@@jamesweddle184 My father had a 1991/1992 Eldorado. Mind you, it was an amazing car and in comparison a much younger Mercedes Benz felt like a tin box to drive in (97 E-Class).
In 1980 we had a senior mechanic at Bland Cadillac in Houston who had a home machine shop. He would snatch up any 500 or 472 V8 he could find from totalled 68 - 76 Cadillacs and rebuild them if necessary to max out horsepower and sold them as fast as he could crank them out. Never told me who was buying them - like me he loved the older vehicles - we had many pleasurable hours of conversation reminiscing about the good old days. In remembrance Bob J.
Before diesel pickups the 500 Cadillac was a good towing motor. They are limited in rpm, but under 3,500 rpm is adequate. The 500 is relatively light weight
The 1968 was the BEST year of this four-year styling era. The 1968 model gave you the all-new 472cid engine with 375hp, Dual exhaust option, longer hood with hidden wipers, square classic Cadillac mirrors, hidden headlamps, new Cadillac logo, parking lamps in the front fenders, and the best version of the razor blade taillamps. You can keep the '67, '69, and '70 models. I won't even mention the '71 through '78 models. They were just another Cadillac model with nothing sporty or unique about their styling.
Not to mention the the dashboard designs used in the 1967 and the slightly different 1968 design. Much better looking than the cheap looking dash and no color keyed steering wheel offered in 1969-70
Of course, what passed for "bucket seats" in those days were not much different from the split bench seats that were always available, so half of it was semantics.
Indeed...! The '71 looks obviously fatter than the '70. I guess part of me still doesn't believe the author; I'd have to research the stats to confirm that.
GM actually began using Monoleaf rear suspension on the ChevyII / Nova in the early 1960's. On another note, I never understood the "partial frame" concept, not befitting a Cadillac of old. Cadillac engines were really great in this era.
Yes! And don't look anything at all like each other! Both beautiful. GM was at the top of their game then. They are a shadow of what they once were. Olds and Pontiac gone; Buick reduced to marketer of boring Chinese SUVs.
Imagine if the EPA never existed and these engines were able to be improved over time. Imagine the 8.2 liter with direct injection, variable timing, variable intake, a cold-air intake tube, and made out of aluminum!!!!! Holy crap they would literally shred the tires off!!
Most everything the EPA forced to help hydrocarbon emissions was for the good and we probably never would have seen manufacturing costs drop low enough for producing and machining aluminum to gain performance, efficient fuel injection systems (even GDI), or VVT/VVL systems so they could make it to light vehicles. That said, every single thing pushed by the EPA to reduce nitrogens of oxides emissions killed power and fuel mileage so they can keep their EGR systems and low compression engines with retarded ignition timing.
@greggc8088 it has come at n enormous cost. Todays DI engines are in the tens of thousands. Turbos add to the problem. With safety regs, costs are unaffordable. Have you looked at the sticker on a new car lately? Even used clapped out pieces of trash cost 5k or more. Ill take leaded gas over this
Thank you. I like the "Top 10" format and your usual formats. You are a "Rare" and perhaps "Classic" CZcams content creator: no "click bait," no hystrionics and political intrusion. Keep up the good work.
I enjoy this format and it is great fun learning more interesting facts about these awesome cars. Hard to imagine the '70 and '71 are the same size - the '70 looks so sharp and elegant, while the '71 appears enormous and bloated in comparison.
Back on the 90s I saw a program where these two guys bought a 8.2L sedan Deville. They tuned it out and took it to a drag strip. Ran it down the 1/4 mile, came back, cut off the rear doors and ran it again. Shaved an entire second of their E.T.. And after every run, they would cut something else off. It ended up being a rolling chasis and drive train with a seat and a steering wheel. I think they were running in the 13s when it was over. I guess it was a fun way to show how power to weight ratio works and just how heavy those Cadillacs were.
To me, this car has one of the most beautiful designs ever. But I bet it was thirsty with that 8.2 liter engine. I remember talking to a guy who was a parole officer about 1972. He spoke of a gang of kids who stole exclusively Eldorados. They knew how to bypass the security and they were so little they had to climb on top of each other to get in the car. Great initiative and ingenuity if only it could be properly channeled. I always appreciate your presentations.
The 67-70 design is by far the best, but the next two generations were decent-looking. The downsized 86 model was a complete turd tho and killed the model imo
Nice to see two cars featured in this video that once belonged to me: The Lucerne Aqua Firemist/white top and bucket seat car (pics were taken in my driveway for the listing on Bring a Trailer, where I sold the car about three years ago). I believe it had 23K miles at the time. And, Adam’s Black/red slicktop ‘67 was also mine for a few years. I sold it about ten years ago and knew the interim owners until Adam bought it. Of course, I always have at least one of these. In my view, the most beautiful Cadillac ever made. My current ‘67 is an Atlantis Blue Firemist slick top with dark blue leather.
I've always suspected the suspension would be designed to give a sportier ride for this model. Kind of a subtle "clapback" to the banker's hotrod.. We like this format and appreciate all that you do! Your channel is gold..
Dad had a 1972 Eldorado. I remember him telling the story that some kid with a hopped-up V8 tried to race him from a stoplight. Dad said he just pushed the pedal down and left the kid in his dust.
I love watching your video's because you are so detailed on the cars you cover. I remember seeing these big cars back in the day, thinking there is no way people are going to want to collect these cars. They will all go to the junkyard once people are done driving. LOL How wrong I was. I actually like these big yachts now, probably because I'm older (47). LOL
My dad's 66 New Yorker had bucket seats similar to that with a semi-console in between them. I think that was a relatively rare option on the 66 New Yorker.
