The backstory of the 1956-‘57 Chevrolet El Morocco

Of all the models in Chevrolet’s historical catalog, the 1955-57 models are the most iconic. Now affectionately called Tri-Fives, these cars have been highly desirable, as either a pure stock or restomod. As highly sought after there’s one model not designated a Chevrolet, but for all intents and purposes came that way from the factory. The model in question is the El Morocco, a cosmetically modified 1956-’57 Chevy, dressed up to be a Cadillac wannabe.

Ruben Allender was a wheeler-dealer, always good at making something out of nothing. ‘Ruby’ came to Detroit from Hamilton, Ontario, in 1913 and built a career selling myriad surplus goods. He was very good at taking whatever he could find to make something out of it. After World War I, he bought parachutes, with his idea to unwind the chutes and sell the string as fishing line. He didn’t know what to do with the parachutes, though. He had 20,000 or 30,000. So, he looked at the manufacturer’s name on the box, and an employee got the bright idea of contacting them.

Ruby sold the parachutes back to the original manufacturer for less money than it cost that manufacturer to make new ones, and still made a killing. He rewarded the wise employee with the car of his choice, a brand-new Cadillac. Ruby also bought Red Cross bandages after WWI. They arrived in Detroit in a line of train cars, and the entrepreneur made other warehouse owners partners in that part of his business if they’d help store them, his grandson says.

This brand of entrepreneurialism made Allender a millionaire by the time the 1955 Chevrolet hit the showroom. With his Van Dyke Avenue warehouse, full of surplus parts and supplies, he envisioned selling Cadillacs to the working class, and he got a little unexpected help from General Motors, of all places, which made the ’56 Chevrolet look more like a Cadillac than the ’55 model he initially planned to use. Allender hired Creative Industries, the independent design and fabrication firm in Detroit that had built the Packard Panther and Ford Atmos dream cars, to design a prototype. Cyril Olbrich, a 28-year-old who had been experimenting with fiberglass, was hired as production engineer. Allender used fiberglass and lead filling, and scoured his warehouse for myriad surplus car parts to modify the nose, hood, rear quarter-panels, side panels, and fins. He removed Chevy badging and renamed the cars El Morocco, and legally registered them under that name.

Allender had contracts with several Detroit dealers to buy Chevy convertibles at discount. Detroit area Chevy dealer Don McCoullagh supplied new 210s and Bel Airs to Allender for about $50 over dealer cost. Allender’s name was on the original Chevy title, he had to sell his El Moroccos with no service policy, though the 90-day/4,000-mile warranty was still good. Allender hired craftsmen to build the El Moroccos on the top floor of his three-story warehouse, the Alden Manor Garage in Detroit. The ambitious plan was to build 10 El Moroccos a day.

A question involved the donor cars. Several historical sources say Allender bought Chevy 210s, the trim level between the base 150 and the Bel Air, for the two- and four-door hardtops, and used Bel Airs just for the convertibles. The two-door and convertible were Bel Airs, while an Allender & Company 1957 brochure says they’re all Bel Airs. All were offered in a choice of Cadillac Eldorado paint colors. Allender likely depended on the ebb and flow of McCoullagh Chevrolet’s supply of Bel Airs versus 210s, just as source materials for the conversion to El Moroccos depended on which surplus parts he had in stock. There’s no question the post-modern cool two-tone black-and-white interior of the ’57 El Morocco Brougham two-door hardtop belongs to the Bel Air. Allender barely touched his cars’ interiors, and the amount of steel welding and fiberglass fabrication may have been overstated.

There was minimal welding and mostly lead work. It was good enough, at least, to pass the smell test. For example, one ’57 hardtop, though the left and right rear bumpers looked alike, when they were removed it was discovered that one was made of aluminum and the other of bronze. The Dagmars on the ’56 were from a 1937 Dodge pickup headlamps turned around, and filled with fiberglass. The gold horn button serving as an emblem above the Vee in the ’56’s hood. J.C. Whitney sourced the ’56 hubcaps on 15-inch wheels, and ’57 “spinner” hubcaps on 14-inch wheels. The ’57s’ grilles are stainless steel, made especially for the El Morocco, while the taillamp lenses are surplus Dodge, circa 1956.

Allender left mechanical bits unaltered, so driving the El Morocco is like driving any ’56-‘57 Chevy, except for the over-the-hood views. The seating position in the ’57s feels higher than the ’56’s, and the reverse A-pillar makes for a panoramic view, especially in the hardtop, with its wraparound backlight. The ’57s’ 283 CID V-8 had more of a burble than the ’56’s 265 CID V8. The drum brakes were way more forgiving on the ’56. In fact, overall, the El Morocco was more maneuverable than the much larger Cadillacs of the era.

McKichan’s team had already designed Chevys that looked like smaller, cleaner Cadillacs. It’s easy to see ’56 and ’57 El Moroccos convincing non-car people viewing them from behind that they were Cadillacs. Their profiles are another story. On the ’56, for example, Allender applied styling cues from a 222.2-inch-long car on a 129-inch wheelbase to a 197.5-inch-long car on a 115-inch wheelbase.

