Today’s car is a 1953 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible owned by Dave Ventresca. I saw this car at Net Cruze Cars and Coffee located at Ladera Center’s located at 5245 W Centinela Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90045. They meet on the 2nd and 4th Saturday from 9 AM to noon. 1953 was the first year of the Eldorado and was promoted to mark Cadillac’s golden anniversary. It is finished in warm Artisan Ochre with a red and white interior and a white convertible top. This is not my first 1953 Eldorado on my blog but, significant because it was one of the 74 that were originally delivered to California. It is powered by a 210 hp, 331 cube V8, with a Rochester 4-bbl carburetor and mated to a 4-speed Hydra-Matic and a 3,07:1 rear end. Helping slow this baby down are hydraulic power assisted drum brakes all around. The front suspension is independent with coil springs and in the rear is a live rear axle with half-elliptic leaf springs. with shock absorbers all around.
The 1953 Cadillac Eldorados were only produced as convertibles. A distinctive feature of the Eldorado was the dip at the rear of the door as well as the new wrap-around windshield that was presented on the Eldorado, Olds Fiesta and Corvette in 1953, a precursor of a future styling change to the entire General Motors line. The “disappearing” top is a distinctive feature of the Eldorado, featuring a metal cover, rather than the traditional canvas or vinyl, over the folded top, giving the car a smooth flowing appearance.
The Eldorado name translates to “the gilded one” a fitting name for this limited-edition Cadillac. The original MSRP was $7,750.00, nearly double that of any other 1953 Cadillac. There were 109,651 Cadillacs produced in 1953 with only 532 of them being Eldorados. The published top speed was 109 mph with a 0-60 mph time of 14.1 seconds. This is a great car that has been around the Concours d’Elegance circuit and will be a standout at any car event It attends. Thanks for riding along. ~ Frank Nesta
