- Seller: Chalie G (Contact)
- Location: Oak Park, Michigan
- Mileage: 41,000 Shown
- Chassis #: 693471Q401002
- Title Status: Clean
- Engine: 500cui V8
- Transmission: Automatic
For those who like their Cadillac luxury to be classically sized, the newly-restyled-for-1971 Fleetwood Eldorado would be an obvious candidate for “favorite coupe” honors. Did you know, however, that it is less than an inch longer than its immediate predecessor (221.6 inches versus 221 inches)? That new fabulously baroque styling certainly makes it look even bigger than it is, and that’s a good thing for those who are shopping for a clean example of this popular 1971-76 bodystyle. This Eldorado is being presented as a 41,000-mile, two-owner car that the seller has hung onto since 1996, and it’s now being offered as a Barn Finds Exclusive in Oak Park, Michigan. The asking price is $15,000.
By 1971, one could expect a Cadillac to be laden with almost every luxury feature as standard equipment. Power brakes, power steering, and automatic transmission were obviously included in the $7,383 base price, but so were power windows, a two-way power seat, and automatic level control. The seats in this car appear to be the optional “expanded leather upholstery,” a $184 option that appears to be in fine original condition.
You can see that this Eldorado has the optional power door locks, and a wild stylistic touch is the windshield wiper control pod on the door panel, as if there were no more room on the dashboard. I love it.
The standard engine in all Eldorados was Cadillac’s huge 500-cubic-inch V8. The compression ratio was lowered to 8.5:1 in 1971, but gross horsepower was still ample (365), as was torque (a whopping 535 lb.-ft.). Cadillac did advertise the net horsepower rating in the 1971 sales catalog, and in that new format, the 500 was rated at a more accurate 235 horsepower and 410 lb.-ft. of torque. That was still enough to outdrag the Lincoln Mark III in a July 1971 Motor Trend road test; the Cadillac accelerated to sixty in 9.8 seconds (compared to 10.25 for the Mark) and completed the quarter-mile in 17.06 at 83 miles per hour (17.7 at 82.5 for the Lincoln). Fuel mileage was about what you’d expect: 9.2 to 11.3 miles per gallon.
In 1971, General Motors introduced a one-and-only-one-year feature: “flow-thru ventilation,” which “assures a continuous movement of air through the passenger compartment.” The evidence of this short-lived system is the louvered trunk lid.
The owner says that the Eldorado “drives straight and strong,” and it has nice chrome and good tires. Back in the 1970s, Cadillac still had their exceptional reputation for quality, and a low-mileage Cadillac like this one should last for years. If you want to cruise the Great Lakes (or anywhere) next summer in an extroverted big, big coupe, make an offer on this ’71.
I have a convertible Same year
I HAVE SAME COLOR VERT. IN 1972 MODEL
The 1971 Cadillac brochure quotes horsepower figures of 365 gross/235 SAE net and torque figures of 535 ft-lb gross and 410 ft-lb SAE net for the Eldorado 500. The author is quoting figures for the 472.
Yep, my eyes got a little buggy from the small print in the brochure! I’ve updated the text.
Sure would be great if we had some above the asphalt photos. Oh well, he’s probably off playing Santa Clauz in his gold sleigh.
Love those simulated intakes in the quarters. Lend well to the freeway missile attitude of these cars.
Those are SAM-71 launch ports. They open up when the speedometer is above 71 mph.
At least that’s the way mine worked.
I agree. These ‘71-‘72 coupes have a really space age vibe. The ‘73-up is plain and ungainly. In my opinion these coupes are miles cooler than the ragtops.
Neighbor had a gold ‘72 with a black top for years. Floated by near silently like a spaceship.
THESE WERE THE SUPERFLY YEARS. BUT YOU ALREADY KNOW WHEN THE TOP COMES OFF THE $$$ GOES UP
Beautiful. I was 16 and this Eldorado was the Standard of the World. American luxury at its finest. Nothing from Europe or Japan came close. What happened? Where did this dominance go? GM needs to come home and divest itself from China. All upper management needs fired. Would someone please save GM! I want to see beautiful cars again that are designed and manufactured in America like this beautiful Eldorado was. Anyone who buys this is so fortunate. Few vehicles are finer than this one. It is Cadillac at it’s pinnacle!