I used to see Novas and Camaros crabbing down the street when they got old, nothing too serious, but the clamps that held the rear axle to the springs seemed to loosen up. I though at least some Novas had multiple layers of leaf spring, though they might have used single leafs on the base model. When that suspension was re-used for the '76 Seville, they put liners, Mylar or Teflon or something, between the leafs to keep them from squeaking.
@@pcno2832 I remember Novas with single leafs, and with multiple leafs. I got a ‘78 Nova for my stepson, and it had multi-leaf springs. My sister had a ‘76 or possibly ‘75 dark blue Nova, bought brand new, and I liked it. She was killed in that car by a couple of dickhead drunks, and I don’t remember for sure, but think it was multi-leaf rear axle. She didn’t have that car all that long….she was killed in October of ‘76.
Many first-generation Nova/Chevy IIs had mono leaf rear suspension, but that was a much smaller vehicle, and certainly not luxury. Always enjoy your channel.
Back in the mid 80s I had the occasion to drive a '76 Cadillac Coupe DeVille. Amazing fuel economy, at 5.5 mpg! It did ride smoothly, however, and had gobs of torque to launch it off the line away from traffic lights. Felt like you were stopping a train to stop at an intersection, and did indeed tip the scales at 5050 pounds.
Of my 80+ vehicles only owned one '76 Eldorado a beautiful '76 Conv. / Canary Yellow With Camal Top & Interior! A Toronto Blue Jays pitcher bought it for his Dad, NICE KID!!
I too am amazed that the '71 was the same length as a 70. In '74 I bought a beautiful light Mediterranean blue with white top and interior '71 (like the '71 convertible shown) . The front wheel drive was amazing. I got stuck going down a steep loose gravel drive which was almost perpendicular and had to back up to get out. The car just backed up without skipping a stone.!!! I ended up selling it cause I was going to college and it didnt want to park such a beautiful car with the terrible parking. Although it handled great, the ride was not nearly as soft as my then father in laws '72 Thunderbird which too was a large coupe.
I worked in the parts department at one Cadillac in Phoenix in the mid 90s and the owner of our dealership was Bob one who was president of Cadillac motivation from 1962 until 1973. We were the world‘s largest exclusive Cadillac dealership and if you need it old Cadillac parts, you called me! Bob is a great guy.❤😊
Had a 60,000 mile ‘70 Eldorado in the mid 1980s, fun car to drive with the ability to annihilate the front tires at will. Pretty impressive top end speed as well although the 120 mph speedometer was a bit of a letdown.
Love your videos! I'd love to see one on the 79 (I'm not sure of the year model but the 79 looks closest) Olds Delta 88. My grandma had one for pretty much my entire childhood, bench seats front and back, four door. My sister called it the "Lead Sled" because it was silver. Those were very reliable cars and their size made them safe for grandma's. Keep up the great work!
The 67 Firebird had two mono leafs out back . I was big into the second gen T/A's. A coworker had an originally 67 400 convertible . Really cool first year bird .
There are sources/opinions that about the same era/time horsepower ratings were calculated differently beginning around 1971. I'm not sure of what they did however, a 1970 350-4V V8 had 300 HP and in 1971 it was 270 HP then in 1973 250 HP. At some point later, the 350 V8 was down to 150 HP, possible in their trucks. In any regard, today's Cadillacs don't come close to the smooth elegant ride that these old "boats" had. There was much room, comfort, plush, space etc. while today's products are more set up for sport ride, firm seats and much less room. Completely different vehicles today.
For 1971 GM mandated that all their cars had to be able to run on unleaded fuel, so the actual power output of many of their engines dropped. I believe Cadillac's compression ratio was about 8.5 to 1 for 1970 and 10 to 1 for 1971.
@@pcno2832 High compression was used in the 1960's up through 1970. In 1971/1972, compression ratios were dropped to 8.50:1. Unleaded fuel didn't start until 1975 and catalytic converters were equipped. They did change cams by 1973 and by then came the smog add-on equipment such as A.I.R. pumps, EGR etc. Even so, there are people/sources who claim the reason for the big power drops were related to the methods of measuring HP. I'm not so sure about that but that's what is being claimed. I know for sure HP suffered big in the real world so, when they went from 300 HP to 250 HP, you noticed it. That pretty much eliminates their theory.
Thanks again for your always incisive descriptions of cars so many of us fondly remember and still admire and collect. You explained a puzzlement I always had as a child. My dad’s best friend had a beautiful triple dark blue ‘70 Eldorado, and it had a remarkably rough and noisy ride on less than perfect streets. We had a beautiful ‘72 Thunderbird-Ginger Glow with white alligator grain top and hopsack ginger bucket seat interior. I knew our Ford wasn’t as expensive a car as the Cadillac, but I was always amazed at how much quieter and smoother riding the Thunderbird was.
A number of these aspects were also on the 66-70 Toronado as you noted. On my 68 I bought and installed the 2 small quad horizontal shocks for the rear suspension setup which was similar & had the leaf springs. The horizontal units were still available in the late 70s at the dealer. The rear power windows on my Toronado also went into the pillar but only slightly so, & then tilted forward while sliding down below. As you know the Toronado also offered its transmission set up to the Eldorado thus they both had basically flat floors front and rear. The Toronado also had the torsion bars up front. My 68 Tornado had the single horizontally mounted muffler that was on both the dual and the single exhaust versions so it was pretty easy to add dual exhaust by replacing the rear muffler with the dual unit. The ride of the Toronado was still, by even the standards of the late 70s, (I drove a 1972 Cadillac Deville as well) quite comfy, & it was relatively at least, pretty smooth & did not seem particularly rough to me. of course in 68 the ride was softened up a bit since customers were complaining about it being stiffer than a luxury machine should be. As you know in 1970 the Toronado had the W34 option available (and also for the previous years in 69 & 68) which put the hp at 400 instead of 375 with better breathing and a hotter cam.
