Today’s reader story comes from a gentleman in Austria who wanted to own a C3 Corvette like the one his father had in his youth. However, circumstances brought another American to his doorstep. If you have a classic car with a story to share, visit us this is the link and fill out the information to submit your story for a chance to be featured in the ClassicCars.com Journal.
Some might say owning a big, thirsty land yacht in Austria, where the streets are narrow and fuel prices are high ($7.30/gallon), is a bit crazy. And they would be right! Had I known what I was getting myself into, I might never have bought this Cadillac, but to be honest, I’m glad I was so naive.
My dad had a lot of cool cars when I was young, but the one I loved the most was his 1968 Corvette convertible with a 427 big block. He owned it when I just got my driver’s license, and I’m still amazed that he let me drive it. Alas, that was 17 years ago, and since then I’ve always had the desire to drive an American classic again. Two years ago I found myself in a position to buy one myself.
Naturally, my first choice was the chrome bumper C3 (1968-72). However, the ones I was able to pay for were all in questionable condition: cracked paint on the fiberglass and engines that were messed up, probably swapped out of Chevy Blazers. While browsing the car ads, I follow them endlessly, accidentally stumbling upon the razor-like taillight of the first generation FWD Eldorado. This design, together with the 7.7 liter V8, completely captivated me. I had to buy one, even though I had never been in a Cadillac before.
Apart from the construction in 1968, we do not know much about the history of Eldorádóm. Between 1979-97 it lived with one owner in Florida. It was then purchased by a Virginia member of the Antique Automobile Club of America and repainted the following year. After 20 years of living in good hands, the Eldorado’s journey across the Atlantic began with a Hungarian car dealer at an auction in Florida. After customs clearance through the Netherlands, the Eldorado spent two years at the Hungarian dealer, without even being registered.
A good, near original classic is easy to buy if money is no object. This description does not fit me, so the search lasted for months, until by chance I found two equally good quality 1968 Eldorados for sale: a black one in Finland and a red one in Hungary. The black one was cheaper, but the red one was only a three-hour drive from me, so my dad and I crossed the border to Budapest. This was a bit scary because it happened during the epidemic and we could be stopped at the border even with valid COVID documentation.
When we arrived at a huge plot of land in a not-so-nice suburb of Budapest, we found a shack with an American flag inside and two old Cadillacs. We were both impressed with the condition of the car, there was practically no rust in the more problematic areas, such as behind the chrome under the wheel arch and on the lower part of the doors. The only minor problem with the interior was the driver’s seat. Perhaps I should have spent more time getting to know the car than looking for it, as there were some issues that we didn’t pay as much attention to as we should have – for example, the heater didn’t work. We thought it was just a stuck heater valve, but it ended up being much more complicated.
The ride was a bit bumpy, a result of the leaf springs getting tired and the lack of air suspension. In fact, almost every rubber part of the suspension had to be replaced. But we had to get this Caddy up and running, and besides, we’re optimistic and maybe a little stupid. Have you ever been there?
The dealer was a nice guy, but he didn’t speak English. However, since he was brought up behind the Iron Curtain, he spoke Russian, so another Russian-speaking merchant was kind to our interpreter. We arranged everything, agreed on the price, took care of paying the import duties and left a deposit (half of the value) on the Caddy, the rest to be paid on delivery.
Since December 2021 I have fixed the suspension and changed the lights to comply with European laws such as amber indicators and unsealed headlights.
However, a major problem that wasn’t present when I bought the car but reared its head last summer. I was trying to get the timing right so I bought an electronic ignition converter, stiffer mechanical advance springs and a new vacuum advance tank. When I removed the carburetor, I also discovered that the base gasket was leaking exhaust gases into the intake. However, in the fall I lost compression in one of the cylinders.
We pulled the engine and found a broken piston, so we began a complete rebuild of the engine, including grinding the cylinder walls, installing a new set of pistons, a new camshaft and bearings, rebuilding the carburetor, and a few other items. As you can imagine, the first launch was nerve wracking. Unfortunately, we found a knock, but luckily it turned out to be the dipstick, which we bent in the wrong direction. Overall, our first engine rebuild went surprisingly well. Now the engine runs well with good power and I have done 1500 km since the rebuild.
–Maximilian Elsinger, Austria
