There is no shortage of celebrities who drive flashy, expensive cars. There aren't many celebrities who can say that they designed their car. It's a bit different, however, for comedian and Home Improvement star Tim Allen. More than you might think, he was involved in the design and construction of this Cadillac!
On Cars and Bids, this 2000 Cadillac DeVille, originally built for Tim Allen, is currently for sale. Nevertheless, the vehicle wasn't made just for Allen. Additionally, he designed custom parts for it.
There is a 'Tim Allen Design' badge on the trunk lid as well as a matching logo on the center console of the car. Although the design differences between this car and a standard 2000 DeVille are subtle, comparing them side-by-side reveals them.
Tim Allen Design provided this car with a custom aluminum grille, carbon fiber side skirts, and a trunk lid insert. It's also been given some power upgrades since Tim Allen is a hot rod aficionado.
Northstar V8 engines feature high-compression pistons and polished and ported cylinder heads. Additionally, it has stainless steel headers with a Corsa exhaust system as well as a better-breathing intake system. There is no doubt that this thing sounds like a monster.
Moreover, this DeVille has polyurethane bushings throughout the suspension system and a one-inch ride height drop. Additionally, it has Brembo brake upgrades and anti-roll bars and stiffening braces on the chassis. Lastly, it rides on 18-inch Konig wheels.
Another interesting note about this car is that Los Angeles' Petersen Automotive Museum is selling it. Additionally, it was the subject of a video by Cars and Bids founder and automotive journalist extraordinaire Doug DeMuro.
You can't put a price on something like this. With only 13,400 original miles on the car, its celebrity pedigree isn't going to affect its price. As of this writing, it holds a bid of $31,000. There is, however, a bit of a problem.
A detrimental flaw of the Cadillac Northstar 32-valve V8 may be familiar to you if you're familiar with its legend. Commonly, the Northstar's cylinder head bolts pull out of the threaded holes in the engine block because of a failure.
Northstar engines with standard compression already had this problem. In other words, stepping it up a notch as Tim Allen and crew did with this engine can spell disaster.
Comments and questions on the Cars and Bids listing are equally concerned. When the cylinder head bolts are stock, some describe the car as a 'ticking time bomb'. Petersen has not yet responded to that question.
Overall, this vehicle will likely end up in a collection rather than on the road. As a result of a bolt failure, it's likely to be driven hard enough to lift the cylinder heads. Would-be buyers would, however, benefit from knowing whether preemptive measures were taken.
Most of all, this is just a bit of bizarre history from a not-so-fondly remembered part of Cadillac history. Even though the 2000 DeVille was woefully boring, someone still did cool stuff with it.
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