[ last update: 11.07.2014 ]

The (new) Cadillac Database©

The Cadillac V16


Series 452-452A
1930-1931

Part 1l

Production Statistics



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FRFLAG.JPG (773 bytes)
(en bas de page se trouve un résumé en français)

 

This table was converted from the Excel file in which, since the early eighties, I had concentrated raw data about V16 production and surviving cars.  If any users have more current information on any of the cars listed here, or information  about other V16s not mentioned here, I will gladly incorporate it in this section of The (New) Cadillac Database©.

I believe the table is self-explanatory;  however, if anyone has difficulty "reading" it, I will be glad to give further explanations.

Now a brief word in respect of production cut-off dates for the Cadillac "Sixteens".  As mentioned in a footnote

Mr. Steig   considers that V16 chassis up to #702600 were built on 1930 and higher numbers in 1931; Alan Merkel - an equally knowledgeable V16 historian - indicates that the last chassis for 1930 carries #702887.  Alan provides the following facts in support of his position that the 1930-31 split for Model 452 V-16s occurred at the end of December, 1930, with the final 1930 shipment being engine number 702887:

It is my understanding from correspondence with Mr. Roy Schneider that Mr. Steig chose #702600 as the cutoff for 1930 V-16 production based upon the fact that 1931 V-8 and V-12 production began in the fall of 1930. I believe that Mr. Steig's choice for the cutoff at that point was reasonable and good judgment based upon the best evidence available at the time, but that additional information now available supports a different conclusion based upon the following:

- Based upon the factory shipping ledger, #702600 was shipped on August 16, 1930, whereas 1931 V-8 shipments began on September 13, 1930 and V-12 shipments began on October 15, 1930.   Shipments of 1930 V-8 cars began in September of 1929 so they were produced for approximately one year.  Nearly 200 additional V-16s had been shipped in 1930 between his August 16 arbitrary cutoff and the date V-12 shipments began.

- The "model year" concept did not begin until 1936.  1931 V-16s were shipped until the end of 1931 and into February of 1932.  Using the August, 1930 cutoff for 1930 V-16s, one would have to believe that 1930 V-16s were produced for 8 1/2 months, 1931s were produced for 18 1/2 months, and then V-16s were produced for 12 months in each of the years from 1932 through 1935.  This is unlikely.

- The factory shipping ledger shows that #702887 was the highest engine number shipped in 1930 Two cars with lower engine numbers (702840 and 702883) were not shipped until 1931, but their production would have been in sequential order in 1930.

- The factory shipping log contains a "1931" entry beside #702888 indicating the start of 1931 shipments at that point (I have attached a photo of that entry in the Factory shipping ledger).

- Additional data published at the time we are discussing (1930s) supports the cutoff of 1930 V-16 production at 702887.  The BRANHAM AUTOMOBILE REFERENCE BOOK published by the Ben P. Branham Company of Chicago provided detailed data on all passenger cars and trucks showing serial number locations and listings by model year, along with other detailed information useful to insurance companies and agents, state authorities, dealers, law enforcement, and many others in need of accurate data.   In the forward to each issue the Publisher acknowledges indebtedness to the auto manufacturers who cooperated by supplying Branham with the information and checking the proofs of the printed matter to ensure reliability of the reference.  I have attached photos of the pages from the REFERENCE pertaining to the 1930 and 1931 V-16s showing that 1930 production included engines from 700001 to 702887, and that 1931 production of V-16s included engines starting with 702888 (the last being 703251).

Based upon the above, I hope you will agree that it is not necessary for us to use conjecture as a means of determining the cutoff for 1930 V-16s.  Published documents from the period include the information, as supplied by the manufacturer, and provide the answer.  I am forwarding the above information to you in hopes that you will reflect it in a future revision to your web site where you refer to 1930 and 1931 V-16s.

Best Regards, Alan Merkel

Thank you Carl and Alan for sharing with users of the Cadillac Database your in-depth research into the production of the Cadillac Series 452 and 452A V-16 models. Thank you also Rick Le Forge for donating to the Database all your penciled "fingerprints" of  these same V16s that you encountered in your travels around the country; they have helped me enormously to create and maintain the table, below.

 

A word of caution:  factory build sheets are filed by engine # (NOT chassis #)
there may be occasionally confusion in this listing between engine and chassis numbers

Production Month

Total Cars Shipped

Cumulative Total

   Engine Nos.
  From         To

Notes on specific cars [ by engine number, where known ]

Dec.29

3

3

1

3

#1 [shipped 12.28.1929; #2 = 4264B [body #1 ???]

