1972 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible 2-door 8.2l Runs Strong W/ Gutted Interior 72 on 2040-cars

Overall:

Recent Work/Repairs by Previous Owner:

Needs Fixed/Problems List from Previous Owner:

Problems I made Notes of:

• Convertible top needs repaired a bit
• Convertible Motors need to be fixed
• Needs a Air Filter
• Passenger side door had to be ripped open
• Door handles on both Sides are missing
• All outside trim is missing along with the hubcaps

With 1972 marking Cadillac's 70th year, one might think that was enough. But it was only the beginning. Cadillac was now the oldest automobile manufacturer in the City of Detroit. A record 267,787 cars were built for the model year, which topped the 1970 record by almost 20,000 cars. Cadillac also surpassed the quarter million mark in 1972, which it had done before back in calendar year 1969, but that included both 1969 and 1970 models. This time, it was 1972 models only. 

The base price on the Fleetwood Eldorado Coupe and Convertible dropped slightly for 1972, as did the cost of many options. The lower prices may have helped spur sales, but it's likely an uninterrupted production cycle may have contributed as much as anything. With production shut down for three months in 1971, dealer stock was tight for much of the model year. It's likely some customers may have waited for things to return to normal before purchasing their next car. 

An unusual order was placed for a Cadillac in May, 1972. It came from The White House. President Richard Nixon wanted a Sable Black Fleetwood Eldorado Coupe to give as a gift from the American people to Soviet Communist Party Secretary Leonid Brezhnev. And he needed it in three days! It seems Brezhnev was a bit of a car enthusiast, and what better gift to receive than a new Cadillac? 

Cadillac Division manufacturing executives rushed to locate a Sable Black Eldorado Coupe with dual red accent stripe on the assembly line or waiting on a lot to be shipped, but couldn't locate anything that would be suitable. Finally, one was located on the receiving dock, just minutes after it had arrived from Fisher Body. The car was literally walked down the assembly line, with every available supervisor on duty to ensure top quality. After being quickly tested on Detroit freeways, the car was detailed at the factory, the trunk was loaded up with extra parts, a set of service manuals, and a few special tools that might be required for future servicing. An assortment of popular 8-track tapes was sent along as well. The car was shipped by truck to Selfridge Air Force Base near Detroit, where it was loaded onto a military transport for its long journey overseas. Nixon arrived in Moscow on May 22nd, and for the first time in history, the American flag flew over the Grand Palace of the Kremlin to mark the visit. It was reported that the gift thrilled Brezhnev. 

A beautiful new Continental Mark IV was introduced in 1972, and it sold a total of 48,591 cars. In its July, 1972 edition, Motor Trend Magazine published "The King of the Hill" by John Lamm. This article pitted a new Eldorado against a new Mark IV. The article started off by stating that both cars had uncomfortable seats, that "ground a tiring ache in the lower part of our backs." That, combined with typical desert crosswinds that the cars reacted to made both uncomfortable to drive for extended periods of time! 

Not off to a great start, are we? The article did mention that both cars were very quiet inside at speed, and that normal conversation was no problem in either. Then they mentioned GM's embedded-in-the-windshield antenna, which they said was worthless in the western United States. 

During the test, staffers who professionally put down the big luxury cars as being too fat and sloppy for their own good, would also come in to borrow the keys for one of the other to take it to lunch. Right. The Eldorado came out on top on this first part of the test, but it was noted that neither car was an unqualified success on the long haul or short run. 

The next part of the test investigated resale value, interior spaciousness, and repair frequency. The Mark led on resale, but the overall outcome was a tie in the opinion of the road test staff. After that came performance and braking ability. The anti-smog equipment was mentioned, along with the reduction in compression, and the Eldorado seemed to have a slight advantage over the Mark in overall performance. Braking, however, was deemed a disappointment in both cars, with the Eldorado even failing to meet expectations on a normal downhill commute through Beverly Hills. The Mark's anti-lock rear brakes malfunctioned, and created the need to correct for a skid. When asked which car staffers preferred to drive, the Eldorado was the winner. 

When asked which car was the best looking, all except one said the Mark IV was the better of the two. One staffer said the Eldorado looked "swollen" and the author, Lamm said he agreed. 

The new Custom Cabriolet roof option was mentioned, and the test Eldorado was equipped with that option combined with a sunroof. It was noted that for the price of the option ($1,005), one would expect a superior sunroof, but all felt they'd driven less expensive cars with sunroofs that were quieter and less breezy. A problem with the cruise control was also noted, which was apparently typical of this design on GM cars of the time, where the speed failed to lock in at the desired setting without a lot of slowing down and speeding up. The Mark IV's speed control engaged smoothly. 

