, this is high comedy.
That car is covered in baby powder! When is barn crud ever pure white?
And note how the detritus is all nicely staged :the paper scraps are new and free of dust. The cement pieces under the car are hand- sized for easy placement and removal.
And let’s not be extravagant with the precious packing peanuts! All we need is a handful under the car for that touch of neglectful verisimilitude.
Oh yeah, and powder under the car, too. Just to be smart. Everyone knows the amount of dust under the car will be the same as that on top. Thats just how gravity works!
Ahhh, behold the ravages of time in a rather newish garage.
And that trash inside the car? I’ll bet my baby’s bottom it was placed there …about a minute before they hit the seats with the fairy dust, too.
But not too much. We don’t want the interior to smell like Gold Bond.
Andy Prieboy? Like, *that* Andy from Wall of Voodoo?
Not trying to play devil’s advocate, but what I think we are seeing here is mildew. Possibly with a touch of sheetrock dust. Evident from closeup of trunk, also suggested by the high water marks on the tires.
This is Kansas dude, they have white dust there, you can drive across the state and see clouds of it rising behind vehicles traveling down farm roads. You need to get out a little more…
This isn’t staged, this is what happens when people get old and die and don’t have family that cares, their house gets cluttered up and things fall apart.
The freshly aired up tires evidenced by the dust line on them is enough for me to believe.
Plain wheel covers, halo vinyl roof are also ’69 items.
I really like these Eldos. Looking at the mud marks on the tires, I am concerned that this one may have lots of rust and rot underneath. Some cars are worth fixing, if they are cheap enough, but these Eldos typically are not. Speaking from experience, when it comes to Eldos, start with one that is in better shape than this one. The black ’67, although pricier, would be a much better buy.
If you are new to Eldos, keep in mind that big GMs of this era all had nylon timing gears that Will fail. The nylon will begin to disintegrate, dropping chunks in the oil-pan (clogging the oil pickup), and the timing chain will get “sloppy”. Worst-case is the timing chain jumps a cog or 3, and ruins the engine. There are replacement timing chain kits commonly available with steel gears. This has been a known problem for decades, and some cars have had the chain/gear replaced. Most of the cars I have encountered still have the nylon setup.
There are several quick ways to check the condition of the timing chain/gear: 1) Using a timing light, watch for the timing to “wander” during idle.
2) Remove the distributor and look down inside.
* If it a nylon unit, and looks OK, change it anyway because it will Not stay OK.
Changing the timing set (properly)on a FWD Eldo is a big, heavy engine-out job. A cheap engine hoist wont be able to lift the big engine, especially with transmission. Exhaust manifold bolts often break too, necessitating head removal/rebuild. There is a way to Magyver it, without engine removal, but usually results in oil leaks. BTW, the Magyver method does not apply if the nylon broke up, as the oil pan must be taken off to remove the debris.
While you have the engine out, it is a good time to reseal the transmission, and change motor-mounts too.
Great point about the Delrin timing gear. That’s what killed my family’s beloved 1971 Custom Cruiser. I hated driving that thing up to the scrap yard, engine skipping and coughing all the way…
I’ve experienced the factory nylon timing cam gear issue with my 1969 428CJ (plastic pieces plugging the pick-up screen by 1980), my 1969 Mercury Marauder’s 429, and my 1973 Imperial LeBaron 2dr’s 440 (missing two teeth @ 75k miles).
I guess some supplier convinced the Big-3 car companies that nylon cam gears were cheaper and quieter to use. But definitely not more reliable!
The grill is aftermarket and the lower part of the grill, in the bumper is missing.
I’d be very concerned about the mud marks on the tires in a cement floor garage.
I had one of these back in the early 80s. While idling, you could actually see the gas gauge slowly moving towards empty. Driving it, you could see it moving faster towards empty
I had a ’70 Calais with the 472 (rwd.) Used it to tow a 26ft Airstream in the 80s and 90s. Without the trailer, it consistently got 13mpg highway, incidentally the same mileage my 2010 Chevy Avalanche gets combined. With the trailer, the Caddy was a consistent 10mpg (and the Avalanche gets 7 towing the same trailer.)
It’s not actually for sale for $3500 – that was just a ploy to get you to read the ad. It went to auction yesterday.
Arn’t “survivor” cars usually taken care of? Fake dust? Looks like a rusted hulk to me. Those cars a nice looking if washed. Needs restoring, not sure a car in that condition is a survivor. That would mean that any “basket case” as long as it was stored in a garage is now a “survivor”???
One more thing, that car will NEVER be a Batmobile. PLEASE?
The price at 3500 is realistic in that condition, AUCTION???
Looking at the tires, its looks like they were recently inflated after being flat for a long time. Wonder if it sold at auction?
This is a 69 without any question, the grill, halo roof, dash, ect. This is a pretty rare one with the bucket seats, and possibly heated seats I can’t tell for sure. It looks pretty solid but that means nothing, especially on these. The rear bumper is concerning. The 69 and 70 are the worst to restore if there is something wrong with the interior like the soft panels, there’s no fixing them. You can doctor them up but it doesn’t look good. Awesome cars and it’s nice to see these finally getting the attention and prices they deserve, these are 10X better than the Eldorado that followed.
I enjoy the amateur C.S.I. clowns on here, dissecting the photos. Have you ever come across an abandoned house/car/anything? No, you haven’t. Wait 30 years, before popping off on things, Junior.
What?
Popping off on things? Talk about spewing.