Talk about coming out of the woodwork! In the last several months, Barn Finds has seen its fair share of Bicentennial flavored 1976 Cadillac Eldorado convertibles. And for your viewing enjoyment, here’s another that has only experienced 844 miles! The ’76 Eldo convertible was special as that was the last U.S. domestic convertible offered for some number of years. But the last of the last were Bicentennial editions, produced just in time for America’s July 4, 1976 Bicentennial celebration. This drop top, number 86 of 200, is located in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and is available, here on craigslist for $55,000. Pat L. gets credit for this find!

As stated earlier, by ’76 auto manufacturers were getting out of the convertible business because of lack of demand, the additional expense of manufacturing a specialty model that varied considerably from its hardtop counterpart, and the threat of Federally imposed rollover standards that a convertible would not pass. Convertibles returned in limited numbers by the mid-’80s but in the mid-’70s it looked like that’s all she wrote for rag tops. As for the Eldorado itself, it was large and in charge in ’76, weighing in at over 5,000 lbs., stretching 224 inches in length, and riding on a 126″ wheelbase. That’s a lot of heft for a personal luxury coupe/convertible, so much so that it gets the official “Whammer-jammer” designation. Popular? You bet, total Eldo sales touched 49K units in ’76 with over 5K convertibles being assembled, including the 200 special Bicentennial editions.

Other than being among the last 200 drop tops produced, the bicentennial models were really nothing special as they were all finished in white, trimmed with red and blue pinstriping, and adorned with a dashboard-mounted commemorative plaque – that’s it. This example is claimed to have been stored between 1982 and 2019, the seller suggests “It still looks and smells new“. It is further stated that the mileage is the result of parade and show use only. There’s really nothing negative one can say about this humongo convertible, it still shows as new, and even has the window sticker still in place.

Cadillacs were always known for smooth and refined power, no doubt this Caddy has the smooth and refined part down pat but the power part of it is debatable as its gigantic 500 CI V8 engine eeks out a measly 190 net HP. There are 360 net pound-feet of torque on tap so that probably helps to at least get this leviathan up and moving. All Eldos used a Turbo-Hydramatic 425 three-speed automatic transaxle to drive the front wheels. Those are interesting arrangements, a sort of a backward mounted conventional Turbo 400 transmission with a chain drive and a differential component attached to half-shafts. No word on how this baby motors but if it has been properly maintained over the years, it should run and drive as intended.

There’s no missing that white leather upholstery replete with red piping and carpet. Some might consider it garish, I wouldn’t go that far but it is definitely noteworthy – and so is its condition, it’s like new and needs nothing.

This is one of those “have your cake and eat it too” situations. If you buy it, you have it and that’s nice but if you drive it, you up the mileage and drive down the value and condition though there’s probably a balancing act somewhere in that equation. As for the value, research shows asking prices that are all over the board and this example’s extremely low mileage makes it a bit of an outlier to general marketplace valuation. My suggestion to the next owner is to make sure that their garage will accommodate this over-sized land yacht, right?