The overall winner, and the car declared "King of the Hill," was the Eldorado. Of the four criteria upon which the cars were judged, the Eldorado won two, tied on a third, and lost only one. However, it was noted that the one section the Eldo lost on was styling and general luxury appeal, two big considerations for a luxury car. On that consideration alone, the magazine noted that perhaps that made the Mark IV the grass roots winner, for these cars are frequently purchased based on their looks and little else, and in that respect the Mark was the clear winner. 

The article closed with a notation that neither car was found to be particularly luxurious, and bemoaned the fact that Detroit has denied Americans the likes of an American-made car to compare with Mercedes, Jaguar, and BMW. It was mentioned that if you were to approach many American businessmen while driving a Mercedes, they'd likely not be thrilled to do business with you, so their advice was to go out to the airport and rent a Ford before the meeting!

When GM's full-size cars were redesigned for 1971, the Eldorado regained both a convertible model and its fender skirts. The 126.3-inch (3,210 mm) wheelbase version of the Eldorado would run through 1978, receiving facelifts in 1973 and 1975. The Eldorado, Riviera and Toronado shared the redesigned E-body chassis. However, as before, Eldorado and Toronado were front-wheel drive, while the Riviera (which underwent three design changes in the same timeframe, including a temporary switch to the B-body platform for 1977) was rear-wheel drive. Sales set a new record at 27,368.Although the door glass on all Eldorados remained frameless, the hardtop rear quarter windows were deleted, replaced by a fixed "opera window" in the widened "C" pillar. In 1972 sales rose to 40,074.With model year 1973 the Eldorado was removed from the Fleetwood series and reestablished as its own series.The Cadillac Eldorado was chosen as the pace car for the Indy 500 in 1973. Cadillac produced 566 of these special pace car convertibles. Thirty-three were used at the track during the race week and the remaining 513 cars were distributed to the U.S. Cadillac dealers (one for each dealership), which were then sold to the general public. Total sales soared to 51,451. Eldorados now accounted for over a sixth of all Cadillac sales.

This generation of Eldorados produced between 1971 and 1978 were sometimes customized as seen in films like Dolemite,Superfly, Highwaymen, The Mack, Willie Dynamite, (the customized Eldorado seen in Willie Dynamite is similar to the one seen in Magnum Force) and even the James Bond film Live and Let Die. An Eldorado was also used in Rob Zombie's second film, The Devil's Rejects as the car that the character Charlie drove. Customizers such as Les Dunham Coachworks had modified brand-new Eldorados with headlight covers (commonly known as Superfly headlights), grille caps, a 1941 goddess hood ornament, lake pipes, and thick-padded vinyl tops, usually with circular porthole windows.

This generation of Eldorado is differentiated further from its E-body Oldsmobile Toronado sibling by the fact that it was available through 1976 as a convertible, as well as two-door hardtop. The car grew in size and weight, but the 500 Cad motor lost horsepower every year due to ever tightening emission standards and crude emissions equipment. Performance was dulled but not ruined, though fuel economy sank to new lows. Interestingly, the 1973 Cadillac Eldorado convertible was chosen as the Indianapolis 500 Pace Car for 1973. 566 of these were built, 33 of which were used on the track and the remaining cars were sold (one for each dealership). The final 200 1976 Eldorado convertibles were designated as Bicentennial Specials, colored in white with red and blue pinstripes. In 1976, the Biarritz name once again surfaced as an options package, including a brushed stainless roof appliqu'e which mirrored that of the original four-door 1957-1958 Eldorado Broughams.

Since this is not up for auction you will be required to put a down payment of $500.00 right after you commit to buy or after I accept an offer made. Once we figure out shipping or meeting up then you can pay the remained of the balance through PayPal or if we are meeting up then you can wait to give me cash at that time. If you back out of this sale for no good reason then I can decide to keep your down payment if we feel cheated. Please keep this in mind before buying it now or making offers. 

As for shipping you have 2 options of going about collecting your new Classic Cadillac Eldorado Convertible. 

#1 - You can pick the car up from our garage in Philadelphia, PA 19134 either way you work out transportation wise.

#2 - The Cadillac can be delivered to your doorstep, garage, or shop or wherever, in the Continental United States of America, for a resonable deliverary fee of $1 to no more then $2 dollars a mile, one way. Yes, only from our garage to the location is what you'll be charged for. Now the final fee is dependent on a number of factors that will be decided upon before hand. After confirming the miles, time and equipment needed, we then require half of the cost of the delivery before we leave. This option includes anywhere in all states except Hawaii and Alaska.