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No Reserve Land Yacht: 1974 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible

Talk about cutting an impressive swath, the Cadillac Eldorado, in its ‘60’s and ‘70’s incarnations, was a luxury-inspired force with which to reckon. Add a convertible top to the mix and you have arrived. Some will refer to the ‘70’s versions as excessive, gauche, over-the-top, pretentious, while others considered them to be stately, trendsetting, au courant or just flat out impressive. Whatever your thoughts, and opinions are subjective, you knew one when you saw it. Case in point is this 1974 example, located in Englishtown, New Jersey and available here on eBay for a current bid, as of this writing, of $10,499, no reserve.

What sets this convertible apart from other luxury cars, besides its Brobdingnagian size, is its 8.0-liter (500 CI) V8 engine, longitudinally-mounted, and driving its front wheels. The triple black outfit of this particular example puts this Eldorado into a stately class. I generally pan these big Cadillac convertibles but this one’s finish and laser straight bodywork really caught my attention. It exudes a refined presence. The seller adds that the convertible top and glass rear window were replaced only a year ago. I am hard-pressed to find a single item out of line on this Caddy’s exterior.

The seller makes no mention of where this Eldorado has been for all of its 46 years other than to say it has been pampered. That’s the truth but it has been stored well too. Because this car is currently in New Jersey doesn’t mean that it has spent its entire life there and that would be cause for concern due to winter salt and rust. Images of the underside, however, will allay any fears regarding rot or corrosion. The underside looks as good as the topside does. Also noted down below is the presence of a dual exhaust system, something that this Cadillac did not have originally. Why Cadillac engineers thought corking up 500 CI’s of V8 with a single exhaust system was a good idea, I’ll never know but this sorely needed addition should free up some horsepower.

Speaking of horsepower, that’s the only notable flaw in this Eldorado package. The best this 8.0-liter V8 beast could muster in ’74 was 210 net HP – that’s it. Now it did develop 380 net pound feet of torque which still puts it in “stump-puller” territory and that alone will help with the initial launch but you’re not going to win very many drag races with 210 net HP while lugging 4,800 lbs. behind you. Then again, the Eldorado was not about NHRA championships, it was about a very refined driving experience which the seller claims to be the case. He states, “Even though it’s a heavy car, once you step on the gas the car goes, and the ride is just unforgettable, truly a land yacht”. The Caddie starts right up and idles smooth, the motor runs nice and strong as it should. Trans shifts though all the gear effortlessly.” And that’s how an Eldorado is supposed to go. The engine appears to have had some nice enhancements added with the open element air cleaner and chrome valve covers – nothing significant but some nice touches nevertheless. And of course, putting the power to the wheels is this Eldoardo’s most notable feature, its Turbo-Hydramatic 425, three-speed automatic front wheel drive transaxle.

Inside this Cadillac, there is an enormous expanse of beautiful black leather. It looks just perfect and that’s saying something for a convertible where the sun is usually its worst enemy. No rips, tears or cracks are noted – and the parade boot is a very nice, seldom seen, inclusion. Same goes for the carpet, dash and door cards – they look like new. The seller lists the mileage as 7,750 miles and the interior looks it. That said, he doesn’t promote the low mileage, which would be a very advantageous selling feature, so it’s uncertain if the mileage is accurate or the odometer has been around once. The entire package really presents itself like a 7,750-mile vehicle, however.

Normally, I wouldn’t give a ‘70’s vintage Eldorado a moments consideration; not so in this case. There are many well-taken images included in this listing, be sure to review them all and you’ll get a very comprehensive picture of this convertible – it is a stunningly beautiful car! It’s one that I would consider, how about you?

Comments

  1. Avatar Rattlehead

    same engine 4 years earlier was 400hp and 550lbft. compression was everything.

    Like 6
    • Avatar Ralph

      Gross and Net ratings had something to do with it too…..

      Like 7
    • Avatar CCFisher

      400hp SAE gross. Figure 320-340 SAE net. Still far more than 210 SAE net, but the difference in measurements amplifies the difference in power.

      Like 5
      • Avatar Ralph

        The lo-lead no-lead was the next step down from that….

        Like 1
  2. Avatar Ralph

    It has single exhaust because luxury cars are supposed to be quiet……

    “Speaking of horsepower, that’s the only notable flaw in this Eldorado package. The best this 8.0-liter V8 beast could muster in ’74 was 210 net HP ”

    Hi, I’m The 70’s, have we met?

    455 CID “Super Duty” Trans Am?……290 net hp. A Honda Civic? 52hp

    Even a euro spec non smogged V12 Ferrari was 340hp or so.

