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1957 / 1958 Eldorado Biarritz / Seville tail fin trim / license plate surround

Started by Bill Balkie 24172, June 03, 2012, 06:45:02 PM

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Bill Balkie 24172

Hello,
    I have a 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz . I have removed the tail fin chrome and had them  sent to the plater for re chroming . I have recently  came across another set of Tail fin  trim  from a 1958 Eldorado . Although they look alike ,the 1958 part would not fit my 57 without  a slight modification to the top of the seam on the fin itself  .  Can someone out there confirm that the tail fin trim mounts were a little differant in 1958 . Also  am i safe to assume  the  Aluminum center surround for the license plate  are the  same for 1957 and 1958  Eldorado Seville and Biarritz. 

Thanks ,
     Bill
Bill Balkie
1970 Coupe DeVille
2009 CTS

Ralph Messina CLC 4937

Bill,

The part numbers for the fin chrome trim and the license surround are the same for both ’57 & ’58 meaning the parts are the same.

Ralph
1966 Fleetwood Brougham-with a new caretaker http://bit.ly/1GCn8I4
1966 Eldorado-with a new caretaker  http://bit.ly/1OrxLoY
2018 GMC Yukon

Bill Balkie 24172

Hello Ralph ,
Thanks for looking that up for me , The mounting on the  extra set of fin trims  i have is just a little bit differant , you would think that  if they revised the fin trim that they might change the part number . The original trim on my car had a slight crack in the side .I had the chrome plater repair  the crack .   I picked up another set from a CLC member just in case my originals could not be repaired .   I found out the both sets were not exactly the same although they looked identical from the outside .   I am going to list the extra set on eBay but wanted to make absolutely sure they were for both years .

Thanks ,
   Bill
Bill Balkie
1970 Coupe DeVille
2009 CTS

Grant Owen

Bill, I had the same problem bought a replacement 58 tail fin moulding for my 57 Eldorado & the mounting was different.
I ended up welding & replating the original.

Bill Balkie 24172

Hello Grant ,
That is what I ended up doing as well , i could of made the moulding fit but i would have to modify the moulding by milling a small slot  to accommodate the flange at the top of the fin. Or removing about 3/8 inch from the flange on the top of the fin . either way would of worked  and it would be fine . But it takes me back to my original question , Were the  tail fin moulding revised or changed for latter 57 models and all 58 models ? i have added a picture that shows where the slot slould be milled .It is not a big deal but in order for some tail fin mouldings to fit this has to be done , or grind away part of the flashing on the seam at  the top of the fin .

Thanks,
    Bill
Bill Balkie
1970 Coupe DeVille
2009 CTS

Grant Owen

Bill, My 57 is approx vin # 31000 so they may have changed the the way the moulding attached on latter models I am not sure.
I have 2 1959's one built in the first week of production & one built in the last week of production allot of the parts do differ & the parts book does not reflect all the changes.
Also 1960 the early cars had parts that were slightly different or attached differently than the latter cars like the rear 1/4 side moulding on Coupes & Convertibles this moulding attaches differently on early & late cars.

Bill Balkie 24172

Grant ,
Thanks for the information , nothing is a simple as it seems , but that is what keeps people like us going . It has been nice discussing this with you .

  Bill
Bill Balkie
1970 Coupe DeVille
2009 CTS