WHAT IS IT?
This 1984 Cadillac Eldorado represents the penultimate year of the model’s 10th generation. The large front-wheel-drive luxury coupe was a solid seller for General Motors, with just over 74,500 examples in coupe and convertible body styles selling that year, alone. This year, the car was equipped with a 4.1 liter V8 engine. Today, luxury SUVs rule the market for sporty “lifestyle” vehicles, but personal luxury coupes were all the rage 40 years ago and an Eldorado was quite a statement of success. That said, the General Motors and Cadillac were starting to face increasing competition from German marques like BMW who were more focused on performance and driving enjoyment while cars like the Eldo were more about isolation from the road surface. There was a “Touring Coupe” trim level with a heavier duty suspension and sport steering wheel as Cadillac was starting to acknowledge that Teutonic competition, but this appears to be “normal” trim of the car complete with wire wheel covers and a nice black on black color scheme that highlights the chrome accents on the car.
WHY THIS ONE HAS BEST ONE ON THE PLANET CHOPS
Claiming only 31,000 miles from new and for sale in St. George, UT, it’s entirely believable that this could have been with the same owner for many years. The description on the eBay Motors listing is quite sparse, unfortunately, but other than a rare ASC-converted convertible Eldorado, this super clean black/black seems like the one to get. The leather seats look barely used, particularly the rears, and the dash and interior trim look nearly untouched by time.
personal luxury coupes were all the rage 40 years ago and an Eldorado was a statement of success
Ahhhh….. A caddy with the infamous 4.1HT. Talk to any tech that worked at a Caddy dealership during this era and they will tell you failed 4.1s were stacked like cord wood behind the dealership. Low miles on any car so equipped usually means thats all the further it would go.
GM rushed the 4.1 to market to replace the disastrous V8-6-4. The 4.1 wasnt much better. The aluminum block castings were so porous the engines would weep oil from the pores of the metal. A GM service manual outlined the prefered service remedy, galling the affected area. In short, hit the engine with a ball-peen hammer until it stops dripping oil. The engine was designed to run hot, around 210 degrees, in order to meet the increasingly strict emissions standards, the result was typically NO emissions after pulling the head bolts out of the aluminum block and blowing a head gasket.
Today you find two kinds of cars with this engine… in the junkyard, or in the hands of a loving owner that has taken care of the car well enough to ensure the engine stayed running, NEVER overheated and did not stress it in any way. This El Dorado seems to fall in that category. It may very well be the best.
Cars to me must have a purpose, mostly involving lots of miles across the relatively immense landscape of These United States. This is a fantastic example of an ’84 Eldorado, from the leather seats to the dash covered in more veneer than the turntable console next to a 1960’s conversation pit. I want to drive this car from Chicago to Palm Springs, listening to stereophonic Jazz, at the limit of it’s 85 mph speedometer. Love it.