So, last Friday I finally got around to taking it into a shop. I hadn't been too happy with the shop I had used previously. While they are close to work and very friendly, they hadn't done the best job of diagnosing problems (with either the Caddy or my truck).
There was a new shop about 2 miles from home that opened about a year ago. I noticed they had a big old early 70's Fleetwood 75 for sale one weekend. They also seemed to be doing a good business lately.
I decided to try them out. It turns out they hadn't worked on that Fleetwood - just a friend of the shop owner's was selling it. I told them about the issue I was having with the Eldorado's brakes. The mechanic said it was probably the brake lines: they apparently can collapse with age, creating a sort of one-way valve that puts the brakes on, but doesn't let them release.
He suggested that I could probably just replace the brake hoses myself. But, since I have been sitting on this for four months now, and I don't feel so comfortable working on brakes, I decided to let them do the work.
Picked up the car today. Seemed to drive fine on the way home. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the brakes are fixed and I've found a decent mechanic.
For a photo, a few months ago I happened upon a '78 Eldorado. It was in kind of rough shape, but the owner was a nice guy. Claimed to have bought it used in 1980 and had it ever since.
Oh yeah, the High Museum is having a special exhibit, "The Allure of the Automobile". I checked it out and the cars were beautiful and immaculate.
This weekend, they are having a special "hoods-up" showing, so I am planning on taking my daughter there for Father's Day. One of the cars is a 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham with a stainless steel roof.
