77 Cadillac Eldorado Radio exchange

[sdoom]

Hi ,

besides fixing amps I have another little job where I can spend my spare time on. That´s our 77 Eldorado. As you can imagine the cars are pretty rare over here. For interest and pics see

my Eldorado site

I´m almost done with the engine compartment and starting to get stuff together for the outside and the interior. I once saw a modern radio with CD changer control that would directly bolt into the stock radio place. Also the knobs could be used. Problem is, I cant remember what the brand was or where to get it. Any idea where to find info?

I found a digital tape radio off a 1980 Eldorado on ebay, I think that would also fit into our car, but that radio doesn´t have any RCA outputs and i would have to use a Discman-to-tape adapter thingy ....

[jol50]

Lol, how did you get one of those there? I remember riding around in those, just like a living room couch on wheels! Not the best on gas either. That looks like a normal knob deck right? You can hack the hole out to a DIN size, or you will have to get a special HU made to fit knob dash like they have for old hotrod cars. Or, you can just mount your HU elsewhere and leave the dash alone.

Car looks pretty good! I can't read the site but I have a compressor for the rear suspension out of a newer caddy around here someplace. I was going to mount it in my golfcart so I can air up tires with it. Too bad shipping is so bad, there must be plenty of parts around here for those yet. Well maybe not as many, with the cost of steel a lot of yards scrapped all the old cars.

The radios here have been sold mostly for hotrod/old cars. People want to keep them original and not cut the dash, so they make these knob style new HU for them. What I would do is just buy an old one, some did have a jack or RCA for aux input. They should be pretty cheap for a better one. They had them with CD changer ability, but you may have to match up a changer and deck. I have not looked into a new one, I imagine they have them. Look for old car stuff, restoration parts.

[Perry Babin]

http://www.vintagecarradio.com/radios.html

Contact this site:^

Some people mount the head unit in the glove compartment and use the remote control to operate it.

[sdoom]

Thanks you two, that was exactly what I was looking for.

I dont want to cut out the dash to keep the original look of the interior.


BTW, the air ride compressor is actually a good thing on ebay, if they work they´ll go for about 100USD. I hope mine is running for a long time, had to fix the diaphragm (had a cut) and a plastic valve that we did on the lathe.

[jackinnj]

Originally posted by jol50
Lol, how did you get one of those there?

You have to remember that the U.S. had tens of thousands of GI's stationed in Germany until about 15 years ago. (There were also several thousand in Belgium attached to NATO). You could ship your car over there on United States Lines or other carriers. We had a friend in Brussels attached to NATO who drove around in a Pontiac he had shipped from the U.S.

[sdoom]

There still are a few 1000 stationed in Heidelberg , I think there´s also a NATO base around. You can see all those nice new American cars driving around , guess Dodge is doing pretty good in the US. Overhere you can see a lot of those nice chargers and challengers . Although there are a lot of Chrysler and Dodge dealers they don´t sell the charger overhere , some smaller US - cars dealers import them.

Well, any idea of what to put into the Cadillac trunk ? Think 2x 12" will do a good job for cruising ? I´m really not sure....the trunk is so far away from the driver´s seat

[jackinnj]

I have a friend in NJ who rebuilds Caddies and will send him an email. The guy had his house built on the side of a hill with a hydraulic jack such that you could drive the car in to the basement work on it. This is what happens in the U.S. if you make one great invention.

I traded my E500 Wagon for a Dodge Magnum. The Magnum is my "Moses Car" as it parts the seas going through traffic. It's an R/T with the hemi engine and AWD -- something I had wanted since I was a kid. You don't worry about somebody dinging you since the car cost less than 1/2 of the MB. The MB wagon was in the shop constantly, had the worst electrical system of any car I've owned in 40 years (I assume that the electronics were designed by the Brits' "Prince of Darkness").

[jol50]

Two 12s in a big ported box should do nicely. My inlaw was stationed in Germany at some base on a mountain. They repaired tanks and other stuff mostly. He actually bought a chevy sedan and said it got much better mpg than the same cars back home, had a straight 6 in it.

That car is the lap of luxury, they were large or about the largest here as well. I used to work on a couple for people I knew long ago. A friend of mine had a newer one with the diesel (ill fated GM) in it. Got great mpg though, had 100hp or so I think and would go through snow like a 4x4 truck.

Sure, if you want to keep it factory a remote HU may be the best bet. Get a couple amps and you will be the pimpin the whole area That car has to draw some attention over there, it is the age that it might here and the drop tops have some value.

AWD rules. I had a little turbo AWD and that car was too much fun. One of these days I will get another.

[sdoom]

@ jol50 We have more than just one mountain We are very small but we have mountains, Autobahn ..... hmm guess thats about it

Yep I think a hidden HU will do the job. Hmm, I have a KAC-1023 left, could use that one for the woofers.

[jol50]

I'll have to ask him, said it was a huge place up on a mountain. Said people had it kind of rough there, they lived in town with a family for a while. They didn't have running water. Inlaws had just built a new house here and got sucked over there so about maybe '66?

People must look at that car, heck they are scarce here let alone over there. I looked at a 60 caddy once, original owner had it. I'm not into that kind of car, but for some reason I liked it.