If you’ve been thinking about taking up a new sport, may I suggest taking up a classic and prestigious American sport Land Yachting? All you need is a pair of leather gloves, boating shoes and a big land yacht such as this 1976 Cadillac Eldorado. It’s a personal sport and can be done even as we all practice social distancing! This Eldorado is a prime candidate for the sport, but it will need some work before you set off. Reader Olga B wants to reclaim the driveway from this beast, so it’s being offered here as a no reserve auction and can be found in Temecula, California!
It appears that someone started to fix this big Caddy up. The bumper fillers have already been replaced, but need to be painted, and the side trim has been removed from the passenger side. It looks like there’s a dent in the rear fender, which likely why the trim was removed. These cars still popup in our local pick-and-pull yards, so it shouldn’t be difficult finding parts for it.
This Eldorado is one of the last tenth generation cars to be equipped with the massive 500 cui V8s. In ’77, Cadillac switched over to a smaller 425 cui V8. While the base 500 is only rated at 190 horsepower, this one was optioned with fuel injection which brought power up to 215. With the Bendix fuel injection system attached, the torque also jumped up to an impressive 400 foot-pounds. And, as I’m sure you’re aware, torque is a must for successful land yachting! With a fresh battery and some fuel, this one runs, but that’s about all Olga knows about it.
This type of Yachting is all about luxury and comfort. As you can see, that’s exactly what the Eldorado offers. There’s lots of woodgrain and leather here! It’s looking a bit sun-damaged and needs a good detailing, but everything is present, including the original floor mat. The odometer is showing 71,911 and while Olga can’t verify the mileage, the interior looks like a 70k miles car that has just spent a few years outside. The leather doesn’t show signs of being a high mileage car, but it will definitely need to be given some care to make it look and feel great again.
While the interior and mechanicals appear to be in usable condition, there’s some rust that is going to need to be dealt with. It looks like there might be something lurking under the vinyl top, but hopefully, it isn’t too bad yet. There weren’t many of these cars optioned with the fuel injection, so someone really needs to save this car! It would be an absolute shame to see it crushed when it really should be out cruising America’s roadways. The title is currently lost, but getting a replacement isn’t an issue and sent directly to the new owner. So, if you’d love to save this Eldorado, be sure to bid! And, if you have any questions for Olga about the car or its history, please leave it in the comments.
- Location: Temecula, California
- Mileage: 71,911
- Title Status: Lost, but clean
Bid On This Auction
wcox11331 bid $100.00 2020-04-09 03:07:00
Run!!! Away… Nothing to see here.
I saw the rear end of a car that looked similar to this one maybe on a Seinfeld episode. But when I saw the rear end of this one, it did not have the extra brake lights beneath the rear window. Don’t know what that car was, but it kind of looked like this one.
Third brake light did not come out on the Cadillac until 1985. The rest of GM got them in 1986
’71 – ’78 Oldsmobile Toronado had two taillights under the rear window, and looks quite similar to a contemporary Eldorado.
Bingo! That’s the car that I was thinking about.
Another LOST TITLE however the seller says it’s clean.
Ya right!
If the title was clean the lazy seller would go git a duplicate title. OOPS!
The seller “probably” cannot do so as the vehicle title is NOT in their name otherwise they would have a good CLEAN title in hand in their name OR be a dealer selling the vehicle!
Neat Eldorado as very few 1976 Eldorado’s had the optional 1st year available Fuel Injection.
NO TITLE situation eliminates most buyers and reduces selling price by HALF for those that are interested. Getting a title for that car is easy in the state where I live however I’m not close to California and the cost of shipping takes all the fun out of this Eldorado. Getting a title for a vehicle with no title can a a BIG PROBLEM or expensive hassle in most states.
The seller needs to resolve the title issue before selling IF they expect to sell the car for any decent amount of money.
