1968 Eldorado Restoration

[Chris Conklin]

I'll try to get better close up photos of the side molding details.   Factory or not, I'm glad they are on the car as they did protect the sides from dings over the last 40 years.

I think the car looks better with them.

[Antoni Deighton]

That's a beautiful car. It's nice to see one in such good condition, since so many seem to have seen better days! I just hope that mine looks nearly as good once it receives it's new coat of paint. (But that's a way off yet!)
I agree with you about the covered headlamps and the hidden wipers being the cleanest look. I also prefer the steel fender end caps, and ultimately the interior of the '67 which is why I went for that year. And while they are exposed, the clap-hands style wipers are a bit of sixties 'cool'. My Alfa has them as well!
Please post more pix of your car. Its nice to see one looking so good!
Cheers,
A.

[Antoni Deighton]

Thanks for the pix! Again, a fantastic looking car. By the way, I'm not sure about the '68s, but I think the '67s wore double-stripe whitewalls when new. Personally, I prefer the look of the wide-whites your car is wearing, which I'll try and find for mine when the time comes to change the tires.

[76eldo]

I had a small used car lot in the late 70's.  We had a guy that would come out to put side moldings like that on some of our cars.
They riveted on the metal tracks, the ends slipped in and were also riveted in place.  The guy had an old soup pot which he would fill with water and drop in a submergable heat element.  He would get the water to a boil, then drop in the colored vinyl insert sections which would already be cut to size.  The he took out the heat element and waited a minute.

The heat made them pliable and he would then slip the vinyl into the track, and he was all done.

The look fine on your car, and kept those massive doors straight all these years.

Enjoy that car, it's beautiful!

Brian

[Aaron Hudacky]

Nice second set of photos! I agree with others... I think the moldings look good. The most recent photos show how straight the body is. Wish mine was as free of dings.

[Sllack]

Excellent choice. I like That body style so much, lucky you! Try Coker tires if you want authentic styling.

[ColoradoGuy]

What a beautiful car. Congratulations!

[Aaron Hudacky]

David,

I don't have access to a 68 shop manual, but the 1970 shop manual says the following regarding cornering light bulb replacement for the Eldorado, which I assume would be similar for your car:

1. Disconnect neg battery cable.
2. Disconnect electrical connector to cornering lamp assembly at radiator cradle tie bar.
3. Remove clip, screw and washer securing splash shield to fender and position splash shield out of way.
4. Remove two screws securing lamp assembly to fender and remove assembly from fender.

I haven't replaced these bulbs so I can't comment firsthand, but I hope this info helps.


Aaron

[Carl Glass]

David

Let me know if those instruction don't work for you.  I have the '68 manual and i could check it out for you if need be.

Carl

[Kell Oskarsson]

David,

I checked the ´68 shop manual and the procedure described there is exactly the same as Aaron indicated.

Good luck - I know from experience that this is a bit of a hassle for the sake of one lightbulb.

Speaking of bulbs - you may want to buy the correct spec bulb before taking the light assembly apart, as this bulb can be slightly tricky to find. The bulb no. indicated is #1293, which is a fairly large bulb of 50 c/p (37.5 watts). IIRC it is interchangeable with bulb #1295.

Hope this helps.

Kell.

[Carl Glass]

Those fender indicator lights were my first repair as well.  It has been progressively harder ever since.  No wait, I did find a MISSING relay as the cause of no hazard flashers.  THAT was easy too!

Carl

[Carl Glass]

The courtesy lights will take some troubleshooting with the wiring diagrams.  I recommend the purchase of the 68 Cadillac Shop Manual and 68 Fisher Body Service Manual on CD.  I got mine on ebay even before i got my car.

My power antenna had the exact same symptoms.  I bought a new mast from www.caddydaddy.com and used the instructions in the shop manual to remove the antenna motor/mast assembly.  It was a bitch, especiaily to figure out how to disassembly the actual motor to gain access to the spool where the mast cable is wound.  But at the end of the story my new mast works great.  Alternatively you can buy an entire assembly, but it is much more expensive and you said your motor works.

Carl

[Catman420x]

what a beautiful car. ive always wanted a 68-69 eldo myself. it was such a wild looking car

thanks,
leonard lauricella

[Rob Troxel]

David,

I am very impressed with your commitment to fixing your 1968 Eldorado.  This is a great car that is getting more fans all the time!  Thanks for taking the time to chronicle what you are doing to the car.  The CLC group here is the best and willing to offer help.  I have turned to them and always got what I needed.  Like wise maybe I can help since i have gone thru much of what you are experiencing now. 