Jan.30

5

8

4

8

#4 = 4108C [ex-4155C ???, body #3]; [unknown #] = 4380

Feb.30

367

375

9

375

#12 = style 4375S [to NY]; #21 = engine only, with radiator & shell; #22 = 4375S, body #50; #23 =  4302?, body #3?; #38 = 4375S, body #45 [Don Lee showroom V16, later chopped to truck, then maybe 4302]; #72 = [believed] 4330S then body replaced with Style #3982, body #7, from a V-8 car;  #96=4330S, body#17, advertised in Self-Starter classifieds, Nov.-Dec. 2014; #100 = 4130S [for L.P. Fisher]; #101 = 4355S [went to Denver, CO]; #115 = 4355, body #4  [Rik LeForge former "Ole Yeller", now J.B. Nethercutt]; #130 = 4302, body #3 [special show car]; #132 = 4375  [installed later in a 1933 custom Chrysler Imperial by Lou Fageol]; #149 = 4380, body #1; #150 = 4380, body #1 [destroyed and re-bodied with style 3882]; #156 = 4302 body 29; #163 = 4330 [Robert Taunton]; #169 = 4375-S, body #76 [currently,1998, is a bare chassis - was initially for sale in Bedford, VA, 10/1959 for $125!]; #194 [believed to be now a repro 4302 - per Rik LeForge; #266 = possibly a bare chassis w/ 4260 style hood for the Maharajah of Orchha - shipped 17.7.1931 to Bombay;  #283 = now a spare engine (offered for sale on eBay, 12/2003;  #298 = 3991 [V8 body on V16 chassis, possibly Ernestine Schumann-Heink car - has survived]; #321 = 4375S, body #333;  #333 = maybe 4302, in France; #353 = 4302 (?) {offered at auction in Geneva, Switzerland, in the nineties); #335 = 4235 for C.T. Fisher

Mar.30

436

811

376

811

#416 = [currently] 4302 [but is a replacement motor]; #425 = demo engine; #466 = demo engine [Gilmore Museum]; #476 = 4330, body #99; #482 =  4330, body #95 [converted to 4302, body #32]; #492 = 4325; #494 = 4380, body #19 - Hopalong Cassidy car, studio photos exist]; #499 = 4375, converted body 3880 to 4380 ; #519 = 4375S [rusted hulk]; #543 = 4380, body #34 [built Fleetwood, PA - early '30 details]; #556 = 4260 [W.A. Fisher]; #655 = 4380 [survivor]; #666 = ??? [currently in a boat hauler!]; #665 = 4260; #666 = 4361S [seen by Rick LeForge in Oregon]; #697 = 4302 [Marc Ohm restoration]; #716 = unk. [currently (2004) a Fisher-bodied AWP]; #731=custom ambulance (rebody?); #733 = 4330S [body #137 - it was exported]; #759 = 4361S, body #52, ex-Harrah collection];  #789 = 4375, body #157; #807 = engine tested by Lycoming Motors, 06.27.1930; #809 = 4302 [survivor]

Apr.30 576 1387 812 1387 #817 = 4380 [survivor?]; #821 = 4108C [began as another body style ???]; #847  = 4302, body #23 [ex-Harrah, exc. restored but some wrong details]; #850 = 4330S, body#188 [offered for sale on Ebay, July 2014]; #851 = 4108C; #859 = 4375 [survivor]; #883 = 4380 or 4280 (?) - body destroyed; #898 = 4335 [survivor]; #906 = cv. cpe  [4235 or 4335?] parted out; #916 = 4361S [survivor];  #917 = was a sedan, now a 4302 [in Germany, 2001-2007]; #964 = 43021, body #28; #965 = 4302 [ex Otis Chandler]; #966 = 4302, body #30; #979 = 4330S body #185 [one of six V-16 cars used for a promotional tour in Europe, in June 1930, was built on chassis VIN 701554; later, that chassis got custom coachwork by Paris' Jacques Saoutchik - I have build sheet3]; #991 = [special phaeton, Murphy]; #1001 = 4375S shipped to Philadelphia, PA; #1010 = 4375 [shipped to Newark, NJ; #1011 = 4335S [shipped to Toledo, OH]; #1012 = 4375 [shipped to New York]; #1013 = 4330S [shipped to Chicago, IL]; #1014 = 4375S [possibly w/ leather roof, shipped to San Francisco, CA]; #1015-1018 = all 4375S [shipped respectively to Wilmington, DE, New York, Fort Wayne, IN and Philadelphia, PA]; #1019 = 4161S [shipped to Los Angeles, CA]; #1021 = 4330S [shipped to San Francisco, CA]; #1025 = 4376 body 20 [got body tag imprint]; #1031 = 4302, body #37 [shipped to Philadelphia, PA - currently (5/2000) in France]; #1041 = 4361S [shipped to Portland, ME]; #1051 = 4361S [shipped to Newark, NJ]; 1056 = 4302, body #29  [Dr. Joseph A. Murphy collection, 10/2000]; #1061 = 4375S [shipped to Oklahoma City]; #1069 = 4361???; #1070 = 4361 or 4361S [destroyed] [currently in 4302 body 73]; #1071 = 4375S [shipped to Providence, RI]; #1078 = 4207 [body #16669 - other two were #16679 and 16681; #1081 = 4335 [shipped to San Francisco, CA]; #1091 = 4361S [shipped to Portland, OR]; #1096 = 4330 [exported to New Zealand in 1933]; #1101 = 4355 [shipped to New York]; #1112 = 4130S or 4330S [now engine only]; #1144 = 4330S? [now engine only]; #1146 = 4361S, body #134 [formerly Wayne Merriman coll..]; #1154=4375S [to Don Lee; now in Holland]; #1160 = 4130S [for L.P. Fisher]; #1146 = 4361S body 134 [now 4275S body 333 - very bad rust]; #1173 = 4161S or 4361S??? [now engine parts only]; #1175 = 4175S for A.J. Fisher]; #1201 = 4330S [shipped to Oklahoma City]; #1208=4361S, #1225 = 4302, body #46; #1259 = 4376, body #43 [was parted out]; #1266 = [currently 4380]; #1288 = 43352; #1289 = [unk., but was possibly mounted later in a 1933 Chrysler Imperial; chassis]; #1295 = 4376, body #43; #1301 = 4330 [shipped to Brooklyn, NY]; #1304 = o/s engine now; #1321 = 4375S, Body #333;  #1323 = 4380, body #84 [now 4302 body #26 - wrong wheels other wrong details]; #1325 = 4380 [for E.F. Fisher]; #1334 = 4361S ??? [only chassis remains]; #1341 = 30-158 [Fisher coupe, Dick Shappy]; #1371 = 4380, body #69; #1378 = [currently] bare chassis & motor, in Australia.
 

