Vehicle Description
1940 LaSalle Series 52 4 Door Sedan
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...
From a time when the world was different and maybe even better, we
give you a 1940 LaSalle Series 52 4 door sedan. Originally owned by
a business professor at Harvard University and came to our
consignor's possession through an estate sale, this end of an era
Art Deco skate is showing an astounding 14,313 title verifiedmiles
clocked on the odometer. A good driver that presents about as
factory fresh as you can get with only a few small flaws, but
otherwise she's very nicely done and preserved.
Exterior
This design leader in the form of a Series 52 Special bears Harley
Earl's latest "torpedo" look. Sealed beams are now down into the
fenders. Body lines are gently rounded and clean, and the trademark
LaSalle grille arguably reached its pinnacle: still slimmer than
Cadillac's but artfully shaped. Like the '39s, this 1940 model
wears vertical brightwork in the "catwalk" areas between grille and
headlamps, (another Earl idea), but the catwalks are now wider and
fully integrated with the fenders. This 4 door sedan is bathed in
what may be the factory application of Harbor Mist Gray Metallic
that is nice and shiny and very well preserved. Extra accessory
bumpers are now in addition to the standard fare both front and
rear, and it is all nice and mirror like. From its gently sloping
roofline, to the trunk lid and bulbous teardrop rear quarters that
look like they are going 100MPH while standing still...the lines of
this car are just magnificent. Darker gray steel wheels with some
dish trimmings and moon caps in chrome with red centered badges
adorn the corners, I'm the boogie woogie bugle boy of company
B!
Interior
A swing the door, and gray herringbone pattern cloth covers the
door panels and greets one with a smile. Some stitching creates
faux panels, and nicely polished knobs and handles are on as well
as a strip of polished oak at the upper sill. Slipping inside I can
place my torso on to the wide split bench in more gray herringbone
broadcloth coverings for the front and rear seats, and bolsters
that match the door panels are carrying on throughout. A simple but
effective dash with a gray steel topper and wood trimmed
fronthouses art deco styled instruments, and plenty of vertical
chromed ribs for the center speaker grille even though this car was
born a radio delete. A nice banjo style steering wheel in good
condition with a bakelite surround in light cream has a badged
center, and a horn ring rounding it 3/4 of the way around. A heater
box hangs above pristine gray carpet flooding the floor and the
upper interior pillar surfaces and the headliner are covered in
more gray broadcloth which is nice and tight these 83 years
later.
Drivetrain
Under the hood is a dusty but rust-free engine showing in 322ci and
V8 setup. There is a single 2-barrel carburetor by Carter now on
top tucked underneath the oil bath air cleaning system. On back is
the original Selective Synchromesh 3-speed manual transmission, and
this pushes power back to a 3.92 rear axle.
Undercarriage
Under this car is a structurally sound X frame with clean floor
pans and rockers. The black frame supports the factory flooring,
all rust free and appearing as nearly new. As a matter of fact, the
only rust to note is slightsurface peppering on some of the
untreated suspension components. Independent coil springs for the
front suspension, and leaf springs for the rear, and drum brakes
all around leave us with a structurally sound frame and
undercarriage.
Drive-Ability
Our crash test dummy decoder, (although he's a genius and far from
a dummy, I just said that because he proofs these descriptions!),
took this one for a ride and described great acceleration, nice
handling, and a great ride, with very smooth shifting. He also
reported a slight bit of smoke on start up but all else was working
as designed. Plenty of power for this LaSalle
Wonderful would describe this 1940 example, where Harley Earl was
at his finest. Great flowing lines, giving this car a moving while
standing still pontoon styled look. The interior is just beautiful,
and looking original but all buttoned up, and the wide whites with
that sexy grille is worth the price of admission.
TRIM TAG
STYLE NO 40 5219-1940 LaSalle 52 Series 4 Door Sedan
BODY NO 4333-Body #
TRIM NO 54-Gray Herringbone Cloth
PAINT NO 14-Harbor Mist Metallic Gray
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 850 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.
