by A rare Chevrolet El Morocco will appear at the Mecum auction.
The modified convertible is one of ten cars built in 1957 by Ruben Allender.
Based on the 1957 Chevrolet, it looks a bit like a little Caddy thanks to its unique tail fins.
The 1975 Cadillac “Seville” was a significant change for the brand, bringing GM’s most luxurious model within reach of Americans looking for smaller and more affordable cars. Twenty years prior, such an option was not available to buyers, so one Canadian fan decided to build something similar, and one of those rare preserved models will soon appear at auction.
Ruben Allender was not in the car business. He made his money — actually, a lot of it — in textiles, but he also adored his Cadillacs and thought a smaller version of a 1955 Eldorado would be a hit, so he set about making one, basing the first car on a 1956 Chevrolet, which, at 195.6 in (4970 mm) long, was more than 25 in (635 mm) shorter than the Eldorado.
But with fiberglass duel Eldorado-style tailfins mounted to its rear wings, it looked similar and even got a very similar name, El Morocco, that Allender seemed to have borrowed from a New York night club of the time.
Other changes included a modified grille with a pair of ‘Dagmars’, rocket-like protrusions named after the busty beauty and TV star of the period. In fact, these were turned-around ’37 Dodge headlights.
Switching to the revised 1957 Chevrolet the next season, Allender’s team moved from fiberglass fins to steel ones, and the lower side moldings closely mimicked the look of Caddy’s flagship Brougham. The front end was less flamboyant that year, but the grille was emptied of its center bar, and the El Morocco script replaced the stock Chevrolet name above a V-shaped hood emblem he decided to leave.
Engines remained standard, but that was no hardship, since it hit the streets in 1955 and had put Chevy ahead of most of its competitors. For 1957, it grew in size from 265 cu-in (4.3-liter) to 283 cu-in (4.7-liter), and with the optional four-barrel carburetor fitted, like on this car, kicked out an impressive 195 bhp (198 PS). It sent that to the rear wheels through a two-speed Powerglide auto.
The auction says this convertible was one of 10 built in 1957 — other sources claim just two ragtops were made that year. Since its concours-quality restoration, the accessory has covered only 78 miles and will likely boost its new owner’s profile by some measure.
These cars weren’t cheap to buy new either, mystifyingly costing around 30 percent more than their Chevrolet donor cars, and much close to the price of a real Cadillac. Allender, though, failed to turn a profit and wound up his auto business after only two years.
This car will hit the auction block on May 17 and will be sold under any circumstances because it’s from a no-reserve basis. Mecum sold one in 2021 for $220,000 U.S., to give you an idea of what this might end up going for. You can read the auction listing, or know more about Allender’s Chevillac delusion, and check the old pics of those attached fins.