Thanks, Adam! I really appreciate these auto-education pieces. My neighbor growing up ordered a new Eldorado every year. As kids we always gathered around to see what her new color would be. I remember thinking, as she drove up in the 1971, that the design had gone retro. It almost had some 1973 design incorporated. I was only 14 at the time, but I still thinks that today.
7:29 Having the glass retract into the sail panel seems like a good idea, but it's too bad they didn't use the extra space under the sill to increase the elbow room for the rear passengers. 11:25 This is a nice view of what made the "totally flat floor" possible; it was really hiding a lot of wasted space. A floor contoured around the frame , springs, and exhaust system would have made the car less elegant but roomier; the 1979 redesign, which required 2 mats, did exactly that.
I recall some of those early Eldo's had a "suck-box" that would drop the power to the a/c compressor clutch after the intake manifold vacuum fell below a certain value for a period of time. It had a calibrated orifice to bleed off the vacuum slowly and the diaphragm failed occasionally causing a total loss of cooling. Though terribly vague in the steering, these were fun and powerful to drive. The first, early 500s would carbon-up fairly easily and develop a "rod-knock" if not taken out and driven hard (flogged, we used to say) once in a while. My then--boss bought a 3, or 4 yr old car that "needed an engine" for pennies on the dollar and a couple of quarts of water poured down the part-throttle Quadra-jet later, he had a great car for some years to come.
My parents had a gold 1970 El Dorado Cadillac coup with a gold leather interior and white vinyl top. My dad liked the color since El Dorado meant in Spanish the Golden, referring to a city of gold. We had it to haul a 30 ft travel trailer over half of the US and Canada. In addition because of the gas shortage, my dad had rigged it up to also take propane too. With the tank in the trunk all we had to do was flip a switch under the dash board and we had an extra full tank to go. We didn't have to worry about odd and even days. My parents Cad also had electric back windows with a lock switch at the main controls on the driver's door. I remember this quite well because when we would travel though hot places like the desert, my dad would lock the windows and turn on the AC. Problem was he would fire up his pipe and wouldn't let me roll down my side of the window because of the hot air outside. He tried to convince me that the AC was circulating the smoke out, but I still complained. It was cool to be able to burn rubber from the front tires. One thing I remember about the car was it had such a long hood. We didn't have a center console , it was just an armrest. It was a good car till it broke down and nobody was able to fix it. A lot of great memories with that car. Thanks!
The 70 Eldorado is my favorite year, I had a 70 Eldorado and a 70 Fleetwood Brougham both in cinnamon firemist. I don't recall the heated seat option in the 70 but if I remember correctly it was available in 69, a very rare option like the sunroof.
As always, Adam, a superior job. Always look forward to your work. 1) The retractable rear windows were also on the 1967 thru 1971 Thunderbird, when such cars were not equipped with the factory Landau roof. 2) Buckets and Console are exceedingly RARE on 67 thru 70 Eldorado, and also, there are 4 known examples with an Oldsmobile style full length operating console with floor shift. Cadillac dealers did their level best to discourage ordering stuff like this, as they felt it was "hot rod kids stuff" and not proper for a mature, wealthy clientele. Most likely, they didn't want cars coming back after being driven hard. 3) The 1969 Cadillac steering wheel was a "Rim-Blow" design, where you honked the horn by squeezing the steering wheel rim. There was a flood of complaints from (mostly) upper middle class housewives that they would be in an emergency situation and slamming their fist into the steering wheel, with no results. Hence, the hasty 1970 redesign, which looks like it was done very quickly (because it was) to alleviate this customer complaint. The 1969 wheel was initially supposed to be used thru 1970 as well. Many 1969 wheels were modified for more conventional horn actuation. 4) The 1970 was supposed to have dual exhaust all the way back, but, as you can see, it's dual to the muffler with a single outlet. Again, referring to #2 above, that was "hot rod kids stuff." 5) The 8.2 was capable of churning out 600 horsepower with a full, quiet exhaust and hydraulic lifters. GM was terrified of the bad press from the safety nerds and discouraged Cadillac from extracting this much. Even in later, Clean Air Act years, with low compression and unleaded fuels, the 8.2 could've blasted out way more than it did, as you've seen on your cars. Driveway tweaks unleash at least 50 to 75 horsepower. One Cadillac engine builder has a 472 ( the 472, 500, 425 and 368 were the same "engine family") with around 800 horsepower running unleaded pump gas, cats, and full exhaust. 6) Finally, the 500 was in advance response to rumors that Ford was working on (and did have ready but never released) a 514 cubic inch variant of the Lincoln 460 with about 400 horsepower. That engine wound up in slightly detuned form in Super Duty trucks and the 460 would soldier on in its regular form thru the 1978 model year.
Always appreciate the informal yet professional style of your delivery. I can’t stand the other channels where the guys come on like smarmy game show hosts or out of control nuts.
These cars had the best front seat ever for stretching your legs out on long trips. The 1970 500 V-8 was rated @ 400 gross horsepower which somewhat equilivates to approximately 270 net horsepower. 1970 was the only Year to offer 10:00 to 1 compression on the 500. In 1971 it was switched to 8.5 to 1 to be able to run on 91 octane unleaded gasoline resulting in 365 gross horsepower. In 1972 net ratings brought it to 235 horsepower with it's factory single exhaust. Ironically the 1972 Oldsmobile 455 V-8 in the Tornado got 250 net horsepower with dual exhaust.
The first time I ever saw the 70 Eldo was in a magazine advertisement. I was early in high school around 1980 just before I learned to drive and I was researching a paper in our school library periodicals section. In one of the old magazines I had to stop and look at the ad for the 1970 Cadillac Eldo. It was a stunning car and thankfully Cadillac didn’t screw up the original 1967 design too much like Buick and Olds did for later years of this generation of car. The 1967’s front end is still the best but the 1970 ain’t bad.
