Vehicle Description
1940 LaSalle Series 52 Convertible
Boy the way Glen Miller played,
Songs that made the hit parade,
Guys like us we had it made,
Those were the days,
And you know where you were then,
Girls were girls and men were men,
Mister we could use a man like Herbert Hoover again,
Didn't need no welfare states
Everybody pulled his weight,
Gee our old LaSalle ran great,
Those were the days...
Having the pleasure of this consignment grace our hallowed halls
here at Classic Auto Mall, we have for offering a 1940 LaSalle
Series 52 Convertible. One of only 425 made in 1940 which would be
the last year of production for LaSalle. A companion marque of
Cadillac, and above Buick, this car wears an AACA Senior badge,
comes with the original owner's manual, and has sales literature.
Just in stunning condition, completely restored to its original
glory and then some, a real must have for a well-heeled owner back
in the day, and now offered for the discerning collector. The
ultimate iteration of the model and style.
Exterior
Harley Earl had his hands on this design, more modern looking than
many of its contemporaries. A Torpedo design from bow to stern,
with a vertical grille upfront and the "catwalk" treatment between
the grille and the flared in headlamps. No running boards but a
wider body makes this car a breeze to get in and out of. Laser
straight steel is all bathed in Homer Gray Iridescent paint that is
difficult to find any flaw within. Gaps are meticulously minded,
and a rear of the car as long as the front offers up plenty of
trunk space as this car forgoes the rumble seat option in lieu of a
rear seat. All chrome is near perfect from bezels to bumpers, and
exterior lighting shines brightly when flipping the switch. Black
canvas is reserved for the convertible top, and some maroon
trimmings surround the edges of said top. The maroon offers up a
subtle but significant highlight to this all jet-black canvas.
Vincennes Red steel wheels are covered in their centers with
chromed moon caps that sport art deco type-font badging in their
red centers. Gray pin striping outside the moon caps, and then an
additional chrome trim ring for the edges with a central red band.
And this is just the wheels! Wide whites wrap these wonderful
wheels and their trimmings and ground this car just
beautifully.
Interior
Dealer literature states up to 6 additional inches for the front
bench due to the lack of those running boards, and also states that
up to 4 people can occupy this bench which back in the day was
legal to do so. Red leather all smooth and supple with no cracks or
even folds is at its shiniest for the covering of this front bench.
Up front the massive banjo steering wheel still allows plenty of
room for those with the thickest of thighs and is just perfectly
shined in two toned gray and cream. With the utilization of art
deco styling the dash has been greatly simplified with a lineup of
bezels and clean glass which cover a horizontal speedometer,
temperature, battery, gasoline and oil pressure gauge cluster in
front of the steering wheel. Plenty of vertical ribs provide the
background for the radio, and ash receptacle with lighter. In front
of the passenger is another horizontal panel with a sweet bezel and
an inserted clock, with the glovebox just below. Also, on this side
under the dash is a Cadillac badged heater box. All this menagerie
floats within a gray painted metal dash, and above beautiful red
thick pile carpeting. A shout out to the rear seat which also
offers up plenty of legroom and space for an additional 2 folks and
is in the same shiny red leather. The headliner and interior lining
of the canvas top is in cream and has matching sun-visors above the
split windshield.
Drivetrain
Under the long V styled and vented hood is a perfectly centrally
aligned numbers matching 322ci V8 Flathead engine. All is just
beautifully detailed and restored and it is topped under the black
oil bath air cleaner with a 2-barrel carburetor, and a 3-speed
manual transmission is on back. The specification for the rear axle
is 3.92 for the technical potential buyers.
Undercarriage
The AACA does not give out badges like free candy, it needs to be
earned, and after a glimpse underneath you will agree, it deserves
it. All fully restored, with nary a hint of road dirt, rust or
anything to ruin the vista of straight shiny black painted steel.
All new lines run throughout this undercarriage, and a shiny
stainless-steel mufflers and exhaust is snaking its way rearward
from the green block and bottom end engine. With drum brakes all
around, and all the other fineries, I'd say showroom condition
underneath without a doubt.
Drive-Ability
After starting this car my test cohort and I had to actually be
silent for a few seconds to be sure this car was actually running.
It is really that quiet, and that impressive. On the test track,
this car performed beautifully with perfect shift points being 20
and 40 MPH respectively for that 3-speed. Handling was very nice,
and bias free braking brought this beauty to an abrupt stop. All
functions were working, and the stainless-steel mufflers were
definitely doing their job, where even under acceleration, the car
is silent. Gee, it ran just great!
As for examples this rare low low production last year for the
moniker car, it is beautifully buttoned up, and has very few areas
to frown at. It's an absolutely near perfect example of this model
and presents very tastefully in the gray with red accenting. Let's
just sum it up by saying Oh la, la LaSalle! Toulouse Lautrec is
already sketching the scene next to the Seine.
TRIM TAG
STYLE NO 440 5267-1940 Series 52 2-4 Convertible Coupe
BODY NO 414
TRIM NO 28-Red Leather
PAINT NO 10-Homer Gray Iridescent
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 600 vehicles for sale
with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle
barn find collection is on display.
This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown,
Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia
on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is
www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914.
Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the
vehicle in person.
