1961 Eldorado Concept Motorama Show Car

[wrench]

We use Xzilon on the brightwork (polished aluminum) of our aircraft.

http://www.granitizeaviation.com/Product.aspx?ItemNo=9

[N Kahn]

Got a lot done this weekend, I cleaned some wire terminals and got the antenna to work. I started assembling the grille which was a real chore, I'm waiting on the vertical pieces which are being made by a waterjet.

Here's the hood and fender moldings installed, the one I made is the driver's side, the passenger one is the original, neither fit particularly well, I don't think they ever did, you should see the wallered out holes and hand made fabrication on this car, I guess it's evidence that it really was hand made.
My friend restored a Jensen, you should have seen the work on this beast, the frame rails were made from heavy walled water pipe. Some of the fiberglass body was an inch thick in some places and tree bark thin in others.


The hood molding was incredibly rough, I can't believe the job Spacecoast Plating did on it, all the edges are still sharp and not polished round, I can't say enough about their work.

[Davidinhartford]

Fantastic!   

[N Kahn]

The radiator support panel will get some love, rust holes fixed and painted before the grille is hung back on.
I'm eagerly awaiting the return of my bumpers and headlight pods so I can drive here to the grocery store again.

[Guidematic]

What model of Jensen? That was an interesting company, not known for quality or reliability, especially given the price of the cars. But they were high performers with the Chrysler sourced engines. However bad it was, the Interceptor FF was a pioneer in that it offered all wheel drive and anti-lock brakes in 1966.

Mike

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

Wonderful progress as usual Nadeem and your perseverance is to be envied.

*What began as a thread about this car being for sale has long since become about the car's authenticity, history and restoration processes therefore "...For Sale" has been removed from the end of thread title. Content remains unchanged.

Carry on...

[N Kahn]

Look at this gem I found.

I bought this original photo on ebay, it's from 1961 for the Chicago Auto Show, it's hard to tell but there are ribbed aluminum moldings across the bottom just like on my car, but the skeg's not extended to the ends of the fenders, interesting car. I wish I could scan a better copy and blow it up.

Guidematic, I don't what year it was, it must have been early 60s, it had quad canted headlights and pontoons over the fenders like a Mercedez Benz 300SL, it had a big block Chrysler and it was right hand drive. I loved it.

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

The main difference I notice between the car in the pic and your car is that your car has the full wheel cutouts; this one has the rear fender skirts.

Interesting photo all the same. A great addition to your archive.

*Also, it looks as if the front bumper might be all chrome unlike the chrome/fiberglass bumper on your car.

[cadimec]

Firstly, congratulations on a wonderful find, and bravo for your work to date.   (was up reading through the threads & links till the wee small hours...)  A couple of thoughts to offer:  the factory photo with the roof up & passenger door open (non-GuideMatic dash) - is it possible that car was the twin - i.e. the "Bing Crosby" car?   If, as it appears so far, they merely customised regular production cars, perhaps some options were random.   I note that your car doesn't appear to have the power pulldown - which I understood was standard on the Eldorados - so was that a "random deletion" perhaps?   I have photos of an experimental Riviera convertible - with GuideMatic & wondered why they would bother with options which weren't central to the design experiment at hand....and when most of these were reputedly crushed afterwards.  (this goes to accounting/expenses of creating such cars).   The second comment concerns your factory Auto Show photo of the production car - again with the extruded aluminium trim (later also on Riviera Gran Sports of 1965).  They appear to have added an emblem as well.   I have noticed that the captions on factory photos were (necessarily) brief, and the "mauve mouton carpet" may have been but one of a host of custom-features on that car; it would be interesting if any more photos of it exist, to compare to yours.   Oh - and a final thought on the "missing plate" - is it possible that it was removed, BY Cadillac, once the car(s) were to be sold to the public?   One presumes it would have been taken "out of the accounting/off the company books", and if the main purpose of that plate was ostensibly accounting-related, this could explain it.   The car doesn't seem to be too tampered with, so its absence is very curious.   

It's hard to tell from the photos, but I see wood veneer where the dash radio speaker should be - was this moved perhaps to the upper front part of the console? 

Keep up the good work,
Tim Stephens

[N Kahn]

What is a power pull down?
The clear old photo of the interior clearly doesn't have an Autronic Eye on the dashboard, it's a real mystery, maybe there were two but surely some documentation has to exist.
Also on the date provided from GM states the car to have an INFORA, which I believe was an acronym for an infolding roof as was tried on the Buick Riviera experimental but this car has a stock top.
The car in the 1961 auto show pic also has a parade boot.
I can post pics of my carpet tomorrow, maybe someone can tell me if it's Mouton, it doesn't look like regular carpet.

Thanks for all the info Tim.

[David King (kz78hy)]

If mouton, it is sheep skin fur, sewn together.  This was a standard choice on the Brougham's and very hard to find today.  I am searching again to find a supplier of pelts to make a carpet for my car.

David

[76eldo]

Power pull down refers to a motorized trunk latch.  You close the trunk gently and a latch grabs and pulls the trunk down to the fully closed position.  Pretty useless gadget and most fail at some point.

Brian

[Glen]

The pull down is a neat option; wish I had one on my Eldo. 

Most of them fail because they were not made to withstand slamming the trunk closed like most people are accustomed to.   

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

I like the option, as one doesn't have to slam the trunk.

Wish there was one on the hood.

Bruce.

[N Kahn]

50110 does have a power pull down.

[N Kahn]

and it works smooth as silk.

[Guidematic]

I love the pull downs, and they work great if they are not abused, like slamming the lid down. And it's a great source of fascination for folk that have never seen one.

Mike

[76eldo]

I think the later ones fail more than the early beefier ones but most of the late 70's and 80's cads that I have owned have failed.  Even the one on my 99 failed and I have it adjusted and locked down and unplugged and the trunk closes easily.

All the Allantes use these to pull down the back of the convertible and hold it to the rear deck. Most of them fail.

They are neat when they work, but a bit silly, I mean the release is functional and useful but I can do without the pull down and associated repairs.

[cadimec]

Concerning the mouton carpets: a fellow in the Danish Cadillac Club mentioned an Eldorado Brougham owner nearby "having the Mouton carpets made" - the THOUGHT that was costing $ 5000!!  I have a similar bind with my '74 Talisman - for the robe and pillow - I got the pillow, but not the robe which according to the data book was "Medici crushed velour lined with Mouton fur" - they probably killed a whole herd of acrylics to make those!   Doubtless, the 1950's/60's "mouton" was real sheepskin whereas the 70's version was synthetic material - like the clothes worn by the Mod Squad.

I'm surprised at the power pull-down remarks.  This option is The Way and The Light of our Church.  It is endlessly entertaining ($5.00 if you watch, $ 10.00 if you close the trunk yourself).  Unfortunately, the 1977 & later plastic-housing units are weak, under-engineered and, occasionally psychotic.  (anyone seen the ones which go up, then down but never latch in the closed position, taking the trunk lid up & down with them?)   I'm not a fan of the  1962-73 mechanical pull-down systems - no theatre in those.  No, there's nothing quite like the scream of the nylon gears in the 1974-76 (Eld 77 & 78 as well) pull-downs - they mean business.  Mercedes were so impressed, they stole the idea for the S-class passenger doors as well.   Do-it-yourself-trunk-closing is for people who drive...Chevrolets & things like that.

[cadimec]

Forgot my monker:

Tim Stephens