Hello, Great Video Thanks. My 1970 Eldorado Had a Tilt and Telescoping Steering Wheel And it also had the Large Moon Roof . To this day I have never seen like the one I had in 1975.😂
GM passenger cars and trucks circa 1966-1977 invariably shared a jewel-like faceted aesthetic on the front clip. This is very noticeable on the hood edge and corners. Sometimes it is subtle over the quad headlights, as seen on the 1970 Impala/Caprice and 1973 Caprice. If you look from above at the nose and tail of GM cars from this era, you'll notice the silhouette shape of a castle battlement as seen from the perspective of one corner at ground level and looking up. These designers were artists.
GM spent so much time and money on the rest of the car. By the time they got to the rear suspension, they just used the cheapest and easiest thing they could find
I love your channel, you have some beautiful cars ! One small request: please when you quote dimensions (usually HUGE for me as a European 😯) , please display them on the screen in meters, it would be a great help. Thank you !
I think you meant " And one piece floor mat" in the note at 3:42, the beauty that it is. That view of the rear seat in the 7:42 does not look very deluxe, but I guess if you are rolling an Eldo, then you aren't chauffeuring extra passengers very often. I'm not sure if I would call those "bucket" seats, more like Barcelona seats maybe. While I appreciate these survey clips, I miss the detail reviews of cars from your fleet. Have you covered all of them or just waiting for the return of summer? How many jewels do you have in your inventory anyway?
Number 10 : I wonder if the presence of the 1971 Eldorado's wheel skirt in the rear enhanced the rear fenders' appearance of length compared to the 70's open well, breaking up the fenders look. I dont know if the 71's skirts were standard, though.
Thank you Adam. I loved hearing the Toronado and Oldsmobile facts mentioned in the video. I swear you can see the 1971-1978 Toronado in the 1967-1970 Eldorado. It is clear Eldorado influence Oldsmobile Toronado. The engineers and designers at Cadillac had imagination and forward thinking world class luxury with V-12's and other things.
Thanks, Adam, for the great video. I love your idea of top 10 interesting facts. For me, the 67-70 Eldorados are the pinnacle of American automotive design and I think my fave is the 1970. I prefer the exposed headlights and just love the rear taillight design of this car. It’s sad that GM became so focused on cutting costs. They cheapened what was, at that time, a world class vehicle. Awesome channel!!
Today's Cadillacs may be faster and handle better, but they do not have the style nor presence of the first gen Eldorado.
I have a newer Cadillac XT5 as my dailey. I love it but w/ 20" wheels its fairly stiff. I wish they kept the XTS & went pure luxury w/ it.
This is the eighth generation, Eldorado man.
@@dustin_4501EXACTLY. Thank you.
@@douglasb.1203 You're welcome.
@@dustin_4501 8th? How do you figure? 2nd or 3rd., maybe...sorta.
That black beauty shown for the first thirty seconds is a work of art.
It IS gorgeous!
Cadillac definitely changed the Eldo from year to year, but they never improved it. The 67 will always be the definitive Eldo in my eyes.
The 1967 eldorado is the bomb diggity 🎉❤
@@jamesweddle184 My father had a 1991/1992 Eldorado. Mind you, it was an amazing car and in comparison a much younger Mercedes Benz felt like a tin box to drive in (97 E-Class).
In 1980 we had a senior mechanic at Bland Cadillac in Houston who had a home machine shop. He would snatch up any 500 or 472 V8 he could find from totalled 68 - 76 Cadillacs and rebuild them if necessary to max out horsepower and sold them as fast as he could crank them out. Never told me who was buying them - like me he loved the older vehicles - we had many pleasurable hours of conversation reminiscing about the good old days. In remembrance Bob J.
Before diesel pickups the 500 Cadillac was a good towing motor. They are limited in rpm, but under 3,500 rpm is adequate. The 500 is relatively light weight
They work great in a GMC Motorhome
@@timothykeith1367They use them on the big airboats. Ride in one in the Everglades
Those motors were grunt muscle with boatloads of torque. They were great for heavy hauling & towing.
The 1967 Eldorado would have to be one of my favorite cars of all time - absolutely beautiful.
The 1967 had the old 429 but the 1968 had new venerable 472 with similar styling but a not as nice of an interior. Tradeoffs.....
The 1968 was the BEST year of this four-year styling era. The 1968 model gave you the all-new 472cid engine with 375hp, Dual exhaust option, longer hood with hidden wipers, square classic Cadillac mirrors, hidden headlamps, new Cadillac logo, parking lamps in the front fenders, and the best version of the razor blade taillamps. You can keep the '67, '69, and '70 models. I won't even mention the '71 through '78 models. They were just another Cadillac model with nothing sporty or unique about their styling.
Not to mention the the dashboard designs used in the 1967 and the slightly different 1968 design. Much better looking than the cheap looking dash and no color keyed steering wheel offered in 1969-70
I agree 💯%> those taillights and hidden headlights were spectacular
I never would have guessed that the 1971 Eldorado was the same length as the 1970 model! Ooh, and bucket seats!
Of course, what passed for "bucket seats" in those days were not much different from the split bench seats that were always available, so half of it was semantics.
Indeed...! The '71 looks obviously fatter than the '70. I guess part of me still doesn't believe the author; I'd have to research the stats to confirm that.
I don't believe it
GM actually began using Monoleaf rear suspension on the ChevyII / Nova in the early 1960's. On another note, I never understood the "partial frame" concept, not befitting a Cadillac of old.
Cadillac engines were really great in this era.
I think they just used that layout because Olds had already designed it.
67 Eldo and 66 Toro are absolutely gorgeous!
Pretty 😍😍😍
Yes! And don't look anything at all like each other! Both beautiful. GM was at the top of their game then. They are a shadow of what they once were. Olds and Pontiac gone; Buick reduced to marketer of boring Chinese SUVs.
