1956-57 Chev/Caddy el Moracco. WHAT WAS IT?????

[briggs&strattonChev]

Every saturday in our local newspaper we get a section called "yesteryears." It is for told timers and it has old farming stories, tractor trivia, and classic car trivia (thats why i read it). Well anyway, today a question was "What is the name of the hybrid Cadillac and Chevrolet car made in 1956 and 1957?" I had no clue and I looked for the answer and it said the "El Moracco." I cant find any pics of this car on the net (but then again I usually look the wrong places). Does anybody have any information or pics of this car? Was it even really made? More than one?? Any information is appreciated....................................... ..Briggs

[Kustm52]

http://www.57heaven.com/Images/chevyelmoroccoconv.jpg

1957 Chevrolet El-Morocco. Extremely rare, only made by Chevrolet for two years, 1956 and 1957. In 1957 they came in three models, a convertible, a two door hardtop and a four door hardtop. They were sold and warrantied by Chevrolet. The modifications were made by Allender & Co. in Detroit, Michigan and then taken to the dealerships for sale. There are only a few convertibles known to still exist.

[briggs&strattonChev]

wow, I love that car now!!! Never seen anything like it! Did it come stock with those hubcaps (olds fiesta I believe their called)?

[Kustm52]

Don't know about the caps...I stole all the info from www.57heaven.com. (http://www.57heaven.com.) Here's another one...
http://www.57heaven.com/Images/chevyelmorocco.jpg

[Meester P]

Here's a few more of em.
http://www.car-nection.com/yann/Dbas_txt/Drm57.htm
enjoy
john

[mr57]

There was a real ratty four door hardtop on ebay about two years ago, not sure what it sold for or if it did. They had fibreglass rear 1/4's, and the bumper bullets were made from reversed late 30's Dodge headlight buckets. The idea was to make a regular Chev look like an Eldorado for 1/3 of the price. Not sure about production numbers, but there can't be more than a handful left. They made them in both 56 and 57

[Rocky]

I've never seen a '56 but a local body shop was repainting a '57 brown 4 door hardtop when I was in high school. It was in '64 or '65 and they usta park that god-awful, ugly thing out front sometimes. I always thought they were a bad idea with all that extra crap hanging all over them.
Less is more.

[Sam F.]

i think they all live in texas

[CLSSY56]

It's hard to find pics of the 56s, 57s seem to be more common??

1956 Chevrolet El Morocco
http://www.car-nection.com/yann/Dbas_ima/fk56brgh.JPG
http://www.car-nection.com/yann/Dbas_ima/fk56brg2.JPG
http://www.car-nection.com/yann/Dbas_ima/fk56brgh3.JPG
http://www.car-nection.com/yann/Dbas_ima/fk56brg4.JPG
http://www.htc.net/~clssy56/stuff/1956ElMoraco.jpg

[FLAT-TOP BOB]

there is only one known complete 56 and its a conv. it was found in an alley in dallas texas in the mid 70's. a man here in wellington texas restored it about 15 years ago and about 6-8 years ago it was sold to a collector in la ca. i will try to get some photos to post here on the hamb. the story goes that the 56's were not finished in time before the 57's came out and only one was finished.

[briggs&strattonChev]

hey CLSSY56, thanks for those 56' pics. Did you find them on a site?

[CLSSY56]

I did find those pics on a web site, but can't remember which one. The hubcap was actually on Ebay...I snagged the pic 6 months or so ago.

[briggs&strattonChev]

thanks for the pics and leads guys......................................Briggs

[Darkman]

I saw 2 or 3 of these vehicles at the Patch Collection at Dick Clark's Theatre in Branson, MO. OK, now I understand why there are aftermarket 56 Olds Fiesta hub caps on the new 57 Chev El Morocco's. I couldn't figure out why GM would do that. However, now that I understand that Allender & Amps did the modifications it makes sense that they would remove the standard Chev hub caps and replace them with the knockoff caps. Thanks for the info!

[squirrel]

I did find those pics on a web site, but can't remember which one.

http://www.car-nection.com/yann/

(hint: right click on the image, then click on "view image" and then cut off the rest of the URL)

Texas....yeah, that car was definitely destined for Texas buyers

[Andy]

I remember a 4-D that used to park in downtown Beaumont Texas. Another in Port Arthur.

[twochops]

Back in 1957 I saw a ad for the new El Morocco for 57(they started with the first ones 56 Chevs) ,I sent a letter to Company for
information this is what they sent me back in 1957.

TWOCHOPS

[Paint]

There is a 56 hardtop in a garage down the street from me. It was last driven in 1971 and it's pretty nice.........

[Jigger]

Collectable Automibile Vol. 3, #2 (Aug. 1986) Has a pretty good history of the car, has some nice colored Build shots in the article. I'd scan them but my issue itn't holding together too well and I'm afraid to much up the binding worse than it is. I may try anyway.

