- Unusual custom-style Cadillac
- Very early Series 314; delivered as a "Custom Chassis"
- Includes copy of original production record
By the end of 1923, Cadillac had produced more than 160,000
V-8-engine automobiles, well proven in use, including 2,000 sent
overseas as staff cars in World War I. Newly promoted chief
engineer Ernest Seaholm, who would oversee Cadillac's technical
developments for nearly two decades, directed the first major
redesign to the groundbreaking engine. Until that time, it was
common to design a V-8 as two four-cylinder engines on a common
"flat" crankshaft. This worked well enough, but was subject to
inherent imbalance that gave the engine a certain roughness.
For 1924 Cadillac introduced a balanced, two-plane crankshaft
counterweighted with rod journals at 90 degrees to one another, the
way all V-8s are made today. The difference was dramatic. The
engines exhibited remarkable smoothness and, thanks to a lighter
flywheel, developed more power. The other major improvement to the
new V-63 model Cadillacs was four-wheel braking, which was becoming
increasingly popular in the market, although the system was
mechanical, not hydraulic, as used by Duesenberg and Chrysler.
Introduced at the beginning of August 1925 was the new Series 314
Cadillac, considered a 1926 model. A much-reengineered version of
the V-63, it took its name from the engine displacement, an engine
that itself was reengineered. In the process, weight was reduced by
250 pounds and horsepower rose by nearly 10 percent. Prices, on the
other hand, were reduced by as much as $500.
This Series 314 Cadillac, one of the first, was shipped from the
factory on 14 August 1925 and delivered 25 August to customer J.L.
Boyer of Greenville, Ohio. The Cadillac ledger shows it as a
132-inch Chassis Custom with disc wheels. There are no details of
the body that was fitted for the customer. The current body is much
like several that Cadillac offered to the professional and livery
trade, with a slanted windshield and opera windows in the rear
quarters, which, like the top, are covered in black leatherette.
Unusually for a Cadillac of this period, it has vertical cowl
ventilators on each side and sidelamps that are flared into the
cowl.
The Merrick Auto Museum purchased it in 1996 from Charles Baldwin
of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Painted maroon with red moldings, it
has black fenders and body-color disc wheels with Lester whitewall
tires. The interior is upholstered in brown mohair, and the floor
is carpeted in the same theme. The dashboard is standard 1926
Cadillac, although the speedometer looks to have been changed. The
engine compartment is sanitary, but not over-detailed. The engine
unit number matches the factory build record.
Whatever the Cadillac's history, it is a stately automobile and
commands immediate notice.To view this car and others currently
consigned to this auction, please visit the RM website at
rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/hf19.