Article Contributed on: 3/28/2006 2:50:23 PM
In February I wrote about my newest acquisition, a 1969
Chrysler 300 that I bought from its last owner right here in
Lakewood. Since I have 4 other classics currently in my collection,
I thought it was time to share another of them with you. In
deciding which to blog about next, it occurred to me that the
natural choice is the car which has been least active throughout
the winter and is the most likely to be frequently seen as the
weather improves: my 1973 Cadillac Eldorado convertible.
As is the case with most of my cars, I look for models which
appeal to me and that have either been maintained by their original
owners until I purchase them, or at least are low mileage, mostly
original classics with no more than two owners prior to my
acquiring them. In December of 2003, I decided it was time to
acquire an Eldorado from the early 70's, preferably a convertible,
so I started my usual hunt in the old car trading papers (Hemmings,
Classic Car Trader, etc.), as well as on E-Bay motors and through
the Cadillac-LaSalle Club website classifieds, word of mouth, etc.
As none of those resources yielded a result, I resigned myself to
wait, not suspecting that fate would serve me well. On a business
trip at my former corporate headquarters in Milwaukee, WI, I was
reading the latest Cadillac LaSalle newsletter during a break when
one of the corporate HR ladies struck up a conversation, having
noticed what I was reading. One thing lead to another, and within
two weeks I was the proud new owner of her father's 1973 Cadillac
Eldorado convertible he had owned since new. Then in his mid-80's,
the car was becoming a burden rather than a pleasure. Stored safely
in a private airplane hangar in Sandwich, IL., the car had only
48,000 original miles on it and was still in its original paint,
with the original convertible top, and still riding on the original
bias-ply tires. I negotiated a favorable price, drove to Sandwich
in my motorhome with a car hauling trailer, and brought Jackie-O
(all my girls have names) to her new Denver home. She is a real
pleasure to drive(although with new tires and a few new parts,
although still sporting the original paint, engine, interior, top,
and most other parts) and is quite enjoyable in the many sunny days
Denver has to offer. Meet Jackie-O and look for her in the coming
spring and summer months on the highways and by-ways of our
community, and I hope you enjoy her as much as I do.