Lost City of Gold

ELDORADO

I've said it before and I'll say it again; the streets of Brooklyn are littered with Cadillacs. I was riding along a particularly harrowing stretch of 3rd Avenue for bicycles when I noticed this shrouded brick:

A closer look revealed it to be a 1971 Cadillac Eldorado convertible in the midst of some ongoing repairs.

Take a moment to examine the motley assortment of items holding this 5,000 lb beast up off the ground; a small floor jack, a scissor-jack that looks like it came out of a Japanese compact, and a jackstand. Would you climb underneath this as-is to work on it? Let alone the fact that it's perched on some of the most oil-soaked polluted real estate in the city!

Oh man from this angle you almost want to believe! It looks like there's a possibility of this thing starting up and driving away on it's flat tires. Amazingly it has a matching set of plates, as well as both registration and inspection stickers present. It's a safe bet that the top is mostly missing along with the back window due to the tarp & bungee cord action.

The more I look at this thing the more I feel like we're seeing a car that's at it's lowest point in life but actually isn't a lost cause. This is bald Britney Spears attacking the camera with an umbrella. I'm sure in a summer or two she'll be all dolled up again ready for a world tour.

This model year has some surprisingly aggressive body lines for such a huge ride; the upper and lower fender lines tighten up in a Coke bottle shape as they fade towards the back. Just behind the rear edge of the door there is a missing band of serrated chrome that would normally be filling up that vertical opening. Also missing of course are the fender skirts which would add to the factory-lowrider look.

 We'll finish up with this sad image of faded class. At least it's an actual spoke wheel as opposed to a faux-spoke hubcap, but still; it's not helping the cause at the moment. Good luck Britney!