A grandfather & a last Detroit-built Caddy

[knightfan26917]

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Family connections to historic events make those happenings a bit more personable.  In this case, a friend’s grandfather drove the last Detroit-built Cadillac Eldorado:

http://www.oldcarsstronghearts.com/2015/04/02/throwback-thursday-11/

 

BTW, a different theme on Thursday featured a Cadillac wagon & “El Camino”….  &, 1 of Friday’s themes will feature a 1969 Pontiac GTO raced by 2 generations.

 

ALSO: who enjoys building scale models?  An in-progress pic!

http://www.oldcarsstronghearts.com/2015/04/01/wednesday-ratio-11/

 

 

Cort www.oldcarsstronghearts.com

1979 & 1989 Caprice Classics | pigValve, paceMaker, cowValve

"Love is more than just a trick in the night" __ Mark Gray __ 'If All The Magic Is Gone'

[balthazar]

Hmmm… Confused by this pic.

The Eldo in the pic looks to be a circa '78. Hamtramck's (partially in Detroit) first vehicle off the line was supposedly an '85 Eldorado.

Hamtramck was the proposed replacement for both Clark Street & the Fleetwood plant, tho those stayed open a number of years past Hamtramck's opening.
Clark Street's last Seville was July '79 (different gen E-body)… so what plant was this reputedly?

[Drew Dowdell]

Well it couldn't have been an '85 Eldorado, but it could have been an '86 built in '85

[knightfan26917]

Hmmm… Confused by this pic.

The Eldo in the pic looks to be a circa '78. Hamtramck's (partially in Detroit) first vehicle off the line was supposedly an '85 Eldorado.

Hamtramck was the proposed replacement for both Clark Street & the Fleetwood plant, tho those stayed open a number of years past Hamtramck's opening.

Clark Street's last Seville was July '79 (different gen E-body)… so what plant was this reputedly?

 

I asked Ryan; he told me his grandfather assured him it was the Clark Street assembly plant.  Notice the sign indicates Eldorado, so maybe that was correct, at that particular time...?  Ryan said he'd see if he could get further clarification from his grandfather, who was a general foreman.  He said he hadn't had anyone question it before ... &, of the forums to which I posted this, haven't seen anyone else ask.  BUT, we want to make sure it is correct, partly because Ryan sent me another Caddy pic his grandfather had sent him to feature on my website.

 

 

Cort www.oldcarsstronghearts.com

1979 & 1989 Caprice Classics | pigValve, paceMaker, cowValve

"Uh, what model is it?" __ Johnny Cash __ 'One Piece At A Time'

[balthazar]

GM plant history is interesting to me, and Cadillac's is pretty contained, so it should be easy to get it nailed down. I have some notes on this I need to formalize & verify, if just for my own interest. 

 

What struck me is, Cadillac's plants, historically, have been in a surprisingly small locale, most mere blocks from the others. Clark & Hamtramck are the main period ones, but Hamtramck is partially in Detroit city and partially outside it...

 

...so my thinking is that ELDORADO production was moved over to Hamtramck when this pic was taken (obviously the plants overlapped to keep production continuous) and the Seville was built in Clark a bit later...

IE; the pic records the last Eldorado built in Clark, Cadillac people don't consider Hamtramck 'Detroit', but some Cadillac production continued in Clark after this pic. Looking forward to more information!

 

To clarify- I am NOT doubting the picture/story, just expressing my confusion; I know I'm missing something on my end.

 

BTW- I'm not surprised I'm the only person who asked, I should've been a research investigator.

Or secured in a nicely padded room with a view of the grounds...

Edited April 4, 2015 by balthazar

[Drew Dowdell]

.. well it was the last Detroit built Eldorado as of that point... when they took the picture, they had no idea that the '86 Eldorado would be built at Hamtramck.

 

That Eldorado was built in Detroit until 1978.  When the '79 bodystyle switched to the new slimmer E-bodies (like my car) production switched to Linden NJ. After that bodystyle was over, production moved back to Hamtramck for the '86 model year. 

 

So it was probably a big deal to those production line employees that "their" car wasn't going to be built in Detroit anymore and instead was going to NJ.  Thus the picture. 

[balthazar]

Thanks DD, that clears that up!

Like I said, I knew I was missing something.

[Drew Dowdell]

I thought you knew about the Linden switch, so I was thinking "what isn't he getting here?" when reading the posts.

[balthazar]

I have got to sit & compile my Cadillac plant notes!

I forgot Linden built Caddys in this era… go ahead and strip me of my 'Yoda' title.

 

Do you know the year span Linden built Cadillacs?

[David]

Nope Even Yoda forgets or misses small details. Not like your God or something!

[knightfan26917]

Glad to see this is resolved!

 

For the record, I'm a stickler for details, too.  I suppose I should've worded my reply a bit better.  Didn't think you were doubting the pic or story, balthazar, I was just trying to figure it out the best I could ... & I'm at a bit of a disadvantage b/c I don't have the plant knowledge that many others have.

 

 

Cort www.oldcarsstronghearts.com

1979 & 1989 Caprice Classics | pigValve, paceMaker, cowValve

"Tryin' to make a livin' and doin' the best I can" __ Allman Brothers Band __ 'Ramblin' Man'

[Drew Dowdell]

I have got to sit & compile my Cadillac plant notes!

I forgot Linden built Caddys in this era… go ahead and strip me of my 'Yoda' title.

Do you know the year span Linden built Cadillacs?

should be the same as the span of those E-Bodies. Model year '79 - model year '85.

After that I think Linden started building S10s or S10 Blazers

[balthazar]

That's probably right- Linden ended with the S-10/Blazer.

 

I'll put plant history on my project list.

[knightfan26917]

I'll put plant history on my project list.

 

Sounds like a cool project to me....!

 

 

Cort www.oldcarsstronghearts.com

1979 & 1989 Caprice Classics | pigValve, paceMaker, cowValve

"Something's haunting you" __ Marty Robbins __ 'Some Memories Just Won't Die'