Without question, the most beautiful post-war Cadillac.
I used to drive a 74’ Eldo Convertible white with Red leather interior 💗🤩
The eldorados ride quality is probably one of the reasons the Continental mark 3 did so well
Terrible ride for a Cadillac
Imagine if the EPA never existed and these engines were able to be improved over time.
Imagine the 8.2 liter with direct injection, variable timing, variable intake, a cold-air intake tube, and made out of aluminum!!!!! Holy crap they would literally shred the tires off!!
I wish they would never have existed. I believe that we would have cleaned up fine without it.
Yes, you just gave us a pretty fair description of the hot rod hobby.
Most everything the EPA forced to help hydrocarbon emissions was for the good and we probably never would have seen manufacturing costs drop low enough for producing and machining aluminum to gain performance, efficient fuel injection systems (even GDI), or VVT/VVL systems so they could make it to light vehicles. That said, every single thing pushed by the EPA to reduce nitrogens of oxides emissions killed power and fuel mileage so they can keep their EGR systems and low compression engines with retarded ignition timing.
@greggc8088 it has come at n enormous cost. Todays DI engines are in the tens of thousands. Turbos add to the problem. With safety regs, costs are unaffordable. Have you looked at the sticker on a new car lately? Even used clapped out pieces of trash cost 5k or more. Ill take leaded gas over this
@@henrystowe6217 Preaching to the choir.
Thank you. I like the "Top 10" format and your usual formats. You are a "Rare" and perhaps "Classic" CZcams content creator: no "click bait," no hystrionics and political intrusion. Keep up the good work.
Thanks very much! Much appreciated!
Oh, how I love those GMC motorhomes!
Early Novas & Camaro/Firebirds used momoleaf springs. Especially with weaker powertrains (sixes & small V8s.)
I enjoy this format and it is great fun learning more interesting facts about these awesome cars. Hard to imagine the '70 and '71 are the same size - the '70 looks so sharp and elegant, while the '71 appears enormous and bloated in comparison.
Back on the 90s I saw a program where these two guys bought a 8.2L sedan Deville. They tuned it out and took it to a drag strip. Ran it down the 1/4 mile, came back, cut off the rear doors and ran it again. Shaved an entire second of their E.T.. And after every run, they would cut something else off. It ended up being a rolling chasis and drive train with a seat and a steering wheel. I think they were running in the 13s when it was over. I guess it was a fun way to show how power to weight ratio works and just how heavy those Cadillacs were.
Sacrilege!
@davidgold5961 yeah.....hurts to think about now, but at that time, it was just a 20 year old gas guzzling caddie that no one wanted.
GM also used a Torsion Bar front suspension on the C10 to C70 trucks in the early 60's
Great episode. This format is fun. The ‘67 Camaro also had monoleaf rear springs. One year only, it had multileaf for ‘68.
To me, this car has one of the most beautiful designs ever. But I bet it was thirsty with that 8.2 liter engine. I remember talking to a guy who was a parole officer about 1972. He spoke of a gang of kids who stole exclusively Eldorados. They knew how to bypass the security and they were so little they had to climb on top of each other to get in the car. Great initiative and ingenuity if only it could be properly channeled. I always appreciate your presentations.
I've always thought the 1967-70 Eldorado is a wonderful, timeless design. The successor 1971-78 model, not so much.
The 67-70 design is by far the best, but the next two generations were decent-looking. The downsized 86 model was a complete turd tho and killed the model imo
I agree. Cadillac traded classy for garish.
Agreed. '67-'70 crisp, chiseled and elegant. From '71 forward they are bloated fat whales on wheels that got worse looking every year.
Nice to see two cars featured in this video that once belonged to me: The Lucerne Aqua Firemist/white top and bucket seat car (pics were taken in my driveway for the listing on Bring a Trailer, where I sold the car about three years ago). I believe it had 23K miles at the time. And, Adam’s Black/red slicktop ‘67 was also mine for a few years. I sold it about ten years ago and knew the interim owners until Adam bought it. Of course, I always have at least one of these. In my view, the most beautiful Cadillac ever made. My current ‘67 is an Atlantis Blue Firemist slick top with dark blue leather.
I've always suspected the suspension would be designed to give a sportier ride for this model. Kind of a subtle "clapback" to the banker's hotrod.. We like this format and appreciate all that you do! Your channel is gold..
Enjoy this format for sure. Always nice to impress your friends with random knowledge
I love these cars, thanks for the video.
Beautiful Eldorado. My favorite of the 4-year run was the 1968. I think that was the pinnacle year of that body style.
Me too.
67-68 Pretty Machines
i believe the 67 Camaro also had single leaf rear springs
Dad had a 1972 Eldorado. I remember him telling the story that some kid with a hopped-up V8 tried to race him from a stoplight. Dad said he just pushed the pedal down and left the kid in his dust.
Thank you for another well done video!! My personal favorite is the 1968 Eldorado = everything is just right on that car and that year!!!!
THIS GEN ELDORADO IS STILL ONE OF THE MOST STUNNING CARS ON THE ROAD.
I love watching your video's because you are so detailed on the cars you cover. I remember seeing these big cars back in the day, thinking there is no way people are going to want to collect these cars. They will all go to the junkyard once people are done driving. LOL How wrong I was. I actually like these big yachts now, probably because I'm older (47). LOL
My dad's 66 New Yorker had bucket seats similar to that with a semi-console in between them. I think that was a relatively rare option on the 66 New Yorker.
A friend had a 68 or 69 Nova with Mono Leaf rear springs. It was a 6 with a powerglide.