May.30

442

1829

1388

1829

#1401 = 4330S [shipped to Brooklyn. NY]; #1432 = 4302, body #26 [Briggs Cunningham Museum]; #1467 = 4330S, body #27; #1495 = 4380, body #98 [orig. body destroyed, now 4302, body #20]; #1501 = 4380 [shipped to Washington, DC]; #1502 = 4375S [survivor]; #1519 = 4375S (hearsay) [engine only - could be also #1919]; #1530 = 4220 town car [shipped to Buenos Aires, Argentina], motor currently in Spain, in a racing car; #1540 = 4376, body #53; #1550 = 4175S [for C.T. Fisher]; the next five VINs are in sequential order; these are the five V-16s that were taken off the line specifically to be shipped to Copenhagen for the promotional tour of Europe from June to September, 1930:  #1551 = 4264B (left factory June 10) ; #1552 = 4330S (left June 6); #1553 = 4175 (left June 10); #1554 = 4260 (left June 11) [this was body #2; it was later removed and replaced with convertible sedan body by Saoutchik (I have the build sheet3) - Steven Nanini, CLC Senior car #141];  #1555 = 4235 (left June 11); #1561=4380 [first sold in NY, later went to France circa 1990]: #1608 = 4330S, body #320; #1609 = 4175, body #24]; #1617=4375 [ex-Capone armored limousine]; #1658 = 4330S, body #95 [converted to 4302 ??? -  in France]; #1659 = 4175, body #24 [J.C. Leake, "V" windshield "Madame X"]; #1673 = 4375S, body #399; #1697 = 4380 [???]; #1701 = 4375S [shipped to Oklahoma City]; #1725 [blank record - possibly "demo" engine on show at Olympia, London, Oct. 1930]; #1733 = 4276 or 4376 ??? [body junked, now engine only]; #1755 = 4130S [for C.T. Fisher]; #1758 = 4355 (#32); #1769 = 4175 (or 4175S) [sold at Scottsdale, 24.1.1986 for $64000; #1772=4376, body #74, [offered for sale, Dec. 2011]; #1801 = 4376 [shipped to Los Angeles]; #1810 = 4381, body #19;

Jun.30

384

2213

1830

2213

#1834 = 4380 AWP [Dick Shappy]; #1849 = 4257A or 4257H [Joe Moore]; #1866 [powers a hot rod built in the 40s (added 2010)]; #1877 = 4302, body #58; #1878(?) may be a 4260 phaeton or 4380 AWP, located in Peru (1999); #1881 = 4281, body #19; #1901 = 30-168 Fisher conv. coupe [factory service car]; #1954 = 4302, body #73 [later replaced with body from #1070?]; #2025 = 4335 [restored 2001]; #2029-4225 [Cecil B. DeMille]; #2042 = 4130S [destroyed by fire; now carries Fleetwood V8 town car style #3912; located in Japan]; #2050 = 4175 [now engine only]; #2054 = 4155S, body #2 [formerly Wayne Merriman coll.]; #2055 = 4155S [ body #2 ????]; #2056 = 4130 [ex-Serge Pozzoli, France, chassis 2024(?)]; #2073 = Nordberg town car; #2070 = 4302, body #77 [has disc wheels]; #2089 = 4335; #2101 = 4130S [shipped to Bloomfield N.J.] (???); #2103 = 4130S [for sale on eBay, 10/2005]; #2104 = 4261S?  [body destroyed; now engine only, put in repro 4302?]; #2117 = Fisher custom LX2913 shipped 21 June to CT]; #2137 = 4302 ???; #2152 = 4276, body #14)

