I'm looking to buy an Eldorado with the 1979-1985 bodystyle. I think they're great looking cars. My dad had a 1982 Fleetwood with the 4100 engine which ruined about half of our family vacationsany advice on which engine to look for? Or maybe pick a cosmetically good model and put in an entirely new/rebuilt engine? Any help is very much appreciated

Thanks
Joseph

 

84-85 is the best looking inside and out, Barritz a big plus. The problem is the HT 4100 and computer integration, if you found a diesel model converted to gas with an Olds 350-403. You would get the best of both worlds. No ecm, in 84 and earlier diesel. ECM had control of cruise control,trans, at times a/c in HT4100 cars. Looking for an original car, 79-81 with out HT4100.

 

thanks for the reply, slowroll

so for looks the 84-85 is the best, but i'd be better off sticking to a 79-81 without the 4100?

 

I have a 79 biarritz eldorado ,triple white ,it has a 350 ,I have had both v-864's and 4100's to much grief!!had them in converts and hardtops , I like this 79 it has a seville engine !!the 79 also has less electronics to go bad!! the down side to all 79-85 is the PARTS fewer and fewer of the left every year ,when steel goes up the boneyards ship them OUT!! bad thing....

 

I had a 1985 Eldo with about 100k on it. I overheated that thing 2x a day to the point of detenation both times for about a month. It was a plugged rad, once I put a new rad I was good to go...My grandfather is still driving it and that was about 6yrs ago....

 

Funny how we all have differing opinions, I prefer the look of the 79 an 80 over the newer ones, especially the Birritz, larger egg-crate grill, more solid wire wheel covers, and the gas engines are the best of the bunch.. also inside, the standard eldos had (IMHO) a nicer seat design, I like the extra chrome like accents on the dash, after about 1983 it was all painted flat black. The carpeting in the 79 and 80, possibly 81 too was a fur like carpet, not the usual cut pile in the newer models.. the only neat extra in the newer ones is the delco bose stereo, not availible in 79 and 80, and even though most have not been maintained and have been replaced over the years in these cars, it actually sounded really good if you can find one that has been restored, and contrary to popular belief, they are cheep and easy to rebuild. ( The Bose systems)

MAtt

here's an '80
Here's the dash with the Chrome accents

 

thats just like my 79 ,very nice car ,I have the r/r grill and a continental kit ,just got a set of dayton spokes with vogues for it !! I use this car almost daily ,it now has 108,000 on it!!

 

The Allante 4100 engines do NOT share the internal problems that the other Cadillac models with the 4100 suffered.

I believe that 1986 was the transition year of redesign and the 1987 Allante benefited from that redesign.
the 1988 Allante again sported the 4100.

I believe all 4100 engines are easily swappable between Cadillacs of the era. The Allante engines also bring with them a few extra ponies.





.

 

the real bad 4100's as I understand it was in the beginning 82-83 the oil ports for the camshaft weren't bored big enough and would clog easily creating pre-mature failure of the cm and bearings!!my 87 allante had really no engine grief , It was the rest of all of the electronics that were hell!!the only reason I sold that car was that parts are difficult to get and if you could get them you paid heavy$$$$

 

they are cheap now ...

i just saw a $2,800 Allante in Los Angeles, with fresh paint .. a 1992 model with about 110,000 miles.

nowdays, there are a lot of them being parted by both salvage yards and private owners.


.


.