1968 Cadillac Eldorado black on black no vinyl top.

[alsancle]

I guess this one checks every box but maybe condition which is not great, although probably more than fine for local cruise nights.

 

1.  68 - big engine, hidden headlights

2.  Black on black.

3.  No vinyl top.

 

Am I missing something?

 

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1968-cadillac-eldorado-10/

 

This 1968 Cadillac Eldorado is finished in black over black leather upholstery and powered by a 472ci V8 paired with a three-speed automatic transaxle. Equipment includes 15″ steel wheels with covers, concealed headlights, chrome bumpers, a dual-exit exhaust, power windows, power door locks, and a push-button AM/FM stereo. The car was acquired by the seller in 2018, and work completed during their ownership has consisted of repainting the body, repairing vacuum leaks, and replacing the starter, battery, fuel pump, and radiator. This Eldorado is offered with a clean New Jersey title in the seller’s name.

 

[suchan]

Sharp! Especially black and no vinyl top.

Ready for the new owner’s next clandestine adventure!

[58L-Y8]

Simply a Bill Mitchell - GM Styling masterpiece.

[John_S_in_Penna]

Many people see black cars today as "sporty."

I don't really know why.  There was a time when

black was seen as a funereal color.  

 

A friend of my father's bought a new Lincoln

Town Car in 1977.  He had wanted to get a black car,

but the dealer told him that, at trade-in time,

the demand would be limited.  Only funeral parlors

would likely be interested, they said.  He bought

a maroon Town Car instead.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

While not perfect this is a really appealing Eldo.  Love the color. 

 

Love the hidden headlights but per seller...  Headlights open by themselves after the car has been sitting a while??

[Ed Luddy]

Nice car!

[EmTee]

Just the way Darth Vader would have ordered it! 

[avgwarhawk]

Nice car.

[deac]

A non vinyl top Eldo is pretty cool car and this one look good, but..... I see substantial fluid leaks on the underside of the motor/transmission which could run in the thousand to repair.  

[Gearheadengineer]

16 hours ago, Steve_Mack_CT said:

 

Love the hidden headlights but per seller...  Headlights open by themselves after the car has been sitting a while??

I’m guessing, but this could be from a vacuum leak. I assume the headlights are vacuum controlled - using vacuum to close them and springs to open them. Then some kind of check valve system keeps them closed even when the car is not running. Kind of a fail safe so that you still have headlights even if there is a vacuum problem. So a slow leak in the check valve system allows the headlights to eventually open. Again, just guessing. I have never worked on one of these. 

[Steve_Mack_CT]

I used to have to help lights on 71 Corvette, that was over 35 years ago so I cannot recall how much chasing I did but never did get it quite right...  Ugh, crawl under, twist arm, hand and push up.. 😁

[TexRiv_63]

Nice car. I've seen a couple of these lately touting the "no vinyl top" which was a very rare feature. But both I've seen show the textured body color rear window trim which I am pretty sure means it started out as a vinyl top car. When I restored my 68 many years ago I was told the correct no-vinyl-top trim was polished stainless like the windshield but I have never seen any of that trim or even a photo of a car with it. Anyone know the whole story?

[Steve_Mack_CT]

No but that is a GREAT looking Eldo, no doubt sorted to your standards.  I wouldn't mind finding one that nice!

[B Jake Moran]

I’m not a fan of Bring a Trailer. If it has new paint, new interior and many repairs on this desirable body, then the reserve is at least $20,000.  Right now it is at $8500.  

[B Jake Moran]

As far as the top, I’m 95% sure it started as a vinyl top car.  To replace the vinyl top with correct material and high quality workmanship would be a lot in a market that prefers no vinyl top.  I don’t know of anyone that wants a vinyl top.  

[alsancle]

I could certainly live with a black vinyl top on a black car.

[Guest]

TexRiv,

                      I researched this very subject a while back and found that the 1968 cars did have the vinyl colored, textured trim for the vinyl roof cars while the non-vinyl roofed cars also had painted body color trim but it was smooth instead of textured, so that's the thing to look for.  I believe the '67's had bright metal trim for the rear window when the car was ordered without vinyl.  I agree that most cars presented today without the vinyl top probably started out as vinyl roof cars.

Trim tag for the car in question shows that it was originally Silver Pine Green with a Black vinyl roof.

Cheers, Greg

 

 

Edited December 20, 2021 by GregLaR (see edit history)

[Ed Luddy]

50 minutes ago, GregLaR said:

TexRiv,

                      I researched this very subject a while back and found that the 1968 cars did have the vinyl colored, textured trim for the vinyl roof cars while the non-vinyl roofed cars also had painted body color trim but it was smooth instead of textured, so that's the thing to look for.  I believe the '67's had bright metal trim for the rear window when the car was ordered without vinyl.  I agree that most cars presented today without the vinyl top probably started out as vinyl roof cars.

