Thump! Check this out!!!

[Egghead]

Blind link and all that, but thought you'd be interested...

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2014/09/26/cadillac-mirage-appears-in-las-vegas/?intcmp=features

Wonder what it'll bring?

http://global.fncstatic.com/static/managed/img/Leisure/2009/cadillac-mirage-rear-876.jpg http://global.fncstatic.com/static/managed/img/Leisure/2009/cadillac-mirage-876.jpg http://global.fncstatic.com/static/managed/img/Leisure/2009/cadillac-mirage-cabin-876.jpg

It may be called the Mirage, but the vehicle in the photos above is very real.

This El Camino-style Cadillac was created by California car conversion outfit Traditional Coach Works.

Based on the 1975-1976 Cadillac Coupe deVille, just 204 of the hybrids were built, featuring a 2-seat cabin and a bed large enough to fit an 8’x4’ sheet of plywood – the yardstick, if you will, of a true pickup.

This fully-restored ’76 model has a 500 cubic-inch V8, 3-speed transmission and is set to cross the block at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Las Vegas today.

Where better than the desert to pick up a Mirage?

[Thumper]

Not really sure I like the carpeted dash protectors ... but, that's a nice looking survivor. My helper and I actually put that car together, one screw at a time. It would come to me from the paint shop in a million pieces and the complete interior would be stacked on a push-cart with the small pieces in boxes. Back in 1974, my dad wanted to build Cadillac pick-ups and station wagons, but everyone thought he was a bit nuts. We have a friend (Jack Patrick) who's flaky as all get out, but a great artist. He and my dad sat down for dinner one night and my dad drew a rough sketch on a paper napkin, then explained to Jack what he wanted to do. The next day Jack came up with some drawings and that's how it all started. I was about to get out of the Army and dad wrote me to hurry home and give him a hand. We ripped apart a '74 Coupe, cut it up, made some fiberglass parts, put it all back together and that was our prototype. The dealers went crazy over it and the request for orders started rolling in. Here's a pic of that car. (in fact, Evel Knievel bought this prototype)

Here's that first car and my dad on the left ... Jack on the right.

http://www.facereplace.com/mirage/James%20Kribbs%20and%20Jack%20Patrick%20Truck.jpg

I came home and handled final assembly. That was the only '74 we did and the rest were all '75's and 76's. We built a (black) station wagon for Sammy Davis Jr. and cars for quite a few other mucky-mucks. Evel Knievel actually bought another pick-up later, a white '75 or '76 (can't remember, but it was in his movie "Knievel".

Here are a couple pics of our old "tri-fold" sales brochure. I have a stack of these in my office at home.

http://www.facereplace.com/mirage/History%20of%20the%20Cadillac%20Mirage_files/image005.JPG http://www.facereplace.com/mirage/History%20of%20the%20Cadillac%20Mirage_files/image007.JPG

GM downsized the Cadillac in 1977, so it was a totally different car. We were a very small company with zilch for a budget, so we couldn't afford to completely redesign and retool for the new models and closed the doors. I then went into business with one of our employees who did all the interior work and we started restoring high-end collector cars.

[Egghead]

$44K : http://www.barrett-jackson.com/Events/Event/Details/1976-CADILLAC-MIRAGE-PICKUP-177294

[Thumper]

In 1975 the famous California native Gene Winfield, along with Traditional Coachworks in Chatsworth, CA, designed and produced the Cadillac Mirage pickup. From 1975 - 1976, the total production figures are approximately 204. Owning a Gene Winfield original is much like owning a Picasso.

WTF??? The description is pure crap. Gene is a Hollywood type custom car builder and worked in our metal fabrication shop. He had nothing to do with the design and was nothing more than an employee. In fact, we busted his ass stealing body parts and stashing them behind his garage at his house because he wanted to build one for himself. Needless to say, he was asked to go on his way after we got the parts back. David Grant was his little protege' (was just a kid at the time) and Gene was his idol. Gene had him convinced that the car was designed and built by him "for" the company. David grew up and 5-6 years ago wrote a book called, "The Legendary Custom Cars and Hot Rods of Gene Winfield". It's obvious this description of the "Mirage" came from that book. Grrrrr! What a bunch'a bullshit! He used to build a lot of that crap used by the movie studios.

BTW, I have the original pre-production drawings of these cars at home.

[Captain]

It's your responsibility to set the record straight.... When you are gone those facts will live on if you don't get it corrected.

[quercus alba]

Uuuggglly. Makes a Gremlin look sporty

[jb]

Love those curb feelers.

[Captain]

JB gets the Noticer of the week award!

[Thumper]

Gee, thanks QA .. not for everybody I guess ... but they are 40 years old now and I'm sure a "cowboy Cadillac" wouldn't appeal to everyone. I'll admit, I was VERY proud of the product. They sure turned some heads back in the day and were a quality piece approved by Cadillac for sale through their dealer network. Mercedes made a very close inspection of the prototype and asked if we'd manufacture a Mercedes station wagon for them. They wanted to come out with a wagon, but expected limited sales, so it would have been cheaper to have an aftermarket company build the cars for them. We were way too small a company to take on a project like that and just building the Caddies was all we could handle. Mercedes then came out with their first station wagon in '76 I think. One of our pick-ups was also featured in the Neiman Marcus "The Ultimate Wish Book" and was the centerfold in their Christmas Edition.

Yeah Cappy, the book kinda burns my butt a little bit but since my dad passed away a few years ago, I think it could turn into a "he said, she said" type deal since I was still in the military in those formative months. I KNOW the story, but I wasn't physically there. The author basically grew up working for Gene and he and his wife are both authors who have written a quite a few books. I need to chase Jack down as he is the only one still alive who was there with my dad at the time, but I haven't talked to him in 10-15 years and have lost track of him. He was a "confirmed bachelor" for most of his life and had just gotten married the last time I heard from him. To make matters worse, my nutbag brother has spread a bunch of misinformation on the net about little details. He was 14-15 years old at the time (in h/s) and decided to write every collector car type blog on the internet when dad died. Nothing malicious and really meaningless to most, but it's misinformation that really should be corrected. Stupid stuff like, "Dad was managing Wilshire Cadillac on Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills at the time." That's actually incorrect ... the name of the dealer was Hillcrest Cadillac. It no longer exists as the property (on the main drag in Beverly Hills) eventually became worth more than the business itself. Little crap like that which irritates me, but is really no big deal in the overall picture I guess.

[Thumper]

Love those curb feelers.

Ha ha! Yeah JB, Dad absolutely hated those things! BUT ... the cars did not belong to us. If a dealer wanted one, they'd order it from the factory and General Motors would drop ship the car to us for conversion, then we'd ship it to the dealer upon completion. Heck, some dealers would ship us whole truckloads of cars. Anyway, the curb feelers were a factory option at the time and if the dealer ordered them, they were actually on the window sticker, so we had to install them. :(

Funny story. One car was shipped to us and when it arrived, we all shook our heads as it was a bit on the fugly side. I don't recall if the dealer screwed up on their ordering, or if the factory screwed up during assembly, but the exterior of the car was red and the interior was all mixed up ... blue and white. We called the dealer and they were totally pissed because they wanted the car asap and it would take a while to re-order and get another car to us. My dad suggested we go ahead and build it, then they could call it the "Bicentenial Edition". (it was 1976 and the car was red, white & blue!) They went for it and it sold for top dollar as a "one of a kind"! (I guess Dad was a genius at marketing!) :D