I used to see Novas and Camaros crabbing down the street when they got old, nothing too serious, but the clamps that held the rear axle to the springs seemed to loosen up. I though at least some Novas had multiple layers of leaf spring, though they might have used single leafs on the base model. When that suspension was re-used for the '76 Seville, they put liners, Mylar or Teflon or something, between the leafs to keep them from squeaking.
@@pcno2832
I remember Novas with single leafs, and with multiple leafs.
I got a ‘78 Nova for my stepson, and it had multi-leaf springs.
My sister had a ‘76 or possibly ‘75 dark blue Nova, bought brand new, and I liked it.
She was killed in that car by a couple of dickhead drunks, and I don’t remember for sure, but think it was multi-leaf rear axle. She didn’t have that car all that long….she was killed in October of ‘76.
Sorry for your loss
Many first-generation Nova/Chevy IIs had mono leaf rear suspension, but that was a much smaller vehicle, and certainly not luxury. Always enjoy your channel.
Adam, Fact: Nobody was expecting a video at 11:18 on a Thursday morning. 😁
Adam - you are a wealth of information and knowledge on the history of these classic vehicles.
Thanks for sharing this video with us. 😊
Back in the mid 80s I had the occasion to drive a '76 Cadillac Coupe DeVille. Amazing fuel economy, at 5.5 mpg! It did ride smoothly, however, and had gobs of torque to launch it off the line away from traffic lights. Felt like you were stopping a train to stop at an intersection, and did indeed tip the scales at 5050 pounds.
Adam, your content is always spot on and as accurate as a Swiss time piece! Bravo sir!!
Love these cars!!! 👍👍
Ours was a 1968. Pink one red interior😊😊
@@user-ht1xu4gv2u Very cool!
@@user-ht1xu4gv2u Nice! They looked great in pink.
@@UberLummox yeah trying to find the color like a pinkish lavender color with matching top....More to come
@@user-ht1xu4gv2u Oh I think I know that color. Back in the day there was a '67 in my town that was *pink* pink. Kind of a light pink.
Of my 80+ vehicles only owned one '76 Eldorado a beautiful '76 Conv. / Canary Yellow With Camal Top & Interior! A Toronto Blue Jays pitcher bought it for his Dad, NICE KID!!
I too am amazed that the '71 was the same length as a 70. In '74 I bought a beautiful light Mediterranean blue with white top and interior '71 (like the '71 convertible shown) . The front wheel drive was amazing. I got stuck going down a steep loose gravel drive which was almost perpendicular and had to back up to get out. The car just backed up without skipping a stone.!!! I ended up selling it cause I was going to college and it didnt want to park such a beautiful car with the terrible parking. Although it handled great, the ride was not nearly as soft as my then father in laws '72 Thunderbird which too was a large coupe.
I worked in the parts department at one Cadillac in Phoenix in the mid 90s and the owner of our dealership was Bob one who was president of Cadillac motivation from 1962 until 1973. We were the world‘s largest exclusive Cadillac dealership and if you need it old Cadillac parts, you called me! Bob is a great guy.❤😊
I like the format as you learn sometimes unbelievable things
I would never guess the 70 71 have the same dimensions
Had a 60,000 mile ‘70 Eldorado in the mid 1980s, fun car to drive with the ability to annihilate the front tires at will. Pretty impressive top end speed as well although the 120 mph speedometer was a bit of a letdown.
Yeah, THAT'S a REAL car! 😍
I love your videos, they are absolutely fabulous!
Absolutely Stunning!
Excellent video and information. Loved the Eldorado! Thanks, Adam.
Love your videos! I'd love to see one on the 79 (I'm not sure of the year model but the 79 looks closest) Olds Delta 88. My grandma had one for pretty much my entire childhood, bench seats front and back, four door. My sister called it the "Lead Sled" because it was silver. Those were very reliable cars and their size made them safe for grandma's. Keep up the great work!
I love how much you love cars Adam and I'm learning things that I never knew.
It is hard to believe that
Cadillac = Ultimate style and luxury.😊
I was fortunate to own a 75 Eldorado. Not the quickest car but as you said when you punched it,the hood would rise and she’d peel out! Great car
The 67 Firebird had two mono leafs out back . I was big into the second gen T/A's. A coworker had an originally 67 400 convertible . Really cool first year bird .
There are sources/opinions that about the same era/time horsepower ratings were calculated differently beginning around 1971. I'm not sure of what they did however, a 1970 350-4V V8 had 300 HP and in 1971 it was 270 HP then in 1973 250 HP. At some point later, the 350 V8 was down to 150 HP, possible in their trucks.
In any regard, today's Cadillacs don't come close to the smooth elegant ride that these old "boats" had. There was much room, comfort, plush, space etc. while today's products are more set up for sport ride, firm seats and much less room. Completely different vehicles today.
For 1971 GM mandated that all their cars had to be able to run on unleaded fuel, so the actual power output of many of their engines dropped. I believe Cadillac's compression ratio was about 8.5 to 1 for 1970 and 10 to 1 for 1971.
@@pcno2832 High compression was used in the 1960's up through 1970. In 1971/1972, compression ratios were dropped to 8.50:1. Unleaded fuel didn't start until 1975 and catalytic converters were equipped. They did change cams by 1973 and by then came the smog add-on equipment such as A.I.R. pumps, EGR etc. Even so, there are people/sources who claim the reason for the big power drops were related to the methods of measuring HP. I'm not so sure about that but that's what is being claimed. I know for sure HP suffered big in the real world so, when they went from 300 HP to 250 HP, you noticed it. That pretty much eliminates their theory.
I don't consider today's to be Cadillacs. More like Chevrollacs.
At first, 1972, it was mostly because of different measuring methods, but the 73 cars were slower, the 74s slower still, and so on.
@@jamesbosworth4191 Once the CAT was implemented, HP got better.
Great presentation Adam--Keep 'em coming!
Thanks Adam, you made my day with this in-depth and interesting cameo of the 1970 Cadillac Fleetwood Eldorado! Very enjoyable.
