Eldorado Seville

[Bruce Nunnally]

Interesting photos of a 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Sedan Seville online in a for sale ad for a striking example at Fen Enterprises. Striking price too at US$55K.

From the late 80s Cadillac used Eldorado to indicate a 2-door and Seville to indicate a 4-door model. Originally however, Seville was a variant of Eldorado that indicated a fixed top, while Biarritz indicated a convertible top. So an Eldorado Seville was a fixed top Eldorado.

The Series 62 Eldorado Specials were available in 3 body styles in 1957: 2-door Hardtop Coupe Seville, 2-door Biarritz Convertible, and 4-door Sedan Seville. The 4-door was a special order model built in limited quantities; perhaps as few as 4 were made in 1957. The images above show a Eldorado Coupe Seville. About 2,100 of these were made in 1957, and they sold for $7,286, or almost twice as much as a base model Cadillac Series 62. The Eldorado base engine was 365 cid and made 300 brake hp at 4800 rpm with a 4-barrel Rochester carb; the optional engine was a OHV V8 with 365 CID and 325 brake hp at 4800 rpm. The optional engine sported triple 2-barrel Carter carbs. I'm not a carb expert, but this example appears to have the triple carb optional engine.

Hp ratings in 1957 are for gross hp, so not the same thing as today's 304hp Net hp ratings for the CTS DI V6. In 1972 both types of ratings were given for the 472 cid V8; at that point Cadillac showed 345hp gross and 220hp net listed together. So one might say this 325 hp gross optional engine made around 200hp net. The car weighed 4,819 lbs.

The 1957 Eldorado Seville has a 222.1 inch wheelbase or 9 inches more space between the front and rear axles than the current CTS.

The Series 70 Eldorado Brougham was also available in 1957. It was a larger car and was hand made vehicle derived from the earlier Park Avenue and Orleans showcars. About 400 Eldorado Broughams were made in 1957. It had quad headlights and air suspension among other features. It also had the 325hp triple-dual-carb engine as standard. It came with some unusual features, such as lipstick, perfume, and cologne. Buyers could choose from 44 different leather interior trim combinations and select 3 different carpet materials including lambskin. Check the article here and nice period movie/review.

[growe3]

Beautiful car!

Regarding the engine, it definitely is not a 3-2 setup. It is a 2-4 intake. It has two Carter WCFB's on it.

The same that the Chrysler 300's used in the mid 50's. My 1955 Chrysler 300 has this setup.

-George

PS

I also have a friend with a 1957 Cadillac Biarritz Convertible.

See image of 1955 Chrysler C300 engine below.