[tjg5319]

Hello everyone! At the end of last summer I bought a 1985 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz from my girlfriend's father for $600 cash. I didn't have much time to spend with her however, as I decided to store her in a garage we own a little ways away. I had decided that I would
park her for the winter and come spring time, I would take her out and do some necessary repairs and TLC to get her inspected and ready for some summer cruising :cool2:

I need some parts for it that I'm having some trouble finding. First of all, I need a hood
ornament. From what I can see in pictures, my Cadillac needs a silver hood ornament. Is
this correct? Where can I find them? I see quite a few on eBay but they're either gold, very expensive (over $100?!), or both. How much do they typically go for? Are those actually fair prices? I've looked around local junkyards but the hood ornaments are usually gone. Is there a specific base shape I need to be looking for as well?

There's also a rip in the driver's seat. Any idea where I can find seats for these? I can't even find them on eBay. Or is there an easier alternative-such as someone who can repair seats? I'm also looking for rear tail light covers. I can't recall off the top of my head if they're both cracked or only one.

Are there any tips you knowledgeable Cadillac owners can impart on me? I hope to hear from all of you soon and hope to become a part of this community!

 

[Submariner409]

Re: Just bought a 1985 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz! I love her but i need some help!

Emblems, ornaments. Check out the eBay store for BiggDaddyCaddy - real GM, not cheap.

Seats - $$$$.$$ at a GOOD upholstery shop.

Your car - break out your credit cards and check card. Forget the "cost". Fix it - You're in the front row seats, not the bleachers.

 

[orconn]

Re: Just bought a 1985 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz! I love her but i need some help!

Welcome to the Forums! I am sure there will be some advice and help coming soon. Best of luck with your Eldorado.

 

[amunderdog]

 

[omston]

Your basically at the mercy of e-bay sellers for cosmetic and body parts there is no dealer support anymore good luck.

 

[scottelderado]

I have a worn out driver seat, the leather's tearing in several places. Just so happened that my recent Uber driver works for a car dealership and refers customers to a couple local upholstery shops for cuts and tears. He said the upholstery shops get the make/model/color and buy a prefab leather cover that should match the car exactly. According to him, they just rip the old leather off and secure the new cover. If you have a Biarritz like mine with buttoned leather, that's gotta add some difficulty/cost. And I haven't checked on this yet, but I plan to. I expect it'll cost at least $200. But that might be what you're in for. If it's just a single rip, you should just get a curved needle, the right colored strong thread, and baseball stitch it.

For the hood ornament, here's mine on an 85 Biarritz: [URL=http://s1293.photobucket.com/user/scottcelder/media/HoodOrnament_zpswzu8e89a.jpg.html][/URL]

This looks the same, and the price is right: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-CADILLAC-Hood-Ornament-Emblem-/121607916723

It's hooked in there with metal and a spring so it doesn't snap, I believe. No idea how to install it.

----------

btw, if your biggest problems are a tear in the seat and a missing hood ornament, you're doing pretty well for an 85. You should get a copy of the Cadillac Eldorado Factory Service Manual (FSM) soon, either an old paper copy or a pdf. I think a 1984 version would probably be the same as an 1985 version. The FSM is like the Chilton manual for pros. Chilton and Haynes manuals are useless for a lot of stuff.

 

[Bigbird_55]

Hello tjg. I have an '84 and have gone through similar problems. Luckily I had a junk yard with a bunch of old caddies and found a lot of trim and ornaments. If you have to order off ebay or websites, it get pricey quickly. But it depends on how far you want to go. For most of us, the idea is keep it reasonable, but that usually goes out the window at some point. For seats I had mine re-done with vinyl which wears a lot better than leather and looks the same. Set me back about $600 for the front seats. I did find this website although I haven't ordered anything. www.usapartssupply.com. If you do let us know how they perform. The list of parts is impressive but I don't know if they all are available. Good luck..

----------

Here's mine.

I have a worn out driver seat, the leather's tearing in several places. Just so happened that my recent Uber driver works for a car dealership and refers customers to a couple local upholstery shops for cuts and tears. He said the upholstery shops get the make/model/color and buy a prefab leather cover that should match the car exactly. According to him, they just rip the old leather off and secure the new cover. If you have a Biarritz like mine with buttoned leather, that's gotta add some difficulty/cost. And I haven't checked on this yet, but I plan to. I expect it'll cost at least $200. But that might be what you're in for. If it's just a single rip, you should just get a curved needle, the right colored strong thread, and baseball stitch it.

For the hood ornament, here's mine on an 85 Biarritz: [URL=http://s1293.photobucket.com/user/scottcelder/media/HoodOrnament_zpswzu8e89a.jpg.html][/URL]

This looks the same, and the price is right: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-CADILLAC-Hood-Ornament-Emblem-/121607916723

It's hooked in there with metal and a spring so it doesn't snap, I believe. No idea how to install it.

----------

btw, if your biggest problems are a tear in the seat and a missing hood ornament, you're doing pretty well for an 85. You should get a copy of the Cadillac Eldorado Factory Service Manual (FSM) soon, either an old paper copy or a pdf. I think a 1984 version would probably be the same as an 1985 version. The FSM is like the Chilton manual for pros. Chilton and Haynes manuals are useless for a lot of stuff.

----------

I messed that last post up. I wanted to post a pic of mine. Let's see if I can get it right.

 

[Bigbird_55]

 

[tjg5319]

Thank you everyone for all of your help!

Just so happened that my recent Uber driver works for a car dealership and refers customers to a couple local upholstery shops for cuts and tears.

It's interesting that you should say that! My mother has a 2010 Subaru outback (not important) and her leather driver's seat is starting to separate at a seam. One of her friends from work referred her to an upholstery shop around us that sounds very similar to the one you described! I completely forgot about it until you said that!

I will be sure to get you all pictures when I finally bring her back home. I'm planning on picking her up early this coming week after Easter weekend. I'm not going to go crazy right off the bat with this. I'd love nothing more than to have her resprayed with some new gloss black and spend boatloads of money to get her up to car show quality but that's just not in the cards right now. My biggest concern right now is fixing her up mechanically and getting her street legal.

On a more cosmetic note, does anyone know who still makes white wall tires that will fit these cars? You very rarely see them anymore but I'm sure a few companies still have one in their production lines.

 

[scottelderado]

Lots of tire companies still make white walls. You should search the forum for "whitewall" and "white wall" for recommendations. Probably been discussed before. But if you don't get enough info, make a new separate post about that. Beware of an argument about the pricey tire brand "Vogue"… some people love them, some hate them.

----------

p.s. 13 hours left on that ebay auction for the $2 hood ornament linked to above...