You read that correctly, “El Deora” not El Dorado. This land-yacht ’72 Caddy Deville was custom converted to what we refer to today as a mild “pimpmobile” by ASC Custom Craft back in the day, and it is up for sale here on eBay in rural Douglassville, PA. Read on to find out more!
Cadillac is among the oldest automobile brands in the world, already being known for luxury before being brought into GM in 1909. They introduced the deVille to the world in 1949, however it was not its own model line until 10 years later. DeVille would span eight generations, becoming the front-wheel-drive DTS line in 2006. Over that time, Cadillac rose to the “Standard of The World” but lost its shine and market share to foreign brands, due to a number of well-documented factors. DeVille itself was considered by many to be a ubiquitous symbol of luxury and status within the Cadillac model lines, with numerous factory luxury-on-top-of-luxury options and customization options, available from Cadillac and third-party companies, respectively. Today, they remain a popular luxury brand and, for better or worse, are slowly trying to get in on the EV market with their Lyriq model.
Turning our attention to Custom Craft ASC, which was at one time a subsidiary of American Sunroof Company but was folded into ASC and is now known as American Specialty Cars. Founded in Southern California by a West German immigrant exchange-student Heinz Christian Prechter between 1963 and 1965, they began doing custom sunroof installations for celebrities and the well-to-do. Later, they would sell you parts to DIY or you could have them do the hard work. The late Mike Alexander, one of the original designer/builders of the Deora show vehicle, worked for them for a number of years, which is allegedly where the El Deora name originated. In fact, they had body and interior offerings for many Big Three products, as well as universal sunroofs, and the famous 1971 Cadillac estates/wagons owned by Evel Knievel, (which we featured in 2020) and Elvis were crafted by ASC.
Now we come to the vehicle up for sale. It has all the trimmings of what would have been an expensive luxury coupe of the day, minus the more outlandish things like televisions and shag carpet and ‘SuperFly’ style neo-classical round headlight coverings which we would today consider silly and pimpmobile-ish.
We can see that the exterior has seen better days, with patina all over , weathered vinyl and the dreaded tinworm infestation under the rear window glass are readily apparent, however it appears mostly complete. White El Deora landau roof over maroon paint and white interior, trunk applique, “continental” grille and hood cap have all seen some things but are present and could be fixable, with the chrome/stainless shiny bits looking to be in rather good shape. The seller says it is only missing a few pieces of trim and the floors are solid, and we can see the lower body panels appear to be in decent shape, so that’s a plus. We’re told that it will need brake work but it does stop on its own.
Under the hood we can see what the seller says is the 472-cubic-inch V8, and it looks to be complete. We’re told that it runs and moves under its own power, so that’s another big plus.
Interior-wise, it looks to be all there, in need of a good cleaning with faded carpets, cracked door cards and steering wheel, however a seemingly uncracked dash and the headliner appears to be holding up.
Overall, it has a lot of potential, either to be a driver with minimal work to make it roadworthy in the current trendy style of ratty classics, or if you have the means, it could be brought back to its glory. As many builders nowadays are doing, maybe replace the drivetrain with something ridiculously over-the-top and roll out to shows, SEMA, or Power Tour? There weren’t that many of these ASC conversions built, and who wants another run-of-the-mill classic these days anyway? The bid is at about $2000 with reserve unmet and 4 days left at time of writing this.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments!
I am not in the Cadillac community so I don’t know how they view this car. Is it considered a rare original like the muscle car community views Yenko Camaros or Shelby Mustangs? If so then definitely restore it the car doesn’t seem to be in that bad of shape. But if the Cadillac community doesn’t view it as anything more than another 1972 Cadillac, then that changes everything, do whatever you want then.
This car is a laugh. We had numerous names for such abominations. Pimpmobile is being nice. This Caddy needs returned to stock to have any value. It was a joke then and it’s a joke now. Shaft!
Probably not as much of a joke as what you are driving now. I drove many “Pimpmobiles” in the seventies of which I made myself and all Cadillacs. I enjoyed guys like you in your inferior, gas misers trying to pass me as you floored it and downshifted into second with your engine practically flying apart.
Then I just pushed my big toe on the gas and waved bye. Now who’s car(toy) is a joke???
Good for you. These were desirable in their day. Mostly movie stars like Sammy Davis Jr, and Dean Martin, I imagine. I lived up in Bel Aire and remember a few of these. For one to survive today is cool, all by itself.
beckyblue has 10 bids already but at still under $2,000 it’s clearly lost its muster and cannot beckon its “back in the day appeal” to those who go for this sort of thing. Hopes can’t be too high on this.
I learned a new term today, “mild pimpmobile”
…or can that be shortened to pimplet?
Pimp-Lite?
Looks like quite an abomination at this point, probably considered that by many when it was new.
Reminds me of something that a long
deceased friend of mine did in the early to mid ’70s. His name was Buzzy Thomas, a local auto body repairman in our town who was known for his imagination and creativity. This guy could pimp any type car and make it look good. He really liked doing big ticket stuff like
Cadillacs, Lincolns, and a few Chrysler products thrown in. I can
still recall some of the over the top
things he created driving on our streets for a very long time. One car
that stood out to me was this 2nd gen
Monte Carlo he did in ’75 or ’76. It was a garish, tri-toned affair that was
Gold, Black, and white with T-tops and
wire rims with wide WSW tires. Story
goes that he saw a limited edition Primo Monte being offered by a Chevy dealer out of Chicago. He liked
it so much that he built one himself and went one better than the dealers
offering! His take included a spare tire on the decklid, a specially made
padded vinyl half roof with custom
made T-tops, and those flexible exhaust headers that came out through the front fenders just behind
the front tires, and those big headlight
covers and a chrome plated top piece
to round out the front end styling. And when Ford brought out the new
T Birds in ’77, Buzzy went stark ravin’
nuts! He made a mint doing conversions from ’77 to ’79 when the
Pimpmobile craze finally ended. Not
long afterwards, he retired and later
passed away in 1995. RIP Buzzy,
you’re sorely missed.
At my age, 62, I remember these. As movie cars of course they were portrayed as the stereotypical “pimp” driven extravagant of the time.
In real life, many “celebrities” owned and showed off these same types of vehicles, be they rock stars, movie, etc., again of that time.
I mention this to hopefully bring a better perspective to the conversation. It’s an oddity indeed. No more than any George Barris creation really.
So for those who dig it…right on! For those who don’t, we’re all still cool car people who like different cars, trucks, bikes or what have you.
Oneluv to everyone. Good fortune with the sale.
Tacky then, even worse now. Worth more in stock condition.
These were desirable in their day. Mostly movie stars like Sammy Davis Jr, and Dean Martin, I imagine. I lived up in Bel Aire and remember a few of these. For one to survive today is cool, all by itself. Does anyone really need to criticize fashion from a bygone eara?
Only the people with no class, then and now.
This is a whopping 5 miles from my house. I may have to take a trip to look it over. If the engine and trans are good, it’s worth the money for just that.
Only 5 miles??? Good gosh yes, you should go look at it and you would enjoy it.
Let us know what you think please.
Any ASC conversion (tacky or not) is still a quasi-factory offering as opposed some one-off home-brewed hack job. There is someone out there who will buy, drive, and enjoy this for what it is. It’s not my cup of tea, but it’s still an important part of the US auto industry history.
Oh brother!!!
Loving it I was a fan of the super fly look in the 70′ s and still am today. It would take a lot of money to bring back to its former glory. Is it worth it ??? Maybe not to some but if I was a younger man and had the money I would just because I love that style. GLWTA and to the buyer I hope you bring it back to its former glory and then drive in style and enjoy