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79-85 eldorado Biarritz w/astroroof

Started by JGilligan75, July 17, 2022, 08:33:31 PM

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JGilligan75

1979-85 eldorado Biarritz w/ astroroof wanted. Looking for a real nice low mile original car.

Jtgjr1975@yahoo.com

V63

Here is one with 40k miles in phoenix, az (screen shot) on offer up

79 Eldorado

Quote from: JGilligan75 on July 17, 2022, 08:33:31 PM1979-85 eldorado Biarritz w/ astroroof wanted. Looking for a real nice low mile original car.
James,
Making the "astro roof" the priority must have for 79-85 seems like a bad idea. There are a lot of real technical reliability things which should go to the top of the priority list. The 84 listed above looks great but the '84 has the HT4100 and the TH325-4L. When I looked I considered only 1979, due to the Olds 5.7L, but I would have expanded my search to 1980 or 1981 looking back. In my opinion you want the 3spd version of the TH325 and you want any engine other than the HT4100 (Yes I would take the diesel over the HT4100 in a heart beat).

From the appearance standpoint, this is only my opinion, but to me the Biarritz roof is the last roof I would ever put an astro roof and I own a Biarritz. It looks like someone forgot there was going to be a sunroof or that they added it after the fact which some people did. There's also more of a chance for leaks.

It will be exciting to see what you find!

I love the body style,
Good luck,
Scott

JGilligan75

Guys,Thanks for the replies.@V63- That 84 is priced a little steep and it appears that the original steel wheels/caps were swapped out for 79 aluminum alloys.tinted windows are a turn off, but can be a blessing in disguise as the tint more than likely shielded the interior from decades of sunlight.

@ Scott- I agree wholeheartedly with everything you mentioned, but I owned several of these cars over the past 30 years but none of them had an Astro, not even the loaded ones.

I'm just looking for one to add to my fleet and to take an occasional cruise in so a low mile ht4100 would be fine with me.

79 Eldorado

James,
Just FYI I would buy that set of Biarritz wheels from you is you wanted to look for steel wheels. The steel wheels were used on every 79-85 Toronado virtually every Riviera (I think there may have been one optional wheel similar to the GN), and most Eldorados.

Just an FYI on the wheels. A year ago I would have bet the farm that those were 1979 wheels but someone posted a can you identify this wheel thread within the last year. It turned out that there is a nearly identical wheel. I think the difference was something like the diameter of the cast center part where the stamped steel center covers the lug nuts. I believe someone identified the casting number was different. If you can find that thread it would be very interesting to see if that wheel was identified as a 1984. If it was the photo posted above is the first one I've ever seen of an 84 with that 79 style wheel. In fact I saw the photo before I noticed the year and thought wow nice looking 1979!

I would also say be careful of what you're looking at because those astroroofs may have been optionally installed at the dealer and even if you checked the option during ordering. A sunroof of some type was also about as popular of an add-on as an automatic starter was the last ~20 years; maybe a little exaggeration.

I personally think it looks like sawzall mechanic work when paired to that stainless panel:
Mechanic: What's that, you want a sun roof? No problem I can take care of that.
Customer: Don't you want to remove the headliner first?
Mechanic: Well I can if you want but totally not necessary the sawzall will make quick work of that.

It's all personal taste but in your reply it seemed you liked it for being unique but not necessarily the look (car yes but special roof in the stainless top).

Scott

JGilligan75

Thanks scott, I saw that thread several months back and contributed some information and photos to help identify the mystery alloys.
The wheels in the picture above are one-year only '79 alloys. 1980-81 has a different center cap and 82-85 "touring wheels" which were standard on TC, optional on base Eldo and Biarritz,have exposed lug nuts and a beveled lip on the wheel itself.

79 Eldorado

James,
Now that you mention them I do recall the TC wheels. Interesting.

