Volo museum to unveil rare Elvis find
It's no secret that Elvis Presley had a thing for big, beautiful Cadillacs. The rock 'n' roll legend purchased dozens of them; some he kept, a few were customized and others he gave away.
In the decades since the King's death, devoted enthusiasts and fans have made it their mission to locate and document each and every one. While many have been traced, one example managed to stay off the grid after Presley's ownership.
This 1974 Cadillac DeVille only surfaced recently and will be unveiled today at the Volo Auto Museum. It was purchased by the museum this fall from a seller in Ohio.
“The online heading made no mention of its previous and very famous owner,” said Brian Grams, director of the museum. “I only clicked on it to compare it to another Cadillac station wagon I was looking at.”
Presley purchased the car new on Sept. 26, 1974, at Madison Cadillac in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. The sedan had been converted into a station wagon here in Chicago by Moloney Coachbuilders. As part of the transformation, new quarter panels and roof panels were stamped out of steel and grafted in.
The GM battleship-sized behemoth cost almost $16,500. Underhood is a 472-cubic-inch V-8 engine with enough gusto to move the 5,000-plus pound cruiser.
It wasn't the only vehicle Presley purchased that September day; he bought four other cars and gave them away. The lucky recipients included his uncle Vester Presley and musician Sonny West. Presley never bought cars for the long haul and this white and pink DeVille was later sold in July 1975 to a dealer in Birmingham, Alabama.
Presley's Cadillac had accumulated just over 5,000 miles on the odometer. It bounced around to several dealerships in 1977 and was eventually sold in November of that year, just three months after the King's death. The new buyer paid $50,000 for it. From there, it stayed out of the limelight and seldom driven.
Records indicate that during the 1990s some light rust was addressed and the car was repainted, but otherwise it remains in original condition. The car's odometer now shows it's been driven a mere 8,000 miles.
“Most of Elvis' cars have been out there, on tour, displayed, written about, all very highly publicized,” Grams said. “This one has been basically unseen, unknown for nearly 40 years.”
Area residents will be able to see it firsthand at 1:30 p.m. today in a special unveiling at the museum, 27582 Volo Village Road in Volo, which will also feature some other Elvis memorabilia. In addition, the museum will host a contest that will run through Jan. 31. Visitors who come to the museum in the next few weeks dressed as Elvis will have their photographs posted on the museum's Facebook page. On Feb. 1, the person getting the most votes on Facebook will be named fan favorite and win a $1,000 top prize.
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