Thank you Jan for your most appreciated words. As time permits, I would like to embark on something similar for the 132 Packard, although there is already an open thread, as well as other models in the American Dinky car range.

I will be replying to your interesting comparison post on the dimensions of both the Eldorado and Packard 200/250 Convertible later and it will have quite a surprise for you!

As mentioned in my first Post this is the unique piece of Cadillac Eldorado history

dinkyfan wrote:
"Bruce
A wonderful writeup on the Cadillac Eldorado, and I really like all of the collateral material you included: brouchure, photos of the prototype, the model itself, and even a little education on the origin of those "dagmar" bumpers.
It does make you wonder why Meccano chose a model several years old...it would seem their track record was usually very good about promptly releasing models. I wonder if they had intended to produce it earlier, then got delayed, then finally released. Same with the Packard.....likely we will never know why.
Jan made some interesting comments on an earlier post regarding large disparity in width when comparing the Cadillac and Packard convertibles. The Packard is very wide, and in comparison, the Cadillac appears quite narrow. I believe Jan concluded that the Cadillac width was closer to reality, and the Packard too wide.
All in all, a somewhat iconic Dinky model for the time, and very worthy of our attention.
Regards,
Terry"

Terry

Many thanks for your most appreciated comments on my Thread on the 131 Cadillac Eldorado Tourer. I thoroughly enjoyed going through my accumulated stuff and sharing it with the wider community. I will be posting a new comment on the dimensions of both the Cadillac and Packard and a little more on those unique bumpers shortly. As for the long delay with Meccano releasing it, that Post may very well provide the answer.

There is no doubt about it, the 131 is a fabulous model, and it was one of my favourite Dinky Toys when I was growing up, although I could never understand why my father bought the salmon pink version! I would have much preferred the yellow one! I "procured" a 132 Packard through some means with my neighbour, but it was never really one of those models I liked, probably due to it having lost its windscreen; its absence making the model even wider than it really was.

Thanks again for your comments.

Regards

Bruce

janwerner wrote:
"Thanks, Bruce, for the fine contribution. We like more like these!
Discussing the Cadillac Eldorado two thoughts always come up with me. First is the colours I don't like (I know, there is no accounting for tastes), second is the too narrow appearance of the model. Nevertheless I have one, in order to avoid an omission in the Dinky collection.
On the other hand we have the companion, no. 132 Packard Convertible. I like these colours better, but on the contrary this model's width seems to be too big.

I did a little photographic experiment by enlarging the width of the Cadillac and by shrinking the width of the Packard, 5% each. You can see the results below. In addition to Bruce's pictures of the Cadillac I have added a photo of the real Packard below, which I made a few months ago, surprised about the much narrower appearance of this real vehicle.

Here they are:

(I HAVE DELETED THE PICTURES WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE FOLLOWING AS THESE CAN BE VIEWED ON THE FIRST PAGE OF THIS THREAD)

Cadillac width plus 5%, Packard width minus 5%, which look much better in relation to reality in my opinion (I have not tried to restore the mutual models' size interrelation, that may deviate a little bit now) .

Kind regards, Jan"

Hello Jan

In regard to dimensions, Meccano actually got it wrong with both cars but more so for the Packard Convertible. It will surprise you to know that the Eldorado was 200mm longer than the Packard, 5608mm (220.8 inches) versus 5408mm (212.8 inches) and was actually 60mm wider than the Packard, 2035mm (80.1 inches) as against 1975mm (77.9 inches).

In fact, Meccano got numerous things wrong with their rendition of the Eldorado. The model appears longer and narrower than what the prototype actually is, and this can possibly be attributed to what Meccano used as a guide. If you will note the artists

Hello Jan

My example from my younger days, complete with a fractured windscreen has red tail-lights, and I know I never added these. From what I have learned, one finds many with red tail-lights but more without any embellishment. I am trying to determine if it was a period thing, although I cannot recall exactly when I received mine. I must photograph mine and then post it here.

