1928
Duvivier (France) Special stretched town car.
[ Photo: "Illustration" - a former French
weekly ]
Fleetwood (???) (USA) Special Cadillac Type 341 town car, built
for GM President Alfred P. Sloan [interior view OC p.68]. This sumptuous interior, is decorated with elaborate,
highly carved woodwork including the inlaid companion cases [the smoking case (right) and
vanity case (left)]; frosted urns are engraved in the quarter panel vanity mirrors. The
corner reading lamps have exposed bulbs. Of the two light-weight auxiliary seats, or
opera seats, the RH one faces to the rear and the LH one to the right. Lastly, the.
floor covering is lambs wool, à la 1957-58 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham!
Photo:
courtesy Detroit Public Library, NAHC collection
[NAHC neg. #13908-G3 in file 1,424-F-2]
Fleetwood (USA) Town car; I'm not sure if fewer than ten units
were built, but this is such a beautiful and rare body style that I felt compelled to
include it. I photographed the car in the collection of best-selling author, Clive
Cussler, during the CLC Grand National meet in Denver, CO, in August 2001
[Photos: © 2001, Yann Saunders]
Fleetwood (USA) This mock-up of
a 1930 Cadillac coupe proposal was made in 1928; it features a glossy leather roof
covering and the parking lights are mounted (curiously) behind the doors; the grille badge
is carried on a stanchion, between the headlights, as on the European Hispano-Suiza.
The dummy license plate reads #113-252
Photos: Yann Saunders copied in GM Styling Library,
9/1994
Fleetwood (USA) Another styling
mock-up from 1928 showing things to come in 1932
Fleetwood (USA)
Another styling mockup of the 1929-30 LaSalle sedan model
Hibbard & Darrin (USA/Fr.) Special convertible sedan
RH image shows a Belgian Minerva with the
same H&D body, with the top in place
Hibbard & Darrin (USA/Fr.) Special Cadillac Town car for Fred
J. (V.?) Fisher; photos taken GM Styling library, 9/94 [also McC, p.125]. A
similar car was built for Spencer Penrose of the renowned Broadmoor Hotel in
Colorado. Full wheel discs matching the body color were not yet in vogue in the USA
although the Europeans had adopted them on their stylish models.
Hibbard & Darrin (USA/Fr.) Special all-weather Phaeton for
Spencer Penrose who built the renowned Broadmoor Hotel near Colorado
Springs, CO.
[ Photo, left: Cadillac-LaSalle Club; all others ©
2001, Yann Saunders ]
Left: The Broadmoor still stands proud today
Center: the Trumpet Tooter accessory hood ornament on the Penrose car
Right: upholstery is unborn calfskin
Lots of wood paneling in this H&D custom model;
the door pull handle (right of the window winder) was not very practical
Hibbard & Darrin (USA/Fr.) Special LaSalle sedan; photos
taken GM Styling library, 9/94.
Hooper (UK) Special Cadillac town car [was it ever built]; it is
mentioned in an Ill ad featuring the car of the "Duc de Vallombrosa"
[this color ad appears in SAB book]
Kellner (France) Special, stretched Cadillac 3-position town car/
landaulet/convertible sedan; I have a photo as well as an artist's drawing of this car.
[ Artist's drawing and photo:
"Illustration" - a former French weekly ]
Kellner (France) Special town brougham; I have a designer's
drawing but no photo of the corresponding car. The same - or another special - Kellner car
is mentioned in an Ill ad showing the car built for the "Duc de
Vallombrosa".
Kellner (France) Special town brougham landaulet; these are
designer's drawing; the colored one appeared in a 1928 ad in the French press; the B&W
one is from a catalog of custom creations of 1928
Pozzi & Cie. (Lausanne, Switzerland) This long
limousine on a stretched 1928 Cadillac chassis was built by this little-known Swiss coach
builder
Schutter & Van Bakel [Carrosserie] (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Custom convertible coupe.
[ Document: Z. Taylor Vinson collection ]
Thrupp & Maberly (UK) Special Cadillac Town car proposal;
again I have seen no photographic record other than designer's drawing below which
appeared in a French ad of the time [mentioned on Ill ad "Duc de
Vallombrosa"].
[ Photo: "Illustration" - a former French
weekly ]
[Unknown, possibly French] Custom Cadillac, stretched town car
[ Photo: "Illustration" - a former French
weekly ]
[Unknown, possibly French] Custom Cadillac, stretched town car,
with vertical windshield and built-in travel trunk.
