Reader Julius Cheng calls his '81 Eldo diesel "a rolling monument to GM stupidity," which, in addition to making us chuckle, also serves as a vivid reminder of just how far GM and Cadillac have come in the last 25 years. Examples of the aforementioned "Old GM" stupidity included Diesel badges that were misaligned on each side of the car, as well as only having three matching wheel centers. Ahhh, the salad days of quality control.


The car is mostly stock, save for repairs/replacements performed after it was stolen, as well as a couple of modern concessions like a K&N filter and Performance Friction brake pads. Julius learned to drive in this car, which his dad bought because of it's fuel economy potential. In its prime, it was apparently a nice road-trip cruiser, as the 105-horsepower diesel was good for 24-25 mpg between refuelings. Due to scarcity of parts, however, taking it on long trips is a bit of a gamble now. It recently blew a fuel injector pump on a drive from NJ to NY, and Julius had to drive the car an hour out of the way (at a blazing 35mph) just to get the part.


In any case, he does work at maintaining its original look. The diesel exhaust makes keeping the rear end clean a full-time job, and he's also pretty meticulous about ensuring that the wire-spoke wheel covers look tidy. Lastly, the interior retains the utterly breathtaking 80s GM ergonomics and appears to be in decent shape. When you consider that a lot of Eldorados from this era are either total beaters or already rotting away in junkyards, it's nice to see someone put in the effort to keep one looking and running OK. The fact that it's a diesel makes it particularly interesting and seals the deal: it's today's Reader Ride of the Day.


Follow the jump for additional photos and instructions on how to submit your car for RRotD consideration.


1981 Cadillac Eldorado Diesel



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