UPDATE 7/25/2019 – James just sent over additional photos of his Cadillac, so take another look at this beautiful Eldorado!
FROM 7/22/2019 – This big drop top Cadillac is one beautiful machine. After being parked for the past 10 years, Reader James K has cleaned and gotten it back on the road where it belongs! He believes this Eldorado was repainted at some point in its past, but it looks well done and to still be in nice shape. He’s replaced a ton of seals and weatherstripping. It’s also received some mechanical attention, but we will get into that shortly. He’s decided to part ways with this land yacht and you can find this Barn Finds Exclusive in Daytona Beach, Florida. You can contact James via the form below!
The Cotillion White paint with Scarlett red leather interior is definitely eye-catching. If you want a car with a serious presence and curb appeal, this is the Caddy for you! James notes that it turns heads everywhere it goes. Typically, I don’t care for whitewall tires, but they sure look great on this Caddy. They have been on the car since being parked, if not longer, so you may want to replace them with some fresh rubber. James liked the way they looked over modern reproductions, they hold air, plus he thought it would be better to let the next owner decide whether to replace them with whitewalls or standard blackwall tires.
James notes that the body is in really nice shape overall, but that the next owner might want to give the rockers behind the front wheels some attention to keep them from rusting through. It has new front wheel-well seals already installed and he is waiting for all new door and pillar weatherstrips to arrive. Once those are installed, the car should be as watertight as you can make a ’70s Cadillac convertible.
Under the hood, the 500 cui V8 is running great. It received a valve job with fresh lifters and pushrods. It also has been updated to an HEI ignition, which should improve reliability and possibly even a slight improvement in performance. Prior to starting it up, he had the fuel tank cleaned out and the carburetor fully rebuilt. Stopping all that engine and luxury is a big task, so he also rebuilt the calipers, installed new pads, new rear shoes and wheel cylinders, plus all the hardware that goes along with them.
Whether you want to hit the open road or take it in local parades, this Cadillac is ready to go. It even comes with a fiberglass parade boot to protect the convertible top! If you’d love to have this 67k mile Caddy, be sure to message James via the form below.
- Asking Price: $17,995
- Location: Daytona Beach, FL
- Mileage: 67,000
- Title Status: Clean
- VIN: 6L67S3Q430039
List your car here on Barn Finds for only $50!
‘Thunderbolt and Lightfoot’ (Clint Eastwood & Jeff Bridges) was the first thing that I thought of when I saw this! Nice car, GLWTS! :-)
Uh folks, I think this one’s a ’73. The ’72’s had side trim that reminds you of a 1950 model. Unlike the ’69 Charger in Haines
City, this one’s about 2 hours from me. Nice car. Wish I could
buy it. I need all the help I can get as my niece put me on POF!
Absolutely a 73. Those taillights are one year only styling. I don’t see where it said anything about being a 72 unless a typo they’ve already corrected
Wanted one of these ever since I saw that movie as a teen. Timing is just wrong; got a Stage One 4sp/AC car that is a couple months away from the road. Much more desirable and valuable, but at this stage in life, this caddy pulls my heartstrings!
Not a Pace Car but in the color scheme of the 1973 Indy 500 Pace Car, which was…..for some odd reason, a convertible Eldorado in 1973.
The pace car Eldorado convertibles that paced the race had specially built de-smogged 500’s making around 425hp to from what I’ve read.
Ralph,
Thanks for the nice bit of history. Makes me want it all that much more! With a bit of work, 425hp is probably no problem for that motor!
Hmmm…..
My friends father had this exact car, a 1973 Eldo ragtop in Cotillion White and Scarlett. His may have had a Black top though, can’t remember. He drove my friend, his daughter, to her wedding in it, which as I recall was in December 1977. He insisted they ride with the top down. Did I mention they lived in Massachusetts at the time?
Nice car, however at the time this car was built whitewall tires were pretty much the standard fare on nearly every luxury car unlike today. Old land yachts like this should ONLY be seen with whitewall tires, blackwalls are a travesty on such cars. It’s like seeing a pretty girl in a torn dress.
Hey guys, thanks for all the flowers on my Eldo!
I was wondering what the original width WW was for this car. It currently has the 1.5″ WW that I think looks classy and not-too-“gangsterish”. If she doesn’t sell, I’ll buy her some new shoes and enjoy the ride!
BTW, I finally got all the wheel-well seals installed. They didn’t come with any placement pictures, so it was a challenge. Fastened them all with 1/4″ SS bolts and fender washers, the plastic push-pins that were included were a joke.
Agree must have whitewalls. I once worked as a FEA man in a body shop in Miami Florida, the owner had a 76 Eldo in black with red interior. It had 4 wheel disc brakes. I did a lot of maintenance work on it for him on slow days.
God bless America
BTW: the ’73 in this colour combination is the pick of the 70’s Eldos for me! Love em!!!!!
Beauty.
Very nice car must keep the whitewalls.
How can anyone say ” I don’t care for whitewalls “?????? Good Heavens one doesn’t put blackwalls on a luxury car !!!!! Blackwalls are for peasant cars. Blackwalls on a Cadillac..or any luxury car …is blasphemy. From the moment that whitewalls came into being…Cadillac, high-level Buicks, Olds, Chryslers, Lincolns …etc…etc..used them.
I cannot fathom your comment about blackwalls.
One of the last of the great big caddie!!!
Great car!! 500 cubes will move it pretty good I bet!!!
A 70s Eldorado without white walls? Someone might want to put blackwalls on it? you don’t care for whitewalls? These cars were born with white walls, no classic Cadillac should be without them, please now, why don’t we tint the windows and screw it up real good
For me, the ’73 is the pick of the range of the re-styled Eldo’s starting from 1971. The whitewalls have to stay though! I’m a little bit unsettled by the condition of the steering wheel and the panel gaps between the front of the driver’s door to the front fender. Those doors weigh a bloody ton, so its not unreasonable that they have sagged a bit!?!? Many years ago I had a drive of a 71 convertible that I stumbled upon at a dealer when passing through an outback town. I remember thinking that I needed to plan any turns approx 5mins ahead of time. LoL!
I would pay $10K for it and drive it home.
Had the same ride for a couple of years. What a cruiser. Made some.nice memories with it. It felt gigantic on the Blur Ridge parkway.
Why would anyone even mention the word “blackwalls” and Cadillac in the same sentence !!!???? So ridiculous to even think of blackwalls on a luxury car.
I know. And then put ridiculous giant wheels with stupid low-profile tars on it.