Well that is a nice looking car above. It's interesting that the transmission would have been rebuilt a year ago on a car with 39-40K miles but that's probably a plus that it was. I agree the price seems too high. I don't know what to suggest on the HT4100. Anthony, on the forum "Smokuspollutus", has a car which he takes very good care of and as a result has made it work. The number of threads wondering what to do after having an issue plus the number asking a value estimate of cars with them and comments, some coming from me, would make me very cautious. There was one recent thread where someone was looking for a replacement engine. I linked a remanufactured engine site which listed them. They're no longer in business but the OP did get through to a place, which the same number goes through to, and apparently they do have rebuilds.

The seller does ask about offers. The problem is potential buyers don't always know these cars and they have no idea that the HT4100 should lower the value. So from what I've seen that engine isn't impacting asking prices. If it did the older car asking price would likely be higher than the newer 79-85 series. It might be because the 81 had the 8-6-4 which had a bad reputation but is more well known now. The 1980 368 was a first year for the new DFI and the 79 EFI system was misunderstood by many. There are those of us who are trying to make 70's EFI solutions more known and available. The 79 used an Olds 350 which is a good platform and, if there was ever an issue, any small block Olds could be used. Nothing is really a "clean" and easy replacement for the HT4100. It's even more complicated for HT4100 because there are apparently specific versions which would work and others would not.

I hope you find something you like. I really love the look of this body style including the size of this generation. If GM had done a better job with the powertrain these would likely be wildly more popular than they are and they are still popular. My car has over 100K but for me something corrosion free and, at the time, specifically a 1979 were my priorities. I did always like the Biarritz the most and that's what I have.

Scott

V63

Quote from: JGilligan75 on July 27, 2022, 06:31:59 PMGuys,Thanks for the replies.@V63- That 84 is priced a little steep and it appears that the original steel wheels/caps were swapped out for 79 aluminum alloys.tinted windows are a turn off, but can be a blessing in disguise as the tint more than likely shielded the interior from decades of sunlight.

@ Scott- I agree wholeheartedly with everything you mentioned, but I owned several of these cars over the past 30 years but none of them had an Astro, not even the loaded ones.

I'm just looking for one to add to my fleet and to take an occasional cruise in so a low mile ht4100 would be fine with me.


I am sure his phone is pretty quiet on that '84, he should  'season' if his intentions are to move the car. The wheel covers should not be very difficult to find. The tint can be removed. I should think $2,500 to $4,000 would be really 'trying' to buy that car

79 Eldorado

Quote from: V63 on July 29, 2022, 10:55:01 AM... I should think $2,500 to $4,000 would be really 'trying' to buy that car
You're not saying you think it's worth $2500 to $4000 are you? That seems like it would be a steal. The HT would still make me nervous but it would get scooped-up in a heartbeat for that price. To be fair I've only seen the one photo but if it's a very well preserved 40K mile car and it presents itself as such I guess the low end of the price is closer to $8,000. The fact that they are asking $19,500, reduced BTW, I am assuming it looks phenomenal which makes me think it might go up to around $12,000. I've seen some cars at high end dealers where they are asking insane money but I don't believe the numbers I've seen are real numbers which real people would buy a car for.

Scott

V63

I have had a few of these.
I believe there are NOT  too many people pining for that car, the 4.1 reputation is poor at best, moreover it's performance is pathetic.

I would offer what you are comfortable with and it should buy the car.

If I wanted it...I Personally would not pay more than $3,000.

dinhnguyen57

1941 Series 62 coupe
1959 Eldorado Seville
1990 Allante
2007 Mercedes S550
2009 STS
2018 Chrysler Pacifica

79 Eldorado

That's a CA 1980 with the Oldsmobile 350 or 5.7L. In my opinion that's a better set-up than the HT. There was a sponge in the bottom of the A-Pillar and thus the rust in the one photo they showed. The dash is also cracked but the Eldorado has a very easy to change dash pad if the buyer can find a replacement.

Scott

V63

I do have a dash pad for one of those, it's Navy blue...but color could be changed.
Also factory floor mats in blue.