If you grew up in the United States in the mid-1960s to the late-1970s, there are a handful of powerful icons indelibly imprinted in your mind. One of those will likely be Evel Knievel, the daredevil stuntman who would attempt seemingly impossible feats, forgoing mathematic calculation of possible outcomes for a hefty swig of Tennessee whiskey and a fistful of throttle. The man built showmanship into everything he did and much of what he owned. Nothing of Evel’s was standard or run of the mill, including his custom 1971 Cadillac Fleetwood El Deora station wagon.
This Cadillac Fleetwood El Deora was special ordered by Knievel. The wagon was customized with styling parts by Custom Craft, a division of the American Sunroof Company (ASC). The base of the car was a Cadillac Special 60 wagon that utilized the roof, tailgate, and interior of Buick and Oldsmobile wagons. It was customized with a half landau roof, roof rack, C-pillar lights, fender skirts, oversize chrome grille, and a woodgrain stripe down the sides of the car.
This Cadillac Fleetwood El Deora has racked up just 36,000 miles over its 50-year life. It is unrestored, wearing its factory bright yellow finish. Though mostly shiny, there are cracks and crazing visible in multiple places. The bumpers and grille show a bit of patina. The trim is in better-than-average shape overall, although the grille looks like it would weigh a ton. The landau top appears to be in better than usual condition, with no rips or tears, just a bit of lumpiness in spots.
The interior of the Cadillac Fleetwood El Deora is in far better shape than one might have guessed. The three bench seats, front, rear, and the carbon monoxide-sucking rear facing cargo area seat, show very little wear. They all appear to be puffy and new, nearly in showroom condition. The steering wheel similarly shows little wear (the woodgrain decal always wore out on these big Caddies), but the chrome turn signal stalk and tilt adjustment lever show some surface corrosion beginning. The dash is slightly faded, but not too bad considering the age. The carpet looks surprisingly good throughout, but the step-over for the cargo area shows plenty of scratches.
Beneath the hood of this Cadillac Fleetwood El Deora lurks a 472 cubic-inch V8 beast that is reputed to throw down 375 horsepower and a massive 525 pound-feet of torque. The engine bay could do with some sprucing up, and it is the spaghetti-gone-wrong confusion of wires and hoses that we all remember from early-1970s Caddies.
No, this Cadillac Fleetwood El Deora is not perfect, but it is a car that was driven by a man who was an icon, a trailblazer, and one of a kind. Just like there will never be another Elvis, Sinatra, Muhammad Ali, or Johnny Carson, there will never again be anyone quite like Evel Knievel. The El Deora is accompanied by a collection of pictures and documents from Evel Knievel’s ownership.
This Cadillac Fleetwood El Deora is being offered by Barrett-Jackson Auctions at their Las Vegas event, June 17th-19th.
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Comments
I’m one who loves GM big cars from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. I love the names, the looks, the ride, the designs. This however looks just hideous to my eyes. That fugly chrome dog house around the front grille is terrible. Why just a narrow strip of wood-like material down the side? And that color! But I will say that interior looks great and comfy. Would be interested to know what it brings. Just being the car alone, it’s not worth much IMO. But with the previous owner, it should bring a fortune.
Eh!
Dan Bering:
You do realize this car is a highly customized example done by an after market coach builder, right? “Dog house” included. In fact I believe the alterations are so extensive that it voided the factory warranty.
The interior was a standard color for that year I believe, but the paint color wasn’t. But the roof and the body aft of the doors is all added.
I worked at a Cadillac dealer when I was young and I saw brochures sent to us by these customizers. Cheap, vulgar, Hillbilly Lottery winner stuff. Awful.
Megeebee: Yes, I fully understand that. My point was that, even for the 70’s, this is a hideous looking car. I’ve seen these done in more tasteful colors with less “stuff” stuck to them and they weren’t too bad looking. But that all doesn’t matter as someone will pay a fortune for this thing because of who owned it.
WOW what a car. I think if he could made a jump in that car he would.
So GM could compete with the Ford three way tail gate that was a huge success, this tailgate dropped down behind the rear bumper. Notice the curve of the tailgate and window. It didn’t go over very well but it worked. It wasn’t until the 1977 “the new Chevrolet” that GM three way tailgate came out. I guess the Ford patent ran out.
Actually, no. The 1969-70 GM B body wagons had the three-way tailgate. I’m guessing the General paid for the rights.
This wagon would look so much better if it were tan or beige instead of school bus yellow!
That wasn’t what Evel wanted.
Wow, you guys are harsh! I’ll bet in 1971 this vehicle looked pretty cool.
This was the 70’s man! Wild colours, drugs, free love, great music… You can’t judge that era with 2020’s glasses.
Future Escalade?
How many people would sit on a Harley and shoot it hundreds of feet the air? That took a lot of ass and Evel Knievel had a lot of ass. He could drive anything he wanted
A Butte Montana boy made good.
I WOULD’NT CHANGE A THING! Evel Knievel owned this? Priceless. He was my hero when I was a little kid. When you rode your bike, you aspired to be just like him. Now someone will be able to live a little like EVEL KNIEVEL did.
I worked with Evils brother Nic we sold cars and he was top notch. I have a classic Cadillac limousine, and it’s fun to drive. For a straight trade I would take the wagon. It’s the only one I have ever seen. Everyone party, pull the parachute.
Well, any way you slice it…..this is truly a “one of a kind”.
The interior looks nice.