Rare Rides Icons: The Cadillac Eldorado, Distinctly Luxurious (Part XLIX)

The eighth generation Eldorado was a more than pleasant surprise to the public when it arrived in showrooms for the 1967 model year. As we covered previously, its fresh and angular exterior styling was quite unexpected from Cadillac. Especially so when one considered how staid and barge-like the Eldorado had become as it was reduced over generations into a trim rework of the DeVille (even if it was built by Fleetwood). Interior styling received a considerable update too, with minimal chrome, no wood paneling whatsoever, and a driver-focused cockpit which would become the hallmark of the personal luxury car. But as was de rigueur, General Motors set about messing with the Eldorado via various annual changes.

(Note: The silver Eldorado is the 1967, while gold examples shown are 1968 models.)

Engineering and visual changes arrived in 1968, with the former being the big headline news. Though the 429 (7.0L) V8 was a decently advanced engine for the time with emissions controls, it was inherently dated underneath. While its modernized block dated back only to 1963 and the 390 V8, underneath the architecture was based on 1940s technology. Specifically, the 1949 331 cubic inch (5.4L) OHV engine. 

The OHV had simply been enlarged as much as possible, and it was time to start fresh. Displacement was the hot ticket of the day, and the 429 was already surpassed by larger engines from Chrysler (440) and especially Lincoln (462 and 460). Cadillac went even bigger, with their grandiose and slightly ridiculous 472 cubic inch (7.7L) engine. 

Designed with even more displacement expansion in mind from the get go, the new power plant was meant to be less maintenance intensive. As such it had 25 percent fewer gaskets internally, and 10 percent less parts overall. A low compression wonder, the 472 managed 375 (gross) horsepower, up from 340 in the old 429 engine. 

But low-end torque mattered more than outright power to the domestic customer, and the 472 delivered on that front with 525 lb-ft at 3,000 RPM. The engine was heavier given its increase in size, so the Eldorado’s weight grew from about 4,696 pounds to 4,776. The additional weight was offset by the increase in power, and Eldorado’s power to weight ratio improved very slightly from .0724 to .0785. That’s the quantity of horsepower for each pound of vehicle weight.

However, while one hand giveth the other taketh away: The additional power and torque did not improve acceleration at all, because the Eldorado’s final drive ratio was reduced from 3.21 to 3.07. It was an engineering update truly all about marketing. Customers who didn’t care about fuel prices (yet) would see 10 to the gallon in the city, and 13 if they cruised on a freeway. Though the Eldorado didn’t move any faster with its larger engine, all examples could stop more quickly than in 1967. Disc brakes at all wheels became standard equipment, where previously the front ones were an optional extra. 

The minimal chrome and wood-free cockpit proved to be a one-off for the front-drive Eldorado. In 1968 Cadillac was eager to tout a redesigned interior that featured copious rosewood paneling. Though the company called it an all-new instrument panel, what actually changed was mostly the lower half of the dash. The driver-centric lower section of the pod was removed and replaced with a flat wood trim strip that extended further toward the passenger side. There was also a revised central vent, which wore its Cadillac script in a panel that matched the color of the interior.

For 1968 there were also a handful of visual changes visible to the keen observer. The hood grew even longer than in 1967, as 4.5 inches were added near the windshield. The extra metal served to conceal the windshield wipers, a styling choice created by Pontiac the prior year that spread to most all cars by the Eighties.

The front clip was revised slightly, in a change that looked to be anticipated prior to the Eldorado’s launch. The combination parking and indicator lenses that were previously in the bumper moved north, into the corners of the fenders. This allowed for a smooth and uninterrupted chrome surface on the bumper, and a more distinctive front lamp signature at night. Once the ‘68 was viewed, the front fender caps of the 1967 became readily apparent.

At the B-pillar, the Cadillac wreath and crest were nowhere to be found. Designers leaned into the excessive and brougham trim era, and those emblems migrated to the rear fenders. The chrome grew thicker as a wreath, and the crest became a red running lamp. The lamps did not contain additional red reflectors for safety purposes, as that duty was covered by the tail lamp lens nearby.

More lens edits occurred at the side mirror(s). The circular Sixties shape that pivoted on its mounting was replaced with a rectangular unit. A more modern design, the housing of the mirrors were fixed with a movable mirror like all automotive side mirrors in present times. The rectangular shape was a long-lived one, and carried through to Cadillac models of the early Nineties before mirror-pillar integration took place.

Lens changes of various varieties were a running theme with the Eldorado of 1967 to 1970, as styling and regulation updates forced constant evolution. As it turned out, 1968 was the second and final time any production Cadillac would wear concealed headlamps. In our next installment we’ll cover Eldorado’s annual changes for 1969 and 1970.

[Images: seller, seller, GM]

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