Special
Job #9002
1938
Cadillac V-16
At
the end of 1938, two engines of the V-16 production run for
that year (# 5270305 and 5270306) were mounted on special, stretched
chassis (148"instead of 141¼"). They received equally
special, custom-built bodies. They both were commissioned for
the most senior of GM officials: Alfred P. Sloan, former
GM President, and William E. "Bunkie" Knudsen who took over
those functions in 1937.
Where
Cadillac got the 148" chassis is a mystery for none were included
in the range, either for 1938 or 1939. The wheelbases of the
other standard Cadillac chassis in 1938 were 124" (Series
50 La Salle and Series 60 Cadillac), 127" (Series
60 Special), 132" (Series 65), 141¼" (Series
75 and Series 90) and 161" (Series 75 commercial
chassis); two of the latter got V-16 engines and were fitted
with enormous, convertible sedan bodies; they were acquired
by the Government and used as White House security cars in the
Roosevelt and Truman administrations (both have survived, although
converted to the V-8 power plant, presumably for reasons of
economy).
There
is scant information on the Sloan car, other that it had an
Imperial Sedan body, that is a limousine with a divider. The
history of the Knudsen (the one described here) was pieced together
by Carl Steig and Ron Van Gelderen, both avid admirers like
me of the sixteen-cylinder Cadillacs.
This
one is reported by its current owner as having been built on
chassis/engine combination #5270306. However, in
the Fall of 2003 I got some conflicting information from V-16
enthusiast and expert, Terry Wenger of the CLC. According to
Carl Steig, he told me, the correct engine/chassis number for
the Knudsen car is #5270305. Engine #5270306 is purported to
have powered the other experimental V-16 imperial sedan built
for Alfred P. Sloan. Trust the experts.
The
last of the sixteens built in 1938 carries engine/chassis #5270315,
so the two custom jobs were among the final ten units. This
may account for the presence of some 1939 V-16 parts. Indeed,
the Knudsen car is fitted with a 1939 instrument board although
it still retains the older 1938 "banjo" steering wheel.
©
1996, Yann Saunders and the Cadillac-LaSalle Club, Inc.