Jul.30

297

2510

2214

2510

#2225 = o/s engine now; #2232 = 4175S, body #42; #2236 = 4130S [for F.J. Fisher]; #2246 = 4276, body #17 [engine number changed?]; #2261 = 4276 [body destroyed; now engine only]; #2270 = possibly custom job for W.A. Fisher]; #2280 = 4175, body #90 [RHD - to Antwerp?]; #2291 = 4276 [new, 10/2004]; #2297 = Van den Plas landaulet [RHD, body No. 556 - shipped to London; later Lyon Classic Cars, L.A.]; #2298=Van den Plas [apparently built originally for the VERY wealthy Nabab (ruler) of Bahawalpur, currently (2011-12) in Pakistan]; #2338 = 4302 ???; #2363 = 4235 [in Sweden, 10/2000]; #2381 = 4235 [a survivor]; #2388 = Fisher custom LX2905; #2401 = 4260 [auctioned 2/06]; #2402 = 4375, first owned by President of Mexico, then by a Mr. Weaver, then John O'Sullivan (who restored it), then Ed Meurer ; #2408 = 4260, body #34; #2414 = 4275, body #47 [shipped to London];  #2415 = 4330S, #2425 = 4260 [late Dick Gold, body #33 - now Fred Weber? - not 100% sure!]; 2455 = coupe style; #2478 = 4260, body #55 for Richard Arlen, Hollywood star [Edward Dauer, CLC Senior car #142]; #2486 = 4276, body #54 [registered in 1931]; #2488 = 4375, body #319 [Ben LeForge]; #2494 = 4380[?]

Aug.30

166

2676

2511

2676

#2514 = 4260 [Fred Weber - rebody??? - Fred also has/had Dick Gold's "4260", below]; #2515 = 4260 [Otis Chandler]; #2573 = 4235, body #45; #2584 = 4155C [Body #18, currently in Zurich; worked for many years as firehouse ladder vehicle near Zürich, Switzerland; was for sale in Germany, 2/2014]; this range includes also style #4200, built in Aug. 1930);  #2643 = 4375 [was destroyed in a fatal accident in Sweden];  #2588 = 4260, body #41;   #2594 = 4276, body #71; #2619 = 4235 ??? [owned by Bud Tinney, Fla.]; #2631 = 4375 [body junked - now engine only - former White House ???]; #2636 = 4380 [Elliott Klein]; #2643=4380; #2655 = 4235 [Brent Merrill]

Sep.30

82

2758

2677

2758

#2677 = 4260, body #25 [factory says shipped 30 Aug. to Don Lee - did Don lee fit the second cowl & windshield?]; #2648 (body #357) = 4330S [added 7/2000]; #2682 = 4260, body #8 [like #2677, this car is reported to have been fitted with a dual cowl and secondary windshield];  #2691 = 4260, body #7 [like #2677 and  #2682, this car too is reported to have been fitted with a dual cowl and secondary windshield]; #2734 = 4260 shipped to Berlin]; #2746 = 4175 [RHD] "Madame X" [body #70, originally shipped to Madrid, then Governor of Gibraltar]; could be chassis #2877 owned by German collector Dirk Mueller [car reported as having been delivered first to Governor of Gibraltar]; #2747 = 4380 [RHD] , shipped to Port Elisabeth, South Africa]; #2751 = 4260 [survivor]

Oct.30

54

2812

2759

2812

#2762 = 4375 [shipped to New York and later diverted and exported]; #2769 = 4175 [exported to London]; #2783 = 4375 ???;  #2785 = 4330S;  #2797 (or #2998?) = 4260 [unsure];  #2800 = bare chassis [exported to Paris - possibly Kellner town car or Saoutchik 5-pass. convertible Victoria]; #2802 = bare chassis [exported to Stockholm]; #2807 = 4235, body #91; #2809 = 4175MmeX;

Nov.30

33

2845

2813

2845

#2814 = 4391, body #18; #2818 currently [10/2001] in Havana, Cuba [history and body style unknown (possibly 4175 or 4375)]; #2834 = 4235, body #92 [many special features; car was stolen 7/1976]; #2873 = ???? export ???? (Matt Larson may have info);  #2874=engine only [George E. Klein, circa 1970];   #2880 = 4175, RHD, body #90 [Elliott Klein - any relation to George?];

Dec.30

38

2883

2846

2887

#2856 = 4375S [exported to Antwerp, Belgium]; #2861 = 4375; #2865 = 4391 [exported to Havana, Cuba]; #2871 = 4260 [exported to Bombay, India (for Maharajah of Tikari???)]; #2872 = bare chassis (or 4235 conv. cpe.?); #2873 = bare chassis RHD [exported to London - via; carries convertible Victoria body by Lancefield];  #2876 = 4235 [currently (2003) in Norway];  #2877 = 4260, shipped to NY., 12/24/30, returned (unsold) to factory, shipped to Philadelphia  9/28/31; #2880 = bare chassis (or  4175 body 90), RHD - Madame X, exported to Antwerp & London); #2881 = 4175 (went to Miami); #2882 = 4375 (went to Cincinnati); #2883 = 4312 (went to Boston); #2884 = 4260 (for factory stock); #2885 = 4375 (went to Syracuse); #2886 = 4235 (for factory stock); #2887 = 4375 (last "Series 452"  V-16, for 1930, went to St. Louis; shipped 12.31.30];