    I know that today the shopping cart at Aldi has 630hp, but it wasn’t always that way, either way, it still has plenty of torque.

    If this was a factory black on black car, thats not very common for Eldorado convertibles, which usually sported bright colors inside and out.

    Like 12
    • Avatar DETROIT LAND YACHT

      I remember a deep sharkskin blue color for these back in the day.
      Pretty snazzy for a luxo barge.

      Like 2
    • Avatar Robert L Roberge

      Had 2 ’75’s, one with Jennifer blue (light) and one with white leather. They were both hotter than the hubs of hell, top up or down, in summer in SoCal, but black? OMG that’d hurt.

      Like 0
  3. Avatar 70SuperSport

    I have a 69 Impala convertible project I may abandon for this car – less money in the end and comes with leather 😀

    Like 11
  4. Avatar DETROIT LAND YACHT

    I like the 72/73 model years. Less plumbing under the hood…more horsepower…no plastic body filler panels. That being said…this flawless baby is GORGEOUS. You are only WINNING when you take this babe for a weekend cruise.

    Like 4
    • Avatar Orestes Masdeu

      Superfly TNT pimpalicious one of a kind love affair live and let die Moloney flash car 70’s style Les Dunham Superfly fly lights big chrome hood cap rolls royce grill flying lady curb feelers Rocket aluminum wheels 4 inch gangster whitewalls air shocks Continental style trunk hump landau bars limousine style opera lamps fog lights sunroof and siren

      Like 0
  5. Avatar CCfisher

    8.2…. 500 cid is 8.2 liters. Let’s not shortchange the magnificence of it all.

    Like 12
    • Avatar Ken

      Dang Cubic Inches sounds so much better. More Gravitas. Either that or this Caddy has 4 Pepsi bottles under the bonnet. lol

      Like 3
  6. Avatar Rixx56 Member

    There wasn’t much room underneath
    to permit running a clean, true dual
    exhaust. To me, the pictured system
    appears abit off… then again, it’s
    been quite awhile.
    Could be a good deal. Beautiful auto!

    Like 1
    • Avatar Moparman Member

      The muffler technician that fabricated this exhaust really knew his stuff! :-)

      Like 3
    • Avatar Eric Aull

      NOT the original paint either!!!!

      Like 0
  7. Avatar Ron Bajorek

    is it me or is that thing missing it’s a/c compressor? Should be right their on top of that motor

    Like 4
    • Avatar JEFF S.

      It looks like it has been removed, the A/C lines have been capped off. Nice looking car but without A/C they can keep it.

      Like 0
  8. Avatar Ken

    Gorgeous car. I know when I drive my 79 Mark V Continental I, I hear the same Fakakt question. WHATS THE GAS MILEAGE. I fill the Mark every three months. How often do you fill your tank?

    Like 3
  9. Avatar Francisco

    All this black will not go well with the sun at Delray Beach.

    Like 2
    • Avatar Dave

      Francisco..true…black is really only suitable for a limo.

      Like 1
  10. Avatar mtshootist1

    I had an 88 DeVille, felt underpowered, but the inertia that heavy car built up, once you got it up to speed, you could just coast along and let off the gas, I used to see how far it would coast, it was amazing, definitely a cruisemobile. Alas, I traded it in during the cash for clunkers program for a new Subaru Forester. It pains me to think of that old car having the engine wrecked, and the car crushed.

    Like 2
    • Avatar Ken

      You tube the cash for clunkers. It’s absolutely dreadful to watch. They put some liquid in the oil filler neck, then start the engine and hold the gas pedal down to the floor until it won’t run any more. The sounds, the smoke, horrible. And these were perfectly good cars.

      Like 2
      • Avatar JEFF S.

        C4C was a waste of tax dollars, to appease Big Os base and boost new car sales, any increase in car sales during the program, were offset by lower average monthly sales after the programs end. As for saving the environment, removing the lower mpg cars reduced C02 by .5 %. The government borrowed the 3 Billion $, so we will be paying interest on the money for years to come, 60 Million $ each year. . Also, removing hundreds of thousands of used cars from the market caused a spike in used car prices. I found it amusing that people that received the $3500 to $4500 had to pay taxes on the money. Congress and their hair brained schemes, the gift that keeps on giving.

        Like 1
    • Avatar chrlsful

      sacrilege!
      I had nightmares abt the ’60s rancheros, corvair monzas, and 70s el dorados from all over the Cali, PNW, and south, waiting, in near concentration camps, the crusher at the door….would wake up in tears…
      8^ (
      Plez, have patience, find a buyer’n make more’n scrap…

      Like 0
  11. Avatar DAVID Thomas

    Brought a ‘69 De Ville convertible back to Wales over twenty years ago, with “continental kit” 20ft long. A beast on our roads but fun, certainly attention. Powder blue, white walls and roof…beautiful to see but built like a Yugo.

