1961 Cadillac Britz

[drbs]

Was there a 1961 Eldorado Britz and or a regular Eldorado? Thankyou drbs

[sambarn]

The car that became the Eldo was known as a Series 62 in 1961, That being said the Biarritz moniker I believe only applied to Series 72s, later the Fleetwoods.

[WQ59B]

Eldorado was a Series 64 in '59-60, was Series 63 in '61-62.

Yes; the Biarritz nameplate followed the Eldo thru '64, then became the 'Fleetwood Eldorado' in '65.

[Guest quadfins]

In 1959 and 1960, Cadillac offered (among many other models) the:

Eldorado Brougham - super luxury 4-door sedan, bodies hand crafted in Italy.

Eldorado Seville - deluxe upscale-trimmed 2 door hardtop coupe.

Eldorado Biarritz - deluxe upscale-trimmed 2 door convertible.

These had special tri-power engines with gold painted air cleaners and valve covers.

For 1961, the Brougham and Seville were discontinued, leaving the convertible Biarritz as the only remaining Eldorado trim model. The special engine was discontinued.

The Eldorado continued to be the upscale-trimmed convertible through the 1966 model year. In 1967, the name was transferred to the new front wheel drive personal luxury coupe, and the convertibles were renamed back into the de Ville line.

In 1961, the year you are asking about, the main differences between a Series 62 convertible and an Eldorado Biarritz were mainly the upholstery materials and pattern, and an additional polished stainless steel trim along the beltline. Power vent windows and whitewall tires were also standard equipment.

Jim

Edited February 8, 2012 by quadfins (see edit history)

[The Continental]

Besides the door sill, did Fleetwood appear anywhere on the car?

[Guest quadfins]

Yes, in 2 or 3 places, depending on the year:

1 On the front fenders, behind the wheel wells and just above the rockers, there are cloisonne' badges with "Fleetwood" and small crowns. (1961 & 1962)

2 On the back of the trunk lid, above the bumper on the right (passenger) side, chrome block letter spell out "FLEETWOOD". (1961 & 1962)

3 In 1962, on the dash panel in front of the passenger, above the glove box, another cloisonne' insert with "Fleetwood" replaces the standard Cadillac Crest ornament that is attached over the radio speaker.

There is a metal tag screwed onto the front seat passenger-side trim that says "Interior by Fleetwood" - this is on all models. The sill plates themselves say "Cadillac".

Of course, there are a LOT of other differences with the interior appointments and exterior trim. But these are the only locations that specifically say Fleetwood.

Strange, too, on de Villes and Fleetwoods, the only locations that say "Cadillac" are on the valve covers and on one of the dash chrome pieces, below the radio. From the outside, other drivers would never see these. I guess the styling spoke for itself and required no clarification for the masses. You just saw the crest and "V", and knew it was a Cadillac.

Jim

Edited February 8, 2012 by quadfins (see edit history)

[drbs]

Thankyou every one for your help. I do now have the information that I need. drbs