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53 Eldo spotted in New Mexico

Started by Bill Sullivan, June 15, 2006, 01:07:40 AM

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Bill Sullivan

Friends:

I saw this rough but mostly original nice running 53 Eldo in Albuquerque today.  It was on a Rt. 66 driving tour with a bunch of other cars from Norway.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/wsullivan711/images/Eldo.jpg TARGET=_blank>http://mywebpages.comcast.net/wsullivan711/images/Eldo.jpg

I believe he said it was #506, I took a picture of the number plate.  

Rikard Stenberg

Interesting, that car was imported to Sweden a few years ago and then it was sold to Norway. Seems they are over in the USA to drive Route 66(?).

We have been planning on doing the same thing with our 1973 Eldorado indy 500 pace car replica - nice vacation trip :-)

/Rikard, Sweden

Johnny #622

I would be curious to know what the owner eventually plans to do with the car.  To what degree is he going to restore the car, or just leave it more or less "as is" and use it as a daily driver.  While I am basically from the "using our cars for pleasure" camp, I think certain models from Cadillacs History should be given special attention, such as the 53 Eldorados.  While Cadillacs were always in the luxury car class, certain models were introduced to put them ahead of the pack, such as the multi cylindered cars, the 57-60 Eldorado Broughams etc.  I think the 53 Eldorados were one of the more important cars in Cadillac history.  They came out at time when Lincoln and Packard, were still trying to give Cadillac a run for their money. With the creation of the Eldorado model in 53, Cadillac was able to maintain their edge as the luxury car leader, until well into the 70s.

Dan Keane

Thought only 503 were produced or was it 513?

Dan


Quote from: Bill SullivanFriends:

I saw this rough but mostly original nice running 53 Eldo in Albuquerque today.  It was on a Rt. 66 driving tour with a bunch of other cars from Norway.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/wsullivan711/images/Eldo.jpg TARGET=_blank>http://mywebpages.comcast.net/wsullivan711/images/Eldo.jpg

I believe he said it was #506, I took a picture of the number plate.  

Randall A. McGrew CLC # 17693

Geez that is a nice car.  I do not mind that the body isnt perfect. Hope he keeps it as a driver and makes some small improvements to keep her in shape.  
I am thinking of moving to Albuquerque myself.  It is a good place to live.  One more beautiful Cadillac for a nice city. :)

As for keeping it original and restoring it, if it is in original condition and isnt terrible (hard to tell from that distance) then I would say leave it in original shape, otherwise restore it properly. I agree, it is a bench mark as the first year of Eldorado (a shame what they became).  But by all means drive it!!!  The younger generations need to see what a beautiful, well built cars America once produced!!!

I am restoring my 6219 to be used.

Yann Saunders, 12588

It was 532 units, even if the last one carries #533.

Yann Saunders, 12588

Indeed, it could be #506 whose current home is in Norway.  These Scandinavians - like their Viking ancestors - are not afraid to travel.  I would not be surprised if the owner just up and decided to transport the car to the States, just for the pleasure and  "adventure" of traveling route 66 with it.  Im sure hell let us know.  He may have attended the Grand National in Santa Barbara.

Bill Sullivan

This Eldo is part of a 17 car group that is touring Rt. 66.  I think that all the cars are from Sweden or Norway and will probably be returning to Europe after the tour.  They have a website,

http://cruise66.com TARGET=_blank>http://cruise66.com

That blogs the tour.  There are some rare high quality cars in the group, such as a 55 Pontiac convertible, 55 T-bird, 60 Imperial Convert, etc.. Most of them are handling the heat and distance of the tour rather well.  

Apparently collecting and driving old American cars is an active hobby in Europe, there is even have a magazine devoted to it.

Bill, Albuquerque, NM  

Jack Mcilwraith # 10584

This could be the Norwegians who are traveling route 66 all the way.In the Summer issue of Cadill-ikes [54-56 Cadillacs]a Mikael Nilsson is talking about this trip.There will be 17 cars shipped from Norway to the U.S.The cars will not all be Cadillacs.

Brian Daum, 18809

The 53 Eldo that was spotted in New Mexico belongs to Mr. Mikael Nilson of Norway. He is a Swedish gentleman residing in Norway. He is also a part of 17 Classis American cars to be driven on the Route 66 trip that AMCAR (American Car Club of Norway - 13 000 members) has arranged.

The cars were transported by ship from Gothenburg, Sweden to New York and transported to Chicago by car haulers. The cars will arrive in LA on the 25th of June. All of the cars will be shipped back to Norway after the trip is over - isn`t it great that some people are just plain crazy!

Last time I spoke to Mikael about his car he told me he planned to keep it in unrestored, original condition. He also told me a story of when he purchased the car back in the 80`s. A fellow worker of him also bought a brand new Ford for the same price he paid for the old 53 Eldo. He said the guys at work made fun at him for spending so much money on an old car.....look whose laughing now!

Brian
Norway

Bruce Reynolds # 18992

All I can say is that I wish I was there with them.

They WILL have a really fun time, and their excitement will rub off onto everyone they meet.

Bruce,
The Tassie Devil(le),
60 CDV

P.S.   Lucky buggers.

