1969 Cadillac Eldorado Dealer Promotional: I Love Gooooold!

So, if you read Parts I and II of my Ettleson Cadillac car show posts, you’ll know I was in Chicagoland about a month ago. I always take Interstate 80, and if they are still open when I pass by on the way home, I always stop by the Peru Antique Mall, clearly visible from 80 itself, in Peru, IL. When I attended the Shirey Cadillac show on Memorial Day weekend, I discovered and bought a 1971 Cadillac Fleetwood Eldorado dealer promo there.

At that time, there was also a gold 1969 Fleetwood Eldorado promo sitting right next to it in the showcase.

Sharp, but no taillights. Dagnabit!

But I picked the ’71 as it was missing only its stand-up hood ornament, while the ’69 had both taillights absent.

But on my visit in June, I decided to get the other Eldorado. It would just look great sitting next to the ’71, and heck, I got a 10% discount, so why not?

This Chalice Gold Firemist promo, while perhaps not quite as nice as the ’71 in Duchess Gold Firemist, cleaned up well with a coat of wax. And I figured I could find some appropriate facsimilie to substitute the absent taillight lenses.

My first stop was Dollar Tree, believe it or not. I figured there was a chance I’d find some cheap container or household item in a clear red color. But I was mistaken; there was no joy in Dollarville.

But lo! I had several old model car kits in my closet in my home office, so I began opening them up to see if something would work. And in my 1966 Mustang kit, there was a full-width panel for the custom version. This might work.

And it did. I cut down the left and right ends of the panel. Glued them in. And voila! Sure, it’s not 100% accurate, but it’s close enough for government work, as my Grandpa Bob used to say. And it looks a lot better than the empty sockets. I really like the gold too. This is REALLY gold, not the washed out, almost apologetic golds you see on modern cars. Beige beigemist, as my friend Carmine often says!

And now the Eldoraro sits proudly next to my pea soup green 1968 Coupe de Ville, “Creme Brulee Luxury Group” ’67 Coupe de Ville, and of course, the gold ’71 Eldorado. Well, always like to keep busy! Now what? Maybe I should do another model kit. I built a ’65 Continental convertible kit, my first in 20 years, last summer, and Major Art & Hobby downtown has a ’71 Thunderbird kit in stock. Hmm…

5 Replies to “1969 Cadillac Eldorado Dealer Promotional: I Love Gooooold!”

  1. BlueovalDave

    Tom,
    i recently went down the rabbit hole of building model cars after a 40 year layoff. i’m having a blast and am building a car collection like Jay Leno only 1/25 scale. No maintenance required however. i will put in a plug for MCWfinishes. They sell 1 oz. containers of lacquer paint (airbrush required) with very good scale metallic particles in just about any factory color you can think of. I have a ’71 Dodge Charger in queue and chose a dark gold. Mopar had 3 shades of gold that year!

    Reply
  2. rambo furum

    Great photography, but the old coin next to it for scale would help. I thought the 90’s-current metannic color was called champagne, but I yield to your knowledge.

    Reply
    • Tom Klockau Post author

      If you look at my profile picture to the left <<< it's that size. 1/24th scale, same as plastic model kits.

      Reply
  3. jim Amado

    Thanks for the photos and the story of your acquisition. Nice cars. Nice colors.Your story is proof that we never outgrow our need for model cars…or was it milk?
    I never left the hobby, but at various times sold my “collection”…then regretted it. Never truly got rid of everything, so of course gradually replaced many of the ones I did part with. Began innocently enough. My “criteria” was: “If this car were real, would I own it?”…but, as you might imagine, it grew. Similar to your thinking with the El Dorado,
    I’d think: “well I’ve got the hardtop; the convertible would sure look nice next to it”…or “I’ve got the Bonneville; the Grand Prix would look good next to it”. Sixty years later, the addiction continues with no cure in sight.
    I enjoyed your story. Thank you. I hope you enjoy your Caddys, and your collecting.

    Reply

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