Jewel in the crown
Following its debut in 1953, Cadillac’s Eldorado continued to crown the Cadillac line-up, but switched to using the regular line’s body, with plenty of visual clues to differentiate it from lesser models, meaning Cadillac could lower the price, increase v
1954 Cadillac Eldorado
Mid-Fifties Cadillacs are to some eyes not the prettiest cars; they don’t have the lean, crisp styling of the ’49s nor the purposeful, eye-popping ‘look-at-me’ presence of the ’59s or ’60s with their outrageous fins and low, wide stance. The mid-Fifties Cadillacs were heavy and bulbous, but these were Cadillac’s boom years, with the company producing more than 150,000 cars every year despite them being priced up to almost $6000 when the average house price in 1954 was just $18,000!
The Eldorado had been introduced in 1953 as part of an exclusive line of General Motors limited production convertibles, which included the Buick Roadmaster, Skylark, the Oldsmobile 98 Fiesta and Chevrolet Corvette. The Cadillac made use of a special body unique to its nomenclature and was limited to just 532 cars, ensuring exclusivity for the lucky (but loaded) buyers, who were expected to cough up a truly astonishing $7750 for the model. Unique styling attributes included its wraparound windscreen, something introduced on all Cadillacs the following year. For 1954 the Eldorado lost its unique body and utilised the standard car’s body with some easily identifiable trim to distinguish it. This enabled Cadillac to up production numbers to 2150 cars, which, while still making it exclusive, meant it was a lot more profitable, while simultaneously lowering the price.
Cadillac was able to coax progressively more power from its standard 331cu in V8 motors, increasing horsepower by 20bhp from 210bhp in 1953 to 230bhp in 1954 and yet again another 20bhp in 1955 up to 250bhp. And this was where Cadillac had an advantage over its rivals such as Lincoln or Packard, as although the other marques may have had certain advantages over the ‘laurel and wreath’ marque, Cadillacs easily outpaced them out on the road.
Competition at the top of the tree between Cadillac, Lincoln, Packard and Chrysler’s ‘on-off’ luxury brand Imperial was very fierce, but ultimately it was Cadillac that won the contest – and in spades – often outselling its nearest rival, Lincoln, by almost three times. In 1954 Cadillac built 96,680 cars, while Lincoln scraped by with 36,993 cars.
Cadillac’s other big advantage over its ritzy rivals was its range of desirable convertibles which ranged from the ‘entry level’ Series 62 convertible priced at $4404, to our feature car, the range-topping ‘halo’ model, as we would call it now, the Eldorado, which cost an eye-watering $5738 (bear in mind you could purchase the most basic entry-level Chevrolet 150 series for
a mere $1680 or even Bel Air convertible for $2165!). In 1954 Cadillac produced 6310 Series 62 convertibles and only 2150 Eldorados (all of which were convertible), making this model relatively rare.
So what did buyers get for their extra $1354? Well, there’s the obvious and easily identifiable gingerbread on the exterior: the aluminium trim above and behind the rear wheels, with accompanying Cadillac shields. Also unique to the Eldorado were the chrome shields behind the door handles and crests on the door tops (often monogrammed with the owner’s initials, as on our feature car, with owner Bjorn’s initials) as well as ‘Eldorado’ lettering in the centre of the Cadillac V on the boot. Many of these exterior trim pieces are actually gold-plated. Wheels were Kelsey Hayes wires which look incredible paired up with wide white walls, as on our feature car. Eldorados were available in unique colours which included Apollo Gold (yellow), Aztec Red, Alpine White and Azure Blue, as seen here. The power top also came with a three-part hard parade boot – probably ideal in California, but probably a bit cumbersome in Europe, unless you know for sure the weather is going to remain dry.
Inside there were plenty of luxury features as standard including power windows, four-way power seats, power steering, windshield washer, heater, a signal-seeking radio and ‘Autronic Eye’ automatic headlamp dipping system, plus Eldorado badges on the seat bolsters. Eldorados even had a unique lower-sounding horn, so you could even distinguish them from regular Cadillac models when they beeped!
Eldorado’s Björn again
Our feature car belongs to Björn Peterson, a crane operator from Stockholm. This probably should come as no surprise to long-time Classic American readers, as over the years we’ve featured many Swedish American cars, many of which are restored to the highest standard in the world… higher even than many American restorations. It’s pretty conceivable that after the United States, Sweden is probably the second biggest market/place for classic American cars and a visit to the two big shows held there in early July is an absolute must for any classic American fan. It’s reckoned there may only be eight or nine of these 1954 Eldorados in the UK and in keeping with this month’s TV and film theme, one appeared in the Martin Scorsese-directed Color of Money film starring Paul Newman and Tom Cruise about pool hustlers… Björn, like a lot of Swedes, has been a lifelong American car enthusiast and belongs to the American Cadillac and La Salle club, as well as Sweden’s home-grown Cadillac Automobile Club. He believes the Eldorado was shipped to Sweden in 1976 from Nevada, although the car
is believed to originally hail from Spartanburg, South Carolina. Bjorn acquired the car in 1979 as an 18-year-old and it was his first car, buying it in north Sweden and bringing it back south to Stockholm where he drove it for three years, before finally taking it off the road in 1982 to begin restoring it. Now comes a familiar story: the car, or what was left of it after he dismantled it, remained in boxes for 33 years before the restoration was completed and it was back on the road. “Storage was a big problem,” explains Björn. “These are big cars (223 inches/181⁄ ft in overall length) and even bigger spaces are required when restoring them.” He also restored a Corvette in those intervening years, but most impressively did a lot of the restoration work himself, including all the work on the 331cu in V8 engine, which was re-bored and fitted with new pistons, as well as overhauling the four-speed automatic HydraMatic transmission. The interior was re-trimmed using correct leather sourced from the United States and the original correct Kelsey Hayes wire wheels were refurbished as well. About the only thing he didn’t tackle was the paint, which was professionally resprayed in the factory correct Eldorado unique colour of Azure Blue. Probably one of the most challenging elements of the restoration was the replacement of the floorpans and trunk area, using the floorpans from a 1955 Coupe De Ville, which was purchased exclusively for that purpose. The restoration was completed in 2015 – some 36 years after Björn had first bought the car – and it made its trip out to a show in Jönköping, about 140km east of Gothenburg in southern Sweden, where its debut was a triumph for him and the car after all those years. These days Björn only really takes the car out locally for a run or to local shows, preferring to trailer it to bigger national events elsewhere in Sweden. “It takes so long to clean underneath,” he explains. You’d think after 33 years, Björn would be hanging up his blow torch and sander, but his next project is going to be a customised 1955 Cadillac convertible, which started life as a coupe but was converted into a convertible (something popular in the States, due to the higher value of convertibles, but ultimately something that devalues these cars compared with original genuine convertible cars).
Plans include lowering it, fitting air suspension and chopping the roof, something that may make purists reach for their smelling salts, but actually is fine on a car that’s already been so dramatically modified. Let’s hope we won’t have to wait 33 years to share that car with you when it’s finally completed! ★