My 1975 Eldorado Convertible

The Eldorado has always been Cadillac's flagship. In 1967 Cadillac introduced its first front wheel drive Eldorado. This is the second generation FWD Eldorado, produced in Convertible body style from 1971 till 1976, and in Coupe body style from 1971 till 1978. These vehicles were the ultimate personal luxury car back in the seventies, and even today they have an aura of distinction and self-confidence, and maybe a very slight touch of arrogance. After all, who else but an prosperous Cadillac owner would have thought of driving a car, whose enormous 500 cubic inch engine (the largest engine ever used in a production automobile) drinks about 1 gallon of fuel for every 8 miles it does, right after the Arabs had closed off the oil supply to the western world? The 1975 Eldorado was facelifted from its 1974 predecessor and rendered more sporty looking. The rear fender skirts were lost and the car received -- just like all the other 1975 Cadillacs -- dual rectangular head lamps.

I found this car rather by coincidence. On an evening in the week I drove by a new dealership in my neighborhood. Pickup trucks and vans were the dealership's main business, but as I drove by, I noticed inside the shop the rear end of something that looked suspiciously a lot like a 1975 or 1976 Eldorado. I did not have time to stop that evening, but the next Saturday morning, I was talking to the dealer. The Eldorado was for sale but the price was a little bit on the high side. However, after some bargaining the car was mine.

It looked pretty filthy when I first got it, both inside and outside. But water, soap and a lot of scrubbing  can do wonders and after a full weekend of cleaning, the Eldorado looked very flashy. The only thing it needed were four new tires.

The mid-1970s Cadillacs are not very renowned for excellent performance, and this particular car was no exception to that rule. All kinds of emission systems had choked down the 500 cubic inch monster and it was really sad to feel how a potentially enormous powerful engine was being strangled. After doing some research I decided to raise the engine's compression ratio and install a hotter camshaft. The difference was noticeable, especially in the lower revs, but it was not quite what I had expected. Things started to improve drastically when I examined the exhaust system. The double wall exhaust pipes that Cadillac used in the seventies are prone to collapsing. This is exactly what had happened with the left hand side exhaust pipe on this car. After having repaired the exhaust pipe, the car has become very powerful and makes an excellent cruiser.

According to its body plate, the car was originally painted Roan Brown (code 69), but one of the previous owners must have given the Eldo its beautiful dark blue tint afterwards. The paint job is very professionally done, even the pinstriping is correct. The car has very few options, which is quite uncommon for a top of the line car as the Eldorado is. The only option on my car is the right hand side remote control rear view mirror. However, since the car is an Eldorado convertible, it came standard with leather interior, power seat, power door locks, power windows, power top, power steering, power brakes, automatic level control and electronic climate control.

Bonus: The Second Generation Front Wheel Drive Eldorado
(Click on an image to see the full size version.)

Convertibles

Coupes

1971	1972	1973	1974
1975	1976	1977	1978

If you want to download some pictures of my 1975 Eldorado Convertible, just go to the Picture Gallery.

Last edited on February 6th 1999 by Rik Gruwez
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