Does your box have any rubber stamps on the inside of the main end flaps? Is the box original or a replacement as it has the yellow end spot.

Thank you for your kind words. Most appreciated.

Kind regards

Bruce

dinkyfan wrote:
"By way of coincidence, just today I saw an ad for a highly restored 1953 Cadillac Eldorado convertible, along with a lengthy writeup on the car. There was a really nice 3/4 angle front view, which I have posted below. It said that slightly more than 500 were made in total, and that this model only shared fenders and trunk deck with the other Cadillac's that year. The body shell, hood, and doors were unique to this car, and it was also lower than the others. It also said that due to the limited production and custom features, Cadillac likely lost money on each car that was made.

Regards, Terry

"

Terry

Only 532 Eldorados were made in 1953. The table I included in my last post has all the colours, both paintwork and soft tops. Cadillac did lose money but the prestige of the marque generated more sales over the next few years.

By the way, that is a great photo you included. Did the sale notice include the chassis/body number?

Kind regards

Bruce

Hello Terry

Car Number 428 was built as one of 56 Eldorados with a paint scheme of Azure Blue, white folding roof with blue and white leather seats and door trims.

Here is a Cadillac in Azure Blue but black upholstery with added spare tyre over the rear bumper:

Since penning the above, the following is a brief history of this car a 1953 Cadillac Eldorado Special Sport Convertible VIN: 536284597. The car was originally purchased in San Francisco in 1953 and has been a California and Arizona car most of its life. Through the 1970s it resided in Novato, California and then it moved to a collector in Arizona. Around 1990 the car returned to California and after a period the new owner decided to do a complete, body off, nut-and-bolt restoration. At a cost of over $150000 the Eldorado was rebuilt from the ground up using as many original parts as possible. The result was a show-winning car that made multiple appearances at numerous car shows across Northern California. In late 2007 it was time for the Eldorado to move on to a new owner. Although the new owner loved the vehicle, he did not love the original Azure Blue paint. In early 2008 a new restoration commenced during which the car was completely disassembled and over the next 6 months was completely repainted in an original Cadillac colour of Norman Grey Type 8 paint, the interior was given a vast expanse of red leather, and all the chrome work was reconditioned.

The unusual thing with this car is that it does not appear on the list of surviving 1953 Cadillac Eldorado cars. So how many more are there out there.

There are at least 192 surviving 1953 Cadillac Eldorado cars out of the 532 built with more than half located outside the USA; some are in Canada (these did not have too far to travel) and quite a number in Australia but the vast majority of them are located in Scandinavia, Sweden to be precise!

As for the Dinky model, it does fill a gap but as you said, there are so many things incorrect with the casting. Still, even with all the blemishes, the 131 remains as one of my favourites!

Regards

Bruce :laugh:

Greetings all!

While scrolling through some old Meccano Magazines, I came across the following poem on the 131 Cadillac Eldorado, so thought I would share it with you as another piece of the story of this model.

Kind regards

Bruce (150)
#670
22 June 2015

Thanks Terry,

I have found a few more things to add to this Thread while I am here. The first is another picture of Dwight D Eisenhower in front of The Capital in the Presidential Cadillac Eldorado on loan from General Motors.

With a factory advertisement for the Cadillac Eldorado that followed in 1954.

Kind regards

Bruce (150)
#673
22 June 2015

131 Cadillac Eldorado Tourer

A new trawl through the old website data to fill any gaps in this thread

4659 Dinkinius

From Meccano Magazine for June 1956, Mr Toyman in his column covering the new releases for that month had this to say:

“Judging from my correspondence, there is an unlimited demand for models of the large stylish American cars, and now a further addition is being made to the range. ( Apart from the pre-war and post war 39 series of American cars that had been deleted by 1952, the Estate Car 27f (based on a Plymouth but never stated as such for some obscure reason), 132 Packard Convertible, 139a Ford Fordor, 139b Hudson Commodore and the 172 Studebaker Landcruiser were the other models in the “American range”.)

