What have we here? No, it’s not a vintage shot from my Street Scenes files, but one taken this past summer. I was walking out of my favorite giant-breaded-tenderloin restaurant when I spotted this diverse collection across the street.
This garage usually has more common fare out front, but on this day there were some interesting wheeled specimens. The Caddy is nice, but be forewarned it has the diesel V8, a fact I learned during a previous encounter with it. Apparently though, it runs, as I spotted it several miles from this spot earlier in the year. So which would you pick: The Caddy, the Chevelle, the Custom Cruiser, or the F150 F350 dually? Or perhaps that ’90s Topkick catches your fancy…
I think the owner of that place got it right by having one of each…
Eldorado please, then I’d start working on an LS1 swap.
I might be tempted by the Custom Cruiser. I don’t know enough about these – does it have a ThreeFiddy? Of course, a Diesel Eldo still running all these years later must be a decent car, maybe I would take it just for the obscurity factor. I have understood that with scrupulously careful care and feeding, these are actually not bad. But I could be wrong.
The 1991’s only had 305’s, the 1992’s had 305’s or 350’s.
I doubt the Ford pickup is an F-150 dually. Maybe a 350?
Anyway, out back is some sort of Econoline ambulance, which would appeal to me more than all the others combined. At least the flashing lights won’t be on the dash and the loud noises won’t be coming from under the hood!
> The Caddy is nice, but be warned, it has the diesel V8.
Perfect, I’ll take it! Especially if it’s a 1981 or later with the improved 2nd gen “DX” block.
I’m thinking that from the looks of the grille and parking lights, it’s most likely a 1980 model.
Nevertheless, I have always liked these Eldos. Oddly enough, the 1992-02 Eldos still catch my eye, though I would still have to give the nod to this one though…
Oh well, the Eldorado diesel is still my pick of this bunch, though I’d prefer that diesel stuffed into a Fleetwood.
Custom Cruiser!
/thread
Given this set of choices, I’m definitely an A-body kind of guy.
The ‘Bu has a little more rot than I’d be willing to deal with right now and I’m developing a severe case of Pickup withdrawal. Gimme the Dooley!
I’d probably hate driving it but I’m inexplicably drawn to the Chevelle.
Well I know how awful the Chevelle is on the road – sexy looks, but like the hot girl with the potty mouth and the table manners of a baboon.
The Caddy… meh. it doesn’t really speak to me.
The trucks, nah.
I’d roll the Olds, and maybe swap in the slightly later LT1 and have a blast in a true rare car.
I have a very personal association with a 1980 Eldorado diesel. My aunt had a brand new Bordeaux Red one back in the day that I had driven many times as a teenager. I remember it being a total dog but was it ever fun to smoke out the people behind you when you accelerated! My younger cousins would always laugh whenever we did that! My aunt would also laugh hysterically when I told her we smoked out people. She said it was part of the fun of having a diesel, which unfortunately was not too fun for my aunt. It was a beautiful car that they special ordered, heavily optioned, too. It was a base model with leather and factory power moonroof, CB, 8-track player, wire wheels, you name it. The sad thing was that car was jinxed. It was backed into at the dealership before they even picked it up, the driver’s door needing to be repainted. Then when it was a week old a truck that was in front of them on the highway on their annual trip to Florida dropped a huge tree branch onto the front hood and windshield, with thousands of dollars of damage as a result. Another day my aunt was driving and got a blow out, hitting a telephone pole and doing a lot of damage to the passenger side of the vehicle. My aunt called that car “Christine” because at times it had a mind of its own. The electronic A/C control always gave them trouble, working when it felt like it. The diesel engine would have a very hard time starting in the winter, and I remember the yellow plug sticking out of the grille for the engine block heater to help. On many occasions my uncle would go out to start it with no luck, but as soon as my aunt went to try it turned right over. That happened way too many times to be a coincidence! I think they kept the Eldo through 2 engine rebuilds for about 5 years and 80k miles. The man that bought it from them knew my uncle and totaled it after owning it about 2 weeks. That poor car was doomed from day one!
Chevelle, hands-down. Come to papa!
LOL — that was a no-brainer for you!
I’d have to go for the Ford truck, that would be an excellent boat/seadoo/toy hauler.
For me, It would be between the Caddy and the Olds. Two rare cars these days. The Olds, while oh-so-similar to the Buick and Chevy cousins, has just enough stylistic difference to make it rather attractive to me. The Eldorado, well that’s one car who’s styling never gets old to me…
I’ll take the diesel Eldorado. I think it’s an 80. For the limited use I’d be driving it, the diesel would be just fine. Noise and smoke wouldn’t bother me anyhow.
We had a 79 Eldo (until 1994) with the Olds 350 FI, all in all, a nice car. A nice sized car for today. Years ago, I used to see a gray Eldo of this generation in superlative condition. An elderly lady drove it. I used to dream of seeing a for sale sign on it.
Haven’t seen it for at least two years.
Custom Cruiser. Just because they’re fairly rare and I could fit my drum kit in it with ease…
Chevelle first, no question, but a B-Body wagon is always tempting…
Olds…I bought a dealer demo, same color in ’92. What a relief to finally have a 350 after a decade of wimpy 305’s in the big wagons. The CC would accelerate faster pulling a 19′ ski boat than my ’87 Caprice wagon would clean. I would probably still have the Olds if not for the lure of a ’96 Roadmaster Estate with the LT1. I still have the Roadie with 171,000…it runs like new & I plan to keep it ’til GM starts making them again!
A Mazda or a bus pass, thanks. Jollies per mpg are lacking with all of these lumps.