So the car is currently titled in Olga’s ex-husband’s name, he currently isn’t in California to sign the paperwork to request a duplicate title. He gave his son power of attorney though, so he can request the title. Since you can have the replacement title sent directly to the next owner in their name, that’s what we have recommended them to do.
And I will check with her on the status of the registration and report back.
GREAT!
Good you are working with the seller. This will certainly raise the interest in the car and the selling price.
Pennsylvania requires that the buying AND selling parties be present when transferring a title. However…
I was working in South Carolina in 1997 and bought a 1968 Satellite. The seller was a notary and walked me through the process. Because she was a notary, she was able to sign the title as the title must be signed in the presence of a notary. That and proof of insurance got me a 30 day transit tag and a transit title in my name that I surrendered to the notary here in Pennsylvania. I surrendered the South Carolina paperwork, the notary made a pencil tracing of the VIN, and a license plate was assigned so that a state inspection could be performed.
All of that stuff needs to go down in Florida before money changes hands.
No title, owner is an ex who lives in another state, and power-of-attorney papers leads to many hours being spent at the DMV while they verify everything. The ex has zero reason to go along with the sale and if the DMV insists on contacting him he can throw a monkey wrench into the works with these few words:
“This is the first I’ve heard of this.”
Make that Cali instead of Florida…
Josh-
I see the header at the top of the auction shows “2 Hrs Left” and the bid at $100.
I see the footer at the bottom of the auction showing “Sold for $100”.
So, is it still in auction or been sold?
Bull, agree with all your comments. Title-in-hand is a must!
This looks like it may be an early TBI?
Even though it’s presentation is of a tired car which possibly could be revived… the after-market gauges in the dash kill it for me….
The gauges ruin it for me, too. And it’s dollars to donuts that the missing dash vent was due to a tachometer being installed there. This car has probably seen significant lead-footed abuse.
Two people are going to lose a bunch of money on this. The seller, and the buyer.
@ Jim In FLA
Not a “TBI”in the true sense of the word.
Has a throttle body for air only – plus an idle device situated in there.
Injectors are early Port Fuel Injection Bosch units as are some of the other bits-and-pieces of the system (fuel pressure regulator for instance) and a Bendix ECU. Still have most of this system’s bits out in the garage somewhere after an owner had them taken off a similar car to that featured in this ad. A shame that the mechanics of the day (including some in the Cadillac dealerships) didn’t bother to “bone-up” on the system and learn to get it running correctly when there were driveability problems. It really wasn’t that hard and still isn’t!
RB
Agreed!
Similar if not exact to the system that was installed on the 1976-1979 Cadillac Seville’s!
Almost sounds like you’re describing the fuel injection system used on the 1982 VW Rabbit 1.7L SOHC gas motor. Good gasoline, lots of highway miles, and the only problem I ever had with it was the O-rings that sealed the injectors in the head shrunk and needed replaced. It had a plate in a venture that increased the pressure as the airflow increased. Being an industrial instrumentation and controls tech certainly helped understanding the system.
Any idea if it has the non-op that Ca. requires if the current registration is not up to date, it could cost over $500 to get tags…
These look really scary when a little junky. Remove the hubcaps, install some performance mufflers, and have fun!
The ownership could be a real hassle, maybe just swap the 500 cubic inch engine in your Cutlass or Firebird.
https://cadillacperformance.com/product-category/swap-components/
This was a lovely car when new. Charcoal gray cars had yet to take over the world, so it would have stood out in a sea of 1970s greens, oranges, and browns. Unfortunately, it’s now quite far from new, and a driver-quality example can be had for under $10K, according to Hagerty. This one needs a real DIY guy to save it.
I checked on the Ca DMV website and entered the data on the car. They have a estimate fees section. The vehicle was not properly registered non operational and to register in ca would be $780.00. Best for it to leave the state. Sad!!!
Would love to hear from the buyer. It’s been nearly a year – a restored EFI ’76 Eldo should be worth something before too long….