The Dinky Toys Cadillac Eldorado Tourer, No. 131, is a really attractive miniature of this distinctive car. It is beautifully proportioned with plenty of detail, and is fitted with a miniature driver and a transparent windscreen. The Cadillac Eldorado is available in two attractive colour schemes, salmon pink with grey seats and yellow with red seats. In both schemes the wheels are stone coloured, and the bumpers and radiator grilles are finished in aluminium.”

The interesting thing about this model, is its selection. It is based on the 1953 version, that by 1956 had received a number of make-overs, including the loss of the distinctive grille with its solid, rounded bars. The 1953 first release of the Eldorado also had its smallest production run, so one wonders why it was selected. Although considering the 132 Packard released in 1955 was based on the 1951-52 version, I guess the 131 with its three years between the prototype and the model is better than the 132 with its four years between prototype and model. (What a difference it was compared with the earlier 39 series, when the models were almost entirely depicted as the 1939 year prototypes with July 1939 as their release to the eager young enthusiast!)

 

 

A little about the prototype.

After observing its Golden Anniversary with a little-changed fleet for 1952, Cadillac issued a flashy limited-edition convertible, the 1953 Series 62 Eldorado. Like that year''s new Buick Skylark and Olds 98 Fiesta, it boasted features previewed on recent GM show cars: custom interior, special cut-down "Panoramic" wraparound windshield, a sporty "notched" beltline (below the side windows), and a metal lid instead of a canvas boot to cover the lowered top. The Eldorado was a special-bodied, low-production convertible. It was the production version of the 1952 El Dorado "Golden Anniversary" concept car, and borrowed bumper bullets (aka “dagmars”) from the 1951 General Motors Le Sabre show car.

(Dagmar bumpers, (dag-mar), is a slang term for the artillery shell shaped styling elements found on the front bumper/grille assemblies on several makes of cars produced in the 1950s, in particular the Cadillacs, an era recognized for its flamboyant designs and prominent use of chrome details. The term was coined by customers in direct reference to Dagmar, an early 1950s television personality well known for her pronounced cleavage. Dagmar''s physical attributes were further enhanced by low-cut gowns and the shape of her bra cups, which were somewhat conical. She was amused by the tribute.

 

This must be a first for the DTCA website, having pictures of a Hollywood actress gracing its "pages"!!

A striking piece, the Eldorado was a preview of Cadillacs to come, but only 532 of the ''53s were built, largely because the price was a towering $7,750. Available in four unique colors (Aztec Red, Alpine White, Azure Blue and Artisan Ochre — the latter is a yellow hue, although it was shown erroneously as black in the color folder issued on this rare model). (Just why Meccano selected Salmon Pink as the second of two colours is unknown, when the yellow was an almost identical match.) The car carried no special badging other than a gold-colored "Eldorado" nameplate in the center of the dash. A hard tonneau cover, flush with the rear deck, hid the top in the open car version.

Now for the name ELDORADO.

It was chosen in an internal competition for a 1952 concept vehicle celebrating the company''s Golden Anniversary, the name Eldorado was proposed by Mary-Ann Marini (née Zukosky), a secretary in Cadillac''s merchandising department and was subsequently adopted for the limited-edition convertible for model year 1953.

This is the yellow that Meccano selected for its model. Interestingly, the salmon pink, or at least a very similar colour appeared in a later year''s Eldorado.

 

4661 dinkyfan

Bruce

A wonderful writeup on the Cadillac Eldorado, and I really like all of the collateral material you included: brouchure, photos of the prototype, the model itself, and even a little education on the origin of those "dagmar" bumpers.

It does make you wonder why Meccano chose a model several years old...it would seem their track record was usually very good about promptly releasing models. I wonder if they had intended to produce it earlier, then got delayed, then finally released. Same with the Packard.....likely we will never know why.

