1940 LaSalle Convertible--SOLD (Connecticut) - $0
1940 Cadillac LaSalle Convertible For Sale or Trade
This 1940 LaSalle 40-5067 Convertible Coupe is a Cadillac-LaSalle Club Senior winning older restoration that has been consistently and carefully maintained and only lightly used, one of just nine believed to survive.
It is finished in Marquette Gray, a light gray that shows the refined lines and tasteful decoration of LaSalle's 1940 coachwork to advantage. The interior is upholstered in rich Oxblood leather under a beige cloth top. It is attractively equipped including a pushbutton radio, column-mounted shift linkage, turn signals, biplane grille guard and 7.00-16 wide whitewall tires on Oxblood steel wheels with hubcaps and trim rings. LaSalle's commonality with its senior marque is evident from the heater under the dashboard: it is Cadillac badged.
Despite being restored some time ago, this 1940 LaSalle convertible coupe is in very good condition. There is an area on the hood where the paint shows flawed preparation, edge chips near some of the opening panels that are to be expected from even the most careful use, and the body and glass seals are aged but sound. The interior is very good and the engine compartment is orderly and well maintained.
It is accompanied by the original LaSalle identification card in the name of Admiral Frank D. Berrien of New Haven, Connecticut, a letter from Admiral Berrien and a photograph of the Admiral. Admiral Berrien was football coach of the Naval Academy from 1908-1910 with a 77.6% winning percentage. He later commanded the destroyer Nicholson (DD-52) and the pioneering aircraft carrier Lexington (CV-2). Admiral Berrien retired in 1941. This LaSalle was a suitable vehicle to carry Admiral Berrien into a well-deserved retirement, as it will also be a wonderful, powerful, comfortable car for tours and events 75 years later.
322ci L-Head V-8 Engine
Single Carter Carburetor
130bhp at 3,400rpm
3-Speed Manual Transmission
Independent Front and Semi-Elliptic Leaf Spring Rear Suspension
4-Wheel Bendix Hydraulic Drum Brakes
*One of only nine believed to survive
The LASALLE 40-50
After several years in the mid-30's with Oldsmobile-sourced straight eights LaSalle returned to its roots in 1937 with Cadillac's V-8 and continued until 1940, the last year of LaSalle production.
Its 322 cubic inch V-8 was rated 130 brake horsepower, an almost imperceptible difference from the 1940 Cadillac 346 cubic inch V-8's 135hp. The 123 inch wheelbase LaSalle was, if anything, even more distinctive, with headlights blended into nacelles in the front fender catwalks, rounded fenders, three chrome hood side vents, running boards that had almost disappeared and bullet-style taillights. LaSalle represented amazing value, with the 40-50 convertible coupe almost 30% less than Cadillac's Series 62 convertible.
Despite production of over 24,000 LaSalles in 1940, it was to be the marque's last year.
