1938 Cadillac Town Sedan V-16 || SOLD

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1938 Cadillac Town Sedan V-16

One of 302 Cadillac V-16 models made in 1938 and one of 20 Town Sedans made that year
Long term Texas Cadillac and believed to be owned by a previous Texas governor
Rated by Classic Car Club of America as CCCA Full Classic, a designation reserved for only the finest vehicles from 1925-1948
Complete body-off frame restoration; only driven 4,000 miles since restoration
Undercarriage is extremely tidy, especially for a large car of this vintage
Permanently mounted battery tender for long-term storage
Dark blue exterior with tan interior and Fleetwood Coachwork
Rebuilt, numbers matching 431 CID L-head 135º V-16 engine
Rebuilt original three-speed synchromesh manual transmission with 4.31 gearing
Independent front suspension and Bendix hydraulic brakes

In an attempt to out-cylinder and out-smooth the competition, particularly Packard, Cadillac created something rare in the 1930s, an engine with 16 cylinders. Here at MotoeXotica Classic Cars, it is wrapped within the form of a 1938 Town Sedan coach worked by Fleetwood, rated by the Classic Car Club of America as a CCCA Full Classic, a designation reserved for only the finest vehicles from 1925-1948. After being treated a complete body-off frame restoration, the car has been driven approximately 4,000 miles since restoration. Cadillac only produced 20 of these V16 town sedans and only a very few still exist today.

Cadillac believed customers demanded a car powered by an engine simultaneously more powerful and smoother than any other available. Development proceeded in great secrecy over the next few years while Cadillac chief Larry Fisher and GM’s stylist Harley Earl toured Europe in search of inspiration from Europe’s finest coach-builders. Unlike many luxury car builders, who sold bare chassis to be clothed by outside coach-building firms, General Motors had purchased Fleetwood Metal Body and Fisher Body to keep all the business in-house.

Finished in a dark blue, the car’s paint and trim, including the elegant “goddess” hood ornament, are in excellent overall condition. The windows are clear and crack-free and the car’s lights, including the foglights perched over the front bumper, are in very good order. The car rides on 7.50-16 wide whitewalls, surrounding factory wheel covers and look great. The car’s bumpers shine brilliantly, the engine bay is very tidy and there is a permanently mounted battery tender for long-term storage.

Under that hood ornament is a rebuilt, numbers-matching 431 CID L-head 135º V-16 engine with twin carburetors, twin fuel pumps, twin distributors, twin water pumps, and a nine main bearing crankshaft (compared to the OHV V-16’s five bearing crank) and produced the same power as earlier versions of the original V-16 with even greater smoothness and gave the ’38–’40 Sixteens the swiftest acceleration of any factory production car in the world at the time, regardless of weight, as well as slightly improved fuel economy over the OHV V-16 cars.

The car has a positive-ground starting system with two batteries; a six-volt unit under the front passenger seat with another 12-volt unit under the hood for the starter only.

Inside, the car’s Fleetwood Coachwork tan interior is in overall gorgeous condition. The seats, which look more like divans or davenports, are in excellent shape, as is the matching fitted carpet. In the rear are a center-mounted armrest divider, armrest-mounted ashtrays, footrests and a wide fold-down tray to dash off a postcard or have a quick nosh. There are also hooks and rods on which to hang coats, scarves and other outerwear. The headliner is in likewise shape. The metal instrument panel, painted a dark salmon shade, is quite eye-catching and contrasts brilliantly with the tan surroundings. The car’s brown metal dash offers full instrumentation and the original, three-spoke steering wheel is present and looks fantastic. The inner door panels, with their beautiful wooden windowsills, present quite well and the mirror glass is in good order, as is the shift lever.

Competition to this Cadillac in 1938 included V-12 models from Lincoln, Packard, Pierce-Arrow and Rolls-Royce. The only other American manufacturers to field V-16 engines in the 1930s were Marmon and Peerless.

This car is currently located at our facility in St. Louis, Missouri. Current mileage on the odometer shows 4,022 miles. It is sold as is, where is, on a clean and clear, mileage exempt title. GET OUT AND DRIVE!!!

VIN: 5270283

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