[ Photo: "Illustration" - a former French
weekly ]
[Unknown, USA] Custom boat-tailed speedster
This car (before restoration)?
"Before" (top, left) and "after"
photos supplied kindly by the owner, Mike de Felice;
Mike says the car is not quite finished but is "looking like a car"
again;
in the lower 2 images you can see the wire wheels that Mike has added
[Unknown, USA or Uruguay?] Another superb, custom boat-tailed
speedster, with RH drive, that was offered for sale at auction, on EBay, in May
2007.
The hood vents appear to be copied from a 1931
Cadillac design
[Unknown, but possibly Brunn] (USA)
A stylish landaulet (?) with rear hinged front door and an unexpected
"boot toe" sill located at the cowl. The ctreation looks very much like
the catalog offering from Brunn, shown in the
previous section.
The foregoing designer's drawings
may have resulted in this custom offering
[ Photo: courtesy Pete Spalding, Australia ]
[Unknown, USA?] A conversion, possibly from a 2-door
coupe, to a breakdown truck
Van Rijswijk (The Netherlands) Town landaulet,
below. Despite the Hispano Suiza "flying stork" hood ornament, I believe this is
a Cadillac.
Photo: courtesy Frans Vrijaldenhoven
1929
Brunn (USA) custom sport phaeton for 4 passengers (photo, below);
Boston Auto show car
De Wolf, Frans (Belgium) Special town car
(landaulet?) on stretched Cadillac chassis. The photos below (cropped to save
space) were supplied kindly by a fellow member of the Society of Automotive Historians
(SAH), Mr. Philippe Boval, from Belgium. Philippe wrote (March, 2002): I am an
admirer of your Cadillac-Database and wanted to contribute to it by sending a picture of a
Cadillac bodied by the Belgian coach builder, Frans De Wolf. The picture shows
the car at one of the Automobile Salons of Brussels in the twenties. I found the picture
in a commemorative book on the 50th Brussels Automobile Salon, held in 1970.
Unfortunately, the book doesn't mention the year in which this Cadillac was exhibited. It
may have been 1929 or 1930 (judging by the parking lights on the fenders instead of the
cowl). The picture is accompanied by the following text: This "coupé
cabriolet" [town landaulet with folding roof over rear seat passengers) was built by
Frans De Wolf on a Cadillac chassis; the color of the body is dark blue and the roof is
beige (tan).
[ Photo: courtesy Philippe Boval, automobile
historian (Belgium) ]
D'Ieteren Frères (Belgium) Special, stretched town
car.
D'Ieteren Frères (Belgium) Special town landaulet.
Fisher and ??? (USA) 7-pass sedan (job #8620) converted (?) to a
5-pass convertible Victoria; the car was brought to my attention by its owner in
September, 2007. The unit number is 3516 out of 18,004 Cadillacs built in 1929. I
assume it is a very rare conversion and, as such, deserves a place in the "Dream
Cars" section of the Cadillac Database.
The body tag on this custom convertible Victoria
shows it to have begun life as a 7-pass. sedan;
it certainly won't escape the collector-investor that a convertible style is far more
desirable than a sedan
Fleetwood (USA) included in the displays at the NY Show was
Fleetwood style 4208 [later used on V16 chassis] designated as a 5p. "inside-drive
imperial cabriolet", that is a limousine with division and two small opera seats.
The term "cabriolet" was used by Fleetwood to designate a closed car
having a leather roof covering; this one car had a light colored leather top (this was
called coupienne and had been introduced by the French coach builder, Kellner, at
the Paris salon in 1928). This car was painted a deep maroon; it featured a curved
or coach sill, slim, slanting windshield posts, a Neutralite visor and a pillarless
division; both front and rear compartments were trimmed in Wiese tan (taupe) doeskin piped
with matching maroon Aero leather. In his book Fleetwood - The Company and the
Coach Craft [ISBN 0-9624958-9-12], pp.131-132, the author, James J. Schild,
identifies this car as both Fleetwood job #3208 and 3208-C; the latter job number suggests
that the car had a folding roof over the rear seat, although there is no indication to
that effect in the descriptive text, despite the use of the word "landaulette"
in the title. It is believed that this car was shown at the Paris salon in 1929 together
with two other Fleetwood creations, an AWP and a sedan for seven passengers with
¼-windows; the latter two cars both were built on the 140" wheel base whereas the
special imperial cabriolet was mounted on a chassis with a wheel base of 152 inches.
