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Car Of The Day: February 4, 2010; Topper Johnny Lightning '67 Cadillac Eldorado
Topic Started: Feb 4 2010, 03:46 AM (318 Views)
Swifty
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The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
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Today's car of the day is Topper Johnny Lightning's 1967 Cadillac Eldorado.

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Wikipedia
 
The Eldorado model was part of the Cadillac line from 1953 to 2002. The Cadillac Eldorado was the longest running American personal luxury car as it was the only one sold after the 1999 model year. Its main competitors included the Lincoln Mark Series and the lower-priced Buick Riviera.

Although cars bearing the name varied considerably in bodystyle and mechanical layout during this long period, the Eldorado models were always near the top of the Cadillac line. Nevertheless, and except for the Eldorado Brougham models of 1957–1960, the most expensive models were always the opulent, long wheel-based Series 75 sedans and limousines, not the Eldorado.


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For more information and pictures of the real car please visit: Cadillac Eldorado

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The first Topper added to my collection, this was a RAOK from Mr. Stubbs way back when I first joined the diecast community. This remains one of my favorite representations of this vintage Eldorado in scale, but a newer, more accurate casting has been desperately needed in small scale for the past ten years. I'm shocked that with the muscle car craze no one has bothered with this one. Especially Hot Wheels since this was one of their own original Redlines.

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The Eldorado was radically redesigned for 1967. Intended for the burgeoning personal luxury car market, it was a "personal" Cadillac sharing the E-body with the Oldsmobile Toronado, which had been introduced the previous year. Cadillac adopted the Toronado's Unified Powerplant Package and front-wheel drive. The Eldorado used a standard Cadillac 429 V8 with a modified Turbo-Hydramatic automatic transmission (THM425, based on the Turbo-Hydramatic 400) with the torque converter mounted next to the planetary gearbox, driving it through a metal chain.

Despite sharing underpinnings with the Toronado, the Eldorado's crisp styling, initiated by GM styling chief Bill Mitchell, was distinctive and unique, appearing more angluar than the rounded Toronado. Performance was 0–60 mph (0–96 km/h) in less than nine seconds and a top speed of 120 mph (192 km/h). Roadability and handling were highly praised by contemporary reviews. Disc brakes were optional in 1967 and became standard in 1968. The new Eldorado was a great departure from the previous generation, which has become little more than a dressed-up version of Cadillac's Series 62. Sales were excellent despite high list prices.

For 1968 the Eldorado gained slight exterior changes to comply with new federal safety and emissions legislation, and as with the rest of the Cadillac lineup, a new 472 cu in (7.7 L) V8 engine rated at 375 hp (280 kW) (SAE gross). In 1969 it lost its hidden headlamps and picked up as options a halo vinyl roof and later in the model year a power sunroof option. For the 1970 model year, this body style Eldorado introduced the new 500 in³ (8.2 L) V8 engine, the largest-ever production V8 [rated SAE gross 400 hp (298 kW) / 550 ft · lbf (746 N · m) in 1970] that would be an Eldorado exclusive until it became standard on all full size Caddies for model year 1975.


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Wikipedia
 
The name was proposed for a special show car built in 1952 to mark Cadillac's Golden Anniversary; it was the result of an in-house competition won by Mary-Ann Marini (née Zukosky ), a secretary in the company's merchandising department. Another source, Palm Springs Life magazine, attributes the name to a resort destination in California's Coachella Valley that was a favorite of General Motors executives. However, the Eldorado Country Club in Indian Wells, California was not founded until 1957 - five years after Cadillac's naming competition. In any case, the name was adopted by the company for a new, limited-edition convertible that was added to the line in 1953.

The name Eldorado was derived from the Spanish words "el dorado", "the gilded one" or "the golden one"; the name was given originally to the legendary chief or "cacique" of a South American Indian tribe. Legend has it that his followers would sprinkle his body with gold dust on ceremonial occasions and he would wash it off again by diving into a lake. The name more frequently refers to a legendary city of fabulous riches, somewhere in South America, that inspired many European expeditions, including one to the Orinoco by England's Sir Walter Raleigh.


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STUTZ
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Diecast junkie
I think you made bunkerjim's day Swifty!
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james_autos
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I'm surprised JL hasn't done another one of these.
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Swifty
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The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
james_autos
Feb 4 2010, 03:32 PM
I'm surprised JL hasn't done another one of these.
Makes two of us! They did multiple Rivieras and the first generation Toronado (albeit Tom Lowe owned one at the time...) but no Eldorados. I think part of that was that Hot Wheels had an exclusive license with Cadillac around the turn of the century which resulted in this one being recast as the 'Custom L' in stead of the Eldorado. A generic version which was...well, hideous.
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