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The (new) Cadillac Database^©

The 1953 Cadillac Eldorado

Tabular Record of Production

Pick a chapter in the table, below
or return to The (New) Cadillac Database© Index Page

As this is a relatively new page (January 2001).  I shall be pleased to add the details about these cars, in the table below, if the owners would be kind enough to contact me.

I got this message [in January 2001] from '53 Eldorado fan, Dave Ventresca:  Just a quick note to let you know I really enjoy your Cadillac Database Website. Last night I just logged on to your new 53 Eldo page. I just have one correction so far: the correct count of cars built was 533, not 532 as is so often mentioned. There is irrefutable evidence that #533 is alive and well and sitting in Michigan or Wisconsin. There was an article in a Cadillac newsletter several years back that contained a Xerox copy of the data plate. As I am a 25-year member of the southern California Cadillac La Salle club, and have owned many Cads, I consider myself one of numerous experts on the 53 Eldo. I have body # 337, a body off restoration, so you can imagine that I really enjoyed that page. When I buy a digital camera, I will send you a picture of my Artisan Ochre with red interior Eldo. Keep up the great work! I like your 64 Fleetwood 60 Special. I plan on getting one sometime. Dave Ventresca.

Well, it turns out that Dave is right ...and wrong!  True, there is a 1953 Eldorado with body number 533; it is currently [2004] located in Florida.  However, only 532 cars were actually built; the reason for the discrepancy is that one body number was never used.

Anyway, thanks for the information, Dave; it's always a pleasure to have contacts with other aficionados, especially those who have something constructive to bring to the hobby, in general, and to the Cadillac Database in particular.

Surprisingly, although the 1953 Eldorado is a rarer car than the combined production of Eldorado Brougham models for 1957-58 (532 units for the former as against 704 for the latter), the survival rate seems to be much lower. Whereas we have survival records for more than half the original Broughams, it seems that we know for sure of only 20-25% of the 1953 Eldorados that are still extant.  According to Matt Larson , member and researcher-emeritus of the CLC, it is highly possible, nevertheless, that 50% of them have survived. The reason for the difference is that many owners have asked to remain anonymous.

The 1953 Eldorado was not much different in general external appearance (that is to the casual observer) than the regular Series 62 convertible of the same year. For that reason, many more of the 1953 Eldorado models may have been destroyed or otherwise disposed of by persons unaware of its rarity and potential value as a collectors' car. On the other hand, the Eldorado Brougham sedan with its diminutive size (for a Cadillac!), its distinctive tail-fin treatment and its brushed stainless steel roof stood out from regular models like a brassiere on a cow. They were not easily cast off simply as "used cars".

Interestingly too, as may be seen from the listing, below, there appear to be more 1953 Eldorado survivors abroad (particularly in Scandinavia) than in the USA!

In an article that Matt had published in the CLC magazine, The Self Starter, in August 2003, we learned that at least 138 cars had survived. Matt researched EVERY build sheet of the 1953 production - that is  all 109,658 of them ! - to extract the data that is now published in the club's magazine and amplified in this section of The Cadillac Database© section: 1953 Eldorado Special Sport Convertible Facts.  Interest in these cars is very strong; a continually revised number of known survivors is listed in the facts section.

We hope to add many more survivors, as these 1953 Eldorado Web pages grow in popularity [as did the Eldorado Brougham pages in the years and months and immediately following their incorporation in the Cadillac Database] and as more cars are brought to our attention by owners and enthusiasts alike.

Remember:   Always try to get the VIN or body number; it's the only way we can begin to judge if the car is authentic or not.

 

And now the survivors of which we are sure

This is the body tag for 1953 Eldorado #241 belonging to Mano Forsman of Sweden; the
actual plate does not look quite as good as this image, which I cleaned up using MS "Photo Studio";
decryption of trim, paint and accessory codes will be found elsewhere in this section of the Database

 

¹  Info from Mano Forsman, Sweden

Paint Codes for the 1953 Eldorado2
Paint Code	Color
22	Artisan Ochre
27	Alpine White
28	Azure Blue
29	Aztec Red

²   These were four "special" colors for the bespoke Eldorado model; however, other paint codes appear on factory build sheets including #1  black (35 cars),  #2  Cobalt blue (7 cars),  #3 Forest green (1 car),  #4 Emerald green (1 car),  #5 Tunis blue (2 cars),  #6 Phoenix beige (1 car),   #7  Pastoral blue (5 cars),  #8, Norman gray (9 cars),  #9 Burgundy maroon (4 cars),  #10 Court gray (3 cars) and  #12 Crystal green (2 cars)

 

Trim Codes for the 1953 Eldorado
Trim Code	Color
32	Blue leather with white leather
33	Blue leather
34	Black leather with white leather
35	Black leather
38	Red leather with white leather
39	Red leather

 

Top Codes for the 1953 Eldorado
Top Code	Color
1	White
4	Black

 

Introduction

1953 Eldorado Special Sport Convertible - Facts page

Miscellaneous page and description of survivors

Tabular roster of survivors

Pick a chapter in the table, above
or return to The (New) Cadillac Database© Index Page

© 1998, Matt Larson, Yann Saunders and the Cadillac-LaSalle Club, Inc.
[ Background image:  the Golden Anniversary Eldorado prototype ]