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Dual Quad Survivor: 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Seville

This old Cadillac is listed on eBay with a Buy it Now price of $20,000. It’s said to be a survivor with only 73,000 miles. It runs and drives well and the engine has been rebuilt. Considering the value for these Cadillacs in fair condition is over $20,000 according to Hagerty, this seems like it might be a good deal. It makes you secretly wish the claims are true like those letters from the prince in Nigeria or the offers for a secret shoppers scam. If only one could purchase this beauty and just drive it the way that it is. You just know there are sad secrets and expensive blemishes on this Cadillac, but I think I’ll set it as the desktop picture on my computer anyway.

This peek at the interior show the upholstery to be in decent used condition. A good cleaning might help. The carpet is said to be in good condition. The door panels will need repair or replacement but they are usable.

The batwing air cleaner is the most obvious original item missing from the engine compartment. The generator looks real, but it is actually an alternator. Unfortunately, this Cadillac does not have AC. The 325 HP 365 engine has been rebuilt and is said to run well.

Here’s a sign of trouble. There is likely lots of rust under that vinyl top. This is one area you cannot ignore and it’s difficult to repair.

Areas like this door jam show this car was either repainted or that there was at least body repair performed.

You have to admit that the styling is, well, different. It is unique even among Cadillacs. Some folks refer to those fat fenders as “chipmunk cheeks”. Is there another car out there with a design like this? This old Caddy would make a great driver. There’s some bubbling under the paint so there at least some rust. A look at the underside might be very scary. And then there’s the rust under the vinyl top and that sagging passenger door. Sadly, this Cadillac might not be worth restoring. Perhaps, if the rust is not to extensive, it is in good enough condition to be a driver quality car. I wonder what a closer look in person would reveal.

Comments

  1. Avatar Dolphin Member

    This is an interesting entry, in a personal way. Way back in the last century my father worked as a mechanic for a guy who owned a big gas station / paint / mechanical shop in town. The guy loved Caddy Eldorados and always owned one.

    One time he owned an Eldorado similar to this one, but a convertible. My Dad loved ’50s Caddys….but he never had the dough for an Eldorado.

    One year we were going to visit grandparents on a long trip to the Daytona Beach, Florida area. The garage owner said that my Dad should take the Eldorado convertible for the trip, so my father accepted.

    Two problems……

    1. If you can’t afford a Caddy Eldorado you probably can’t afford the gas bill for an Eldorado on a very long round trip across a big part of the USA. My father’s solution was that he and my mother, who shared the driving, should not exceed 50 MPH. That would make sure that the car would run only on the primary carb and that the secondary 4-barrel wouldn’t cut in, sending us rocketing to the moon and our gas bill skyrocketing too. One effect of that is that it became a looong trip in terms of hours. …days, actually.

    2. You don’t know how cramped Eldorado converts are until you sit in the back seat of one, especially on a loooong trip over multiple days….especially at 50 MPH. Hours were spent trying to avoid hitting my head on the partitions in back that walled off the convertible top mechanism when trying to sleep across the back seat during long hours of driving. Seat belts? They hadn’t been invented yet.

    I would give anything to be back in that Eldorado with Dad and Mom in front, sharing the driving for endless hours, day and night, at 50 MPH so the secondaries wouldn’t cut in.

    Like 49
    • Avatar James Member

      Memories…. Good stuff; thanks Dolphin! What Barn Finds is all about!

      Like 5
  2. Avatar healeydays

    Funny thing is I actually did the Secret Shopper thing for a couple years and got some pretty good stuff free over the time.

    Anyone can pull up to a C&C with a 55 Chevy, but how many will show with a land yacht like this one with a family of 8 inside.

    I like it…

    Like 1
  3. Avatar Miguel

    If you are going to buy an old Cadillac, why not make it the best model you can get?

    Like 2
  4. Avatar Mike

    A gear head buddy of mine built a 34 Ford coupe and used that same 325hp 365 inch dual quad Cadillac V-8 . Addrd headers and some tweaking on the ignition was all it needed to warm it up a bit .

    Like 2
  5. Avatar Redwagon

    And it’s gone!

    Like 0
    • Avatar mlm

      A driveable decent 1950’s Cadillac Eldorado @ 20K wasn’t going to last long.This car is restorable.

      Like 2
  6. Avatar Fred W

    I thought there were a lot of “hidden secrets” too, until I saw the inside. That interior is either well preserved original or expensive replacement, indicating a lot of care given this car and just a few years outside.

    Like 0
  7. Avatar Chuck

    Back in high school I pumped gas on weekends, guy who worked construction would gas up and smoke the tires . He just threw all his tools in the back seat . He swore the carbs were stock

    Like 0
  8. Avatar JimmyinTEXAS

    I am amazed by the asking price as it seems very low. It doesn’t surprise me it is already gone…

    Like 1
  9. Avatar DRV

    Besides the rust, The chroming the aluminum bumpers and wheels are the big expense here. Also the little missing pieces like the short stainless trim at the bottom line of the vinyl top.

    Like 0
  10. Avatar ctmphrs

    “Sadly, this Cadillac may not be worth restoring.” What a comment. Are they only worth restoring if they are a rusted to death porsche or some other import.

    Like 6
  11. Avatar Jens-Peter

    Hi
    Is there some in this forum who know who has owned this cadillac from 1957 and where it has run in USA

    Like 0
  12. Avatar Jim Murray

    I owned one of these in 1969. Car of the century. Of course Mom sold it when I went in the Navy. Dual quads? who cares about gas. It would do a hundred down to Cape Cod. No mufflers. Paid $35 dollars for it. If I could go qack in time….Lived in it in summer of ’69.

    Like 1
  13. Avatar Jens-Peter Hansen

    Hi here is some pics. After restauration, this is the car very nice to drive and i get the Bat wings air cleaner, i only miss the exhaust bullets, they was gone before i buy the car :( I found out that the car was from Pennsylvania, if you look on the license plate (PENNA)in the top of plate the. The old license no. Is 54 ZH3 is there some one out there who now how you can find out of more about the owner on this license plate
    Im very happy for the car.

    Like 0
  14. Avatar April Q Grammont

    Have a 57 Seville with all the options. Two four engine with batwing, air conditioning, EZEye glass, and auto headlight dimmer.

    Like 0
  15. Avatar April Q Grammont

    Actually, the carb linkage is progressive so you run on both carbureters all the time. You keep from energizing the secondaries by keeping your foot out of it. I actually drove my 57 Seville 800 miles from Freeport, Illinois to Westminster, Maryland in 1998 without energizing the secondaries. Got 9.6 MPG. I know the secondaries didn’t open because I pulled the batwing to get part numbers to order rebuild kits and found the secondaries stuffed with nut shells. Some varmint packed them before I bought it. The batwing was in the trunk when I picked up the car.

    Like 0

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