[hudsoncustom]

They were a decent looking car, but only lasted for a couple of years. I guess after all the modifications were made, the list price on em was only a few $$ less than the Caddy, so GM quit making them.

I have an old issue of Collectible Automobile around here somewhere that has a full story on them....

[40Standard]

a guy in west chester, ohio has a 57

[teddyp]

i think i read somewhere that allender had a lot auto parts stores and they went broke on the el moracco? maybe someone from around great lakes areas knows the whole story

[55olds88]

What a bizzare idea, spend all that $$ on trying to make the bottom of the line look like the top of the line when you have 3 different brands (of your own) in between in about 50 different levels of spec...... Pretty sure you could have bought a 57 Olds 98 for the same money and ended up with a real good looking car :)

[arkiehotrods]

The El Morrocos were not built by Chevrolet.

They were built by "millionaire Detroit industrialist and car enthusiast Ruben Allender. Impressed by the Cadillac-inspired styling of the '56 Chevy, he reckoned in late 1955 that a market existed for a low-price look-alike of the Cadillac Eldorado convertible he'd just purchased - a car at the top of most everyone's 'dream' list. Aware of the customizing craze then sweeping the nation, he decided to do what thousands were already doing: restyle a Chevrolet. The difference was that he would build copies to special order.

"Besides having lots of money, he just happened to own a big warehouse on Van Dyke Avenue in Detroit, near Jefferson Avenue, filled with leftover hardware that could be used to creat his automotive illusion. Allender went to Creative Industries, an independent Detroit specialty styling and fabrication house, which came up with a handsomely customized '56 Bel Air convertible that looked like a scaled-down Eldorado Biarritz. He then found a production engineer and shop manager, Cyril Olbrich, and made a deal with nearby Don McCoullagh Chevrolet to supply factory-fresh Bel Airs at about $50 over dealer cost.

"Allender didn't stop there, however. Deciding that his cars should have their own name, he went looking for something that sounded a bit like 'Eldorado,' but not so much as to invite trouble from Cadillac. Ultimately, he picked 'El Morocco,' and managed to pull a few strings to get the name recognized by the law.

"Engineered by Olbrich and professionaly crafted, the El Morocco was as much a 'junkyard jumble' as any Fifties custom (though the drivetrain was left untouched). Many of the pieces came directly from Allender's warehouse: '37 Dodge headlamp shells reinforced with fiberglass to create the prominent 'Dagmar' front bumper guards, a modified Kaiser-Frazer horn button substituting as a hood medallion, 'saddle' door-top trim made from '55 Willys dashboard pieces, and '55 Ford body moldings fitted to ride atop the fins. The stock Chevy hood ornament was shorn of its wings and given larger Plexiglas fins to mimic the Cadillac mascot. Olbrich's castings faithfully followed 1955-56 Eldorado side trim, and aftermarket wheel covers were chosen to ape Caddy's 'Sabre-Spoke' hubcaps. As expected, the major changes showed up at the rear, where a portion of the Chevy fenders was cut away and Eldo-style fiberglass fins were bolted on. Completing the illusion were '55 Dodge taillamps mounted horizontally above dummy exhaust ports."

20 '56 El Moroccos were built, 18 ragtops and two hardtops.

16 '57 El Moroccos were built, the 210 series being the source for 2 and 4 door hardtops and the Bel-Air series for the convertible.

The 57s borrowed styling cues from all three Eldorados: Biarritz, Seville, and the new Brougham. From the Biarritz/Seville were the "shark" fins and single headlights (vs the Brougham's stepped fins and quad lights.), while the L-shaped bodyside moldings and broad appliques on the lower rear-quarters were more akin to the $13,000 Brougham. The grillework was an Eldo-like aluminum latticework affair, sans the Chevy's grille bar, so the parking lights were moved down to the otherwise stock bumper. Other touches included turbine-type or "spinner" wheelcovers and a leather pad on the steering wheel hub. Deeply stamped into the latter were the words "el Morocco Custom Built For..." As before, there were no mechanical or structural changes from the stock chevys.

The source of this info is Chevrolet, 19955-1957 by the Editors of Consumer Guide

I remember seeing an El Morocco at a body shop owned by the late Sam Swearingen in Tulsa in 1973 or 1974. It was gold and I thought someone had done an ugly job of customizing a 57 Chevy. I was a high school kid who had no idea what I was looking at, although I remember Sam was pretty excited about having it.

[rustynewyorker]

Seems to me a real early (70's) "Special Interest Autos" covered these too - I want to say they were all sold out of one dealership, but it's been a long time since I read about these. Everything else is spot-on.

Those '55 Dodge taillights would work good on the back of most any rod, I don't know why more people don't use 'em -

[teddyp]

The El Morrocos were not built by Chevrolet.