Jan made some interesting comments on an earlier post regarding large disparity in width when comparing the Cadillac and Packard convertibles. The Packard is very wide, and in comparison, the Cadillac appears quite narrow. I believe Jan concluded that the Cadillac width was closer to reality, and the Packard too wide.

All in all, a somewhat iconic Dinky model for the time, and very worthy of our attention.

Regards,

Terry

4678 Dinkinius

dinkyfan wrote:

 

Bruce

A wonderful writeup on the Cadillac Eldorado, and I really like all of the collateral material you included: brouchure, photos of the prototype, the model itself, and even a little education on the origin of those "dagmar" bumpers.

It does make you wonder why Meccano chose a model several years old...it would seem their track record was usually very good about promptly releasing models. I wonder if they had intended to produce it earlier, then got delayed, then finally released. Same with the Packard.....likely we will never know why.

Jan made some interesting comments on an earlier post regarding large disparity in width when comparing the Cadillac and Packard convertibles. The Packard is very wide, and in comparison, the Cadillac appears quite narrow. I believe Jan concluded that the Cadillac width was closer to reality, and the Packard too wide.

All in all, a somewhat iconic Dinky model for the time, and very worthy of our attention.

Regards,

Terry

 

Terry

Many thanks for your most appreciated comments on my Thread on the 131 Cadillac Eldorado Tourer. I thoroughly enjoyed going through my accumulated stuff and sharing it with the wider community. I will be posting a new comment on the dimensions of both the Cadillac and Packard and a little more on those unique bumpers shortly. As for the long delay with Meccano releasing it, that Post may very well provide the answer.

There is no doubt about it, the 131 is a fabulous model, and it was one of my favourite Dinky Toys when I was growing up, although I could never understand why my father bought the salmon pink version! I would have much preferred the yellow one! I "procured" a 132 Packard through some means with my neighbour, but it was never really one of those models I liked, probably due to it having lost its windscreen; its absence making the model even wider than it really was.

Thanks again for your comments.

Regards

Bruce

 

4662 dinkyfan

Sorry, somehow my post got entered twice, so I deleted the body of it. We should have the ability to delete our own posts, for whatever reason, especially when erroneous postings occur. Can anyone ask the webmaster about doing this????

Regards,

Terry

 

4663 dinkycollect

 

Terry,

There should be a "DELETE" link at the botom right of your posts. Clic on it and on the next page, clic on "SUBMIT".

Bruce,

Great post about the Cadillac. There is not much to be added.

 

4683 Richard

A very nice Dinky !

Here are mine :

 

Cheers

 

4666 janwerner

Thanks, Bruce, for the fine contribution. We like more like these!

Discussing the Cadillac Eldorado two thoughts always come up with me. First is the colours I don''t like (I know, there is no accounting for tastes), second is the too narrow appearance of the model. Nevertheless I have one, in order to avoid an omission in the Dinky collection.

On the other hand we have the companion, no. 132 Packard Convertible. I like these colours better, but on the contrary this model''s width seems to be too big.

I did a little photographic experiment by enlarging the width of the Cadillac and by shrinking the width of the Packard, 5% each. You can see the results below. In addition to Bruce''s pictures of the Cadillac I have added a photo of the real Packard below, which I made a few months ago, surprised about the much narrower appearance of this real vehicle.

Here they are:

 

The real Packard in the Brummen Classic Cars Museum.

 

Packard and Cadillac by Dinky as seen from above, comparing widths.

 

Both models, frontal view.

 

Cadillac width plus 5%, Packard width minus 5%, which look much better in relation to reality in my opinion (I have not tried to restore the mutual models'' size interrelation, that may deviate a little bit now) .

Kind regards, Jan

 

4701 Dinkinius

 

janwerner wrote:

 

Thanks, Bruce, for the fine contribution. We like more like these!

Discussing the Cadillac Eldorado two thoughts always come up with me. First is the colours I don''t like (I know, there is no accounting for tastes), second is the too narrow appearance of the model. Nevertheless I have one, in order to avoid an omission in the Dinky collection.

