Converting a 1971 - 1978 Eldorado into Rear Wheel Drive

[narnone]

Here's an update 4/17/2014
Attached are some pictures of the Eldorado sitting on the new frame. We assembled the Eldorado with all of the parts it will have when completed to finish modifying the frame for the radiator support, front bumper and rear bumper.
It looks good. To bad we are nowhere near done. We have now taken it apart and have the body on the rotisserie for work.
The frame will be apart next week to go out for sand blasting and getting painted.
I will post more pictures as we make large steps. It will be a while before the next pictures. It should be of the completed frame, with the new rear, suspension, and painted ready to go under the body.

[Gene Beaird]

Nice work!  Since it's already going to be a custom, I think I'd pull the bumpers back closer to the body so the fillers won't be (as) necessary, or big.  But that's just me. 

[narnone]

Nice work!  Since it's already going to be a custom, I think I'd pull the bumpers back closer to the body so the fillers won't be (as) necessary, or big.  But that's just me.

I like that idea. I will see if we can work it in.

[76eldo]

That's what Chip Foose does on a lot of his cars.

If you can do what you already did, I am sure you can shorten or remove the bumper shocks.

What colors are you doing on this car?

Brian

[narnone]

What colors are you doing on this car?

As for color, here’s where I break some hearts.
This Eldorado is a Pace Car. It was at the race and was Mark Donahue’s Eldorado. They called it a VIP car.
Here’s the rest of the history:
After the race, Rodger Penske bought the Eldorado for Mark. After Mark’s death, Rodger got sick at looking at the Eldorado because it reminded him of Mark. He ordered the Eldorado sold when the next batch of cars went to auction. The Eldorado was auctioned off to a local car dealer, Leon and Eddy’s.  They drove the Eldorado for a short time before a person that owned a major junk yard bought it for his wife.  They owned it until I purchased it several years ago.  The Eldorado was used as an everyday car. And even though it had low mileage, 52K, the body was heavily rotted and dented.
We tried to work what was there but as the expense grew, I knew I would need a better body.  I searched AZ for a rust free tub.  As I was searching, I found a recovered theft 1973 Eldorado Coupe in Detroit with 17K miles.  It was perfect for what I needed. It was damaged by the thief’s, but the most important parts to me where perfect.  When I brought it home, people could not believe I was cutting the Eldorado up for this Eldorado.  The chrome was beautiful.  I wish I would have found it before I spent thousands on chrome and other moldings
That Eldorado was a goldish â€" green, the color you see in the pictures. We are using almost everything from that Eldorado to make this a rust free Eldorado.  Finding that Eldorado was a gift.
So, the Eldorado will be white with a red interior.

[76eldo]

That's a great color for a 73.

It's tragic that the Donahue car fell into such poor condition.  Sounds like it could have been repaired and preserved, but too late for that.

It will be interesting to see how this turns out.

Brian

[Thule]

on a 73 i would pull the front pumper so it sits like the 71-72 bumper, but hold on to the fillers in the rear. when you look straight on the side of a 73 i think they are to front heavy. compared to the 71/72 (something that bothers me about mine)

[narnone]

I agree the front bumper comes out  a little to far.
I bought 1978 NOS front grills, upper and lower. Could not find 1973's. Still looking.
I like the 1974 / 77 grill the best. I guy had a 1977 NOS. I offered twice what I was going to pay for the 1978, he turned me down.
The grill on the 1973 grill looks aggressive with the larger egg crate design.
I also bought an 1974 NOS chrome section for the hood right above the grill and the side sections. The original chrome bead just did not do it for me. It looked to plain.

We have the frame just about stripped. making a list of everything I need less the rear and rear brakes.
Have to finish welding the extensions added for the front and rear.  Once they are done, it goes to the sand blasters.
I am upgrading where possible. I am putting on a larger sway bar in the front and adding one to the rear.

[Scot Minesinger]

Agree with narnone, the look of the Eldorado is nicer than DeVille, but the front drive is a disadvantage.  The best thing would be to have a rear drive Eldorado.  I have driven the 1970 RWD DeVille and the front drive Eldorado.  Purchased the DeVille for the better driving and less trouble with front end reasons being an engineer, but the Eldorado looks better to me.  Glad to know how much trouble it is to make the switch, now I know not to attempt it.  It will be a great car though! 

[Thule]

i never did never get what cadillac where thinking with this fwd thing until i bought mine,

[waterzap]

i never did never get what cadillac where thinking with this fwd thing until i bought mine,

We had some terrible (for Charlotte) snow storms this year. Being the South, there aren’t really any snow plows out here, so the snow just stays on the ground. There also is no salt on the roads. Took the Eldorado out a few times. No issues at all. I was able to drive where other cars fear to tread. Someone asked me if I could plow some of the snow away when they saw me driving.

