| CADILLAC V-16
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[ last update: 10.19.2010 ]
The (new) Cadillac Database©
The Cadillac V16
Introduction
and
Index of Topics
Return to The (New)
Cadillac Database© Index Page
or select a V16 topic from the table, below
| CADILLAC V-16
* * * The most
highly-personalized of all
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Most of the research for this essay was done by others more informed and authoritative than this writer. My sole purpose here has been merely to compile in one volume all the textual and pictorial material available on the sixteen-cylinder Cadillac automobiles.
By laying before the readers in graphic or photographic form the myriad body styles that have graced the sixteen-cylinder Cadillac chassis from its inception, in late 1929, until its unfortunate yet logical demise in 1940, it is hoped to delight them with the inherent and lasting aesthetic beauty of some of the finest coachwork ever to grace an automobile.
The photos, illustrations and line drawings on the following pages encompass not only the beautiful body styles built by the Cadillac affiliated coach works of Fisher and Fleetwood, but also the rarer and equally beautiful coachwork fashioned for the Sixteen by independent coach builders both in the United States and Europe.
Simultaneously, and particularly with regard to Fisher and Fleetwood bodies, the booklet will be an invaluable reference tool for neophyte V-16 collectors/admirers; it will help them to visualize a particular body type when it is described merely by a job/style number. Conversely, by observing a certain number of the styling features of any sixteens encountered at old car shows, they will be able to surprise the owner(s) by determining the precise job/style number without looking at the body tag under the hood.
The majority of line drawings you will encounter in these pages, used to illustrate the innumerable body styles of the Sixteen, have been copied or adapted from existing factory sales literature. Where such drawings were missing or non-existent, a montage was created, using composite parts of existing drawings, photographs and in some instances, pure guess work.
In so doing, an attempt has been made to provide a visual representation of ALL body styles ever built on the V-16 chassis, including some unique coachwork, even where no photographic evidence or other illustration has come to light during my own and earlier research.
Much of the photographic material in these pages is from the writer's own collection of Cadillac merchandising literature assembled painstakingly over the better part of 45 years. Some of it comes from other public and private sources which are to be credited for allowing their publication again in this electronic reference manual.
This section of the database deals principally with the styling of the V16 models; but let's take a peek under the hood of a couple of sixteen cylinder models, nonetheless, to admire the two different power plants used to propel these awe-inspiring automobiles.
The earliest V16 engine was fittingly described as “...a truly beautiful creation of bright chrome, polished aluminum, porcelain and gleaming metal”.
From 1930 until 1937, the basic configuration of the V16 engine (which underwent a number of improvements and modifications during these eight years) was an inherently balanced, valve-in-head engine of 452 cubic inches displacement incorporating hydraulic valve silencers.
It was rated conservatively from 165 to 185 BHP (with the body installed and the car ready to roll). Depending on the type of body that was installed, the car was capable of speeds ranging from 80 to 100 MPH.
To all intents and purposes, it consisted of two straight-eight engines mounted together in a “V” configuration at a narrow angle of 45°, on a single crankshaft. With a bore of 3" and a stroke of 4", this engine is commonly referred to as the Series 452 and is so named because of its volumetric displacement of 452 cubic inches.
A new engine was designed for the Sixteens of 1938 to 1940. In the new design, the opposite banks of eight cylinders were set apart at an angle of 135°; this resulted in a much lower car profile in which the carburetors and carburetor air-cleaners could be mounted on top of the engine block.
With a square bore and stroke equal to 3¼", the displacement of the second generation Sixteens now totaled 431 cubic inches. Again the rated BHP was a conservative 185 at 3600 rpm. These cars were not called the 431s, as one might have expected, but the Series 90.
Owen Nacker, the engineer
behind the development of the V-16
|
In it's sales catalog for 1931, the London (England) agent for General Motors, Lendrum & Hartman, had this to say about Cadillac's sixteen-cylinder models:
With the 16-cylinder model Cadillac has achieved at once the greatest sensation and the foremost engineering triumph of the season. This is the most individualistic and powerful car ever made for ordinary private use and every care has been taken to ensure that each detail of its construction is worthy of its amazing engine. It is indeed, the supreme achievement in motor car design - and at a price no competitor can equal. This 16-cylinder engine is built on the fundamental principles of design that have created the proud Cadillac record; its power, its efficiency, its flexibility put it in a position far ahead of all possible rivals. For such an engine a super-chassis was essential, and this Cadillac have built - incorporating the well-proved characteristics of Cadillac mechanism and giving perfect ride at even the very highest speeds.
