Warren Wubker's 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz
(from Volume 24, Issue 294)

story by owner Warren Wubker, photos by Michael B. Kelly

 

The purchase of my 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz was one of those accidental flukes. I did not have a 1959 Cadillac on my list of cars to put in my collection, but fate intervened. I was sitting with my restoration guy, Frank Tetro of Harbor Auto Restoration in Rockledge, when a call came from a guy in South Dakota who wanted Frank to build him a hot rod out of a car he owned. He told Frank it was a 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz that had been sitting in his garage for years. Frank questioned him about the car to find out more. The car had been kept inside so the body and frame were in good shape. It would need paint and a new top. It would need the seats recovered, and oh, by the way, they are bucket seats. Frank repeated that out loud, and when I heard it I knew the Cadillac was a special car, since only 99 had been produced with bucket seats. Frank turned on the speaker so I could hear the rest of the phone conversation. When my eyes lit up, Frank told the guy that a 1959 Caddy doesn’t make a really good hot rod. Frank then asked the owner if he would be willing to sell it, and let Frank get a more appropriate car for a hot rod build. The reply; Yes, he would. The owner then asked if Frank knew anyone who might want to buy the Caddy. Sold!

After a lengthy restoration by Harbor Auto Restoration, this large land yacht was ready to show. It went to the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance and won the Most Elegant Cadillac Award. It was also nominated to compete for the first AACA Zenith Award.

The 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz (all Biarritz’s are convertibles) is triple Persian Sand in color. The car has the usual complement of power accessories, such as power steering, power brakes, power windows, and power seats. It also has factory air conditioning, cruise control, signal seeking radio, Autronic Eye headlight dimer, and factory air bags for self leveling (the system for which includes a neat looking belt driven V-Twin compressor on the driver’s side of the engine). Of course it also has those iconic fins in the back, which were the tallest ever seen on a production vehicle, along with the equally iconic dual bullet taillights. It is powered by a 390 cubic inch engine with a trio of 2-barrel carburetors, which produces 325 horsepower, and is coupled with a Hydromatic transmission. CN

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