They were built by "millionaire Detroit industrialist and car enthusiast Ruben Allender. Impressed by the Cadillac-inspired styling of the '56 Chevy, he reckoned in late 1955 that a market existed for a low-price look-alike of the Cadillac Eldorado convertible he'd just purchased - a car at the top of most everyone's 'dream' list. Aware of the customizing craze then sweeping the nation, he decided to do what thousands were already doing: restyle a Chevrolet. The difference was that he would build copies to special order.

"Besides having lots of money, he just happened to own a big warehouse on Van Dyke Avenue in Detroit, near Jefferson Avenue, filled with leftover hardware that could be used to creat his automotive illusion. Allender went to Creative Industries, an independent Detroit specialty styling and fabrication house, which came up with a handsomely customized '56 Bel Air convertible that looked like a scaled-down Eldorado Biarritz. He then found a production engineer and shop manager, Cyril Olbrich, and made a deal with nearby Don McCoullagh Chevrolet to supply factory-fresh Bel Airs at about $50 over dealer cost.

"Allender didn't stop there, however. Deciding that his cars should have their own name, he went looking for something that sounded a bit like 'Eldorado,' but not so much as to invite trouble from Cadillac. Ultimately, he picked 'El Morocco,' and managed to pull a few strings to get the name recognized by the law.

"Engineered by Olbrich and professionaly crafted, the El Morocco was as much a 'junkyard jumble' as any Fifties custom (though the drivetrain was left untouched). Many of the pieces came directly from Allender's warehouse: '37 Dodge headlamp shells reinforced with fiberglass to create the prominent 'Dagmar' front bumper guards, a modified Kaiser-Frazer horn button substituting as a hood medallion, 'saddle' door-top trim made from '55 Willys dashboard pieces, and '55 Ford body moldings fitted to ride atop the fins. The stock Chevy hood ornament was shorn of its wings and given larger Plexiglas fins to mimic the Cadillac mascot. Olbrich's castings faithfully followed 1955-56 Eldorado side trim, and aftermarket wheel covers were chosen to ape Caddy's 'Sabre-Spoke' hubcaps. As expected, the major changes showed up at the rear, where a portion of the Chevy fenders was cut away and Eldo-style fiberglass fins were bolted on. Completing the illusion were '55 Dodge taillamps mounted horizontally above dummy exhaust ports."

20 '56 El Moroccos were built, 18 ragtops and two hardtops.

16 '57 El Moroccos were built, the 210 series being the source for 2 and 4 door hardtops and the Bel-Air series for the convertible.

The 57s borrowed styling cues from all three Eldorados: Biarritz, Seville, and the new Brougham. From the Biarritz/Seville were the "shark" fins and single headlights (vs the Brougham's stepped fins and quad lights.), while the L-shaped bodyside moldings and broad appliques on the lower rear-quarters were more akin to the $13,000 Brougham. The grillework was an Eldo-like aluminum latticework affair, sans the Chevy's grille bar, so the parking lights were moved down to the otherwise stock bumper. Other touches included turbine-type or "spinner" wheelcovers and a leather pad on the steering wheel hub. Deeply stamped into the latter were the words "el Morocco Custom Built For..." As before, there were no mechanical or structural changes from the stock chevys.

The source of this info is Chevrolet, 19955-1957 by the Editors of Consumer Guide

I remember seeing an El Morocco at a body shop owned by the late Sam Swearingen in Tulsa in 1973 or 1974. It was gold and I thought someone had done an ugly job of customizing a 57 Chevy. I was a high school kid who had no idea what I was looking at, although I remember Sam was pretty excited about having it. THANKS I KNEW SOMEONE OUT THERE KNEW THE STORY

[Nads]

I saw a 1957 El Morocco at a Classic Chevy Club convention here in Florida in the mid '80s, it was a pretty amazing thing considering it was such a hodgepodge.

[SBR]

About 20 years ago, I met a man in PA who came across a tractor trailer "supposedly" full of the parts left over from when Chevy made thse. It was done by an outside source.

[Thumper]

I think they buried one of those in a vault somewhere.........

[d's56 chevy]

There is a 56 hardtop in a garage down the street from me. It was last driven in 1971 and it's pretty nice.........
hi, are you sure it's a 56 el morocco?please email me more info on this car.thanks

[Flamingo_57]

They weren't made by GM at all. They were done by an independent company in Canada, '56's used desoto hubcaps and '57s used olds fiestas.

[briggs&strattonChev]

wow, I guess the search function works

[stanlow69]

7 years ago I saw pictures of a couple a guy in Des moines Ia had. A 4-dr hardtop and a convertible. I`ve always liked these things. Thanks for the info.

[FLAT-TOP BOB]

boy this is a old one!

anyway here are the pictures of the 56 that was in wellington