This high-roller car is located in the very definition of a high-roller city: Las Vegas, Nevada. It’s a perfect setting for this car, and the seller took some good photos, other than sadly not bothering to pop the hood to show us the larger-than-life (like Vegas itself) 500-cu.in. V8 engine. That’s always a drag (as opposed to a drag show), but they have this formal beauty listed here on eBay. There is no reserve, and the current bid price is just $5,300.
Sable Black over Antique Dark Firethorn (red)? Yes, please, even in hot Las Vegas. The sun must have worked its wicked ways on the top. It’s shown topless here (hey, this is a family show!) and the seller says it needs a new top. If there’s a more foreboding front end than this sweet black Eldorado, looking all jagged and mean, like it’s been on a three-day bender and is looking to cause trouble, I can’t think of one. Jim Brolin could have just used this car in the movie by the same name (The Car); this one is almost as mean-looking, but also in an elegant Cadillac way.
Truthfully, the seller mentions several times that this car needs some tinkering on the cosmetic aspects of it (like Wayne Newton), but for $5,300, this is a lot of car for the money. Despite not being a black Escalade (zzzzzz), I think you’d get front-row parking with most valet pros in this car. It’s something you want to be seen in, and all for less than $6,000. A show of hands for all of you who have gone to Las Vegas and spent less than $6,000. I thought so.
The ninth-generation Eldorado is really the last one for serious Cadillac connoisseurs, or at least a lot of them. We know that 1976 was the last year for factory production convertibles for American cars, at least for a half-dozen years, and these last of the really big Eldorados were made from 1971 through 1978, the last two years being hardtops only. I think these seats would have been Antique Dark Firethorn Leather. I also believe these seats have been recovered, as they don’t look like leather. They look too perfect, and they don’t appear to have the original pattern. They also don’t match the door panels, and yeah, they just look new. That’s a bummer. The Dark Firethorn carpet looks perfect, so that’s good.
The back seat really looks new and fresh, sort of like how you feel on the second day of being home after an extended visit to Las Vegas. The unseen engine is Cadillac’s 500-cu.in. OHV V8. 1976 was the last year for that engine before it was kicked to the curb (the one filled with all of those little cards that sidewalk barkers try to hand out as you walk between casinos) to the tune of losing 75 cubic inches. I’m assuming this isn’t the fuel-injected version, and if not, it would have had 190 horsepower and 360 lb-ft of torque when new. The THM-425 three-speed automatic sends power to the front wheels, and the seller says the drivetrain works fine. Hagerty is at $7,100 for a #4 fair-condition example: how much is this one worth?
Definitely a stylish ride 😎 👌 the front end looks like it wants to eat something or someone 😋 and I’d love to hear the stories that interior could tell, especially the original leather seat upholstery! I’m going to leave it at that. A good “gamble” for someone adventurous
Those six bumper guards on the front bumper are certainly unique!
Best not to raise those thin, non centered headrests! – how did the feds miss those! The steering wheel has sure seen better days.
First thing I thought of when I saw this and Vegas was mentioned, “Elvis Impersonators’ car!” These were the last of the great big Cadillacs. So big you got there before you got there. The price is pretty reasonable if the thing runs good, and I’d be interested in buying it if only the neighbor didn’t mind sharing half his parking spot.
Time to break out the Steve Goodman song, “Elvis Impersonator”!
I’ve been to Las Vegas many times for business and never dropped that kind of money. (Made it yes, lost it no) And an Eldorado in Vegas will not be complete not hearing from Angel! This car has PRESENCE! And not bring an extrovert, (well maybe a little) I would enjoy driving this car just once. (Best be done in LasVegas) Other than that, just doesn’t hold the curves good enough for me. (Sorry Angel!)
These were very nice cars I had a 78 hardtop, if this runs and drives good as advertised it’s a great deal, room to pay for a new top then drive and enjoy. I don’t think it would be worth doing a major restoration the leather interior would be very expensive.
For not much money there’s a lot of fun to be had driving this drop top
Beats spending $75,000 on a 6 mile example. Those plastic steering wheels with thin wood inlay were junk by the 80s due to sun exposure and oil from the drivers hands. I have professionally detailed cars since the late 70s. Steering wheels always filthy.
The factory hubcaps were all painted the same body color in 1986, sad the factory interior was thrown away for this cheap Chinese imposter. RESEARCH PEOPLE, See what an all original factory 1976 El Dorado looks like…you will be surprised!
Did it come factory with a plethora of bumper guards??? That looks really silly. There’s 3 sets!?!?!
