The following are my observations during the first week with the Eldorado. I haven't touched anything, but I've started to make a list of things that are not working, things that are not quite the way they were when the car was built, and a few things that need immediate attention.
Very soon I'll need to make a very important decision. Will I be restoring the Eldorado to the original condition as it left the factory? Or will I be restoring the Eldorado to a condition that it COULD have left the factory? One simple example of this is the right hand rear view mirror. This car does NOT have it, so I assume it never did. However, it could have been ordered with one. Should I add one? More on this later.
Here we go, in no particular order!
The VIN tag is found on the front left side of the firewall.
The three digits on the upper left are "06C". This means the car was built in June (the 6th month) during the third week (letter C being the third letter of the alphabet). The style code "ST 68-69347" indicates model year '68 and 69347 for Eldorado. The trim code "TR 410" indicates a standard interior with black diamond pattern cloth with black vinyl bolsters. As you can see in the pictures the seats are very clearly not black. That said, they are in VERY good condition and look nice with the overall color scheme of the car. The carpet and headliner are in very good condition as well.
"FWD" indicates assembly at the Fisher Body Fleetwood plant in Detroit, Michigan. "21943" is the serial number. There were 24,528 Eldorados built in 1968. Now to the paint code. "12-62" is a bit tricky. The 12 most likely indicates this car was originally white. There are two or three chips in the paint that show white underneath. If it were black the code would be 10. The 62 confused me for quite a while. It is only supposed to be a single digit indicating the color of the fabric top. The 2 would mean black. There is no top color code 6. But 6 means vinyl when you are talking about seats. In any case, my black vinyl top looks original with some rust bubbles underneath. I would consider removing it completely, grinding the roof clean, and painting it black.
This Eldorado has the following options: cruise control, tilt and telescope steering wheel, automatic climate control, six-way power seat, padded vinyl roof, AM-FM Stereo radio with power antenna, remote control trunk lock, soft ray tinted glass, and although I'm sure they are not original, white wide sidewall tires.
It does not have the following options: twilight sentinel, power door locks, guide-matic power headlamp dimmer, rear windor defogger, door edge guards, rear shoulder belts, floor mats, bucket seats, firemist paint, head restraints, leather upholstery, four-way left-hand power bucket seat, rear center seat belt or front seat warmers.
The air conditioning compressor has Buick wording on it. Might not be original, but it is still an R-12 unit. R-12 is rediculously expensive to get. An upgrade to 134A might be in the works. The alternator appears newer and the fuel pump very new. There seems to be some black touch up spray paint under the hood. There is a cheesy steering wheel wrap but I'm afraid that's what underneath might be worse.
Now for the problems. On the front right fender, there is an "o" missing in "Eldorado".
There is some minor damage to the the front right wheel cover.
The power antenna does not raise or lower, but the motor runs in both directions. The inside rear view mirror is cracked in two places. The rubber cover around the wires between the driver's door and the chassis has been replaced with duct tape.
The front left fender mounted turn signal indicator does not work. The trunk open indicator light does not work. The trunk light is missing. The cruise control does not work. When the headlamps are on there is the hiss of a vacuum leak from behind the switch. You should be able to cycle the headlamp doors once or twice after shutting off the engine. Due to the vacuum leak this car with not move the doors at all without the engine running. The climate control largely does not work. The brake pedal is VERY low and I found a bottle of brake fluid in the trunk. There are two minor leaks from the oil pan and/or the transmission pan. The left headlamp door when closed does not line up properly with the grille.
The front speaker does not work. Curiously, when an Eldorado is optioned with the stereo radio there are supposed to be two speakers in the dash cover. There is only one on this car. And the dash cover fits very poorly. I'm guessing its not original. The rosewood panels on the doors are faded and cracked.
There are a few scratches in the bumpers.
Does that seem like a lot?
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