67 Eldorado Side Marker Lights

[Rich Sullivan CLC #11473]

There is a really nice, original 1967 Eldorado on e-bay, and Seller states that the rear side marker lights (like a 1968) and front signal indicators (like a 1968) were "added by dealer" as was rather common. Any thoughts about this?

Here is the link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cadillac-Eldorado-1967-ELDORADO_W0QQitemZ280009347699QQihZ018QQcategoryZ61

The car is a well-optioned beauty!

[Geoff Newcombe #4719]

Appears to be a lovely car.  My father was a Cadillac dealer back then and I was active in the business; dont ever remember putting 68 side marker lights on a 67 Eldo, but we were a relatively small town dealer.  But ....... so what, theyre there and they look fine, just not original, most people would never know. I dont even remember if they were on the 67s or not, and wouldnt care.  If youre thinking of buying it keep in mind the 67s were the first year and were basically custom built oddballs.  Many of the front end components were one (or 2) year items only  and replacements for some wear items are most difficult to find.  I dont follow Eldos though and there could well be someone out there that specializes in parts for the early ones, if there is (and you buy the car) you should find him/them.  

Just very recently a 68 Eldo owner, Kevin Penberg, was posting at the Buy/Sell site looking for front end parts for his car.  You might go to the Buy/Sell site and scroll down to "68 Eldo rotors, bearings, and ball joints", first posted on 7/19 and read the threads there about parts.  

[Richard Sills - CLC #936]

1968 was the first year when side marker lights (front and rear)were required by federal law.  So, all 1968 cars have them, but 1967 and older cars generally didnt.  

Some owners of 1967 cars -- which still looked "new" in 1968 except for the give-away detail of no side marker lights -- added the lights in an attempt to make their car look like the current model.  The ones on this car appear to be the correct factory equipment for a 68 Eldorado, and if so, they should look just like they were made for the car.  (They would cause a minor deduction in competitive point judging, but most owners wouldnt be concerned about this.)

Incidentally, another interesting option on this car is the headrests, which appear to be factory-installed.  Headrests were available starting in 1966, but did not become required by law until the 1969 model year.

[Andrew 10642]

I, too, have seen 3 67 Eldos that had the side marker lights and front turn signals in the fender.  Its an obvious add-on, as the front bumper still has the turn signal.

Ive always wondered if there was an excess of 67s left over, and they needed to convert them!