Trim tag for the car in question shows that it was originally Silver Pine Green with a Black vinyl roof.

Cheers, Greg

 

 

I'd prefer the original color as well as the vinyl top.

[alsancle]

58 minutes ago, GregLaR said:

TexRiv,

                      I researched this very subject a while back and found that the 1968 cars did have the vinyl colored, textured trim for the vinyl roof cars while the non-vinyl roofed cars also had painted body color trim but it was smooth instead of textured, so that's the thing to look for.  I believe the '67's had bright metal trim for the rear window when the car was ordered without vinyl.  I agree that most cars presented today without the vinyl top probably started out as vinyl roof cars.

Trim tag for the car in question shows that it was originally Silver Pine Green with a Black vinyl roof.

Cheers, Greg

 

 

 

Well that sort of ruins things doesn't it?

[Cadillac Fan]

1 hour ago, alsancle said:

 

Well that sort of ruins things doesn't it?

For me it would.  My cars have to match the trim tag.  Even if I don’t like the colors.  Most others aren’t that crazy.  

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Ed Luddy said:

I'd prefer the original color as well as the vinyl top.

Same here Ed.

 

[alsancle]

48 minutes ago, GregLaR said:

Same here Ed.

 

 

That looks great.

 

When I was growing up my dad had a thing for Eldoraros.   We had a black 68,  a red 69,  a green 72 Vert,  a green 74 vert and a red 76 vert with 10k miles on it.

 

Off on the right you can see the 74 and the 69.  Take note of the Huggy Bear hood.

 

Of way more importance is my Go Kart off on the left.  That was a 6HP disk brake kart that I stole for $25 because it wouldn't run.  My dad cured that pretty quick.

[Ed Luddy]

1 hour ago, alsancle said:

 

That looks great.

 

When I was growing up my dad had a thing for Eldoraros.   We had a black 68,  a red 69,  a green 72 Vert,  a green 74 vert and a red 76 vert with 10k miles on it.

 

Off on the right you can see the 74 and the 69.  Take note of the Huggy Bear hood.

 

Of way more importance is my Go Kart off on the left.  That was a 6HP disk brake kart that I stole for $25 because it wouldn't run.  My dad cured that pretty quick.

That 74 Eldo in the right side of the pic is painted in "Persian Lime Metallic" Love that!

This is my old one posted below.

[Guest]

Persian Lime Metallic, outstanding color with white trim!

[John_S_in_Penna]

8 hours ago, B Jake Moran said:

As far as the top, I’m 95% sure it started as a vinyl top car.  To replace the vinyl top with correct material and high quality workmanship would be a lot in a market that prefers no vinyl top.  I don’t know of anyone that wants a vinyl top.  

I definitely would want a vinyl top, even on a

1967-68 Eldorado.  Growing up in the vinyl top

era, I see 1970's and 1980's cars without vinyl

tops as low-budget "plain Jane" cars--just

as others might view a car with dog-dish hubcaps.

 

The black Eldorado WITH the vinyl top, which was

pictured, looks much better to my taste.  And the

original "silver pine green" looks good to me, too.

Edited December 21, 2021 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[Guest]

I'm with you John.   I like the look of a nice, period correct vinyl top, whether it's on a full sized luxury car or a muscle car from the era.   I know a lot of the guys in wetter climes hate the vinyl roofs because of the rust issues they can create, but if you're somewhere drier, they are a real touch of elegance.   A few years ago I found a very tired but completely original 1968 Pontiac Firebird, 400 4 speed.  Original color was the dark metallic Verdoro Green with Black vinyl top and matching Black interior.  When I got it, it was in primer and the vinyl top was long gone.  The car's numbers matched from front to back, it had full instrumentation, console, hood tach, etc.  So I felt it was a car really worth restoring to original condition.  I went to great lengths to have the Cordova vinyl top reinstalled and I'm glad I did.  Finished it was a knockout.

 

Edited December 21, 2021 by GregLaR (see edit history)

[EmTee]

22 hours ago, GregLaR said:

Persian Lime Metallic, outstanding color with white trim!

Forget the trim -- I'd be tempted to buy based on just the name of that color!  "Persian Lime Metallic", it just rolls off my tongue so effortlessly... 

Edited December 22, 2021 by EmTee
typo (see edit history)

[B Jake Moran]

Well, a well done vinyl top can be nice, and is a part of our American car culture for the period it was prominent.  But, overall most guys prefer a non vinyl top car.  

 

Let's set it another way.  Cadillac, Lincoln and Buick buyers - older buyers - insisted many times on the "Cabriolet top" well past the vinyl top's high season.  I still see Cadillacs and Buick Lucerne's with faux tops.  