When I bought my car, I trusted the seller description and bought accordingly.(EBAY)
I remember his phrasing "everything works as new".  Guess what? The hidden headlights did not work, the A/C was shot, the transmission puked a quart of fluid on the floor when the car cooled down, radio was broken, antenna, frozen,Intake manifold gasket was leaking,  the rear air suspension was disconnected at the axle, and the air suspension compressor was shot. I think you might spend double your purchase price as I did >> in fixes but it has been fun to bring the Eldo back. 

Unfortunately you learned about why the covered tops on our cars hides and helps the rusting process! I have a 68 Eldorado too though it is a "slick top".  My rear window moldings are also painted the same color as the rest of the car, which I believe is factory correct.

My car just turned 66,000 miles and I love the comments I get in the shows we go to.  Once yours is ready I hope you will show it off too.  Many folks are not very familiar with this car! 

Keep the reports coming!  My direct email is robtroxelemail addresses not permitted if i can help.

[R Schroeder]

What a difference a top makes. Looks very nice. I like the color combo.
Keep it up.
Roy

[Glen]

In a pinch you can make a new rubber gasket for the tire valve stems.  But new valve stems were available from NAPA, you just have to provide the part number.  Their catalogs do not connect the Eldorado with the correct valve stem part number.

I wonder if the Toro people have the same problem. 

[Rob Troxel]

Dave,

Forgot to mention the my rear single leaf springs were saggging very noticeably.  From what I see on other Eldorados, the  affected cars sit down on in their haunches when they loose their strength.  I might add that your car sits pretty well.  We replaced my springs with Moog 3 leaf units and it really helped in the ride dept and restored the factory ride height too though I also had to get the air suspension going too.  While under the car I found evidence of a trailer hitch bolt holes that would explain maybe why the air suspension sensing valve was disconnected too.

Gongrats on the manifold gasket repair!.  I figured it would make a huge difference in the idle.  One thing I noticed on mine is that the vacum hose from the manifold to the power brake booster was not glove tight so I'll replace that hose and see it is helps even more.  I am curious on how your headlight doors work when opening..Do they both open at once or as I have seen on others, one at a time?  I noticed mine has the twilight sentinal plumbing under the hood bypassed so it's another thing to play with. 
Best regards

[Antoni Deighton]

I love your Eldorado, and the color looks wonderful. I have a white '67 that is at the bodyshop this week getting a shiny new coat of paint. My car also has the headlight doors opening one at a time, but Gerald Loidl (www.eldorado-seville.com) has managed to get his headlights doors synchronized (there's video on his website http://www.eldorado-seville.com/files/67eldoheadlightdoors.php. I believe there is also a way to adjust the timing/delay between the two sides.

I'm interested that you both mention that your idle smoothed out after changing the intake manifold gasket. Both my Caddies (the '67 Eldo and the '78 Fleetwood) have a noticeable vibration at idle, but are silky smooth just off idle and when on the move. How do I check for a vacuum leak in the intake manifold gasket, or at the brake booster?

Thanks,

Antoni

[Antoni Deighton]

So I spray carb cleaner around the edges of the intake manifold to find bubbles where it it leaking? Or does the idle improve when the carb cleaner gets 'sucked' into the leak?

The idle is typically smooth when I first start and drive the car. But when I am on an extended drive, or I'm making multiple short trips the idle will be worse. (The idle's not terrible, but it's bad enough that I can't believe that it would have been acceptable for a Cadillac when new.)

[Rob Troxel]

I noticed that my intake manifold was leaking at the back.  A few other 472 owners say that is not uncommon. It was well worth replacing the intake manifold gasket!  I would love to have mine idle just a little slower but when I turn it down,(under 700 rpm) it is not a smooth engine.  At some point my original carb ( Q jet) was replaced (rebuilt Q Jet) and I really need to look at the numbers on it just to see if it was built for the Eldorado.

Gerald Lodi from Austria has some great cars!  I wonder if his twilight sentinal is operational on his Eldorado since that device might help modulate the opening of the headlight doors together.  Mine do not and my sentinal is bypassed.  We should get Glen Houghton from Hawaii's opinion if he is watching the thread. I'm not sure where an in sync adjustment might be as I'm sure that each door was supposed to open/close at the same time

I am in the process of replacing the rubber around the front wheels and A frame with a kit from rubbertherightway.com For 50 bucks you get all 6 peices and they are cut to fit like the originals! They do include plastic mounting push retainers to replace the rusted metal retainers too.