The curtain was closing (at least temporarily) for most convertibles in the mid-1970s. Except for Cadillac, the last of General Motors’ drop-tops (except Corvette) were built in 1975. The Caddy Eldorado got a reprieve for another year, and sales jumped by more than half when word got out that the end had come. The seller has a pair of these big ragtops, the primary from 1976 and a running parts car from 1975. You can have them both for $6,200 or $6,700 if sold separately. Located in Renton, Washington, you can view the details and pics here on craigslist. Our thanks again to “Curvette” for tips like these.
Safety concerns, as well as falling sales, led companies like GM to dial down on convertibles. The mid-size cars like the Chevy Chevelle quit offering them in 1972, and the full-size Caprice did its swan song in 1975. Perhaps as a competitive move, the Eldorado stayed around 12 more month,s and sales increased from 8,950 copies in 1975 to 14,000 units in 1976. But the drop-top would return temporarily to the Eldo in 1984/85.
The seller’s pride-and-joy, the white 1976 Eldorado, is for sale due to medical reasons. It has 55,000 miles, but the odometer is broken, so the true numbers are north of there. All these Caddies had a gas-guzzling 500 cubic inch V8 with an automatic transmission. We’re told the land yacht runs well, and the seller has been fixing rust issues. For example, the floorboards are new, and the carpeting will need to be replaced. The battery is bad, so it will take a jump to get it going.
Also replaced is the frame for the convertible top, but it lacks the canvas cover, though the parade boot is there. The tires are good, so that’s an expense you can avoid for new ones. The seller bought a dark blue 1975 Eldo convertible as a parts car, yet we’re told it’s still a “full functional vehicle”. The white Cadillac can be yours for $5,500, and the blue one can be added for just $700 more. Or the seller will let the blue one go by itself for $1,200. The photos lack any look into the passenger compartments.
Man! Just wait till Angel 😇 sees
this one! Now I know you can get
BOGOS at the market, but Eldorados?!! Never! Being the Glass Half Full guy that I am, I’d
take ’em both and restore ’em both as time and funds would allow. And since they both run and drive, I’d get ’em both tagged,
insured, and use ’em both. Of course, the best one of the bunch
would be my semi daily driver till
both cars can be properly assessed as to which one to start
with. And at roughly $3,500 a car, it’s a steal! Sure would be nice to have more pics to really see what it is you’re getting for
your money. I can just see Angel
now, a big smile on her face as she enjoys them both. And with
all that being said, it’s time for your’s truly to get to work on a promo poster for the Grimace,
who’ll be at my store on April 28th
Uncharted territory for me, but
there’s always a first time.
I want the early Saab 900 in the background…..looks to be an ’84 or an ’85……..
i would want to see the repair work on those floors. i have never heard of anybody doing floors in 1 of these caddies. may be able to make money on these but they would need a good looking over
You can get replacement floor panels for the front and rear floors.
The reason there were 14,000 Eldorado convertibles built for 1976 is because that’s how many top mechanisms GM was able to stockpile in 1975 before the supplier exited the business. There was demand for more, but there was no way to build them.
I’m with @SaabGirl900, let’s look at the C900! Interesting that it has body cladding but chrome window moldings vs. black – by 84 all 900 Turbos would have had black moldings. Ok, I’ll show myself out….
Can’t beat the price…