 

This while competing against BMW, Lexus, Mercedes and others for the hearts and minds of the new American wealth classes that might have preferred a well styled Cadillac or Lincoln.  

 

There was a time when I believed designers of luxury vehicles presented cars with vinyl tops as part of their styling presentations to the management.  This was probably - for Cadillac - from 1967 to 1985.  But with sales nose diving, clean sheet designs, albeit losers in their own right - lead to vinyl tops not being offered from the factory for the Eldorados and Sevilles.  Then they were quietly, and mercifully, dropped for the DeVilles.   

 

I have had many Buicks and Cadillacs with vinyl tops and they are very nice.  But I prefer a non vinyl top car and ultimately I think it cost the American luxury car manufacturers market share in the 1980's and 90's. 

[bryankazmer]

I think the aftermarket fake tops on sedans with B-pillars and door cut lines through the covered area are grotesque.  The

OEM stylists, after trying to pen modern designs, were not happy to see Caddies, Lincolns, Buicks, and Mercuries running around in "old fogey livery."

 

But I certainly don't fault dealers who would supply a very profitable add-on if the customer wanted it.  That's good business.

 

Consider the 41 Packards - most ads show the cars with body-colored headlight rings, the streamlined "feather" hood ornament, plain fenders, and running board delete.  Yet many cars have chrome rings, cormorant or donut chaser, sidemounts, running boards (all correct factory choices).  So it's not a recent phenomenon on conservative clientele cars.

[TexRiv_63]

1 hour ago, B Jake Moran said:

 

 

There was a time when I believed designers of luxury vehicles presented cars with vinyl tops as part of their styling presentations to the management.  This was probably - for Cadillac - from 1967 to 1985.  But with sales nose diving, clean sheet designs, albeit losers in their own right - lead to vinyl tops not being offered from the factory for the Eldorados and Sevilles.  Then they were quietly, and mercifully, dropped for the DeVilles.   

 

 

I am pretty sure the last Cadillac with a standard factory vinyl top was the 96 Fleetwood Brougham. This was my father-in- law's last car and he was definitely a lover of vinyl tops.

[alsancle]

I've had my eye  96 LT1 powered brougham for a long time.   Much like this thread,  I would want the triple black.   The prices seem to be inching up.

[B Jake Moran]

3 hours ago, bryankazmer said:

But I certainly don't fault dealers who would supply a very profitable add-on if the customer wanted it.  That's good business.

 

Bryan

We will have to disagree.   It was good business to make the money at that very moment but it cost the dealers in terms of future cache' or image.   There is one Cadillac dealer in greater Des Moines and he would be out of business except he became the Lexus, the Range Rover, the Infiniti and the Jaguar dealer as well.  

 

Cadillac is a moribund brand, existing on fumes UNLESS it can quickly reinvent itself as an electric car company.  But the slide started with the 4.1 V8, the Cimarron, and caving into 85 year olds that agreed to buy a Seville but "they had to have the faux cabriolet top!"  OK, Mr. Customer, here you go.  

 

Meanwhile, the kids were watching, laughing and buying a Lexus SUV.  

[B Jake Moran]

2 hours ago, TexRiv_63 said:

I am pretty sure the last Cadillac with a standard factory vinyl top was the 96 Fleetwood Brougham. This was my father-in- law's last car and he was definitely a lover of vinyl tops.

Don, that is a nice looking car for sure, with or without a vinyl top.  I like it.  BUT - this Cadillac's competition was Mercedes, Lincoln and perhaps BMW in 1996.  Lincoln Town Cars were festooned with vinyl tops.  

[bryankazmer]

I partially agree with you - the brand lost most aspirational appeal.  But brand management is the OEM's job.  Buick did a much better job of repositioning, fueled by sales in China. 

 

I'd say Cadillac's critical time was around 1973.  The enormous traditional Cadillac got its engine smogged and became a poor performer.  The Seville needed to be a bigger hit, although it was not a terrible first generation design.  The Cimmarron and 4-6-8 engine were horrid missteps.  Cadillac had about a 25 year run on top of their segment.  Currently they make their money on tarted up Chevy trucks

[Guest]

It must speak something to the resilience of the name Cadillac, but sooner or later the idea of living off that legacy has to dissipate completely.

I have watched with morbid fascination as Cadillac has made one colossal blunder after another since the 1970's, the list is frighteningly long as noted above.   I don't believe there's any other marque that could have survived misunderstanding the market so badly or that many miscalculated and calamitous platform offerings, to say nothing of the complete void in quality control.

[B Jake Moran]

Yes, it was the Standard of the World.   

