Barn Find 1972 Cadillac Eldorado Station Wagon on 2040-cars
Columbus, Indiana, United States
Body Type:Wagon
Engine:8.2 Liter 500 ci
Vehicle Title:Clear
For Sale By:Private Seller
Interior Color: walnut
Make: Cadillac
Number of Cylinders: 8
Model: Eldorado
Trim: Astrella Wagon
Drive Type: Fwd
Options: Sunroof, Leather Seats
Mileage: 43,821
Power Options: Air Conditioning, Cruise Control, Power Locks, Power Windows, Power Seats
Exterior Color: Gold
This car is said to be 1 of 8 produced that year. The car has been in my family since 1997. There is some general 'caddy wagon' info and pictures that can be seen at: cadillacstationwagon.com. This particular model was built by ASC Custom Craft Inc either on contract with a local Caddy dealer or maybe with the factory directly. I'm not sure if it was a car Cadillac had built for shows, or one a customer ordered.
Interior/Exterior:
When my great uncle bought the car it was in mint condition, but eventually it had been moved outside after his death where the paint/landau top deteriorated to their current condition. I have a picture of the car from back then that I will send out once I locate it. It shows the 1940's Cadillac 'silver goddess' hood ornament that once sat perched on the hood before someone stole it while it was sitting outside at some point. It broke my heart to find that the car had been moved outside, but I was pleased to see that the interior hadn't been penetrated by any insects or rodents and remains 100% intact, dry and original. I would have rescued it sooner, but a family member had told me that it had been gone for a long time and I didn't ever think to check for myself.
The exterior Landau top needs replaced and the car needs paint and some body work. There is no significant rust that would lead to any panels needing cut or replaced from what I can tell, so the car would be easy to do a 'partial restoration' on by just having the exterior work done. The interior just needs cleaned, leather conditioned.. basic stuff. Carpet is spotless and the interior still smells new. The sunroof doesn't respond when the button is pressed and the rear tailgate window doesn't either. I've not ever checked any fuses or done anything with the electrical, so I don't know if it's something as easy as a fuse or if the motors are shot, or bad switches etc. I peaked under the dash once and was thrilled to see how clean it all was. The windows work fine. As per the era, each seat is equipped with the standard Cadillac cigar lighter and ash tray which says so much about the days when the car was built!
There is a lot of chrome on the car and it is all in decent shape.. I believe it is all salvageable with a few pieces probably needing dipped. The only missing exterior pieces are the hood ornament (which are still available), and the two side emblems on the B pillar.
Mechanical:
The car has low miles and runs and drives great. I did a general tune up after making the haul a few years ago to go rescue it and it has sat inside ever since. I took the pictures when it was 20 degrees out, so that is not smoke.. it's condensation. The engine is smooth and quiet (when it's cold, sometimes the belt squeaks) and at most could probably use a carb kit or tune up. It's extraordinarily quiet for such a beast of an engine under the hood and although I only drive it up and down the road once in a while to keep it fresh, it's quite an enjoyable experience to drive a land yacht of the past and roll up next to a Prius!
The rear air shocks had a brittle line that I broke when loading on the trailer way back when and I was happy to see that the car promptly squatted down when I did that. So I repaired the line and pumped them back up and they've held ever since.
Vehicle Origin (from Google):
By 1970 American Sunroof Corp. had combined all of its Detroit operations at one plant which was located at 13500 Reeck Rd, in Southgate, Michigan. Also new was ASC Custom Craft Inc., a new subsidiary that specialized in producing aftermarket styling parts that could turn an early to mid 1970s Cadillac or Lincoln into a neo-classic, or what was more commonly referred to as a 'pimpmobile'.
ASC Custom Craft offered "..a complete line of luxury customizing and classic automotive finery for the personalization of your customer's cars. I am sure that you are finding that in recent years more and more car buyers are interested in adding to their cars these special touches of excitement and luxury."
Available products included custom grills, 'Superfly' headlight trim, custom hood ornaments, padded half landau roofs, landau irons, fender skirts, rear deck lids with faux spare tire hump, rear deck trim, color keyed wheelcovers, oval or formal continental windows, a dash-mounted 3" television and special interior trim.
Custom Craft's products were marketed directly to Cadillac dealers, whereby desired components could be ordered by the dealers and installed on site. Custom Craft also offered a full installation program whereby the entire customization process could be completed in their Southgate workshop.
Their Cadillac Eldorado conversions were the most popular however they offered styling products for the Fleetwood/Deville as well as a complete line developed for the Lincoln Mark and Ford Thunderbird. Many of the products could be fitted to other vehicles, and the firm produced a handful of full customs built on customer-supplied Buicks, Oldsmobiles and Pontiacs.
ASC Custom Craft offered a full styling conversion of the Eldorado which was called the el Deora. The changes were largely cosmetic and consisted of a reworked grill, a heavily padded landau roof that extended into the top of the doors and a faux spare tire hump mounted on the decklid. At least one stretched FWD el Deora was built using a 1974 Eldorado.
They also offered a slightly stretched Fleetwood limousine which was marketed as the Fleetwood Talisman El Deora. The Talisman was a highly optioned Fleetwood that was offered by Cadillac in the mid 70s. ASC Custom Craft introduced a line of Cadillac station wagons that were built on the rear-wheel-drive Deville chassis and are known to have built a number of wagons using Eldorados, one of which was owned by recording star Glen Campbell.
ASC's wagons were built using the back half of GM clamshell station wagons that were attached to new 4-door Devilles and Fleetwoods at the C-pillars. Most of the Eldorados were attached at the B-pillar although a few, including Glen Campbell's, were attached at the C-pillar and included the small Eldorado rear quarter windows. The 4-door wagons resembled the full-sized Oldsmobile and Buick Wagons and were quite successful. The Eldorado-based wagons looked awkward from day one and very few were built. During the early- to mid-70s ASC exported over 100 Cadillac wagons and specially outfitted Fleetwood limousines to Saudi Arabia.
Mike Alexander, one of the famous Detroit-based Alexander Bros. car customizers, went to work for ASC in December of 1970. As Alexander was a skilled metal and fiberglass fabricator, he was placed in charge of ASC Custom Craft's body shop. Alexander personally supervised the production of the firm's wagons and stretched limousines, which explains the high level of craftsmanship that can be found on the remaining survivors. He remained with the firm through the late 90s and helped engineer the Cadillac Evoq's folding hardtop which debuted at the 1999 Detroit Auto Show.
Please let me know if you have any other questions or would like any specific pictures and I'll get them ASAP. There aren't any surprises I can think of for a 41 year old car. What you see in the pictures is what you get! If you're interested and live in the Indianapolis area and want to come check it out, just let me know.
Cash or Cashiers Check only - No Trades Please, NO INTERNATIONAL
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