So, what was the going price for the El Morocco? At $3,250, a ’56 convertible was $807 more than a stock ’56 Bel Air equivalent. The ’57 brochure stated that the El Morocco was a luxury car in the low-priced field. It came standard with the Power Pack-equipped V-8, Powerglide automatic transmission, power steering and brakes, white sidewall tires, pushbutton radio, heater, and oil filter. Prices started at $3,125 for the two-door El Morocco Brougham hardtop, $3,175 for the four-door, and $3,275 for the convertible.

Seisel’s ’57 hardtop has factory air, a very rare option that would have added nearly 20 percent to the manufacturer’s suggested retail price of a stock Bel Air V-8. He guesses Allender might have bought it for a deep discount during a Detroit winter. Steve Allender says it could have been his grandfather’s personal car, though Ruby preferred convertibles. Perhaps it was a “furnish your own” El Morocco from a customer willing to pay about $3600. “Any other Chevrolet extra is available at dealer list,” MacDonald writes.

While 1957 Cadillac base prices ranged from $4,713 for the Series 62 sedan to $13,074 for the Eldorado Brougham, the El Morocco two-door was about the same price as a similarly equipped ’57 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 two-door, or a few bucks more than a base ’57 Buick Century, but strove to be more glamorous than either.

1956 El Morrocco steering wheel

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Starting with early 1950s Buick Specials and then the ’55 Chevy, GM led the way in providing the look and glamour of luxury to mainstream consumers. GM’s customers were growing used to getting something that looked like it was worth more than its price, as the divisions competed more with each other than as direct Ford and Chrysler competitors. The apogee of GM’s brand price ladder might have been 1956. The same year, CEO Alfred P. Sloan retired, in which Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen, general manager of Pontiac, told him to fix it or kill it. Knudsen lured Rocket V-8 engineer Pete Estes away from Oldsmobile and poached John DeLorean from Packard, then revived Pontiac with glamorous cars like the 1958 Bonneville, which aimed straight for Buick‘s jugular. Chevy’s 1958 Bel Air Impala hardtop competed with the Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 for $200 less. The Sloan hierarchy was kept alive in the minds of consumers, and Allender was attempting to give them a boost up several rungs.

1957 El Morrocco steering wheel

A reporter at the 1957 GM model preview spoke about the El Morocco within earshot of Chevrolet general manager Edward N. Cole. He recounted a story from a local policeman, who had nailed a speeder on the John Lodge Freeway a few days earlier. Thinking he had nabbed a customized car, the cop was surprised to see the name El Morocco on its registration in place of Chevrolet.

“You mean a Chevrolet was registered under another name?” Cole asked the reporter. It’s not clear whether Cole acted on this tip, but in any case the El Morocco would have a blunted 1957 model year. Perhaps Chevy applied some pressure by threatening Allender’s preferred dealer, McCoullagh, supply of Chevys. Or perhaps the Suez Canal Crisis of late 1956 that led to the global recession in 1957-’58, and subsequently pounded a final nail in this Caddy for Chevy-plus money scheme.

All that is known is that the production of El Moroccos ended in early 1957. If Allender was loaded when he began the El Morocco project, he was probably a lot less lighter in the pocketbook two years later. Speculation is that Allender ran out of financing, and not willing to put any more money into it. There wasn’t any great demand when GM cut off his supply, so the hand writing was on the wall.

1956 CHEVROLET EL MOROCCO

SPECIFICATIONS Engine 265.1-cu-in/4344cc OHV V-8, 1×4-bbl Carter WCFB 2351S carburetor

Power and torque (SAE gross) 205 hp @ 4600 rpm, 268 lb-ft @ 3000 rpm

Drivetrain 2-speed automatic, RWD

Brakes front: drum, rear: drum

Suspension front: control arms, coil springs; rear: live axle, coil springs

Dimensions L: 197.5 in, W: 73.7 in, H: 60.5 in

Weight 3800 lb (est)

Performance 0-60 mph: 10.7 sec, quarter mile: 18.3 sec @ 76 mph, 60-0 mph: 141 ft (Motor Trend, March 1956, 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air 2-door hardtop with Power Pack and Powerglide) Price when new $3,250

1957 CHEVEROLET EL MOROCCO

SPECIFICATIONS Engine 283.0-cu-in/4638cc OHV V-8, 1×4-bbl Carter WCFB 2655S carburetor

Power and torque (SAE gross) 220 hp @ 4800 rpm, 300 lb-ft @ 3000 rpm

Drivetrain 2-speed automatic, RWD

Brakes front: drum, rear: drum

Suspension front: control arms, coil springs; rear: live axle, coil springs

Dimensions L: 200.0 in, W: 73.9 in, H: 59.9 in

Weight N/A Performance 0-60 mph: 9.9 sec, quarter mile: 17.5 sec @ 77.5 mph (Motor Trend,

August 1957, 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air 4-door with 2×4-bbl carburetors)

Price when new 2-door hardtop/convertible: $3,650 (est, with A/C) $3,275