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Eh, having had new/near new BMW, Audi, MB and Cadillacs as daily drivers in the past 15, 20 years I have learned 3 things:

1) In terms of what I would call near luxury models, the Cadillac is as good as any of the others, my ATS is as good as the MB C300 or Audi Quattro for 2/3 the price. 

3) Cool sells and while the Escalade may be a tarted up Chevy truck, it's still much cooler than any Lexus.  I see a lot of younger people tooling around in those, they cannot all be drug dealers or pro athletes.

2) None of these sedans are good at hauling plywood. Might be time to go back to pick up trucks.  Starting to kick tires as they are just so darn handy....

 

[John_S_in_Penna]

9 hours ago, B Jake Moran said:

...caving into 85-year-olds that agreed to buy a Seville but "they had to have the faux cabriolet top!"  OK, Mr. Customer, here you go.  

Meanwhile, the kids were watching, laughing and buying a Lexus SUV.  

 

I'm enjoying our discussion.  I must be a happy

outlier, because I enjoy the big, comfortable luxury cars

and have admired them since childhood.  This year,

I got a maroon 1980 Cadillac Seville (pictured below),

with the simulated convertible top.

 

But Jake, I agree with you, that Cadillac's clientele

has often been older.  I think that goes back many

decades, because younger people could rarely afford 

them.  In the 1950's and 1960's, Cadillac and Lincoln

were still offering gray wool broadcloth upholstery,

a holdover from decades before.

 

Edited December 22, 2021 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[Guest]

Ugh!

Just found out there is another class action law suit filed against Cadillac for the SRX.

My wife owns one, only 30,000 miles, she loves it but it has been one check engine light nightmare/recall after another.  The car looks and drives beautifully.  Tons of power, comfortable, loads of room, great for road trips, etc. 

We maintain it well and it's always sparkling clean.  But it seems to constantly have one problem or another.  The latest is with the headlamps.  She complained the low beams were very poor.  I drove it a couple nights ago and had to agree.  I thought the lenses may just need a polishing so I decided to do that tonight.  Well they weren't very bad at all but I did them anyway with no improvement.  So I thought perhaps the halogen bulb had become coated with dust or maybe I should upgrade to LED bulbs.  Looked like a complicated job to remove the bulb so I decided to check youtube for procedure.  It all went downhill from there.  

Long and short, this fellow disassembled one of his headlamp assemblies (after removing the front bumper and grill to gain access) to verify his suspicions and he was correct.  The heat from the halogen bulb is so great that it completely burns away the reflective chrome backing on the plastic bulb housing leaving a chalky, dull brownish-gray which absorbs about 90% of the bulb's output rather than reflecting it.  No upgrade bulb in the world will fix this.

These are head lights for Heaven's sake.  They have been making them for a century.  This seems like the easiest thing in the world for an engineer to have anticipated during the design phase.  You can buy new assemblies at Cadillac at $800 per side but they are the same design so you can expect the same failure in a very short period. 

Nothing is cheap on this car....let me rephrase that, nothing is inexpensive on this car.  From the sunroof shade failure, to the transmission control module failure to the rear suspension recall, the parking brake management control failure (and we don't even USE the parking brake) etc, etc, etc.  All common failures on every SRX.  I have spent thousands of dollars on these "campaigns" that GM is fully aware of and there is an endless war of attrition with letters and lawsuits for these very same failures from thousands of unhappy customers.  

I've joined a Cadillac SRX forum for this very reason; to exchange info and follow along with these endless recalls and campaigns and fixes.  My wife loves the car and I've been a GM advocate all my life and I really believe in buying American first but I'm running out of steam.  Give me something to work with, something to fight for or believe in and I'll stand by them.  But with Cadillac's stubbornness to correct these issues short of being sued each time, their customer satisfaction index continues to plummet.

I hate to say it, but the handwriting is on the wall.  A good portion of my friends here in SoCal drive BMW's of one design or another and think I'm crazy to stay with these American behemoths.  I'm finding it harder and harder to argue with them.  I think I see a BMW X5 on the horizon for our next purchase.

I will not buy another Cadillac (unless it's a very old one).

Cheers, Greg

 

 

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Greg I get it service wise.  A blot on my otherwise trouble free ATS (now like 30k on the clock) was Cadillac's refusal to cover the touchscreen, a known design flaw.  BMW, by contrast covered a design flaw with a bad door seal just out of warranty, no questions asked.  Not sure if it was marque or dealers, but BMW service has proven best of the bunch for me.  MB nickels and dimes you to death, I get Caddy service done mostly at Chevy guy 5 minutes away so far so good...

A pristine Eldo, like subject car but nicer would be a very cool 60s car IMO.  Cannot think of a luxury car from 67 to 70 I would rather own.