Jan.31

25

2908

2888

2908

#2888 = 4330 (?) (1st "Series 452A" V-16, for 1931, went to New Bedford);  #2889 = 4260 (went to Chicago);  #2888 = 4330 (?) (1st 1931 V-16, went to New Bedford);  #2889 = 4380 or 4260? (went to Chicago, then LaRue Thomas in Los Angeles);  #2890 = 4312 (went to Chicago); #2891 = ["43" group sedan?], went to Minneapolis;  #2892 = 4355 (went to Chicago);  #2893 = 4291 (went to Chicago);  #2894 = 4330(?) (went to Chicago); #2895 = 4335(?) Conv. Cpe., Antilles+Boatswain Blue, Wiese Bedford cord, 6 Delphine blue wire wheels, cost $7925 [or $6975?], went to St. Louis; #2905 = AWP, black, Wiese color 3898 [maroon taupe], silver leaf stripe, 6 wire wheels, cost $7925 [or $7205???];

Feb.31

47

2955

2909

2955

#2914 = 4375 [exported to Stockholm]; #2922 = 4375 [under restoration, 5/2004]; #2927 = 4260 [RHD, exported to Bombay, India (possibly for the Maharajah of Tikari???)];  #2946 = 4330S?

Mar.31

37

2992

2956

2992

#2974 was exported to London; #2981 = 4330S [shipped to St. Louis, MI] (Matt Larson says 2966) = exported to Antwerp on 17.12.1930 for American millionaire Jay Gould]; #2987 = 4260 ??? [now engine only, put into '34 Ford ?];

Apr.31

47

3039

2993

3039

#2998 (or#2797) = 4260 [unsure]; #3000 = 4291 for crown prince of Thailand; #3002 = 4330S, body #282 per R. LeForge [4361S per Fred Weber and J. Schild; T-boned by a train;  #3006 = 4155 #13, currently [2001] in UK; #3010=[unknown; now (2012) chassis only]; #3026-3029 = unknown [two chassis used for display??? - #3026 is also reported on British style 4381 [reg. London, EUC 510], Motor Sport, 11/62, p. 894 [possibly owing to confusion between engine/chassis Nos.???]

May.31

50

3089

3040

3089

#3050 = 4175 ??? [now engine only]; #3052 = [believed to have been 4302]; #3053 = 4175 ???; #3060 = 4260 ??? [now engine parts only]; #3080 = 4130S ??? [now engine only];

Jun.31

46

3135

3090

3135

#3101 = 4375 [shipped to New York]; $3106 = 4375S, body #449; #3108 = 4375, body #411 [known as "blue boy"]; #3110=4380; #3118 = 4302, body #107 [last 4302 built]; #3132 = 4276

Jul.31

17

3152

3136

3152

Aug.31

7

3159

3153

3159

#3154 [open number - not bodied];

Sep.31

12

3171

3160

3171

#3164 = 4291, body #14 [converted to  4264B in '70s], 3165 = 4302, body #94 [Dick Gold car, has many features of 452B]; #3171 = 4375S,   body #438 [only the chassis remains];

Oct.31

14

3185

3172

3185

#3172=4380, body #??? [owned by C. Gillet, MD]; #3180 = 4130S ??? [car destroyed - now engine only]; #3184 = 4476, body #5 [once owned bv Neil Nicastro, now Brent Merrill]

Nov.31

6

3191

3186

3191

 

Dec.31

0

3191

0

0

Jan.32

0

3191

0

0

Feb.32

59

3250

3192

3251

#3192 = [open number - not bodied?]; #3193 = [open number - not bodied?];#3215 = 4375S [offered on Hemmings, 12/2003]; #3220 = 4235 [info from K. Kraakmo]; #3223 = possibly 4302 in France; #3225 = 4260, body #85; #3227 = 4391 ??? [car desgtroyed - now engine only]; #3232 = [shipped 2.20.32 - last unit from factory???]; #3245 = 4380, body #363 [survivor]; #3249 = 4260, body #71 [survivor]; #3251 = 4355, to NY [lot may have included style 3289B town car (1932?)]; 3252 = [Last V16] (not 3251 ????)