On the other hand we have the companion, no. 132 Packard Convertible. I like these colours better, but on the contrary this model''s width seems to be too big.

 

I did a little photographic experiment by enlarging the width of the Cadillac and by shrinking the width of the Packard, 5% each. You can see the results below. In addition to Bruce''s pictures of the Cadillac I have added a photo of the real Packard below, which I made a few months ago, surprised about the much narrower appearance of this real vehicle.

 

Here they are:

 

(I HAVE DELETED THE PICTURES WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE FOLLOWING AS THESE CAN BE VIEWED ON THE FIRST PAGE OF THIS THREAD)

 

 

Cadillac width plus 5%, Packard width minus 5%, which look much better in relation to reality in my opinion (I have not tried to restore the mutual models'' size interrelation, that may deviate a little bit now) .

 

Kind regards, Jan

 

Hello Jan

 

In regard to dimensions, Meccano actually got it wrong with both cars but more so for the Packard Convertible. It will surprise you to know that the Eldorado was 200mm longer than the Packard, 5608mm (220.8 inches) versus 5408mm (212.8 inches) and was actually 60mm wider than the Packard, 2035mm (80.1 inches) as against 1975mm (77.9 inches).

In fact, Meccano got numerous things wrong with their rendition of the Eldorado. The model appears longer and narrower than what the prototype actually is, and this can possibly be attributed to what Meccano used as a guide. If you will note the artists" drawings below, the model does appear longer and narrower than what it actually was when photographs of the prototype in a similar pose is shown.

I think Meccano realised this when the protoype came out and they had access to more information. Rather than scrapping the drawings and whatever preliminary moulds that had been prepared, Meccano simply waited until the real car was several years old, and hopefully, nobody would notice the difference, especially when there was a long gap between the release of the Packard and then the Cadillac! The same could also be applied to the Packard Convertible. The Cadillac"s bonnet should be higher and more rounded, and most importantly, the model does not have those famous Dagmar over-riders at the rear!

The front seat should be moved forward slightly and the width of the rear shortened. One other missing detail, and this is more of a question than a statement.

Why didn't Meccano paint the upper part of the grille aluminium (fake chrome!) and extend that onto the existing cheat line on the side of the car to the back of both doors as well as incorporating the distinctive Cadillac insignia on the front of the bonnet?

Lastly, another question: Why did Meccano refer to the model's name on its box as "CADILLAC TOURER" without mentioning the unique name of ELDORADO when Meccano's printed material in leaflets and catalogues the model is called CADILLAC ELDORADO TOURER. For a brief period in 1960-61 the plain red and yellow sided box did reflect its complete name before reverting to a the lighter yellow pictorial box with just Cadillac Tourer. I can answer that one nobody knows!

For the enjoyment of those reading this thread, here are some more pictures of this great American icon of an era when chrome, wraparound windscreens, whitewall tyres, fins, Dagmar bumpers, big V8 engines, and bright colours ruled and the conservative European and Australian makers eventually followed suit!

In my first post I mentioned the four colours assigned to the 1953 Cadillac Edorado, Azure Blue, Alpine White, Artisan Ochre and Aztec Red. These were colours unique to the Eldorado, however, other factory colours were also used, such as Black, Cobalt Blue, Emerald Green, etc. Factory colours were those used on other models in the Cadillac range. Here is the colour chart, showing the number of models painted in each scheme, and the colour of the top, black or white.

And to finally end with a factory promotional photograph

 

4677 Dinkinius

Thank you Jan for your most appreciated words. As time permits, I would like to embark on something similar for the 132 Packard, although there is already an open thread, as well as other models in the American Dinky car range.

I will be replying to your interesting comparison post on the dimensions of both the Eldorado and Packard 200/250 Convertible later and it will have quite a surprise for you!

