Page 77 - Barrett-Jackson_Experience_Spring2021

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LIFT THE HOOD AND YOU’LL SEE AN ENGINE SIMILAR TO THE
ORIGINAL 1953 ENGINE PAINTED IN CADILLAC BLUE – BUT IN
REALITY IT’S A NEW CHEVROLET PERFORMANCE LS3 6.2-LITER,
430-HORSEPOWER, FUEL-INJECTED CRATE ENGINE WITH AN
EDELBROCK PRO-FLO 4 EFI SYSTEM.
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Ah – a Resto-Mod, you say. Not exactly. “You will not walk including the radiator, overdrive automatic transmission
up to this car and be able to tell anything is different from with a mechanical speedometer output adapter to retain
the original,” says the consignor. That’s where the disguise use of the original speedometer, stainless-steel exhaust
element – and the talents of builder Noah Stevens and system with MagnaFlow Performance mufflers, gas
fabricator Curtis Harlan from Mile High Classics in tank with an in-tank fuel pump, 9-inch Ford rear axle,
Denver, Colorado – comes into play. TruTrac differential with 3.73 gear ratio and a digital
Lift the hood and you’ll see an engine similar to the shift indicator installed inside the original shift indicator
original 1953 engine painted in Cadillac blue – but in viewer.
reality it’s a new Chevrolet Performance LS3 6.2-liter, “My goal with this build was to be respectful to the
430-horsepower, fuel-injected crate engine with an original car,” says the consignor. “Not overtly modernizing
Edelbrock Pro-Flo 4 EFI system. Through the use of an it, but significantly improving performance and
adapter kit, original Cadillac valve covers were installed mechanical reliability. I didn’t want this Eldorado to end
on the heads over the injectors. Sitting above it all is what up sitting in someone’s collection because they’re not
looks to be the original Cadillac air cleaner – but actually comfortable driving it or are intimidated by the 1953
is an OPG steel reproduction with a modern filter element mechanicals. Sitting in the driver’s seat, the new owner of
instead of the oil bath system used in 1953. this car will experience the ride, feel and look of an ’53
Cadillac Eldorado – the only difference is that it’s going to
“It looks like the engine belongs in there,” says Stevens.
“If someone just saw it, they’d think that’s what came in perform a lot better than the original one.”
the car. We also put a Hydro-Boost brake system in the car, Come the Scottsdale Auction, one lucky bidder will be
so it’s got four-wheel disc brakes and a brake booster that able to take home a nearly 70-year-old Cadillac Eldorado
runs off the power steering pump. We’ve basically hidden with the spirit of 2021 under the hood and easily drive it
it all inside the frame rail, so that when you look under many miles down the highway into the future.
the hood, you don’t see any of it. This isn’t your typical – Barbara Toombs
Resto-Mod; the car retains a lot of its originality.” For up-to-date information on this vehicle, visit Barrett-Jackson.com

Also cleverly disguised or adapted to the original
components are a number of other modern elements,

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