Sold!

1956 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz

Convertible, Documented Frame Off Restored, Cont. Kit, Gorgeous!

$138,800

Harry's Thoughts

THE ESSENTIALS

SOLD to St Louis!! This is a superbly frame-off restored 1956 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz that is exceptional in every regard. The incredibly rare dealer option of the chromed continental kit was almost never seen and reminiscent of Elvis Presley. This is one of Harley Earl’s greatest designs! The professional restoration is fully documented with receipts and a photograph album.

The Bahama Blue metallic paint is beautiful, being complimented by the abundance of chrome and gold accents. The chrome is nearly all perfect. Only the very difficult door caps which have intricate ribbing and a few other pieces show the slightest imperfections. The gold plating is in very nice condition throughout and is stunning against the blue livery.

The interior is the correct and original blue and white English leather and is in very good to excellent condition. The leather is soft and supple. The blue carpet matting is beautiful and we love the bolt on foot plates, unique to the Eldorado. The dash is in excellent condition. The radio has a few pits on the push buttons and the steering wheel has never been restored and has some cracking present. The convertible top is in very nice condition and the car comes with the hard parade top boot covers. The inside headliner of the convertible shows some wear.

The power windows, power top, power trunk closure, power six-way adjustable seats all work well and the Cadillac features the Autronic eye for auto dimming of the headlights.

The gorgeous and intricate Eldorado saber wheels are beautiful and have wide whitewall radials. We love the incredibly rare all chrome continental kit on the rear of the Biarritz. We have only seen one with this rare dealer option.

The 364 CI Cadillac V8 is in excellent condition and was comprehensively rebuilt along with all systems of this car. The two Carter four barrel carburetors increase the engines output to 305 horsepower and look fantastic with the bat wing air cleaner housing. The engine compartment is completely detailed for concours competition and looks fantastic. The car runs and drives very well and has the feel of a low mile and very solid example. And the four-speed Hydramatic transmits the power to the road and works very well.

The frame-off restoration was performed by William Simpson from Canada and was completed in 1993. The car was a rust free Pacific Northwest car, making the integrity of the restoration that much easier. The restoration involved every nut and bolt and spared no expense. It was done very accurately and the Biarritz has been shown in multiple concours events in the Pacific Northwest. The restoration is painstakingly documented in a photograph album and we have a few of the photos in our photo gallery. The sale will be accompanied by copies of the receipt for the restoration and the maintenance work performed since then.

Mr. Simpson acquired the car in January of 1980 from Erving Neff of Ocean Park, Washington. The car has lived its life in the Pacific Northwest.

Befitting of the Biarritz, this stunning example has been featured on the cover and throughout Griot’s Garage Christmas catalog, as well as being an award winner at the LeMay Auto Museum and other events. The Biarritz stands out as much today as it did in 1956.

In 2019, there were two comparable sales at public auction, one sale at $250,000 and another at $160,000. As another comparison, the Hagerty No. 2 value is $140,000. This example is priced well.

For more details and information, please call or text Harry Clark at +1.602.245.7200 or email us at harry@classicpromenade.com. The Biarritz is available for inspection and viewing at our Phoenix, Arizona showroom.

1956 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz

$138,800

PRIVATE SALE STATUS
SELLER NAME
LOCATION USA
VIEWS 662
1956 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz
1956 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz

$138,800

VIN 5662093183
BODY STYLE Convertible
FUEL Gasoline
MILES 17,969
GEARBOX Automatic
INT COLOR Blue
EXT COLOR Blue
YEAR 1956
LOCATION Phoenix, AZ
PRIVATE SALE STATUS
SELLER
VIEWS 662

Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz

Cadillac renamed the Eldorado Convertible the Biarritz to differentiate it from the new Seville 2-door hardtop coupe introduced in 1956. For 1958, Eldorados, along with all Cadillacs, received an annual facelift, complete with the new quad headlamp setup appearing on virtually all makes for the model year. Bumpers were revised and the rubber ‘Dagmars’ were…
Cadillac renamed the Eldorado Convertible the Biarritz to differentiate it from the new Seville 2-door hardtop coupe introduced in 1956. For 1958, Eldorados, along with all Cadillacs, received an annual facelift, complete with the new quad headlamp setup appearing on virtually all makes for the model year. Bumpers were revised and the rubber ‘Dagmars’ were less pronounced and set lower against the parking lamps. The grille was stretched nearly full-width and made up of dozens of round points. Eldorados received a strip of stainless-steel running from the headlight trim rings back to the midpoint of the car along with lower rear quarter panels covered in stainless steel. Standard on Eldorado was Cadillac’s 335 bhp 365-cu. in. V-8 engine equipped with three Rochester two-barrel carburettors and backed by a Hydra-Matic automatic transmission. General Motors celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 1958 and Cadillac built its two-millionth car. Just 815 Eldorado Biarritz Convertibles at a cost of $7,410 (before options) were built during the year, adding to their desirability today among collectors.

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