    Like 3
  12. Avatar TimM

    Big beautiful land yacht!! Might not have the horses of an older one but certainly has the style!! Put a cam in it and tuck the bumpers in tighter to the body!! The only other thing would be some sweet wheels!!

    Like 3
  13. Avatar R Reagan

    No real talk of the mileage in the auction?? My bet is its 107K. Ill never understand why people put chrome valve covers and dime store air cleaners on a caddy. Take a close look at the plastic radiator with foam added to make it fit. You have to put eyes on a car like this before you bid.

    Like 3
  14. Avatar K Dave

    Why wouldn’t you give a ’70’s Eldorado a moment’s consideration? I find that a strange comment.

    Like 1
  15. Avatar charles Flowers

    Does it come with a set of Longhorns for the hood? If not, that’s a deal breaker.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Stan Marks

      Longhorns? Are you kidding??This isn’t red neck country, Tex-Ass.
      It’s Sopranos Joizy.
      ;^)

      You want a caddy with longhorns?? Check out my late friend, Nudie & his cowboy caddy. His store was on Lankershim Bl. in No. Hollywood.
      Open the video in full screen.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDNcVShw0Bw

      Like 2
  16. Avatar A.J.

    I have had several older Rivieras and Toronados but never an Eldorado. This would be the one to have.

    Like 2
  17. Avatar Dave

    A.J. Yes…it’s a beauty. I have a ’76….but would prefer a ’70.

    Like 1
  18. Avatar Karl

    Beautiful car looks pretty incredible 👌 with that said why would you waste your time with so much Cubic inches and the actual HP produced is nothing but laughter! I would be embarrassed!

    Like 0
  19. Avatar Dave Mazz

    The bid is up to $15,100, so there’s *some* interest out there.

    Like 2
  20. Avatar Stan Marks

    One word…….. Exquisite!!!

    Like 1
  21. Avatar Kenn

    The horsepower was relatively irrelevant. The car wasn’t built for drag racing. It’s a cruiser, and a comfortable, quiet one at that. With good passing power when needed. Ostentatious perhaps, but so what? I’ld love to be able to afford another one.

    Like 1
  22. Avatar SG

    I recently sold a 1972 Eldo convertible. Beautiful cars! Except for the top & climate control. If top down weather, nothing finer than one of these. Put up a GM scissors top from this era & hope for the best lol. Then turn on the heat? Bring a blanket! Need air conditioning? Better have some cold water or beer lol. But if it is nice out, drop that top & you feel like royalty. Look like royalty too!
    Mine was cranberry with white top & white leather. I sure miss it…when the weather allows lol.

    Like 0
  23. Avatar JimZ Member

    Wow…A really nice paint job, and black to-boot! A shame there’s no A/C, but maybe ‘up-north’ it’s not as essential as it is here ‘down-south’.
    Wonder what else got left off?
    I agree with comments about cheapy chrome gadgets under the hood, they really do distract. But that’s just me, prefering to see things ‘as vehicle was born with’. Sigh!
    Really like these barges, am selling my ’74, see it in the BF classifieds!

    Like 1
  24. Avatar Stan Marks

    Beautiful boat, Jim. Love the red interior & the red pinstripe. Why are you selling??

    Like 0
    • Avatar Jim Z Member

      Stan Marks, I have another 70’s Eldo (with an El-Camino conversion) and also a ’59 Ambassador restoration taking all my time…and $$$.
      I purchased this Eldo Convertible from an estate, it represented the cars I worked on in the early 70s when first starting out in my career.
      Jim

      Like 0
  25. Avatar Stan Marks

    Jim,
    When I worked at the studios, back in the 70’s, I worked on The Bionic Woman, that guest starred Evel Knievel.I took a picture of the car that carried his jump bikes. It was a white ’75-’76 Caddy El Camino. His vanity plate, from Montana, had EVEL.

    https://i.pinimg.com/736x/cc/e7/7c/cce77c4dfa74124aa31a4cd6256c0c1d–chevy-trucks-pickup-trucks.jpg

    Like 0
  26. Avatar JimZ Member

    Stan, here’s a pic of my ’74 Eldo-Camino. I had the blue canvas cover added last year. Even though my car’s conversion is similar to Evel’s car, I like his rear-window design a bit better. Thanks for his car pic!

    Like 3
  27. Avatar Stan Marks

    Beautiful, Jim. Thanks..
    I took a picture of him, sitting in his white Stuts convert.
    It had all gold interior.

    Like 0

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