Yes that’s exactly how it rolled off the assembly line
Sorry, the hubcaps were body color in 1976, NOT 1986 as I had originally posted! HAVE A. GREAT DAY!
Now here’s an Angelmobile for you! I’m sure that her highness would certainly like it quirks and all. Saw this earlier today on my
work phone waiting for my SIL and niece to pick.me up from work. Had to wait until I got home to post a comment as my
work phone doesn’t have a way to
enlarge the text to make it easier
for me to read it. My late nephew
put special software into my old
phone that helps me enlarge both
the pictures and text for a more
enjoyable experience for me. As
for this car, it’s not perfect but nothing or no one ever is and you
take it for what it is– a less than
perfect car that can still bring you
miles of smiles everywhere you go.
Where is Angel? I hope she’s ok!
Where are you Diva?
The king of the road, any road it’s on! I’ve owned many of these aircraft carriers and Caddy went down in C.U. inches but not in horsepower. When you plant your posterior in one of these “IT TAKES OVER” you just hang on for the ride. Like a big dog, “it” walks you. When you drive it people actually get out of your way. That price is so attractive, I’m lucky it’s in Vegas not Chi. Town. Good luck seller.
Wayne who?
Hey! Be nice! That’sMr. Newton to you!,(lol)
I hear Mr. Newton prefers Rollers or Bentleys.
Having had a Caddy 500 in my GMC was a great torque experience.
The ’76 El Dorado convertible was touted by Cadillac as the last convertible they would produce. My boss at the time bought one of those that had been bid up much more than list with the promise of it becoming an instant classic worth bunches of $$$$$$$$. Lots of buyers took the bait and took a bath.
Here’s the keys to my Cadillac. That leaves me with an even dozen.
Nice find.
Never thought much of these when they were new, Detroit excess at its latest back then. But that was then, now this thing looks absolutely awesome, and with the last of the 500 ci V-8’s. This would make a great daily cruiser getting you to work or wherever. Maybe it’s the black over red? or the ‘last of the factory convertibles’?
Here is a link from an owner who has had a few GM products from that era and how to make them run fine.
https://www.cadillacforums.com/threads/cadillac-500-gas-mileage-and-70s-cad-tips.174462/
That 500 was/is an easy motor to work on and wouldn’t take much for somebody who knew what they were doing or was interested in doing the research to figure it out.
I used to laugh at these. But looking at this one now, and it looks like it might go for cheap!!
If you like this type of car and it runs, not a bad price. Buy it and fix the issues one at a time. Am bothered by the 1975 wheel covers, just be sure it is a 1976 car.
3hrs left and still under 10k. What a land barge. Totally impractical but I love it, and I’ve always been a Ford guy.
Last year of the 500 engine and I believe last year for convertable. Seems like a decent price here for a lot of steel!
Auction update: this one sold for $10,100!
Somebody got good a deal.
Yeah Robert, I remember those days very vividly even today. GM
itself became it’s own worst enemy on two fronts when they put down their coloring books and crayons and halted convertible production here in the
United States. First came the speculators that bought two, maybe three at a clip which sent
ragtop prices into the stratosphere. Used to read mags
like Cars & Parts, Hemmings Motor News among others how just to see the prices of these cars soar to well over $100K by
’79 or ’80. One of the biggest offenders was a guy named Bill
Zigelbaum, who had a showroom
just outside Detroit (Before it was
partially abandoned in 2009). And
yes folks, he had the nerve to offer one of these for half a million bucks in ’79– and someone actually bought it. That
just added fuel to an already ridiculous fire by that time. It got so bad that soon after that, ANY
droptop regardless of condition
would fetch AT LEAST $15-$20K
at that time. And that soon priced out normal folks like us from the old car hobby back then.
Prewar stuff was still selling way
beyond our means. Almost all pony cars were out of reach too, it was no small wonder that guys
like us walked away from the hobby. Second, Cadillac shot themselves in the foot by NOT
continuing to offer an open car for those who wanted it. Those that could afford it bought Rolls Royce, BMW, or Mercedes Benz
from Europe. GM just let the imports walk in and steal the market share they dominated for
years. The roof fell in when GM
decided to offer droptops again in 1984. As a result, all those fools who bought up the “last”
Cadillac convertibles only to see
their investments dry up. Their
outcry resembled an orchestra of
scorched cats when they tried to
sue Cadillac for changing it’s mind and re issuing the drop top.
And lest we not forget all those
beautiful old drop tops that were
ruined when their owners wouldn’t start or drive them for fear that doing that would cause
the value of their investments to
drop just because they did that.
They learned a hard lesson about
the inherent risk that comes with
long term investing on anything.
Always do your due diligence BEFORE you get on the next sure thing.