For Cadillac , the front - wheel - drive 1967 - 1969 Cadillac Eldorado was a revolutionary development , as important as the 1915 V-8 , the 1930 Sixteen , the 1938 Sixty Special , and the 1949 V-8 . It was the first Cadillac with FWD ; moreover , it was an entirely new approach to the Eldorado ’s market .

Classic Cars Image Gallery

Its engineering science was n’t new . Oldsmobile , traditionally the " experimental segmentation " of General Motors , had launch the Toronado the year before . But the Eldos ' styling was quite different from the Toronado ’s .

This followed a dictum repose down by chief of design Bill Mitchell ( and too often cut by GM since ) that there must be specific " image " for the products of each GM sectionalisation , regardless of how much applied science they might partake in under the cutis .

It was the first clip Mitchell had applied his five - seat " personal car " theme to a Cadillac ( his major past works in this field were the Buick Rivieras of 1963 on ) .

The outcome was certainly one of the great conformation of the 1960s , completely lacking in rough spots , good look from every slant , yet sufficiently " formal " to be logical with Cadillac ’s current styling .

The name pack appropriate tradition : Cadillac had plunge its first Eldorado , a limited production " personal " machine , in 1953 . Interim Eldos were pretty less special , their goal being earnings more than just pizazz , yet the Eldorado nameplate always retained exclusivity .

Briefly during development , management in the grips of nostalgia had considered calling the new car " LaSalle " ; but then someone pointed out Jeff Godshall ’s LaSalle chapter in the Cadillac marque history , dubbing that make " Cadillac ’s only loser . "

That , consort to Cadillac insiders , made them unanimous for " Eldorado . " The one thing miss was aconvertibleversion – GM did n’t have one yet – but it would come along in the next design generation .

Continue on to the next Thomas Nelson Page to find out about the technology and styling of the 1967 , 1968 , 1969 Cadillac Eldorado .

For more information on cars, see:

1967, 1968, 1969 Cadillac Eldorado

In addition to its brilliant , razor - sharpness styling , the 1967 , 1968 , 1969 Cadillac Eldorado was blessed with hunky-dory technology . What Cadillac had particularise was a big , luxurious car with all the traditional virtues ally to spectacular roadability – a combination it arguably never offered before .

Cadillac team up its 429 V-8 with a " fragmented " transmitting : thetorque converterand gearbox were disjoined from each other , link by a mountain chain drive and sprocket .

The samara was the chain , develop by Hydra - Matic Division and Borg - Warner : unbreakable , conciliatory , spark , and not too expensive to produce . The splittransmissionmade the drivetrain quite thickset , although the automobile itself was vast : 221 inches from stem to stern , on a 120 - in wheelbase . Despite those dimensions , there was n’t all that much way in the back seat , but few seemed to care .

Front - wheel effort give the Eldorado almost neutral handling characteristics , which was quite novel for Cadillac , traditionally known for its last and irrevocable understeer .

Automobile Quarterlyeditor Don Vorderman wrote that in cornering , the car display " mounting understeer when under full exponent , " but this was " easily countervail by backing off the accelerator , at which time the tail will move out in the Graeco-Roman FWD custom . " Vorderman take on that it was tentative whether " one owner in a thousand will drive the car this way , but it does speak intensity on how thoroughly Cadillac engineers have done their caper . "

The Eldorado was not greatly changed during its first three - year design generation . A handsome eggcrate grille clothe the 1967 and 1968 models , the latter of which can be discern by parking light that were repositioned from the bumper to the wing . Briefly , too , in 1968 and1969 , Cadillac adopt a 472 - cid V-8engine .

Although the " unbreakable " chain drive did fail on function , and the U - joints mob up on a regular basis , for such a complicated car the early Eldorado was remarkably reliable .

collector consider the 1967 the ranking model because it was the first of the series , but the 472 is a good engine , and damage of nice examples have n’t deviate much to date .

Remarkably enough , you may still find one of these big beasts in show consideration for under $ 10,000 . That ’s a lot of Cadillac for the money .

For 1967 , 1968 , 1969 Cadillac Eldorado specifications , go to the next page .

1967, 1968, 1969 Cadillac Eldorado Specifications

The 1967 , 1968 , 1969 Cadillac Eldorado was a big , luxurious car that boast hunky-dory engineering and attractive , radical styling .

Specifications

Engines : all ohv V-8;1967429 Criminal Investigation Command ( 4.13 × 4.00 ) , 340 bhp;1968 - 1969472 Criminal Investigation Command ( 4.30 × 4.06 ) , 375 bhp

Transmission:3 - focal ratio Turbo Hydra - Matic

Suspension , front : upper and broken A - weapons system , crookedness stripe , stabilizer bar

Suspension , rear : live axle , folio springiness

Brakes:1967front / rear drums ( front phonograph recording optional);1968 - 1969front discs / rearward drums

Wheelbase ( in.):120.0

weightiness ( lbs.):4,500 - 4,580

Top speed ( mph):NA

0 - 60 miles per hour ( sec):NA