Vehicle Description
History
The 57th Indianapolis 500 Race was held on May 28, 1973. A Cadillac
Fleetwood Eldorado Convertible was chosen as the Official Pace Car
that year. Veteran Indy driver Jim Rathmann drove the actual pace
car, and led the pack to start the race.
This event marked the fifth time the Indy 500 race had been paced
by a Cadillac, with 1927, 1934, and 1937 LaSalles serving duty in
previous races, and a V-12 1931 Cadillac also having been chosen.
1973 was only the second time a front wheel drive vehicle had paced
the 500, with the first front wheel drive pace car being a 1930
Cord, which also held the honor of E. L. Cord himself as
driver!
A total of 566 1973 Cadillac Fleetwood Eldorado Convertible Pace
Cars were built, all identified by option number SR-X20.
The 564 cars that were not modified for high speed use as the
Official Pace Car or its back up, are considered "replica" cars,
and had a special plaque that was mounted on the instrument panel
to the left of the clock identifying the cars as replicas. The
plaques featured a back and white checkered crossed flag insignia
at the top, and stated in red script below, "This Eldorado
Convertible is a limited edition replica of the 1973 Indianapolis
500 Official Pace Car".
Availability
How many remaining Eldorado Convertibles Pace Cars are there? We do
not know, but you can own one of them as we have one here at Skyway
Classics. Ours in finished in Cotillion White, with White
convertible top and Medium Red (Scarlet) Sierra Grain Leather
interior.
Features & Options
1973 was first year for the Cadillac Eldorado to have an Electric
grid-type Rear Window Defogger on Eldorado Coupe, Illuminated Visor
Vanity Mirror option, Standard Litter Container, Automatic Power
Antenna option, Grille attached to front bumper, Theft-Deterrent
System option, "Soft Pillow" door panel design, Roman numerals on
clock face, Rosewood vinyl trim panels, Standard Houndstooth
Pattern Fabric on Eldorado Coupe seats, Full-length mid-body belt
molding, Circular wreath-and-crest rear side marker light (first
year since 1970), and an Illuminated windshield wiper.
It of course has all the power options you would expect on a Caddy,
window, door locks, seats, air, brakes steering , radio, antenna,
and on and on. It also has the convertible top boot, floor mats,
and rides on wide whitewall tires.
Conclusion
Do not miss a chance to pace the field in your own 1973 Indy 500
Eldorado Pace Car Convertible. Come see it at Skyway Classics.
So give us a call at 941-254-6608.
We also finance! Check out our financiers here at
https://www.skywayclassics.com/financiers
In the meantime, check out this vehicle on our Skyway Classics blog
at https://www.skywaycalssics.com/blog