My bedroom is smaller than the hood on this car! LOL
Thanks again for your always incisive descriptions of cars so many of us fondly remember and still admire and collect. You explained a puzzlement I always had as a child. My dad’s best friend had a beautiful triple dark blue ‘70 Eldorado, and it had a remarkably rough and noisy ride on less than perfect streets. We had a beautiful ‘72 Thunderbird-Ginger Glow with white alligator grain top and hopsack ginger bucket seat interior. I knew our Ford wasn’t as expensive a car as the Cadillac, but I was always amazed at how much quieter and smoother riding the Thunderbird was.
A number of these aspects were also on the 66-70 Toronado as you noted. On my 68 I bought and installed the 2 small quad horizontal shocks for the rear suspension setup which was similar & had the leaf springs. The horizontal units were still available in the late 70s at the dealer. The rear power windows on my Toronado also went into the pillar but only slightly so, & then tilted forward while sliding down below. As you know the Toronado also offered its transmission set up to the Eldorado thus they both had basically flat floors front and rear. The Toronado also had the torsion bars up front. My 68 Tornado had the single horizontally mounted muffler that was on both the dual and the single exhaust versions so it was pretty easy to add dual exhaust by replacing the rear muffler with the dual unit. The ride of the Toronado was still, by even the standards of the late 70s, (I drove a 1972 Cadillac Deville as well) quite comfy, & it was relatively at least, pretty smooth & did not seem particularly rough to me. of course in 68 the ride was softened up a bit since customers were complaining about it being stiffer than a luxury machine should be. As you know in 1970 the Toronado had the W34 option available (and also for the previous years in 69 & 68) which put the hp at 400 instead of 375 with better breathing and a hotter cam.
Thanks, Adam! I really appreciate these auto-education pieces. My neighbor growing up ordered a new Eldorado every year. As kids we always gathered around to see what her new color would be. I remember thinking, as she drove up in the 1971, that the design had gone retro. It almost had some 1973 design incorporated. I was only 14 at the time, but I still thinks that today.
I meant 1953 design....oops
great format certainly among the best presentations for my viewing interests
Great video. I like the top ten listing.
7:29 Having the glass retract into the sail panel seems like a good idea, but it's too bad they didn't use the extra space under the sill to increase the elbow room for the rear passengers.
11:25 This is a nice view of what made the "totally flat floor" possible; it was really hiding a lot of wasted space. A floor contoured around the frame , springs, and exhaust system would have made the car less elegant but roomier; the 1979 redesign, which required 2 mats, did exactly that.
I recall some of those early Eldo's had a "suck-box" that would drop the power to the a/c compressor clutch after the intake manifold vacuum fell below a certain value for a period of time. It had a calibrated orifice to bleed off the vacuum slowly and the diaphragm failed occasionally causing a total loss of cooling. Though terribly vague in the steering, these were fun and powerful to drive. The first, early 500s would carbon-up fairly easily and develop a "rod-knock" if not taken out and driven hard (flogged, we used to say) once in a while. My then--boss bought a 3, or 4 yr old car that "needed an engine" for pennies on the dollar and a couple of quarts of water poured down the part-throttle Quadra-jet later, he had a great car for some years to come.
A great overview, Adam. I really think these cars are amazing, especially for the day.
My parents had a gold 1970 El Dorado Cadillac coup with a gold leather interior and white vinyl top. My dad liked the color since El Dorado meant in Spanish the Golden, referring to a city of gold. We had it to haul a 30 ft travel trailer over half of the US and Canada. In addition because of the gas shortage, my dad had rigged it up to also take propane too. With the tank in the trunk all we had to do was flip a switch under the dash board and we had an extra full tank to go. We didn't have to worry about odd and even days. My parents Cad also had electric back windows with a lock switch at the main controls on the driver's door. I remember this quite well because when we would travel though hot places like the desert, my dad would lock the windows and turn on the AC. Problem was he would fire up his pipe and wouldn't let me roll down my side of the window because of the hot air outside. He tried to convince me that the AC was circulating the smoke out, but I still complained. It was cool to be able to burn rubber from the front tires. One thing I remember about the car was it had such a long hood. We didn't have a center console , it was just an armrest. It was a good car till it broke down and nobody was able to fix it. A lot of great memories with that car. Thanks!
Another great video and nice format to use ,,, what ever you do is always awesome .
I seem to remember the early Camaros had monoleafs.
That Eldo is one smooth looking car. Great video!
I like this format, Adam, and I also especially love your Best/Worst Engines videos. Would love to see more of those.
The 70 Eldorado is my favorite year, I had a 70 Eldorado and a 70 Fleetwood Brougham both in cinnamon firemist. I don't recall the heated seat option in the 70 but if I remember correctly it was available in 69, a very rare option like the sunroof.
As always, Adam, a superior job. Always look forward to your work.
1) The retractable rear windows were also on the 1967 thru 1971 Thunderbird, when such cars were not equipped with the factory Landau roof.
2) Buckets and Console are exceedingly RARE on 67 thru 70 Eldorado, and also, there are 4 known examples with an Oldsmobile style full length operating console with floor shift. Cadillac dealers did their level best to discourage ordering stuff like this, as they felt it was "hot rod kids stuff" and not proper for a mature, wealthy clientele. Most likely, they didn't want cars coming back after being driven hard.
3) The 1969 Cadillac steering wheel was a "Rim-Blow" design, where you honked the horn by squeezing the steering wheel rim. There was a flood of complaints from (mostly) upper middle class housewives that they would be in an emergency situation and slamming their fist into the steering wheel, with no results. Hence, the hasty 1970 redesign, which looks like it was done very quickly (because it was) to alleviate this customer complaint. The 1969 wheel was initially supposed to be used thru 1970 as well. Many 1969 wheels were modified for more conventional horn actuation.