Exported cars:
Seventy units are reported to have been exported, but the total, in fact, comes to seventy-two units if we include the two cars sent to San Juan, in Puerto Rico (that island was taken over by the USA during the Spanish American war of 1898, although it has always maintained autonomy as a  "free commonwealth associated with the USA").  The seventy remaining cars went to Antwerp, Belgium (14 units), Madrid, Spain (12 units), Berlin, Germany (11 units - of which one style 4325C town car landaulet, license #1A75825), Mexico City, Mexico (7 units), Paris, France (6 units - of which at least one style 4130 and one 4330 or 4375 with French tourist registration No. 2017XB), Stockholm, Sweden (5 units), Copenhagen, Denmark (4 units), London, England (2 units),  Buenos Aires, Argentina (2 units - engine #701530 is currently in Spain, in a custom racing car), Havana, Cuba (2 units  - one was a style 4391 Town Car Brougham, the other may have been a style 4175 Imperial), Bombay, India (1 unit - a style 4260 sport phaeton with RHD for the Maharajah of Tikari),  Manila, Philippines (1 unit), Honolulu, Hawaii - Hawaii did not become a State of the Union until August 21, 1959 (1 unit),  Moscow, (former) USSR (1 unit) and Port Elisabeth, South Africa (1 unit - a RHD style 4380 all-weather phaeton).

V6p325ca.jpg (7117 bytes)
Fleetwood style 4325C exported to Germany;
this was one of only three units built in 1930-31
702834
702584


Bare chassis for domestic coach-builders: Eleven of them were released from the factory; of these, one is known to have received a roadster body by Rollston, another a phaeton body  by Murphy and a third a town car body by Waterhouse (the first two cars are known to have survived).  Nothing is currently known about the remaining eight units.  I suspect that one of them may have been returned to the factory and given a 1929 sport phaeton body.

V630rlst.jpg (13293 bytes)
The Rollston roadster
Photo: courtesy the late Gene Babow


Export chassis for foreign coach-builders: Twenty-one were thus released.   The following have been identified: a convertible Victoria by Saoutchik
1, France (license # ....RF4, that is October 1931, not a known survivor), a limousine-landaulet by Van den Plas, Belgium (it has survived), a British saloon [sedan] with "sunshine roof" by the U.K. affiliates of  Van den Plas (license #...341; this car has survived and is in Pakistan - June 2004),  a town car landaulet by Kellner, France (not a known survivor), a town car landaulet by Nordberg, Sweden (it too has survived, license #M778), a boat-tailed roadster by Farina, Italy (it too has survived), a roadster by Voll & Ruhrbeck, Germany (not a known survivor).  Two other foreign bodies are suspected of  having been built: another saloon [sedan] by Lancefield of  England - unless that is the car attributed to the U.K. branch of Van Den Plas, above - and a razor-edged town brougham (like Fleetwood style 4264B, but with quarter windows) by Bronkhorst4;  I have not been able to determine if this defunct coach-building company was Belgian or Dutch.  That would leave twelve or thirteen of the exported chassis to be accounted for. Who knows, perhaps one or more of them will surface one day ...  Engine #701530 [mentioned above] was brought to my notice in Jan. 2000; currently it is mounted in a custom racer and is located near Alicante, Spain; it was acquired by the present owner in Argentina around 1984.

V6vdp03.jpg (8291 bytes)    v630nrb2.JPG (8113 bytes)
Two custom landaulets: left, by Van den Plas (UK/Belgium), right by Nordberg (Sweden)
[Photos:  left, Gene Babow, right Nordberg archives]

______________________________________

1 from story in CLC 1988 annual, p.2 [this is possibly also the chassis number]
² see SIA78, p.33 [the "automatic" V16]
3 This was Fisher order #2587; the car was shipped to Copenhagen, Denmark on June 11, 1930 for the European promotional tour.  Upholstery was Radel Spanish grain leather #2400, trim style 19 (or 1930?);  the entire hood, cowl and body panels were painted in R&M Indiana gray (Duco #20157), as were the wheel hubs, spokes and felloes.  The molding and the hood and cowl vents all  were painted Saxon gray (Duco? #2445519);  fenders and chassis were painted Ravenwood brown (Duco #5782). The finish moldings on top of the belt were chrome-plated. Wire wheels (six) were mounted, including two in the fenders; the original tires had black side walls.  A travel trunk was mounted in the rear.  Paris'  Jacques Saoutchik later mounted a sedan body on this engine/chassis combination, with a special sliding roof [in France, it carried license  #8651RK2].  The original sport phaeton body is rumored to have survived and to have been mounted on another V16 chassis. The car was owned in 1960 by an elderly lady (89 years old) and would have been sold at auction by a Paris garage, had she not sent an agent in the nick of time to pay an outstanding repair bill. A few years later the car was acquired [from the elderly lady's estate?] by an auto merchant, Johnny Thuysbaert, then by the late Serge Pozzoli, editor of France's "Le Fanatique de l'Automobile";  Serge sold it to Hubert le Gallais (CEO of   "Poker" beer, in France, and restaurateur in Fontainebleau).  It subsequently returned to the USA where it was completely (over) restored. It has changed hands a few times since then.
4  this may have been a modified body on the chassis of  the special Fleetwood town brougham (style 4264B)  that was also one of the six V-16s sent to Europe


Good Reading:
England's Motor Sport for 11/62, p.894, recalled that "several" V16s [six to be precise] were seen in Cologne in 1930.  These cars were on a promotional tour of  Europe; they included one each of  the following Fleetwood styles:  4260 phaeton [with French tourist license #2145XB],   4330S 5-pass. sedan [license #2146XB], 4376 2-pass. coupe [license #2147XB (my "logical" guess!)], 4175 Madame X limousine [license #2148XB], 4264B town brougham with canework applied to the lower rear body
5 [license  #2149XB] and 4235 convertible coupe [license #2150XB] .  I have devoted a special page of the Cadillac Database to the cars of the European Promotional Tour.