According to writer-historian, Richard Burns Carson, writing in The Classic Car,
summer 2006 (p.7), ...Fleetwood completed an immense one-of berline-landaulet on
Series 341-B 152-inch wheelbase commercial chassis [I don't believe Cadillac made a
long-wheelbase commercial chassis until 1936 - I'm guessing this must have been a
custom-built, stretched chassis]. Trailing behind Cadillac's relatively short V-8 hood
and carrying a tall roofline over extra-spacious doors, this huge body could easily have
emerged as overpowering and cumbersome, but it didn't turn out that way. And disciplined
control of overall proportions deserves only part of the credit: the rest goes to some
well-placed curvature highlighted by a bold color scheme. The designers at Fleetwood had
drafted a body sill sweep under the front and rear doors as a unit, achieving a more
pronounced 'dip' look than on Stutz's Monte Carlo sport sedan ... and then they applied
light 'Paris Gray' to the car fenders and connecting splash aprons, this coming below a
dark maroon central body color.
The curved, sweeping sill on this unique custom
creation by Fleetwood, built in the summer of 1929 on a V-8 chassis stretched to
152"
and known as the French Brougham, provided the basic sill design for
1930-31 V-16 models with Fleetwood style numbers starting "42.."
Fleetwood (USA) included in the displays at the NY Show was
Fleetwood style 4208 [later used on the new V-16 chassis] designated as a 5p. "inside-drive
imperial cabriolet", that is a limousine with division and two small opera seats.
Note that Fleetwood used the term "cabriolet" [meaning convertible, in French]
indiscriminately to designate a closed car having a cloth or leather roof covering;
this one car had a light colored, fabric-grained leather top called coupienne
that had been introduced by the French coach builder, Kellner, at the Paris salon the
previous year.
Fleetwood artist's drawing of style #4208 inside-drive
imperial cabriolet
mounted on the 140" wheel base Cadillac series 341B chassis for 1929
Left: touched up Fleetwood designer's drawing of
style #4200
Right: publicity photo of finished car, circa August 1930
Fleetwood (USA) Special town car, OC, p.66. At the 1929
New York show, that opened on 12.2.1929, this was Fleetwood's central display titled L'art
moderne This car was beautifully finished in black lacquer and polished metal. It
featured the Fleetwood raised, curved hood molding arching across the hood from the
radiator to the sill just ahead of the front door. The recessed hood and cowl panels were
of polished aluminum, spot-buffed (engine turned) to give a Damascened finish. Moldings
around body, windows, top and back, headlights, windshield frame, wheel spokes and trunk
rack all were bright chrome. A new rayon fabric for the seats was piped with silver
leather, plain rayon being used for the sides and headlining. The division cabinetry was
inlaid with 22 different varieties of hardwoods.
[ the Fleetwood style number is not known ]
Fleetwood (USA) The first
Cadillacs to be designated Madame X were built on the 140-inch wheel base chassis
of the Series 341-B (1929) with engine #336340 (shipped on May 5, 1929) and #337668
(shipped on May 29, 1929). A copy of the factory record sheets for both cars still
exist [the record for #337668 was published in SS, 2/96, p.4]. The
latter car was a special order for Alfred P. Sloan Jr. The body colors of both units was
Madeira maroon, code #20624, with black chassis, fenders and upper body molding; they had
a roof covering of high grade long grain shiny black landau leather; the record
does not show that they had a folding roof over the rear seat passengers (landaulette
styling), although that appears obvious from the photo; the upholstery was done in Wiese
pattern/sample #3021. Among other special features were a chrome-plated trunk rack, window
frames and wheel spokes [six-wheel job with fender wells); the earlier of the two cars had
the Buffalo wire wheels with 7.00/20" tires, whereas the later one had 7.00/18"
tires which were not standard on Cadillac cars until 1931. The interior hardware was the
standard Fleetwood issue but tinted to match the Madeira maroon body color and then chrome
finished [information provided in part by Jim Schild of St. Louis, MO].
Fleetwood (USA) Unique Fleetwood style #3880, custom 5-passenger
special phaeton; the late Dave Holls sent me this photo (plus the one below and many
others), in 1984, for a talk I was to give on custom coachwork by Fleetwood.
