Rare Rides Icons: The Cadillac Eldorado, Distinctly Luxurious (Part XXXV)

We return to Eldorado coverage with the “all-new” claim applied to the Eldorado of 1963. It was misleading, as the luxury convertible embarked on a new generation while the rest of the lineup was considered a refresh. The Cadillac marketing people justified their grandiose claims because in addition to a visual rework, the Eldorado changed its manufacturing location. It moved upmarket (shedding the two-year DeVille association) and joined the exclusive Fleetwood assembly line with the Sixty Special and Seventy-Five models. And part of its new upper-crust lifestyle meant a reduction in chrome trappings in addition to its refreshed corporate appearance.

(Note: The brownish Eldorado shown here is a 1962, while the red example is a 1963.)

Front end revisions to the Eldorado of 1963 were immediately clear, as the yacht’s prow extended some inches further over the front wheels than it did the prior year. Quad headlamps were still all the rage in America, and they got closer together in 1963 and pulled closer to the body. Note how the extended sights where the headlamps resided in 1962 were no more.

The hood and grille were newly squared off in 1963, presenting a front end that was stronger and wore a new stepped hood bulge. There was also a revised egg crate grille that carried the same two separate sections as before, but used a smaller egg crate pattern. Taking up real estate was an additional step rearward in the grille, where the pattern changed to larger horizontal slats as it terminated at the headlamps. 

The chrome bar that bisected the grille had a new extension around the front corner and onto the wheel arch, which was not the case in 1962. It made for a cleaner and more horizontally consistent front end appearance. Beneath the bar were new amber signal indicators, integrated into the wrap-around fog lamp. It was the first year in a very long time where cornering/fog and indicator lamps were not at the lowest edge of the front bumper. 

At the lower edge of the bumper there was more upright metal; it retreated back under the body less than the prior year. The bumper wrapped around to form the front edge of the wheel arch as it had in prior years. The Eldorado’s body was taller, more slab sided, and sat lower on the wheels than in 1962. A strong new character line began at the front clip, and tapered just into the door. This was a notable change from the rocket inspiration of 1962, which saw the body line continue all the way to the rear end. 

From a side view some more modernization was obvious: The curved A-pillar from the Fifties was fully eliminated and replaced by a rearward slanted pillar. It took with it the final notions of a wraparound windshield, the craze Cadillac created with the first Eldorado of 1953. Overall, the side profile of the Eldorado was much cleaner in 1963 with less visual interference from creases, detailing, chrome, and lower fins.

Speaking of fins, the lower one was removed entirely in 1963, as was the chrome speared character line that bore it. In its place was a smooth surface, punctuated only by ELDORADO block lettering along the lower sill. The sill received a new lightly ribbed lower chrome strip to make up for the lack of chrome elsewhere, and draw the eye to the sheer length of the Eldorado and how low it was to the floor.

Note the perceived height difference between the 1962 and 1963 models via the amount of rear tire visible between the two years. Continuing the rear end’s more simplified profile was a fin that angled rearward less sharply than in 1962. The fins were also lower profile, and blended more into the fender; they looked less like a separate entity as Cadillac designers reeled in excesses. At the very end of the tail was the Cadillac wreath and crest, reserved for Fleetwood-made models.

The rear deck reflected quite a rework in 1963, and was perhaps more of a step forward than the front end. Lower fins rode aside a softened trunk lid, which displayed a crest and Cadillac V instead of Eldorado lettering. The intent was to remind the Eldorado was a Cadillac first, and a Fleetwood second. No longer was Eldorado permitted to stand on its own.

Rear end lighting looked much more modern in 1963, as rectangular block red and clear lamps appeared and shunned any of the small detailing of 1962. The chrome from the lower sill wrapped up cleanly around the lamps at either corner, and continued (with no lower fin) onto the bumper. The bumper was largely the same in its central section as the prior year.

The license plate moved from the bumper up into the rear clip, and was central to a new chromed grille detail plate. Though it was interrupted by the license plate, it more closely resembled the front grille in 1963 and was a bit less overdone in its detailing. 

The 1963’s look was finished by a reworked set of chrome turbine wheel covers, a slight refinement over the 1962 version. There were no longer color-matched inserts in the wheel, but the detailing was a bit more fine to make up for it. The wheel cover also had a deeper dish profile than the prior design. And the center cap reflected the new style Cadillac crest and wreath, in place of 1962’s horizontally stretched crest.

At the start of this design comparison, your author was fully prepared to say the 1963 refresh didn’t add up to much difference in the overall design. But upon closer examination, the changes made for a notably different overall look. More refined and cohesive, the Eldorado looked much more Sixties-ready. It suddenly carried cues that would sustain the brand through the late Seventies. 

But could the same be said for the interior? General Motors was not known for spending big bucks on their interior refreshes at the time. We’ll take a close look in our next installment.

[Images: seller, seller]

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