The 1985 Eldorado Touring Coupe

And this is what it looks like now! (Under hood, interior, and glamour shots!

Additions in yellow are the newest, dating from October '01

See the Swap Page for more info about the ETC project

In 1982, Cadillac released a surprising new model of the Eldorado aimed towards the enthusiast..it was known as the Touring Coupe. The TC was available only in Teutonic Silver that year and was distinctly different from the other Eldorados. Firstly, there was no hood ornnament but a cloisonne medallion in its place. No vinyl roof was available..either were whitewalls, and most of the brightwork was body colored or blacked out. Ribbed rocker mouldings replace aluminum trim found on the other Eldos and the standard steel rim and hubcap were replaced by aluminum wheels with W&C centers. The interior of the TC offers sandalwood colored leather bucket seats featuring lumbar and lateral support with a center console instead of split bench seating.

The real difference lies under the body- touring suspension featured larger stabilizer bars front and rear (32mm & 26mm), 20% stiffer front torsion bars, rear coil springs that were 15% firmer, entirely different shocks up front, and recalibrated air lift shocks in the rear. The suspension grommets were of 70 durometer rubber over the 60 dm on the standard Eldo. The steering system offered more feedback while keeping a 14:1  ratio and the tires were upgraded to P225/70R15 for increased handling. This TC package listed for an extra $1950 on top oel is pretty rare. As the production figures show, there were only 585 TC's made in '85 out of 76,401 Eldos. In fact, according to these figures, I should expect to see 4 of the $30,000 Eldorado convertibles for every one TC I see, but I don't.
 
 

Touring Coupe Production Figures

Model Year	1982	1983	1984	1985
ETC Production	1700	1193	815	585
Total Eldos	52,018	67,416	77,806	76,401

When the Touring Coupe was released in 1982, it featured the brand-new HT4100 aluminum block engine known for trouble and lack of power. This engine was continued through '85. Originally, when this body style debuted in '79, a fuel injected Olds 350 was standard. Then in 1980, the Eldo came with a 368 which was adapted to a V8-6-4 for '81.
 

So what is the Touring Coupe Project?

The car I purchased is Sable Black with the standard sandalwood interior, shown above. I purchased it with a locked up 4100 with the intent of swapping in an Olds 350 and doing a little R&R to the vehicle. To make a long story short, the 350 I planned on installing was sold, leaving a choice Olds 403 available. A multiport FI setup from the donor Sevilles below topped off the mill. Parts were scavenged from salvage yards, internet resources and friends. For details on that, hop on over to the Swap page.

To complete the car, lots of little things had to be taken care of. Scrubbing the carpets for one. Replacing the headliner and cleaning the leather. Installing a fresh exhaust, detailing the interior, and painting some of the exterior trim. The rear bumper was missing its rub strips. Luckily I located a shining example in great condition. Belts, hoses, fuel and brake lines, a new battery, new AC shocks, tires, and associated FI equipment had to be retrofitted. And then there was light work to be done on the 403. But when it all came together, it was well worth the effort. What a screamer!

Freezing our asses off trying to gather FI parts. The distributor on that top Seville ended up breaking off. The bottom distributor was even worse and wouldn't give at all. We knew it was a lost cause and took what we could, leaving the distributors. Ironically, when the snow thawed months later, it pulled right out!

Ben, taking a look under the hood-	The frozen distributor!

  These fine Sevilles no longer exist, having been crushed the summer after these were taken.

The Seville's engine compartment was not designed for comfort!	Ben, working on one of the intakes-

Here's one of the intakes with a large-bore throttle body-

Here's an '82 model, note the different rims...
And here's the grey interior which was stock that year.



 
 
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