Yann Saunders, 12588

Wake up America!  Not only are "American Car" clubs VERY active in Europe but also they are taking YOUR cars away (especially Cadillacs)at an alarming rate.  The American Car Club de France has over 2000 active members and has a glossy monthly magazine that puts many US club magazines to shame. I think the Scandinavians are 6,000-7,000 strong!

Johnny #662

Quote from: Yann Saunders, 12588Wake up America!  Not only are "American Car" clubs VERY active in Europe but also they are taking YOUR cars away (especially Cadillacs)at an alarming rate.  The American Car Club de France has over 2000 active members and has a glossy monthly magazine that puts many US club magazines to shame. I think the Scandinavians are 6,000-7,000 strong!

Taking away?  at an alarming rate?  Am I to understand that you see this as a national disaster?  What difference does it make who "takes" these cars, as long as its someone that has an appreciation of them and wants to give them life?  I dont think the CLC has a problem, since our club is an International Club.

The Cadillac & LaSalle Club, Inc. (CLC) is an international organization of nearly 7,000 members with 18,000 collectible automobiles built by Cadillac. It provides activities and services for enthusiasts of all Cadillacs from the single cylinder models to the exotic V-16s. Membership is open to persons anywhere in the world and ownership of a Cadillac is not required. The CLC is headquartered in the USA with offices in Columbus, Ohio.

Bruce Reynolds # 18992

Gday Johnney and Yann,

The best part of these cars coming to other countries is that we can enjoy them in our own, and probably safer environs.

Bruce,
The Tassie Devil(le),
60 CDV

P.S.   Wish we had more.

Brian Daum, 18809

Hi Yann, Bruce and John,

The US Car Environment in Scandenavia probably hosts the largest group of USA Car Enthusiasts in the world outside of the US. The ACCN (American Car Club of Norway) has appr. 13 000 members and nationwide probably a total of 25 000 members of different US car clubs. In Sweden ACCS is big - and Sweden must have at least 50 000 members in different US Car Clubs.

Powermeet in Vesterås in Sweden is Europe`s largest car meeting with over 11 000 US cars attending each year!! In Scandenavia a large number of US Car shows and meetings are arranged each year.

The Classic American Car Environment is a rapidly growing hobby in all countries in Europe - even in Eastern Europe! - all aspects of the hobby attracts both the young and the old ....Classic Cadillac, Muscle Mopar, Dragracing, the music, the food, anything goes, as long as it is American and V8!!!

Yes, America, wake up!!

And Bruce, you don`t find much safer environs on the planet than Norway...


Brian

Norway

Yann Saunders, 12588

Whatever... but most countries in the world try to conserve their "national heritage" and historic vestiges by passing laws intended to prevent "art treasures" from being taken out of the country.  Does America have such laws ?

Im not saying you can compare a 53 Eldorado with Tutankhamons gold-bedecked mummy, or Michaelangelos statue of David in Florence.  On the other hand and IMHO, a rare Cadillac (e.g. with a "one of" body by a defunct coach-builder) has its place in a national museum, not on the streets of Malmo.

Just kidding, Sven !

Johnny #662

Quote from: Yann Saunders, 12588Whatever... but most countries in the world try to conserve their "national heritage" and historic vestiges by passing laws intended to prevent "art treasures" from being taken out of the country.  Does America have such laws ?

Im not saying you can compare a 53 Eldorado with Tutankhamons gold-bedecked mummy, or Michaelangelos statue of David in Florence.  On the other hand and IMHO, a rare Cadillac (e.g. with a "one of" body by a defunct coach-builder) has its place in a national museum, not on the streets of Malmo.

Just kidding, Sven !

There is no question that the 53 Eldorado, is an important artifact of Cadillac, and even automotive history if you will, but keeping things in perspective, to the majority of people, a car is just that, a car.  The masses dont have an appreciation of older cars like we do.  To try and explain to them that some cars are "national heritages", they would laugh at you.  The fact of the matter with our planet becoming more of a global economy, everything is up for sale!  Didnt the Japanese buy Rockerfeller Center awhile back?

Brian Daum, 18809

Your are right, Johnny, everything is for sale, the Japanese know this, the Europeans know this and certainly the Americans know it. I would feel sorry about selling nice cars out of the country, but on the other hand I might see them again when travelling abroad, but...

A true Capitalist will sell the rope to his own hangman.........

Brian

Norway

Johnny #662

Quote from: Brian Daum, 18809Your are right, Johnny, everything is for sale, the Japanese know this, the Europeans know this and certainly the Americans know it. I would feel sorry about selling nice cars out of the country, but on the other hand I might see them again when travelling abroad, but...

A true Capitalist will sell the rope to his own hangman.........

Brian

Norway

I personally dont have a problem with who ever "adopts" our classic cars, in fact I see it as whenever someone from outside of the US takes ownership, as a compliment to our once proud heritage of producing the most desirable cars in the world.

Jack

In all honesty, I would prefer to sell my 64 Series 62 Coupe to someone in Europe or Australia because at least they would appreciate it "as is."

The last thing I would want would be to sell it to someone here (USA) that would lower it, customize it, and otherwise destroy its originality.

Jack