1968 Eldorado on NY CL

[D.Smith]

Our family dealership sold, ordered and delivered a '67 Eldo without A/C.  As I remember it took 3 months or more to get the car and more than a few phone calls.  Cadillac did not want to build the car that way, the buyer insisted on no A/C.

It's not that they didn't want to make the car without A/C.     First of all,  the company wanted to make sure the omission wasn't a mistake.    The only cars you saw being made without A/C were going to buyers way up north where the summer season is so short, most people just preferred opening the windows and enjoy the fresh air.   iE; most went to Canada. 

When a dealer ordered a car without A/C down in the lower 48 States, they wanted to make sure it was a legit order.    Dealers would NEVER order one for stock for fear they'd get stuck with it on the lot forever and take a loss as the calendar year changed.    So anyone ordering one was asked to pay for the car up front.    No chance of a customer changing their mind after the order went in and the car gets sent as built.   

Secondly, you need to remember in 67, the Eldorado was different than the rear drive cars.   The non A/C system was different than the non-A/C rear drive cars for the first time ever.   So they didn't have the parts in stock they could use from say a commercial chassis car.   

The 67 Eldorado were the first Cadillacs without side window wing vents.  So the cars were designed with flow thru ventilation.   If you look at a non A/C 67 Eldorado you will see that it still uses the dash vents of an A/C car.      Unlike the rear drive cars that just use floor vents and pull knobs to open/close them.   

So Cadillac wasn't really prepared for the installation of non A/C in 67 Eldorados.   Only a handful were made and those people had to wait.   

[J. Skelly]

from a recent post of mine:

Ward's 1968 Automotive Yearbook lists the percentage of options ordered for the previous model year.  Page 33 lists the following percentages for the Eldorado:

AM radio 22%
ac 97.1%
T & T steering column 71.6%
disc brakes 43.3%
power seat 96%
bucket seats 4.9%
vinyl top 75.2% (I was way off on that one, but most of the '67-'72 came with it!)
whitewalls 99.1%
tinted glass 98.7%
cruise control 36.3%

total units 17,930

[James Landi]

Thanks you Dave and Jim for these additional fascinating details and interesting  information. It all makes sense now, and the picture of the dash with the "delete climate control" and the substituted switch gear show us just how Cadillac addressed the challenge on the dash.   Gratefully,  James

[D.Smith]

vinyl top 75.2% (I was way off on that one, but most of the '67-'72 came with it!)

As much as old car guys see vinyl tops as a rust issue, new car buyers didn't care.  Most Cadillac buyers traded them in after two years to get the next new generation model.    Vinyl tops were the styling rage and popular option of their time.   

It was only an issue to people who kept their cars longer and left them parked outside.   
Plenty of garaged survivors today without a rust issue with their tops.

[D.Smith]

…...picture of the dash with the "delete climate control" 

It wasn't standard, so it isn't a delete.