How much would you pay for a pre-war automobile? Few cars have survived, and those that have are often turned into hot rods or other show cars. An all-original pre-war car is challenging to find, and when one does find it, it’s outrageously expensive, which perfectly explains this 1930 Cadillac Fleetwood V-16. Not only is it exceptionally original, which we’ll dive into in a sec, but it’s also expensive quite expensive. The seller is asking $385,000, but he is open to the best offer if you feel like haggling.
For the price, you get an exquisite piece of automotive history. Not only is this a pre-war Cadillac with all the luxury fixings of the era, but it was also once owned by Neil Young. It also spent some time in an undisclosed east coast museum until 2016. The car has approximately 55,000 miles on the odometer, which appears to be original and correct.
What sells this Cadillac Fleetwood V-16 is the originality. According to the seller, it’s never been disassembled or restored. But despite its original Boatswain blue color being repainted several years ago, the Cadillac is showing its age. Inside, the blue leather upholstery is newer, but the matching blue rumble seat and polished wood interior trim appear original.
The car also retains all of its original wooden exterior elements, with the original stamping marks. Under the hood is Cadillac’s rare V-16 engine, which is also original to the car. Other original parts include the carburetors, vacuum tanks, valley cover, distributor, and much more. According to the seller, the build sheet shows that the Cadillac Fleetwood has all of its original components.
This is the second 1930 Cadillac V-16 to go up for sale in recent memory. Late last year, a pristine 1930 Cadillac V-16 Sport Phaeton by Fleetwood hit the auction block. These iconic beasts of automotive history are rare, so if you want one, now is your chance to buy one.
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Source: ClassicCars.com
Comments
The dual cowl phaeton was auctioned for $940,000 in January. Use your link above.
Open cars always sell for more. I guess people want to be seen when parading them.
Wow. Not only a beautiful car, but with a beautiful name! It just rolls off the tongue….Fleetwood!
Too bad the name withered and died with substandard offerings from the 50’s through into the 90’s, cars that were far-removed and far below the above high-point.
What’s the point of reusing an old name if it can NEVER ever live up the standards of excellence it once was? The Fleetwood name is forever associated with the terrible line-drive and ‘that’ll do’ cars what came after the V16 high-point.
The name of the V-16 line was Series 452 until its last few years when it was Series 90. Fleetwood was the custom body company bought by GM in the 20’s and moved from Fleetwood, Pennsylvania, to Detroit to make bodies for Cadillac. It wasn’t used as part of a model name until the 50’s.
They don’t make Cars like this anymore. In some ways that is good from a safety factor. But they had much much more going for them. Real Names, Real Quality, Real World Pricing, a true Standard of the World. Today not so much. I stopped buying Cadillac’s and started buying Buick’s in 2011. Best move that I have made.
“But they had much much more going for them…..Real World Pricing,”
Are you high?
At the time, the V16 couldn’t be had for less than $6,500, with values for later models reaching close to $10K
Source: https://auto.howstuffworks.com/1930-1940-cadillac-v-1610.htm
And that was in late 1930’s USD. Throw those dollar amount into an inflation calculator, and you’ll know why Cadillac was never supposed to be an affordable value proposition.
Besides, Cadillac MUST return to this level of exclusivity once again to be taken seriously. That IS the kind of “Real World Pricing” that Cadillac could command and should command once more.