This modified chevrolet Bel Air with Eldorado style tail fins was an original idea of a Canadian businessman who dreamed of building a smaller Cadillac
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by Chris Chilton
March 30, 2025 at 19:20
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- An incredibly rare Chevrolet El Morocco is ready to cross the Mecum auction block.
- The modified convertible is one of the 10 cars built in 1957 by Reuben Allender.
- Based on a chevrolet ’57, it looks like a baby shopping baby thanks to its unique tail fins.
Seville in 1975 of Cadillac changed the game for the brand, putting the most luxurious signage plate of GM within the reach of Americans in search of smaller and more affordable cars. Two decades before, this option was not available for buyers, so a Canadian Cadillac fan decided to build something in the same direction, and one of the incredibly rare surviving examples is about to hit the auction scene.
Ruben Allender was not in the cars sector. He made his money – many of them, in fact – from textiles, but he also liked his Cadillac and estimated that a smaller version of the Eldorado of 1955 would be a success. He therefore began to create one, based on his first car on a chevrolet from 1956, which in 195.6 inches (4,970 mm) was more than 25 inches (635 mm) shorter than an Eldorado.
Related: 1957 Chevy ‘Hellair’ hides a dirty surprise under his hood
But with the eldorado -style fiberdling style tail attached to the rear districts of the Chevy, it had a similar look, and it also obtained a very similar name, El Morocco, something that German apparently was appropriate from a Manhattan nightclub of the time.
Other modifications included a modified grille containing a pair of “dagmars”, protuberances in the shape of a rocket named after a glamorous girl and a television star of the period. These have been reversed into Dodge ’37 headlights.
Steel and small blocks
Go to the Chevy 1957 Update the following season, Allender’s team has gone from fiberglass fins to steel fins, and lower body moldings imitated the appearance of Caddy Brougham headlight. The front was less flamboyant this year, but the grille was cleaned by the withdrawal of its central bar, and the lettering of Moroccoie replaced the name of original Chevrolet above the emblem of the V Allender hood chose to keep.
Mecum photos
The engines were kept standard, but it was not a difficulty because the legendary little block of Chevy had just made his debut in 1955 and was ahead of his competitors. For 1957, it went from 265 CU-in (4.3 liters) to 283 CU-in (4.7 liters), and with the carbohydrates with four optional barrels like that of this car was evaluated at 195 hp (198 PS), which it sends to the rear wheels through a two-speed powerglide car.
The Mecum auctions claim that this department is one of the 10 cars built for 1957 (other sources suggest that only two convertibles were produced that year). It is covered at only 78 miles from a restoration at the competition which had to cost its owner a small fortune.
A dear passion project
Cars were not cheap to buy during the news either, coming around 30% more expensive than Chevy donors and too close to the price of a real Cadillac. Despite this, Allender did not make money in the company and called it a day after two years.
This one strikes the auction on May 17 and he will come to come which may not be reserved. But to give you a kind of stadium estimate, Mecum sold this same car in 2021 for $ 220,000. You can consult the auction list hereOr learn more about the Crazy Chevillac of Allender project and see archive photos of these fins added to Coach.
