For many years, one of the greatest honors in the auto industry was to have a car chosen to be the Indianapolis 500 Pace Car, and in 1973, the Cadillac Eldorado Convertible earned that honor. No pace car replicas were sold to the public, but that didn’t matter much when the base material was as ritzy as this Forest Green convertible. Today, I tend to think that all Eldorado convertibles were painted white, red, or maybe black, but this deep shade of green does a lot to tame the Eldorado’s audacious tendencies; it’s downright tasteful for a ’70s luxury car. The eBay seller of this ’73 says that it’s “not a flawless show car,” but is instead “a well-preserved survivor.” The pictures tend to agree; if you agree, it’s being sold with no reserve and is located in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The eBay seller is handling the sale for the estate of its car-collecting owner and claims that it was in long-term storage for 25 years. Happily, it was stored well and he got it running easily. The engine is Cadillac’s big 500-cubic-inch V8, which had been choked down to 235 horsepower by 1973. Still, 8.2 liters of displacement means torque, and the Eldorado will never feel underpowered. For pace car duties, Cadillac removed all emissions equipment, raised the compression ratio, and added a dual-exhaust system. All said, they claimed it produced 500 horsepower as the result of their ministrations, although there’s no word whether that rating was calculated with the old gross system or the new net one. Either way, it handled its high-speed duties with aplomb. Notice where the air conditioning compressor is mounted on the 500, right up top where no flimsy bracketry is needed, and where it can’t get in the way of spark plug changes for the mechanics. Nice thinking, Cadillac.
The black leather interior is original and “looks and smells good,” aside from two split seams and a patch on the rear seat. The convertible top is nice but has “some discoloring.” The dashboard is crack-free, and the AM-FM 8-Track radio will tempt you to see if your Bob Seger Live Bullet tape still has some life left in it. Picture it now, the top down, your right arm resting atop the bench seat, “Travelin’ Man” blasting from the crackling speakers…it’s going to be a good summer.
Of course, life can’t be all good times, and you’ve probably deduced that the purchase price is merely an initial investment when one is dealing with cars that have been sitting for a quarter-century. The tires are old and need replacing, and the front bumper fillers have crumbled into the dust from whence they came. On the other hand, it has a “95%-straight and rust-free body” with an “undercarriage [that] is just as impressive as the rest of the car.” With a current high bid of $5,781, you could drive away in a pretty nice Cadillac, and while its days of pacing open wheelers might be gone, your days of relaxed cruising might be just getting started.
Nice album 💿 reference Toth.
Love that one…here’s another good one from Live Bullet 🎶 🎸 🎹 🎙
https://youtu.be/zy1cwiiqBas?si=ZNR3g67mKFdqHeuA
So according to Cadillac removing all emissions systems and a dual exhaust plus a bump in compression goes from 235 ponies up to 500 (i’m guessing gross hp ) wow. P!ease tell me it was a bit more involved than that. Interestingly i never heard of a pace car model
In 1971, Cadillac quoted 365 gross HP and 235 net HP. The difference between the figures is more dramatic for Cadillacs because many power-robbing accessories are standard equipment on Cadillacs, and must be installed for net HP ratings. In 1970, the 500 was rated at 400 gross HP, so I’m guessing the 500 HP is gross HP.
@CC
Did manufacturers switch from gross to net because of the insurance companies charging surcharges for high horsepower muscle cars?
Seems like a good way to get past that ridiculous 🐂.
The Big Cadillac engine was never ment for more than 4000 RPM, anything more than that the valves float. It doesn’t breathe very well and most aftermarket intakes would require a hood bulge in an Eldorado. However with Big carb, intake, exhaust system, performance camshaft and stiff valve springs 500 hp should be possible.
Attn..All members of The GREAT AMERICAN LAND YACHT SOCIETY. There is a proposal to ammend the Name to THE GREAT AMERICAN LAND YACHT PRESENTATION SOCIETY. It will be brought for consideration at the next meeting (yet to be determined). New members will be interviewed for membership. This Classic Eldorado might make a worthy Door 🚪 prize. 😉 😜 Yes, I’m still shoveling 💩.
Nice ragtop for a great price! If I had the dough, I’d be the first one to pull the trigger. Just think of all the young
ladies that would date me just to drive it. And when my niece gets her
license, I could be a doting uncle and hand her the keys to my Caddy when
her young man comes calling. Then,
after handing over the keys, I’d tell them to have a great time along with a gentle warning not to scratch it. Great car by far! Like the side trim on
the ’71-’72 Eldos, but this ’73 would
suit me just fine. Angel, you’re gonna
love this one!
Never any scissor tops again for me. If you know, then you know.
Great looking automobile. Someone took care of it. I wish it was mine. Hope someone will take care of it and enjoy it–and drive it .For what it was made for. Really sharp car.
Sorry, guys, your musical timing is just slightly off. By 1973 the cassette had invaded the audio world and Live Bullet was yet to come. Try maybe Smokin’ OP’s.
@David Peterson
My 1976 Cadillac Coupe de Ville had an 8-track am/fm stereo from the factory.
You know it always took years for new technology to enter the automotive world. If cassettes came out in, say, 1971 (just using random numbers, don’t know EXACTLY when they came out) it took 5 or 6 years before they would be standard equipment in cars. So using that philosophy, cassettes didn’t become standard in cars until at least 1978/79.
And usually luxury cars got new tech first.
Maybe some Motown Sound would be appropriate for a top down drive. Me and the Fan-Club would look fine rolling this one.
Nelson, the tunes wouldn’t matter to me. It’s the drive with a nice young lady that counts. I can just see it now. We’re driving
along, some decent music coming through a really good set of speakers as we ride along. Then, a tune like “Just Out Ot Reach” or “I Can Dream About You” plays on the radio. I take her hand as the song plays. Then, I move in for a kiss at the traffic light. Yeah folks, that’s what I think when I see a car like this–and that’s what I want someday. Til then, I’ll keep stopping by the Barn and cranking out my prints as long as I can. Got a ’35 Buick
Modell 56C roadster on the table right now and it might be done by next week. After that, it’ll be either a ’37 Packard 160 formal sedan, or a ’50 -’53 Cadillac Sedan delivery. Glad you got to see this one Angel, it’s great!
The 1969 472 has a compression ratio of 10.5:1 with 375 hp and 525 ft lbs of torque. The 1970 500 has a compression ratio of 10.0:1 with 400 hp and 550 lbs of torque. The 1971 has a compression ratio of 8.8.1:1 with 345 hp and 500 lbs of torque! I have a 1970 and runs great on premium gas, just switched over to electronic ignition to try to get better than 5 mpg.