Barn Finds 1978 Triple Blue Fleetwood Eldorado Custom Biarritz with Power T-Tops

[Matt CLC#18621]

https://barnfinds.com/power-t-tops-1978-cadillac-eldorado-biarritz/

I have documented ten (10) Fleetwood Eldorado’s and two (2) Oldsmobile Toronado XSR’s (red & silver) with Power T-Tops.

2 Triple Cotillion White Fleetwood Eldorado Custom Biarritz's
Both appear to have originated in California.
1 Triple Cotillion White Fleetwood Eldorado "El Deora" Edition
It appears to have originated in Chicago.
1 Sable Black Fleetwood Eldorado "Franciscan" Edition originally equipped with Red interior
It appears to have originated in California.
1 Triple Medium Blue Firemist Fleetwood Eldorado Custom Biarritz (Barn Finds)
It appears to have originated in California.
1 Carmine Red Fleetwood Eldorado "El Deora" Edition with White interior
It appears to have originated in Illinois.
1 Triple Colonial Yellow Fleetwood Eldorado Custom Biarritz
Appears to have originated in Illinois.
3 Fleetwood Eldorado Custom Biarritz Classic's in Arizona Beige and Demitasse Brown Metallic with padded Light Beige Cabriolet vinyl top, and Two-Tone Light Beige Sierra Grain Leather interior with Dark Saddle pillowed seating surfaces.
The delivery state(s) escapes me, perhaps Illinois.

Twelve (12) Power T-Tops in total.

It's my understanding that the ten 78 Fleetwood Eldorado's were created from American Sunroof Corporation’s abandoned “77 Oldsmobile Tornado XSR” Power T-Top program. This was researched years ago by a former owner of a 78 Fleetwood Eldorado Custom Biarritz with Power T-Tops and also on the Oldsmobile Owner’s Association.

If anyone has any additional information on the ASC Power T-Top program, please share on the CLC forum or PM me.

Regards,

Matt CLC #18621

post script
(Thank you for the valuable comments-March 28, 2019.)

["Cadillac Kid" Greg Surfas 15364]

Matt,
Too bad you missed the "seminar" at the last GN (Texas). The speaker was a major "player" at ASR in Detroit during the development of this and other products.  From what was saiod, the project was abandoned because there did not seem to be ANY way to keep the T-tops from leaking.
Greg Surfas

[MaR]

That Franciscan power T-top car is for sale very near me. It’s solid looking but rough and has had most of its interior replaced with random bits from other Eldorados and/or other GM cars.

[Matt CLC#18621]

I wish I was at the ASC seminar.

I have been fascinated with the 77 Oldsmobile Toronado XSR Power T-Top from the first time I saw the airbrushed silver Toronado XSR Power T-Top in the 77 Oldsmobile brochure that my neighbor gave me when he came home with his brand new 77 red Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme with Hurst T-Tops.

Back in 2001/2002, I posted on the CLC forum that I was looking for “one” of the “2,000” 77 Toronado XSR Power T-Top’s built (per the brochure), only to be contacted by, and informed by the owner of the red 77 Toronado XSR Power T-Top that he owned the “one and only one equipped’ with Power T-Tops and now he is blessed with owning twin Power T-Tops XSR’s!

With the valuable information acquired from 77 XSR’s owner, and information from Yann’s Cadillac database dream car section, I learned of the “one and only” triple cotillion white 78 Fleetwood Eldorado El Deora with Power T-Tops. Shortly thereafter, I learned that there was a 78 Fleetwood Eldorado Custom Biarritz Classic with Power T-Tops in Arizona and a triple cotillion white Fleetwood Eldorado Biarritz in California.

My previously owned triple cotillion white Fleetwood Eldorado Biarritz Power T-Top was a fluke find in that it was advertised as a 74 Eldorado Classic with no mention of it being a Biarritz with only an obscure reference made to the Power T-Tops in the body of the eBay ad and with no clear pictures of the Power T-Tops. However, I knew in my heart that it was a Power T-Top and snagged it with seconds left on the eBay auction and had it shipped from California to New Jersey.

The Power T-Top panels worked perfectly, slid cleanly and very nicely inside the center bar and never came off their tracks. I purchased the factory sunroof grease from a Cadillac parts company in Newark, New Jersey and lubed the tracks once after it was detailed.

The Power T-Top panels also “leaked perfectly” in that the water landed quite nicely, and very accurately inside the Biarritz’s pillow seat reservoirs on both sides and very easy to dry with a terrycloth towel.

Please post or PM me any more information. I firmly believe that the Power T-Tops are of great historical significance to the Cadillac and Oldsmobile brands and American ingenuity!

Best regards,

Matt CLC# 18621

[Rich S]

There is a lot of interesting information here. It would be nice if General Motors re-visited the power t-tops and improvements in the technology were included, for a new model, perhaps even a Cadillac! (Of course, now the only way they may consider developing this idea, is if the Chinese market desired this feature.)