1977 Cadillac Eldorado review from North America

-Power antenna out

-Cracked driver's side exhaust manifold

-Drivers side seat cushion deformed after 27 years of people sitting in it.

-27 gallon fuel tank could lead to ecological disaster of Exxon Valdez proportions

This vehicle was purchased merely for fun. I have enjoyed big cars since I was very young, however my main transportation vehicles are typically brand new American full size trucks (with a bend towards Ford and Dodge) and I tend to have a new Mustang around for kicks at any point in time.

I purchased this vehicle after performing an online classifieds search for a cheap lower mileage car which normally results in no hits. However, this particular search yielded a 1977 Eldorado. From the pics it looked straight. It had 85k original miles and has been a California car its entire life. In fact it was a one owner car who took good care of it, not fanatical care, but kept up with maintenance and drove it regularly. The daughter inherited it when the owner passed and promptly put it up for sale. Enter me.

It's important to know the history when judging how reliable a car will be. I have a collection of records for the car going back to the first 4000 mile oil change. I imagine a 10 owner car with some unknown mileage will be far less reliable than what I'm about to describe.

Which brings me to the whole point. Yes I bought the car for fun, but I have been amazingly surprised at what I got for my money. Not only is it clean and straight, but it runs beautifully. In the month and change I've owned it, I have become more enamored with the car day by day. It's simply unequaled in my automotive experience (I've owned 15 cars).

It starts every time. It's quiet. The orginal 8 track works. The original digital clock not only works, but keeps perfect time. It passed California smog with flying colors. I had to replace the driver's side exhaust manifold which was cracked in half - apparently a common problem for Eldo's of this era. No salvage yard had this piece; I found a few passenger side units, but no driver's. Ended up dropping nearly $300 for a new unit from some outfit on the east coast. Once I installed that, it was very quiet.

You should know that the TH425 transmission in this vehicle is the same transmission that pulled around those gigantic GMC motorhomes of the 70's. That's saying something. If that tranny can pull an apartment complex on wheels like that, it's no wonder it's still going strong in my Eldo.

My particular car is a hue that defies description - an unholy combination of gold and green. The interior color is even worse with a greenish-yellowish tint assaulting the senses. No matter - it has character (my fiance would beg to differ).

If you are reasonably adept at working on rudimentary automotive tasks, these are wonderful cars for the money. They can be had cheap, even units that were very well cared for (try to find one of these vs. a car that's changed hands frequently). The parts are still available at most all auto parts houses.

This car is not fast, but that's not the point. It goes down the road with authority. It cruises till the cows come home. It garners strange and wondrous looks from the masses. It is the golden gilded one - it is El Dorado!