4) The 1970 was supposed to have dual exhaust all the way back, but, as you can see, it's dual to the muffler with a single outlet. Again, referring to #2 above, that was "hot rod kids stuff."
5) The 8.2 was capable of churning out 600 horsepower with a full, quiet exhaust and hydraulic lifters. GM was terrified of the bad press from the safety nerds and discouraged Cadillac from extracting this much. Even in later, Clean Air Act years, with low compression and unleaded fuels, the 8.2 could've blasted out way more than it did, as you've seen on your cars. Driveway tweaks unleash at least 50 to 75 horsepower. One Cadillac engine builder has a 472 ( the 472, 500, 425 and 368 were the same "engine family") with around 800 horsepower running unleaded pump gas, cats, and full exhaust.
6) Finally, the 500 was in advance response to rumors that Ford was working on (and did have ready but never released) a 514 cubic inch variant of the Lincoln 460 with about 400 horsepower. That engine wound up in slightly detuned form in Super Duty trucks and the 460 would soldier on in its regular form thru the 1978 model year.
1962 Chevy c10 also had torsion bars
Another great fact filled video. Thanx Adam!
I like this format!
Like this format!! 👌
This Cadillac looks like a crisp bespoke suit.
Best Cadillacs ever were mid fifties to mid to late sixty’s period!
Super interesting, thank you.
Always appreciate the informal yet professional style of your delivery. I can’t stand the other channels where the guys come on like smarmy game show hosts or out of control nuts.
GM did have some experience with torsion bar suspension, the 1960-62 Chevrolet C-10 pickups used a torsion bar front suspension
These cars had the best front seat ever for stretching your legs out on long trips. The 1970 500 V-8 was rated @ 400 gross horsepower which somewhat equilivates to approximately 270 net horsepower. 1970 was the only Year to offer 10:00 to 1 compression on the 500. In 1971 it was switched to 8.5 to 1 to be able to run on 91 octane unleaded gasoline resulting in 365 gross horsepower. In 1972 net ratings brought it to 235 horsepower with it's factory single exhaust. Ironically the 1972 Oldsmobile 455 V-8 in the Tornado got 250 net horsepower with dual exhaust.
There were other changes besides lower compression. The cam was milder.
@@jamesbosworth4191 I will admit my 1970 Eldorado is a beast for a nearly 5000 car.
The first time I ever saw the 70 Eldo was in a magazine advertisement. I was early in high school around 1980 just before I learned to drive and I was researching a paper in our school library periodicals section. In one of the old magazines I had to stop and look at the ad for the 1970 Cadillac Eldo. It was a stunning car and thankfully Cadillac didn’t screw up the original 1967 design too much like Buick and Olds did for later years of this generation of car. The 1967’s front end is still the best but the 1970 ain’t bad.
Hello, Great Video Thanks. My 1970 Eldorado Had a Tilt and Telescoping Steering Wheel And it also had the Large Moon Roof . To this day I have never seen like the one I had in 1975.😂
GM passenger cars and trucks circa 1966-1977 invariably shared a jewel-like faceted aesthetic on the front clip. This is very noticeable on the hood edge and corners. Sometimes it is subtle over the quad headlights, as seen on the 1970 Impala/Caprice and 1973 Caprice. If you look from above at the nose and tail of GM cars from this era, you'll notice the silhouette shape of a castle battlement as seen from the perspective of one corner at ground level and looking up. These designers were artists.
Very cool. Keep up with this format
GM used the mono-lead rear suspension on the early Chevy Astro- GMX Safari vans . It was a thick, single fiberglass leaf spring on each side.
Top 10
Great presentation form
Have you ever noticed 1960s Caddy horns sound obviously different than all other cars?
GM spent so much time and money on the rest of the car. By the time they got to the rear suspension, they just used the cheapest and easiest thing they could find
I love your channel, you have some beautiful cars !
One small request: please when you quote dimensions (usually HUGE for me as a European 😯) , please display them on the screen in meters, it would be a great help. Thank you !
I think you meant " And one piece floor mat" in the note at 3:42, the beauty that it is. That view of the rear seat in the 7:42 does not look very deluxe, but I guess if you are rolling an Eldo, then you aren't chauffeuring extra passengers very often. I'm not sure if I would call those "bucket" seats, more like Barcelona seats maybe.
While I appreciate these survey clips, I miss the detail reviews of cars from your fleet. Have you covered all of them or just waiting for the return of summer? How many jewels do you have in your inventory anyway?
Number 10 : I wonder if the presence of the 1971 Eldorado's wheel skirt in the rear enhanced the rear fenders' appearance of length compared to the 70's open well, breaking up the fenders look. I dont know if the 71's skirts were standard, though.
Skirts were standard from '71-'74. And yes, that's exactly why they look longer. Good call!
Thank you Adam. I loved hearing the Toronado and Oldsmobile facts mentioned in the video. I swear you can see the 1971-1978 Toronado in the 1967-1970 Eldorado. It is clear Eldorado influence Oldsmobile Toronado. The engineers and designers at Cadillac had imagination and forward thinking world class luxury with V-12's and other things.
Very beautiful car
Just the better looking model.
1:51 The length increase of the 1971 is .00496 %, less than one-half of one percent.
Stella styling that caught my eye then and I still find attractive to this day.
Thanks, Adam, for the great video. I love your idea of top 10 interesting facts. For me, the 67-70 Eldorados are the pinnacle of American automotive design and I think my fave is the 1970. I prefer the exposed headlights and just love the rear taillight design of this car. It’s sad that GM became so focused on cutting costs. They cheapened what was, at that time, a world class vehicle. Awesome channel!!
I dont comment often,, i like trying to match what i know about the cars i grew up with,,,against what you talk about,,,,keep up the great work,,,