I love the 500 cube Caddy engine. Externally Small and reasonably light. I have seen these in a Nova and have more room left over than a big block Chevy. I put one in my late ’70s GMC crewcab and rarely needed “passing gear”. And the fuel economy was better than the big block Chevy/GMC engine.
I loved my 1975 Eldo convertible but always wanted a 1971 convertible. Prefer the dashboard of a ’71 and the horsepower. 1975 they just detuned that 500 cu.in to death!
imagine yer ‘door swing’ of 4, 4’n a 1/2 feet ! How much coulda door
like that weigh ?!?
These boats are just remarkable to me. Love almost every caddy
although consider myself ‘a ford guy’. (only 1 lincoln i dont like, the
3rd gen ’58/60). I can knock durability, fit’n finish, etc but up till last
few decades really sompin.
Hi honey 😘, I was wondering when you’d see this one. I really like the ’71-’72 body style, but I
DON’T like the transaxle these things came with. It was the same unit they put in the first gen
Tornado 🌪️. Flashes me back to that POS ’66 Tornado I traded my
my ’66 Caddy for. Man what a lemon 🍋 that thing was too! Couldn’t keep a set of front tires
on it due to excessive tire wear.
The engine would overheat for no
reason AFTER I did everything I could do to stop it. That was the
ONLY car of mine that broke down and left my Mom stranded
by the roadside on her way to work. The last straw came when
BOTH drive shafts fell out when my buddies and I were on our way to Lake Bloomington to our favorite fishin hole ⛳! Thankfully for me we had a family friend who had his own
wrecker service so at least I got a
discount on the tow home 🏡. $350 later (in 1972 money) I took it down to Wiley Pontiac-Buick and traded it title for title for my
’62 Buick LeSabre convertible. I was doing the Marvin Lee Show down in Champaign, Illinois back then and needed a reliable car and my Buick DID NOT disappoint. Either Mom or my older sister would drive me down
there to tape 📼 the show. 8 hours of taping got us 16 shows
which was half a season. So, we were always taping every Saturday. Used to take 2 or 3 shirts with me so that I could change after maybe the 4th take
to make the folks think that we were doing the show live. And yes, everybody on the show did it
too. Dunno why I had to do that
when all you’d see of me would be the end of my guitar 🎸 and my left hand 👌. The only time I
ever got shown on TV was when I played the auto harp behind Cindy Petticord when she sang
Tennessee Mountain 🌄 home 🏡 by Dolly Parton. Got to be on
TV and got a kiss 💋 on the cheek from a pretty girl…now THAT was some week!! But enough of that. Sorry folks, got
sidetracked there for a minute.
Haven’t told a music 🎵🎶 story
for awhile. Nice car, but afraid of
that damned transaxle.
Ken, I enjoy your stories and you have an incredible memory! Thanks for sharing.
I had a ’72 Eldorado in blue with a white landau roof and sunroof. I still think it is one of the most beautiful cars I ever owned, but it did have some rather major issues. I chuckled when I read “expanded leather” seating because I remember how, even though I always wore my seat belt, I would slide nearly halfway across that flat bench seat turning a corner after every time I treated the leather. It also took the better part of a week to apply Blue Coral to that beast.
@PRA4SNW:
thanks, but I did indeed have help. I had parents who told me
that I could do anything that I set my mind to. And you can’t leave
God out the mix either. He gave me the strength and opportunities to live a life that’s
chock full of experiences enough
to last me TWO lifetimes. And as
Angel 😇 once said, I”m already
working on my third lifetime as we speak. Once I get the tools and the work space, I’ll start building the self charging mobility scooter 🛵 and begin testing it to make sure all my theories are correct before I get
the patents and sell it as a DIY kit,
which could be used on virtually
any scooter out there. Not bad for a fat old blind man.