42K Mile: 1980 Cadillac Eldorado
Over the last 75 years, the Cadillac has stood for American luxury. Sometimes it has looked a little extravagant and sometimes a little overweight and underpowered but they were usually at the forefront of comfort, luxury and sometimes technology. This 1980 Cadillac Eldorado is located near Chicago, Illinois and is listed for sale here on Craigslist. The seller is asking $8,700 and the car is report to only have 42k miles. The car seems to be a survivor at an attractive price in very good, unmolested condition. It has been listed for 3 days.
The interior is all original with leather seats and digital dash. The seller states that the air conditioning blows ice cold. The car is heavily optioned with power windows, power locks, tilt steering cruise control and power mirrors. I can’t tell but I assume it has power seats. The car is said to be meticulously maintained by the second owner for the past 10 years. GM produced the Cadillac Eldorado from 1952 through 2002. The name Eldorado means “the guilded one” or “the golden one.”
The 1980 Cadillac Eldorado featured a variety of engines, including both gasoline powered and diesel powered powerplants. The standard engine was the L61 368 ci (6.0 L) V8 which was considered a reliable engine. This engine was rated at only 145 horsepower and 270 lb ft of torque. The other gasoline engine was the Oldsmobile 350 ci (5.7 L) V8 , which was offered as an option in California. DEFI throttle body fuel injection was available for both engines. The Oldsmobile 350 diesel engine was the other optional powerplant and was rated at only 104.5 horsepower. It had a top speed of 96 mph but got 25 mpg.
A 1987 Cadillac Eldorado represents the 10th generation of this model and was produced from 1979 to 1985. It was the last big Eldorado before being downsized and shared the same platform with the Oldsmobile Toronado and Buick Riviera. Color options included Classic White, Light Blue Metallic, Silver Metallic, Dark Blue Metallic, and Red Metallic. This one looks to be priced well and should not last long.
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Comments
Gotta Love the 4 GM frame braces in the engine bay because GM couldn’t design a stable enough car! 😆
Very nice, and very comfortable with the Biarritz option which includes those pillow-top seats. From back when luxury cars were actually comfortable instead of sporty. I used to work with a man who’s late grandmother had one, beautiful low mileage car, garage kept in Queens, NY. It sat preserved for years, no one would do anything with it. Then hurricane Sandy came along and flooded the area, and the beautiful but now useless low mileage car got junked. What a shame.
This is the best year to buy of the 79 to 85 Eldos. 81 to 85 still beautiful, but has that boat anchor 4.1 excuse of an engine. Someone is going to get a beauty.
George, 82 thru 85 had the “Hook & Tow” 4100. 81 had the infamous 8-6-4 engine that was called “Variable Displacement” until they figured out what the acronym for that would be.
It has power seats. The controls are visible on the armrests.
I owned a ’79 Eldo Biarritz & could swear my year was the only year of the bigger front grill openings like this one, subsequent years had smaller mesh-like openings???
Zen, here’s the kicker. This isn’t a Biarritz. Those were the basic Eldorado seats in leather. You could also get cloth.
Nice looking Caddy !!
This is the one to have! Engine made of cast iron, no torque converter clutch, just simply reliable. What a sweet ride.
My first Eldo was this style. someone swapped the diesel for a gas engine, ran and rode like a dream. pretty sure it even had a factory CB radio if I remember correctly
As an entrepreneurial young man in ’81 I took my ’79 Eldo Biarritz to the Uhaul center to mount a hitch to tow a 1bdrm apt full down to Florida fm Wisc, the looks I got! lol Anyway it just pulled the rear bumper out 1″. Ended up trading it in for a ’82 280zx 5spd w/ttops a few yrs later. The car was rock-solid during ownership, very minimal maint req!
I hate to pee in Wheaties but when your driving a 60 Seville daily and you have a 67 and multiple 71 to 76 convertibles these are JUNK! Thats how I viewed them then and now. The Rivera convertible was King and I bought one and still have it. Survivor or not these are ….well…imo…