[ Photo: courtesy the late Dave Holls, 1984 ]
Fleetwood (USA) Style 3885 custom 4-passenger
Victoria convertible coupe (only 1 assumed built, body N° 11616), photos in SS,
3/86: RH front side, RH rear side, body tag, rear, top down, int. top, headlight emblem,
Pennsylvania "V" w/shield, trunk and rear wheel.
Factory publicity photo (left), courtesy of the
late Dave Holls, 1984; the color photo (center) is from the in-house magazine, "The Crest" ( ZTV
coll.)
The car has survived, as shown in this photo (right), courtesy Terry Griffin, Australia
Fleetwood (???) (USA) Special Cadillac Sport Phaeton built for
Boston auto show [possible confusion here with the Brunn-bodied sport phaeton, above]. Or
could this be a second, similar car? This one hads a turned aluminum (damascened) hood.
This car is beeived to be owned by Lawrence S. De Andrade, of Colorado. A painting of it,
by Henry Austin Clark hangs (or used to hang) in the Long Island Auto Museum (does the
museum still exist?). Mr. De Andrde has a second paimnting of his car by well-known
illustrator Harry Anderson.
Fleetwood (???) (USA) Mildly customized 7-pass.
sedan for the Maharaja of Benares [cf. "Lives of the Indian Princes", p.313,
photo by Mary Ellen Mark]
Gangloff (France) Is reported to have created a custom job on the
Cadillac V8 chassis. I have no other information or photos. Anyone heard of it
?
Kruse, Henry [London, UK] 2-pass, roadster with so-called "Safari"
body featuring cut-down doors and special top. Color is silver with black rear and
fenders, red under-body, black soft top with red edging. It was described in a 1996
classified ad as follows: "Used to hunt big game in India. Low Mileage.
Body off restoration 1983. Five 2nd places AACA. Driven on 5 Glidden tours - just
completed 1995 tour flawlessly. Typical English style body and top. Done in silver and
black with red undercarriage and red leather interior." The asking price
in 1995 was $85K ...or best offer.
The colored photo (left) is from a "PP"
("Photo Production") birthday card #3096/1 (printed in England);
the B&W one is from a classified ad that appeared in SS, 1/96, p.16.
Letourneur & Marchand [France] Special town car [I have no
photos but the information is from a reliable source in France]. It was first shown
on Paris' Champs Elysees during the fall Salon.
Nordberg (Sweden) Special La Salle coupe for the late King Gustaf
V of Sweden; this car featured a remarkable leather interior with an
impressed snakeskin pattern.
Nordberg (Sweden) Special stretched limousine for the late King
Gustaf V of Sweden.
[Unknown, Argentina] Very ornate, semi-open funeral coach on
stretched 1929 Cadillac chassis [included also in "Professional Cars" section].
Offered for sale by a collector in Argentina in
Feb. 2008
[ Photos: © 2008 and courtesy Santiago Lloveras ]
[Unknown, USA] possibly Fleetwood, Hibbard and
Darrin or French design, convertible sedan on stretched V8 chassis, flat windshield, dark
color with light-colored broad belt molding, landau bars, wheel discs [have poor photo
from unidentified Salon showing, ZTV collection]
[Unknown, USA] Tow truck on LaSalle chassis
[Unknown, USA] Another tow truck on the LaSalle chassis
[Unknown, USA] possibly Fleetwood, 7-pass. landaulet (photo,
below)
Van den Plas (Belgium) Special Cadillac V8 Town car Landaulet by
London-based the renowned Belgian coach builder with headquarters at 61 Avenue de
l'Armée, Brussels. He built a number of superb bodies on various Cadillac chassis
including this beautiful, "enclosed-drive landaulet" [of which he built
a second one in 1930, on the V16 chassis - described below]. This one, on the Series 341B
V8 chassis with RHD [photo: McC, p. 134, top] was probably similar in all respects
to the latter V16 model. I believe this is the car advertised in Motor (UK) on 7.8.1934,
p.55, for sale second-hand by George Newman & Co. of 369 Euston Road., London, who
described it thus: "1929 8-cyl. Vanden Plas 7-seater enclosed-drive landaulet,
hide throughout, £275". It featured a large sun-visor, side-mounted spares and a
fixed, roof-mounted luggage rack and a rather bulky folding top over the rear seat
passengers. Front doors were hinged at the "A" post and the rear,
"suicide" doors at the "C" pillar. Hinges were of the large,
protruding type.
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