|
Artist's rendering of Fleetwood style #4264B razor-edged Brougham,
version 2, with optional cane work painted on the lower rear body
Front ensembles of the V16 for 1930-31
[ Photo: © 2002, J. Scott Harris ]
I guess those fur coats were
essential (on a day like that) in what was basically an open car
|
The Cadillac V16 Story, Year by Year
1930-31
Series 452/452-A
| Chapter Title | Brief description of Topic Covered |
| Introduction | An introduction to the first generation Sixteens, the Series 452 and 452A |
| Rare period photos by Anton Bruehl [1930]: the mechanical details of the V-16 | |
| The first V-16 | The first production Cadillac V-16 was this Madame X job #4108C |
| Fisher & Fleetwood Styles | [incomplete] excerpts from a Book of Fleetwood, from 1929, supplied kindly by the late Phil Dumka |
| The rarest of the first generation Sixteens: the bespoke Madame X models with Fleetwood job/style numbers beginning "41..." | |
| This equally rare series of first-generation Sixteens have Fleetwood job/style numbers beginning "42..." | |
| Raised Panel Hood | The "cheapest" and most numerous Sixteens of the first generation are those with Fleetwood job/style numbers beginning "43..." |
| Exceptions | These two "exceptions to the rule" have a Fleetwood job/style number beginning "44..." |
| Job #3991 | A unique model: Fleetwood's 1930 "Fleetbourne" V-8 limousine, built on a V-16 chassis |
| Job #4200 | Another unique model: Fleetwood's French Brougham |
| The European Tour Sixteens | Six Fleetwood styles were sent to Europe for a promotional tour |
| Survivors | Surviving Sixteens of 1930 and 1931, including cars with custom bodies by Fisher, Fleetwood, as well as U.S. (domestic) and foreign coach builders |
| Options | Optional equipment and accessories for the Cadillac V-16 |
| Production Figures | Production figures of the Sixteens of 1930-31, in ascending order of rarity |
| Non-exhaustive table showing V-16 production by month, including job numbers, from January 1930 through February 1932. | |
| The story of a 1930 V-16 town car, as told by the grandson of the original owner | |
| The story of some V-16 trials that ended in death for a test driver in 1930 |
|
|
1932
Series 452-B
| Chapter Title | Brief description of Topic Covered |
| Production | The Series 452B: summary table and description of all Sixteens built by Fisher and Fleetwood on the 45º "V" engine chassis in 1932 |
| Survivors | Surviving cars of the first generation, 1932 |
|
1933
Series 452-C
| Chapter Title | Brief description of Topic Covered |
| Production | The Series 452-C: summary table and description of all Sixteens built by Fisher and Fleetwood on the 45º "V" engine chassis in 1933 |
| Production Statistics | The Series 452-C: summary table by Engine number, with shipment dates and destinations [courtesy and thganks to Rick leForge] |
| Survivors | Surviving cars of the first generation, 1933 |
1934
- 1937
Series 452-C (or "60"),
Series 35-90, 36-90 and 37-90
| Chapter Title | Brief description of Topic Covered |
| Production | Summary table and description of all Sixteens built on the 45º "V" engine chassis from 1934 through 1937 [Series 452-D (or 60) and Series 35-90, 36-90 and 37-90) |
| Survivors | Surviving cars of the first generation, 1934 through 1937 |
| Special 1937 Roadster | The full, unexpurgated story of a very special roadster built on 1937 Cadillac V-16 chassis #530328 by Willy Hartmann, of Lausanne, Switzerland |
Note: Apologies and thanks to Frank Peters of St. Louis, MO, for pointing out a stupid mistake;
I had said that the 1934-37 V16 cylinder banks were offset at 90º instead of 45º!
|
1938 - 1940
| Chapter Title | Brief description of Topic Covered |
| Production | Summary table and description of all Sixteens built on the 135º "V" engine chassis from 1938 through 1940 [Series 38-90, 39-90 and 40-90] |
| Survivors | Surviving V-16 cars of the second generation, 1938 through 1940 |
| Job #9002 | A very special V-16 fastback sedan built for a top ranking GM executive |
| Job #9006 | Two very special Sixteens for the White House |
| Job #9053-11 | The V-16 Town Car known as The Vatican V-16 |
This survivor is located in France
In the February 1965 issue of the Self Starter [magazine of the Cadillac-LaSalle Club, Inc., there are about 140 sixteens from, 1930 to 1940, listed as belonging to club members. In this regard, I should like to address a special word of thanks, here, to CLC member, Paul Ayres, who was kind enough to help my research on the V-16 by lending me more than 100 old Self Starter issues from the fifties and sixties. I have made reference copies of these for my own use and will gradually go through each one in the hope of finding and extracting useful information on survivors not included heretofore in the Database. That info will be added in due course.
| BOOKS AND MAGAZINE ARTICLES ON FILE OR WANTED
|
Return to The (New)
Cadillac Database© Index Page
or select a V16 topic, above
© 1996, Yann Saunders and
the Cadillac-LaSalle Club, Inc.
[ Background image: V-16 demo engine on show during European tour,
June 1930 ]
