OVERVIEW
1953 Cadillac Eldorado Special Sport Convertible
VIN: 536284597
Originally purchased in San Francisco in 1953, this Eldorado has been a California all of its life. Owned by Steve Hall of Novato, CA through the early 70s, it would resurface in 1988 when Cliff Gilbar brokered a deal for Ken Gimelli of Santa Cruz, CA on the car. It was located in Los Angles and belonged to a gypsy couple that read fortunes for a living. Ken, a long time Cadillac collector, would pick the car up, and discover how all-original the Eldorado was. In its original blue paint with white interior, it appeared the car had never been touched.
Around 1991 Gimelli would sell the car to Steve Marini, owner of GM Sports in Stockton, CA. An Eldorado aficionado, Marini drove the car often, and became so enamored of this particular example decided to do a complete, body off, nut-and-bolt restoration. At the cost of over $150k the Eldorado was rebuilt from the ground up using as many original parts as possible, and substandard items were replaced with NOS parts from Marini's collection. The result was a show-winning car that made multiple appearances at numerous concours and car shows across Northern California.
In late 2007 it was time for the Eldorado to move on to a new owner. Although the new owner loved the vehicle, he did not love the original Azure Blue paint and interior. In early 2008 he took the Cadillac to Jerry Hjeltness of Hjeltness Restoration in Escondido, CA. Having done an award winning Mercedes-Benz 300SL restoration for him in the past he knew that Jerry was the man for the job. Hjeltness disassembled the car and took the body down to the metal. Over the next 6 months they would repaint the car in its stunning Norman Grey paint, recover the interior in a vast expanse of red leather, and recondition all of the bright work. They approached the project as the do all of their Pebble Beach winning automobiles, and the result is a cosmetically stunning car that wouldn't flinch being called a work of art.
Always pursuing to perfect the Eldorado, in 2010 the owner took the car to another Pebble Beach winner, Butch Dennison in Puyallup, WA. This time the mechanicals were the focus. There at Dennison International Motorsports the car was treated to a complete mechanical refit of the driveline, brakes, and suspension.
Now at Canepa the Eldorado has been fully inspected and serviced. As with all of our cars the Eldorado has been treated to a complete concours level detail, and is ready once again to grace any show lawn, and win.
About the 1953 Cadillac Eldorado
The Eldorado has a limited-production special convertible body that is quite unlike the standard 1953 Cadillac Convertible Coupe, Style 53-6267. The four fenders, trunk lid and floor pan are the only major body panels that are shared intact with the standard convertible; the hood, cowl, doors and body shell are coach-built by the craftsmen of Fisher/Fleetwood. The new, for 1953, wrap-around windshield was a precursor of a major forthcoming styling change to the entire General Motors line of automobiles. The long, low appearance of the Eldorado is not an illusion created by the low-cut doors and belt line. The 5 5/8 inch road clearance of the Eldorado is one inch less than the standard convertible, and the overall height is three inches less, at 58 1/8 inches. Numerous subtle features including a padded dashboard, unique interior upholstery treatments and a completely disappearing convertible top, distinguish the Eldorado from the standard convertible. The substantial amount of skilled labor and individual bodywork involved in building each Eldorado was expensive. It is likely that Cadillac lost money on every 1953 Eldorado, but made up for it in publicity, prestige and public interest. It certainly did not hurt their reputation to have the new President of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower, parade through the streets in a new white 1953 Eldorado during his inaugural parade.
