1940 Cadillac Series 90 Sixteen Formal Sedan

Cadillac built six V-16s of all body styles in this final year of production. Of those, five wore style number 9033-F, a seven-passenger Formal Sedan by Fleetwood. This example came off the Cadillac assembly lines in November 1939 and was put on display at the 1940 Chicago Auto Show, where Susan Hammond Rhea, the daughter of a Wausau insurance company executive, bought it 'right off the floor.' According to the vehicle's second owner - Grey Pierson of Wausau, Wisconsin - she used it for two years, before putting it into storage during World War II because the large engine required more gasoline than her rations coupons allowed. The car's tires were confiscated during the war to help with the war efforts - as rubber was in short supply. After the war, the car continued to rest on blocks sans tires. When Rhea passed away in 1956, the car was offered for sale and acquired by Grey Pierson's father who kept it with the family in storage until 2003. The car has had three owners from new and has covered a little more than 13,000 miles. It has been sympathetically restored with the exterior paint, padded leather top, and chrome being renewed to a high level.

This example is body number four of the five V-16 formal sedans built in 1950, the final year of v-16 production.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jun 2020