1955 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible

Cadillac is America’s luxury car brand, and among the oldest automakers in the world. No surprise, given that it was founded way back in 1902 and recently celebrated its 119th birthday. A General Motors brand, Cadillac was surfing on a wave of popularity and exclusivity in the Fifties and Sixties with models such as the Eldorado. Curiously, the name is sometimes misrepresented as El Dorado, when in fact it is one word, with a lowercase D. This misrepresentation is due to the fact that the name is derived from the mystical South American city of El Dorado. The Eldorado was introduced in 1953 and carried on all the way up to 2002, across eleven generations. The first generation ran for only one model year, before the second generation took over the mantle and ran between 1954 and 1956. We have a 1955 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible up for sale, from Hawaii with just 10,000 miles on the odometer since the reportedly matching-numbers engine and transmission were rebuilt. It’s said to have undergone a full frame-off restoration and is supposed to be 1 of only 1,085 that were built in 1955. It comes with the original keys, as well as photos, receipts, and documentation for the restoration.

Exterior and Interior

This 1955 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible is reported to have originally been white, before being painted in this stunning shade of black during the restoration. It rolls on period-correct wheels with new tires that have less than 100 miles on them. The chrome bits were re-chromed in 2007. It’s a convertible, with a power-operated white colored top that received a new hydraulic mechanism and lift rods during the restoration. It’s also got the parade boot for the convertible top. The interior has retained its red color scheme and was re-upholstered and re-carpeted during the restoration. It’s got power windows, power seats and power antenna which feeds a modern AM/FM/Bluetooth unit from Pioneer for modern tunes. The original radio is included in the sale as well.

Engine

The Eldorado had to have V8 power, as anything less simply wouldn’t cut it for GM’s pinnacle personal luxury car. In fact, the eighth generation peaked with a monster 500ci (8.2L) V8 before a V6 came into being for the ninth generation. The second generation came with two V8s, and this 1955 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible has the smaller 331ci (5.4L) overhead valve V8 that drives the rear wheels via a four-speed Hydra-Matic automatic transmission. Power steering and power brakes round off the package. Apart from the aforementioned rebuild of the numbers-matching motor and transmission, it’s also received a new battery, starter, generator, fuel tank, wiring and had its carburetor recently replaced with a tune-up for good measure. The owner reports that it’s “straight as an arrow, straighter than it left the factory”.