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Yellow Gold: 1973 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible

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While this 1973 Eldorado convertible needs some work to be roadworthy, the seller has already done some of the work prior to having to sell the project due to illness. It’s located in Chico, California and is for sale here on eBay with a low buy-it-now of just $1,500.

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The bumpers, sheet metal and grille all appear pretty straight and intact. I don’t see any rust, but I do wonder where the fender skirts are. One advantage of this particular car is that I think it pre-dates the notoriously fragile GM pieces of plastic that they used to fill the gaps between the bumpers and rear corners of the car. I’ve seen a lot of Cadillacs from this era with broken corners!

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Yes, the top needs some work! Maybe it can be temporarily patched while you start on the car, but eventually I would think you’d want to replace it. Unless, of course, the car would live in your garage with the top down except for sunny days; that sounds pretty good to me! I’m glad the seller chose to show this side of the top in a picture as the passenger side looks good to go. I was surprised to find tops as inexpensive as they are here for this car, including either plastic or glass rear windows.

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The interior is probably only good for patterns, although I suppose a dedicated home restorer could piece these seats back together with some new sections. The steering wheel would need some refurbishment work, but again this can be done to a decent standard by the home restorer with some effort.

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I’m really hoping the back seat and rear side panels were taken out to be stored somewhere else due to the back window being out. If not, sourcing them may be somewhat troublesome, especially with matching upholstery colors and type, and it’s hard to tell whether that discoloration is rust or just seat remnants. The seller tells us that the car has 83,686 miles and has already had new brakes and tires fitted. Unfortunately, they removed the intake manifold on the 502 cubic inch V8 for some undisclosed reason so the car is a non-runner. Do you think this huge convertible is worth resurrecting?

Comments

  1. Avatar Jason Houston

    I don’t know what it is about these, and I would never own one, but I’m very attracted to them none the less. Considering all the tasteless fluff from the 1970s, I always felt this is a stand-out example of really good styling execution.

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  2. Avatar ydnar

    Dirty Mary and Crazy Larry?

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    • Avatar Jason Houston

      Don’t know who those folks are…

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  3. Avatar kman

    I would love one of these and the Calif. yellow is perfect. It’s not the cost of the top, it’s the cost of fitting it unless you know something about that business. As you say, hopefully the back seats, et. al. are available but I would consider a completely new upholstery job.

    I wonder if an edelbrock intake and carb set up would work. Guess it depends on which cars shared that block. Maybe the seller has it around somewhere. Always wanted a ’56 – 59 bit this is very nice as well.

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  4. Avatar piper62j

    Jason… Hint…. Clint Eastwood

    Not bad for a big boy… Lots of comfort and I believe the parts are available.. You’ll need a good upholstery shop.. Don’t worry about the gas mileage..

    Nice find.. Nice car.

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  5. Avatar dbigb1 Member

    more like boss hogg than dirty mary crazy lary just add bull horns to the hood

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  6. Avatar Roseland Pete

    That was a rough 84k miles.

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  7. Avatar David Wilk Member

    Dirty Mary and Crazy Larry is a 1974 car chase movie with Peter Fonda, among others. The bad guys outrun the cops first in a Chevy Impala but the action really is about the 69 Dodge Charger they switch to later in the film. It’s based on a book from 1963 called The Chase. A really good story about it in Wikipedia here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_Mary,_Crazy_Larry

    If you like muscle cars this is a must-see movie, though there are many better films about or involving cars.

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    • Avatar Jason Houston

      Thanks, David. Would anyone disagree “It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World” is the greatest car film of all time?

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      • Avatar St.Ramone de V8

        Oh ya!! I watch that thing any time it shows up on the tube. The scene with Dick Shawn launching that Dodge convertible…..so many Stars, so many cars. Loved it.

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  8. Avatar MountainMan

    Looks like a pretty decent place to start especially for the money. Being born in ’73 I always look for vehicles from 1973 that I would want to own. This big drop top Caddy is one for sure. Yeah, it needs some work and dollars invested for sure but would make a nice sunny day cruiser for not a lot of coin. The body appears solid from what I can see so the mechanical issues will need immediate attention and it could at least be enjoyed on sunny days while sourcing a replacement top and tackling the interior. Hopefully the seller has the back seat. I would look for a donor interior and see if maybe a decent front and rear seat could be found. The shot showing a door panel is encouraging. They could possibly be saved or at least work for a while until replacements are obtained. Overall I see lots of potential and would gladly captain this barge. There are not many cars from 73 that have the style of this Eldorado

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  9. Avatar piper62j

    David.. Thanks for the info.. I’d never seen the movie ’cause I’m not a fan of Peter Fonda as an actor..

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  10. Avatar Marty Member

    I don’t remember a ’73 Eldorado in ‘Dirty Mary Crazy Larry’, but one is shown in the closing scenes of the Clint Eastwood-Jeff Bridges 1974 classic ‘Thunderbolt and Lightfoot’. Although the movie is better known in the car world for the ’73 Plymouth Fury with a trunk full of rabbits, the ’74 Riviera, and the ’51 Mercury.

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  11. Avatar Marty Member

    Here’s one I had a few years ago. The color was called “saturn bronze poly”, with white vinyl interior. The body-color hubcaps weren’t correct for the year, but what the heck.

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    • Avatar DW

      Love that color Larry. Was that an original color?

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  12. Avatar DW

    Im hugely attracted to this body style too. The problem is, I can see myself spending hundreds of hours making her very pretty… but THEN what do I do with it? There’s only so many parades where they need a car for the parade queen. And the 502 isn’t exactly a good engine for grocery getting in the ‘burbs.

    Therefore I’ll have to go with the ol’ “just because it’s a great looking car” which is wearing thin with the wife after tripping over 3 or 4 “almost” great looking cars on her way down the driveway to get to her minivan lol.

    Btw, lack of back seats is no problem. That’s where you put the 8 subwoofers and amps plus extra capacitors and batteries to power the air pumps for the low rider system – saves the trunk for the groceries.

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  13. Avatar Jason Houston

    St.Ramone de V8:

    There used to be a very dedicated car group in LA that held the “Smiler Grogan Reunion” every year. 90% of the event was discussing detail flaws with the cars and favorite lines in the script. Mine was (and still is) Buddy Hackett’s, “Look, we figgered it 17 different ways, and no matter which way we figgered it, somebody didn’t like the way we figgered it. So, there’s only one way left to figger it, and that’s every man – including the Old Bag – for himself!”

    When I taught Traffic Violator School in Palm Springs I always had the opening scenes playing on the monitor at the start of class, since that scene was filmed less than 5 miles away.

    Anyone else have favorite lines from MMMMW?

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