Throughout its 120 years of history, Cadillac stood for luxury and innovation, power and prestige. GM’s top division was, for many years, at the top of the automotive game. But the Escalade SUV didn’t arrive until 1998, and for many decades, Cadillac had a strict policy of not offering station wagons.
So where is a top celebrity going to put all his or her stuff back in the 1970s? In a custom-built Cadillac station wagon, of course. This particular example was put together for the King of rock and roll himself, Elvis Presley, who used it to carry musical equipment to and from the airport.
Custom-made Cadillac wagons were a big thing back in the day, with many companies taking already luxurious American vehicles to the next level. Coachcraft of Hollywood because famous in the 1950s. This particular 1974 Cadillac started off as a regular sedan before being shipped off to American Sunroof Company, which performed the transformation to a wagon body over several months.
Cadillac wagons were a popular conversion, and Evel Knievel famously had a 1971 Cadillac Fleetwood El Deora station wagon made to special order. Of course, everybody knows about the hearses and flower cars, as well as the Cadillac ambulances built in the mid-seventies. You literally can’t watch an old American movie without seeing one.
But you have to admit this one looks a little bit different, more beautiful than all the rest, even without the Elvis connection. It’s got frameless doors and no pillars in the middle, so it’s more of a 4-door coupe with a big trunk. It can only be a Cadillac!
Taking Care of Business
The conversion cost $10,000 back in the day, on top of the $7,000 price of the sedan. Barcroft Cars estimates this would be equivalent to $95,000. As you may know already, Elvis was crazy about Cadillacs, and this isn’t even his only custom station wagon. It’s been reported that The King bought 200 or more Cadillacs, many of which were given to friends and family.
This particular example is with the Volo Auto Museum, of which Brian is the director, so we could dig up a lot more history than what’s in the short video. Elvis signed for this new at Madison Cadillac on September 26th, 1974., along with 4 other cars which he gave away. It sold at auction for $50,000 in 1977.
This was 3 years after his passing, and Elvis fans were going crazy for his memorabilia. After that, the car went into hiding, away from the public’s eye. A couple of decades ago, it went through a complete restoration because of paint issues and some rust under the pink vinyl top.
From the front, this looks like any normal Cadillac DeVille. It’s got a 472 cubic-inch V8 under the hood. These old luxury barges were all about effortlessly going down the highway, so this 7.7-liter monster put out 495 horsepower, even though the power figure was pretty low at around 205 hp. The interior is completely stock. However, the owner does show us a unique power-operated clamshell trunk opening up to reveal another set of seats.
