The unique show car featured all-new bodywork, and was substantially lower thanks to a chopped body and a suspension drop.
When GM went bankrupt in the late 2000’s, they had to sell off anything they could in order to stay afloat. Some of that selling included the sale of concept, prototype, and show vehicles, and the content being produced on them years later is like opening up a time capsule.
Tyler Hoover of Hoovies Garage recently purchased a special Cadillac Eldorado that was offloaded by GM, and needless to say, it’s a weirdly fascinating creation. Dubbed the EldoRODo, the car was built in collaboration with California Street Rods for the LA Auto Show as a love letter to hot rod culture.
At its heart, it’s based on a production Eldorado, so it’s not a full ground-up concept car, but it’s still a complete rework of the exterior. The most notable of these changes is the drop in height: 4 inches from chopping and channeling the body, and another 2 inches from a suspension drop. To accommodate this new stature, the windshield was also raked an extra 10 degrees.
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Elsewhere, the car received chopped bumpers front and rear, slimmer flush lighting units, and overall smoother body panels. It also got an Ignite Orange paintjob offset by chrome dish wheels, integrated chrome exhaust outlets, and a new chrome grille. The interior remains all but unchanged, a statement that holds true for the mechanicals as well, save for a new exhaust that gives the Northstar V8 a nice low, rumble.
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When it was first sold off by GM, the EldoRODo went for $60,000, but Hoover snagged it in its current condition for $12,000. However, for that price, he got what he paid for. For starters, due to the extent of the body modifications, the car was issued a junk title, meaning it theoretically can’t be registered for road use again. Seeing as the car was never meant to get into the hands of the public, it wasn’t an issue for GM back then, but it is one for Hoover now.
That’s not the only flaw that comes at the consequence of this car’s one-off nature. The dish wheels present a unique challenge, in the sense that the tires can’t be filled with air unless the wheels are removed entirely. This problem is compounded in the rear, where extended wheel spats that wrap around into the rear bumper make removing the rear wheels extremely difficult. Additionally, there are side-view cameras in place of mirrors, but no screens to view the feed on, as well as electronic door poppers in place of external door handles, but no fob to activate them with.
Nevertheless, in spite of all its issues, Hoover is determined to bring the EldoRODo back to its former glory. With the junk title, it’ll be hard, if not impossible, for it to be road-legal ever again, but in the meantime, there’s plenty of work that needs to be done just to make it run again.