Cadillac 370B

With nearly identical overall styling and appearance to the V-8 except for the emblems, the Cadillac 370B was introduced in 1932.

Nearly all of the features were very similar to the 370-A.

With an engine that was basically identical, the fuel feed changed to mechanical from vacuum tank.

A new Cuno disc type self-cleaning oil filter was also mounted at the right hand side of clutch housing and as connected to a starter pedal that rotated disc each time the pedal was depressed.

After nearly twenty years of Cadillac utilizing a Cadillac-Johnson carburetor, the new Detroit Lubricator dual carburetor was featured.

Much of the mechanical features were only slightly differentiated. The increase of power and weight are examples of the improved gear ratios, tire sizes, battery/generator capacity and vacuum assist on brakes.

The dual exhaust system now had tuning chambers in mufflers instead of attachments to the tail pipes. Now the dual ignition coils could be found mounted in the top tank of the radiator.

By Jessica DonaldsonIn 1927, the Art and Color department was formed at General Motors with Harley Earl as its leader. For the next fifteen-years, the styling and engineering leadership would keep the Cadillac marque at the top of the fine-car market. Cadillac shocked the world in 1930 with the introduction of its sixteen-cylinder model and sent its competitors scrambling to keep to pace. The hits kept on coming; in 1931 Cadillac introduced a V12 model that retained many of the luxury amenities found in the sixteen-cylinder version, but had a lower price tag.

In 1932, the models were longer and lower and incorporated several stylistic and technical changes and improvements. This would also be the final year for the classic Cadillac styling spear-headed by its tombstone radiators and clamshell fenders. The bodies featured curved running boards which blended in with the front and rear fenders. There was a vacuum-operated automatic clutch and two-way hydraulic shock absorbers which were controlled from the driver's seat. The synchromesh transmission used silent helical gears in all three forward speeds and there were mechanical fuel pumps and Detroit Lubricator carburetors.

Visually, the eight and twelve-cylinder cars were nearly identical with the most distinguishable feature being the radiator badge or hubcap inserts which gave clues to which model was the 12.
By Daniel Vaughan | Sep 2008