V6europ4.jpg (10676 bytes)
The European tour V-16s line up at the border between
France and Spain,  near Hendaye (France)

 

The Motor Sport article mentions also a chassis with "English" coachwork, shown at Olympia, in 1930 [this may have been the sport saloon with body by Lancefield or by the U.K. branch of  Van den Plas (engine #2873?)].  The cost of a bare chassis was given as £1500 and that of an imperial limousine [4175 or 4375 ?] as £2450.  

V6Chas_olym2.JPG (22473 bytes)
This image is from "Vintage Cars - Motoring in the 1920s" by Cyril Posthumus, courtesy of Rick LeForge;
it shows what an export chassis with right-hand drive (RHD) would look like; this line drawing appeared
first in a British motoring magazine [Motor Sport?] reporting on  the Olympia Motor Show, London, in 1930

A Motor Trend article published in January 1965 said that two V16s were shown at the NY auto show in the week of  01.04.1930 [it has been ascertained that one was Pennsylvania-built Fleetwood style 4155C "Madame X" landaulet, which was later renamed as 4108C following the addition of a light-colored fabric top [possibly by the Don Lee Cadillac subsidiary in San Francisco] - the other is believed to have been Fleetwood style 4264B, one of three razor-edged town broughams with canework applied to the lower rear body; this may have been the car used on the European Tour5

The 1000th V-16 engine was shipped on April 8, 1930.  Total production during the first year was 2887 units.  Prices for the new models ranged from $5350- $15000.
_______________________________________

5  As mentioned in the preceding "box", this car may have been re-bodied by the Dutch or Belgian coach-builder, Bronkhorst


Miscellaneous notes:
The bare V16 chassis [costing $4800] was not included on the V-16 price list after October 1930.


Useful books/articles on file (or wanted):

Automotive Industries, November 12, 1938
The production Figure Book of US Cars, Jerry Heasly
Kelley Wholesale Blue Book, March-April 1940
-  Motor Trend, January 1965


V-16s reportedly owned by film stars and other (sometimes notorious) personalities:

-  1933 All-weather phaeton (ex-Al Jolson - former Harrah collection);   see "Star Cars 1" section
-  1933 Convertible Victoria (ex-Robert Montgomery); see "Star Cars 2" section
-  1933 Town car (ex-Joan Crawford, now Hillcrest Cadillac, LA);  see "Star Cars 1" section
-  1933 Town car (ex-Marlene Dietrich, according to the Keyaerts Museum in Langeais, France,
    but possibly confusion with the 1935 town car she owned (see below);   see "Star Cars 1" section
-  1933 Aerodynamic coupe 5899 (ex-William Knudsen, GM - he had use of the unique World's Fair
    car until he got body #1 of the 1934 production;  see "Star Cars 1" section
-  1934 Aerodynamic coupe 5899 (see above, ex-William Knudsen, body #1 - story by
    Robert De Mars in CLC)
-  1935 Town car (ex-Marlene Dietrich - sold at Sword Auction in 1965; was reported to have gone to
    Australia but  has been located in the Southwark Museum in New Zealand);  see "Star Cars 1"      
    section
-  1938 Formal Sedan (ex-Mae West); see "Star Cars 2" section
-  1938 Conv, coupe (ex-Gary Cooper)
-  1938 Coupe (ex-W.C. Fields);  see "Star Cars 1" section
-  1938 Limousine (ex-Teddy Roosevelt)
-  1938 Stretched parade car (only 2 were built as White House security cars - both have survived);
    see "Star Cars 2" section
-  1939 Sedan (ex-W.C. Fields);   see "Star Cars 1" section
-  1940 Town Car (ex-Eddie Cantor);   see "Star Cars 1" section
-  1940 Town Car (ex-Darryl Zanuck); see "Star Cars 2" section
-  1940 Formal Sedan (ex-Al Capone);   see "Star Cars 1" section

Str33jol.jpg (10218 bytes)
The Al Jolson car, formerly of the
Bill Harrah collection, Reno, NV



Miscellaneous Jottings:

-  An article in Automobile Topics, on March 29, 1930 mentions 31 models in the preliminary
    Price list
; it  also explains the new  marketing strategy and refers to the V-16 as a sales "stunt"!
-  Starting with engine #703005 wheel spokes were tapered and  7.00x19 tires fitted
-  Starting with engine #702502 the oil dip-stick was moved from the rear of the engine to the side
-  RHD cars; it has been said [inter alia by Dave Towell, Cadillac dealer in Akron, OH] that all Cadillac export
   chassis were RHD; I have encountered only 10 of them in my ongoing research:

