1976 Cadillac Eldorado

Convertible Convertible

V8

Automatic

6l67s6q113296

Clear

Gasoline

The term “land yacht” might well have been coined for this last American convertible. This two owner Eldorado has been garaged parked when not in use and has not been driven during winter months. This Cadillac Eldorado is ready for Summer cruising and will turn heads wherever you go. The Cadillac Eldorado is a front-wheel drive vehicle. However, it's configuration is unique. Whereas other front wheel drive automobiles turned its engine sideways with the transaxle mounted in the sump, the Eldorado uses longitudinally mounted V8 engines. The torque converter of a highly modified Turbo Hydramatic automatic transmission was mounted on the back of the engine, as with a rear-drive car, but the gearbox itself is mounted next to the torque converter, driven by a chain. The gearbox output shaft pointed forward, sending power to a slim planetary differential and then via CV-jointed half-shafts to the front wheels. This unusual arrangement was remarkably compact and it allowed the Eldorado to share many components with GM’s rear-drive cars. (It also effectively eliminated torque steer, an impressive feat given the torquey V8 engines.) The Eldorado’s front suspension is et up by torsion bars, while the rear was a beam axle on coil springs, located by trailing links; first-generation Eldorados had used single leaf springs with both vertical and horizontal shock absorbers. Rear load-leveling air springs were a standard feature. While the spring rates and shocks on the original 1967 Eldorado had been firm by Cadillac standards, allowing fairly sporty handling, the second-generation car sacrificed that firmness for a smooth ride. Indeed, the 1971-1976 Cadillac Eldorado rode like a cloud on clean pavement, Under the long hood is an appropriately gargantuan engine: 8.2 liters (actually 8,194 cc), a full 500 cubic inches. Until quite recently, this held the distinction of being the biggest engine ever offered in a postwar production car. Despite the thirst and a 1973 OPEC oil embargo that led to widespread gasoline shortages, Cadillac managed to move more than 40,000 Eldorados a year through most of the seventies, excellent for such an expensive car. The convertible almost never accounted for more than about a quarter of production, but when Cadillac announced that the 1976 convertible would be the last, sales surged, eventually reaching 14,000 units.