[narnone]

My 1972 Eldorado was 4 years old when I was 17. My friends had  Vets and Trans Am’s  My Eldorado was white with Oxblood interior with every option available, including a sunroof. My grandfather bought it new. I bought it when he was getting a new Coupe De Ville. I loved the Eldorado. I was 13 when he got it and could not wait to go for rides in it.  I loved owning it, except for the front end.
It was great in the snow with studded snow tires. We had a 25 inch snow storm, that Eldorado drove like there was no snow on the ground.  Some poor guy stopped his car in the middle of a small street when I was behind him. The street was unplowed. He got out of his car and proceeded to walk home. His car was stuck and you could see he was upset. I asked if he was going to just leave his car. He said He was stuck and so was I. I said I was not and got back in the Eldorado and back right down the street like it was a summer day.  He was shocked.
I loved the look of the Eldorado.  The front end was another story. I found about every 18 months, the front end needed work.  Back then I was in school, and these front ends were expensive. In relation to today’s expense, they were more expensive then.  I parked the Eldorado in the same spot every day.  Needles to say, I had two davits in the driveway because of the weight.  The ride was great until you hit a bump the right way, then bang.
As time went on, and the northeast winters took their toll. The Eldorado rotted badly. I sold the Eldorado. I was in school and did not have the money to keep her on the road. It was cheaper to buy a new car and move on. But I always loved that Eldorado, but hated the front end.
I loved the look, the seats, 60/40’s, the climate control. I liked the way the tilt wheel worked compared to the Lincoln. The “Cruise” would light whenever the system was engaged.  The rear defogger had a little light behind the word when it was on.  I enjoyed the smell of the interior when I got in. I was hooked on the Eldorado, except for the front end.  In fact, other than today’s radios, there is nothing in today’s cars I would really want that the Eldorado already had. I take that back, reclining seats, power exterior mirrors, and outside temp and dome lights in the rear view mirror. This Eldorado will have these.

In fact, if that Eldorado was RWD, handle and respond a little better, could break 20 mpg, and I could put a good radio, I would drive it forever.  I tried and could not find one. Found it best to buld one.

[dplotkin]

Absolutely impossible. You could never convert a FWD Eldorado to a RWD design, but you could take an Eldo body and put it on something else.

Why has no one mentioned that the 1966-70 Riveria is a rear drive version of the Toronado/Eldorado platform. Seems to me all you have to do is find one as a donor and wa-lah.

Dan

["Cadillac Kid" Greg Surfas 15364]

Dan,
You spoil all the "fun".
Greg Surfas

[Scot Minesinger]

The Riviera 1963 through 1970 used an X frame similar to the Caddies 1964 and older.  Most GM large cars went to the perimeter frame in 1965, but not the Riviera - might be the only GM that did not.  The frame of a Riviera would probably not work on an Eldorado body, and this Fleetwood frame probably remains the best option.

[walt460]

I got a chance to review Nick's project in-person last night, pretty amazing what he has done, and what he has planned.  He has progressed since he last posted here.  All the required frame modifications are done, frame looks like a GM factory-made frame.  He has the 9" Ford rear axle assembly all done and ready for painting.  I think this Eldorado is going to be an awesome car when he is done.

[Scot Minesinger]

What a great project, please keep us all informed.

Just out of curiosity, why the Ford rear axel assembly?  It seems the Fleetwood or Deville would work great in that it is heavy duty and the connection points to anchor the four control arms would be all set.  Plus these are not expensive to find.  Only trouble I can think of is you cannot get replacement ring and pinion gears, I have tried relentlessly to no avail. 

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

I think you answered your own question with the lack of ratios available.

Some makes were meant to be for performance, and most others, just for transportation.

Bruce.

[narnone]

I want to thank Walt for coming over. I am waiting until we are further along to post some pictures.
Walt is a wealth of knowledge on fuel injections and electronics. He put together a Cadillac 472 EFI system that is amazing. I am hoping he helps on this project.
The Eldorado has taken some wild turns since going RWD.  All for the good.
The frame is sandblasted and POR15ed. We are premiering it today with POR15 Etching and high build primers. We are then going to sand it down and paint it.
We are going with a 200R4 transmission for the over drive. In order to take advantage of the over drive, we had to drop the rear to 3.70’s. Since we could not get gears for the Cadillac rear, the Ford 9”seemed the logical choice.
Chuck Koenig  of Koenig’s Auto Parts did my rear, 717-933-5223.
He seems very  knowledgeable. He was also very reasonable. He is located in Mt. Aetna PA. If you plan to put an overdrive in your Cadillac, you need to lower the rear. If not, don’t waste your time doing it as it will get you nothing. 

[Tonyv_73]

http://www.eldorado-seville.com/67eldo/67eldohistory/

Check out this link, turns out the 67 eldorado concept built in 1966 was first a rear wheel drive car,