   #702280 (style 4175, to Antwerp & London),
   #702297 (bare chassis, to London, landaulet-Limousine by Van den Plas),
   #702298 (bare chassis, to london, limousine with cycle fenders by Van den Plas and/or Lancefield, exported to Pakistan),
   #702746 (style 4175, "Madame X", originally shipped to Madrid for Governor of Gibraltar)
   #702747 (style 4380, to Port Elizabeth),
   #702871 (style 4260, exported, to [???] then to the Maharaja of Tikari, India) 
   #702873 (bare chassis, to London - convertible Victoria by Lancefield, UK),
   #702880 (style 4175, exported, where?),
   #702927 (regular style 4260, exported, to [???] then to the Maharaja of Tikari, India)
  
Between #703136 and #703152 (exported to Turin, boat-tail speedster, Maharajah of Orccha)

On the 1933 V-16 models there is no V16 nameplate or emblem anywhere on the car
-  On the World's Fair V-16, in 1933, the gas filler spout was located  in the tail-light housing
    [cf. Robert De Mars story in CLC Annual Self-Starter, Fall 1974 issue]

 

I should like to extend special thanks here to owner-enthusiast Rick LeForge who donated his personal V-16 archives for the "Cadillac Database" in May 2009. Rick's material includes "fingerprint" cards of all the sixteens he had encountered since the fifties. There is no doubt that these cars (in some case only  PARTS of these cars) survived. What Rick did, before the age of digital photography, was to apply a piece of white card to the car's body tag, then rub over it with a soft pencil (I can remember doing this as a pre-teen, with collectible coins of the world; we would exchange  with other collectors these heads-and-tails "fingerprints" of our coins.

 

 

 

FRFLAG.JPG (773 bytes)
(résumé en français)

Le tableau ci-dessus fournit les statistiques de fabrication mensuelles des Cadillac à moteur seize cylindres,   années 1930-31.  On constatera que le gros de la production se situe entre février et juillet 1930.  Par la suite ces unités de très grand luxe ne seront construites qu'au compte-gouttes.

Sur 3251 chassis-moteurs sortis d'usine, soixante-douze voitures complètes furent exportés, dont 14 vers la Belgique, 12 vers l'Espagne, 11 vers l'Allemagne, 7 vers le Mexique, 6 vers la France, 5 vers la Suède,  4 vers le Danemark, 2 vers le Royaume-Uni, 2 vers l'Argentine, 2 vers Cuba, 2 vers Porto Rico et 1 chacune vers l'Inde, les Philippines, Hawaii, l'URSS,  et l'Afrique du Sud.

Onze chassis nus furent livrés à des carrossiers indépendents aux Etats-Unis.  Seuls trois exemplaires ont été répertoriés à ce jour:  un spider carrossé par Rollston, un phaéton par Murphy et un Coupé de Ville par Waterhouse.  Il se peut qu'un quatrième chassis ait été renvoyé à l'usine pour y recevoir une carrosserie de 1929 (phaéton sport à parebrise AR rabattable).   On ne sait rien des sept chassis manquants. 

Par ailleurs, vingt-et-un chassis nus furent exportés pour être habillés par des carrossiers autres que Fisher et Fleetwood, les deux carrossiers attitrés de la GM.  On a répertorié entre autres un cabriolet Victoria à cinq places dû au maître carrossier parisien Jacques Saoutchik (a survécu), un Coupé de Ville landaulet par Van den Plas en Belgique (a survécu), une berline sport à toit ouvrant par Van den Plas au Royaume-Uni, un Coupé de Ville landaulet par le parisien Kellner, une carrosserie semblable par Nordberg en Suède (a survécu), un spider bateau par Farina en Italie (a survécu) et un spider normal par Voll & Ruhrbeck en Allemagne.  Je soupçonne également la fabrication d'une berline par Lancefield au Royaume-Uni [à moins qu'il ne s'agisse de la berline Van den Plas fabriquée dans ce pays], de même qu'un Coupé de Ville par Bronkhorst (Pays-Bas), avec vitres de custodes et cannage sur les flancs at à l'arrière [à moins qu'il ne s'agisse encore d'une modification ultérieure du Coupé de Ville type 4264B par Fleetwood, lequel faisait partie d'un cortège de six V16 qui firent un tour d'Europe en juin/jiuillet 1930 à des fins publicitaires].  Reste donc une douzaine de chassis/ carrosseries à retrouver. Où donc se cachent-ils.

A titre d'information encore, le moteur no. 701530 qui au demeurant équipait un Coupé de Ville Fleetwood type 4220 se trouve actuellement près d'Alicante, en Espagne.  Il sert à la motorisation d'une barquette de course construite sur place, semble-t-il.   Ce moteur provient d'Argentine [acheté  là-bas  en 1984].   S'agirait-il du moteur de l'une des 2 voitures exoprtées là-bas en 1930-31?

 

 

V16crsts.jpg (7397 bytes)

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© 1996, Yann Saunders and the Cadillac-LaSalle Club, Inc.
[ Background image: montage from V-16 brochure, Yann Saunders' collection ]