As mentioned in my first Post this is the unique piece of Cadillac Eldorado history a copy of the letter awarding Mary-Ann Zukosky a $25 Government Defence Bond for her winning entry that named this special car, EL DORADO, meaning in English, The Gilded One.

 

 

The name was changed to a single word, when it was realized that “EL” meant THE in Spanish, so one would be in effect referring to the car as THE THE DORADO, or THE THE GILDED ONE in English! At least Cadillac thought it would confuse folk so they settled on combining the two into a single word ELDORADO.

The new Cadillac Eldorado for 1953 made its official debut on September 20, 1952.

 

 

President Eisenhower in Cadillac Eldorado No.2 during his Inauguration in Washington. The car was on loan from the Cadillac Division of General Motors and was the second Eldorado built.

 

 

 

4707 dinkycollect

 

 

If it can help, my Cadillac has the red rear lights. 4712 Richard I have 5 "Cadillac".

Only two have red lights ! Those with the unpainted hubs, produced around 1958.

I note that the red lights of my Cadillac are not located at the same place that the Jacques''s.

On mine, the lights are in the middle of the wing, not on the top ! New mistery ?

Cheers

Richard

 

4733 Dinkinius

Hello Terry

Car Number 428 was built as one of 56 Eldorados with a paint scheme of Azure Blue, white folding roof with blue and white leather seats and door trims.

Here is a Cadillac in Azure Blue but black upholstery with added spare tyre over the rear bumper:

 

 

Since penning the above, the following is a brief history of this car a 1953 Cadillac Eldorado Special Sport Convertible VIN: 536284597. The car was originally purchased in San Francisco in 1953 and has been a California and Arizona car most of its life. Through the 1970s it resided in Novato, California and then it moved to a collector in Arizona. Around 1990 the car returned to California and after a period the new owner decided to do a complete, body off, nut-and-bolt restoration. At a cost of over $150000 the Eldorado was rebuilt from the ground up using as many original parts as possible. The result was a show-winning car that made multiple appearances at numerous car shows across Northern California. In late 2007 it was time for the Eldorado to move on to a new owner. Although the new owner loved the vehicle, he did not love the original Azure Blue paint. In early 2008 a new restoration commenced during which the car was completely disassembled and over the next 6 months was completely repainted in an original Cadillac colour of Norman Grey Type 8 paint, the interior was given a vast expanse of red leather, and all the chrome work was reconditioned.

The unusual thing with this car is that it does not appear on the list of surviving 1953 Cadillac Eldorado cars. So how many more are there out there.

There are at least 192 surviving 1953 Cadillac Eldorado cars out of the 532 built with more than half located outside the USA; some are in Canada (these did not have too far to travel) and quite a number in Australia but the vast majority of them are located in Scandinavia, Sweden to be precise!

As for the Dinky model, it does fill a gap but as you said, there are so many things incorrect with the casting. Still, even with all the blemishes, the 131 remains as one of my favourites!

Regards

Bruce

:laugh:

6229 Dinkinius

Greetings all!

While scrolling through some old Meccano Magazines, I came across the following poem on the 131 Cadillac Eldorado, so thought I would share it with you as another piece of the story of this model.

 

Kind regards

Bruce (150)

#670

22 June 2015

 

6233 Dinkinius

Thanks Terry,

 

I have found a few more things to add to this Thread while I am here. The first is another picture of Dwight D Eisenhower in front of The Capital in the Presidential Cadillac Eldorado on loan from General Motors.

 

With a factory advertisement for the Cadillac Eldorado that followed in 1954.

Kind regards

Bruce (150)

#673

22 June 2015

Al

I am sure those who log into this website and end up reading all the previously missing Posts on this topic will join with me in sincerely thanking you for all your behind-the-scene efforts in restoring this topic "to its former glory"!

I have no idea as to the type of wizardry you used, but I am delighted that you persevered as I was not looking forward to reconstructing Post #10 in particular!

Thank you very much.

Kind regards

Bruce   (150)

19 February 2016

#779