1970 Cadillac Eldorado The Eldorado (actually Fleetwood Eldorado) for 1970 carried over the 1968 and 1969 body design with an improvement in the engine displacement. The 472 cubic inch engine was bored out to a colossal 500 cubic inches. This was (and still is) the largest passenger-car engine ever built for production. It had 400 horsepower and 550 lbs/ft of torque. The grille included a plaque labeled “8.2 LITRE” to indicate the size of the engine. It was located on the left side of the redesigned grill . The grille itself had a cross-hatched insert, but horizontal blades were set upon it, emphasizing the V-shape of the front. Thinner vertical tail-lamps were used, giving a more rakish look. The winged-V emblems used at the front of the fenders on other Cadillacs were added to the Eldorado front parking lamp lenses. Bright rocker panel trim, with front and rear extensions was used. There was also Eldorado block lettering at the lower front fender behind the wheel housing. A new electric sliding sunroof option was also available. Also the Trackmaster skid control system was made available later in the model year.
Engine type V-8 Overhead valves. Cast iron block
Displacement 500 cubic inches
Bore & stroke 4.300 x 4.304 inches
Compression ratio 10.0:1
Brake horsepower (SAE gross) 400 @ 4400 rpm
Torque 550 @ 3000 rpm
Oil pressure 34-40 psi
Main bearings Five
Valve lifters Hydraulic
Carburetor Rochester four-barrel Quadrajet model 4MV (Eldorado type)
IIRC that’s the biggest V8 you could get in any production car in 1970.
A Cadillac with 550-ft. lbs. of torque? Yes, it’s true. Imagine the surprised look on the faces of high performance addicts in their 1970 Corvettes—complete with the $3,000 LS7 454 CID 460 horsepower Tri-Power Engine setup—when the light turns green and that huge Cadillac sitting next to them burns rubber from the front wheels! While most Eldorado drivers don’t behave this way, it has certainly occurred over the years. It’s an unusual feeling driving these cars; they don’t behave the way you would expect an automobile of this magnitude to behave. They hold the corners like they were on rails; they accelerate rapidly enough to scare you if you hold the pedal down too long. The variable-ratio power steering was precise, the standard automatic level control kept everything on an even keel, regardless of load. Cars this size aren’t supposed to handle this way—smaller performance cars are designed for this. Cadillacs are meant to isolate their occupants in comfy quiet, with no indication that anything else is going on outside.
1970 was the fourth and last year of the body style that was introduced in 1967. Face-lifts each year managed to keep the styling fresh, but change was certainly needed for 1971. The body style Cadillac would introduce for 1971 would have to carry the Eldorado through the 1978 model year, as government mandated safety and emissions requirements would eat up a large percentage of the money that would have previously been used for styling. The Eldorados that followed the 1970 models would be glamorous in their own way, but never again would they exhibit the crisp lines and sleek styling of the 1967-1970 models.
Cadillac was careful to protect the image it had so long worked to establish, and all references to performance were limited to statements such as “…unusually spirited performance”, “brilliantly responsive”, and “responsiveness that leaves the sixties far behind”. All of those statements are true, and true to Cadillac’s advertising slogan “the standard of the world”, the 1970 Eldorado was the world’s finest personal luxury car.
While I doubt I’ll ever see one tearing up an AX course, these did handle well for a 4,600lb car. It looks like it’s in great condition too. :ohyeah:
