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Henry Leland, the father of Cadillac and later of Lincoln, was born in Vermont in 1843. Early in his career, he worked for Samuel Colt, the gun manufacturer, from whom he learned how to build parts with precision. In 1890 he moved to Detroit, where precision machining was virtually unknown at the time. Six years later and partnering with Robert Faulconer, their firm manufactured steam engines for Detroit streetcars and gas engines for marine use.
Cadillac, named after French explorer Antoine de la Mothe, sieur de Cadillac — who founded a settlement that later became Detroit — has been around for 118 years. Having been formed in 1902 after Henry Ford’s disagreement with his investors’ management ideas for Henry Ford Co., Ford sold out and left the company. The remaining investors brought in Henry Leland to sell the assets, but instead he convinced them to build cars using the superior engine that Leland had designed but that were rejected by Oldsmobile because of the tooling time required. Using Ford’s old plant, the first Cadillac was produced on Oct. 17, 1902.
That first Cadillac was a good one, and it was taken to the week-long New York Automobile Show the following January. By the middle of that week, the company had taken 2,286 orders and announced that Cadillac was “sold out.” The price for the car was $750, or about $22,425 in today’s dollars. The early cars earned a reputation for quality, reliability, maintenance costs and climbing and pulling power.
Cadillac introduced safety glass in 1927 and earned the reputation of being the “Standard of the World” for automobiles in 1930s. That was when Cadillac introduced the first V16 engine, which was one of the quietest and most powerful engines in the country. They also developed the fully synchro-mesh manual transmissions and introduced the V8, and V12 engines. Hydra-Matic automatic transmission was introduced in Cadillac vehicles in 1941, one year after Oldsmobile.
Following World War II, the Cadillac models were largely carry-over styling from before the war. One way to tell a 1947 Cadillac from a 1946 model was the full wheel covers referred to as “sombreros” because of their size and shape. Hydraulic power windows were available, and Cadillac became even more of a luxury car, selling 61,926 for the 1947 model year. Packard outsold Cadillac from 1947 to 1949, but starting with the new 1950 models, Packard was never in the running again, and Cadillac clearly was again the “Standard of the World.”
John Coffin, of Walnut Creek, acquired this issue’s Cadillac from his two brothers, and it has quite a history. Originally owned by Mrs. Hale of Hale’s Department Stores, a large department store chain headquartered in Sacramento, the car was purchased from J. J. Jacobs, the Sacramento Cadillac dealer. Some years later she bought a new Cadillac and parked this one in the garage.
“A friend of my brother was dating her daughter,” Coffin said, “The friend somehow acquired the 1947 Cadillac. My brother and friends did a lot of gambling then (1963) and were always playing poker. One night there was a group in a poker game, there were three of them left in the game — it was ‘high-low.’ One of my brothers went ‘high,’ and one went ‘low’. It cost $25 to join the pot (to stay in the game).” The third guy, Bill Thompson, didn’t have the $25 in cash, so he threw the Cadillac car keys in for his $25, thinking he had the winning hand, but he lost. Coffin’s two brothers then owned this Cadillac convertible, and Coffin has owned it since 1970.
“I’ve rebuilt the engine and transmission, and it has original horsehair seats under the seat covers.”
He hasn’t refinished the window sills or the steering column, as he wants the car to keep the car as original as possible.
“I just like the character of the car,” he said.
This Cadillac is powered by a 346-cubic-inch, flathead V8 engine rated at about 150 horsepower.
“They used these from 1937 to 1947, and they were used in World War II in the Sherman tanks,” Coffin said.
It has the Hydra-Matic transmission in the gear selector order of “N-Dr-Lo-R” with no park gear (“reverse” also serves as “park”). It has hydraulic power windows and a hydraulic-powered top. Power steering and air conditioning were available but not purchased by Mrs. Hale. Without those options a new 1947 Cadillac Convertible had the list price of $2,902 or about $33,950 in today’s dollars. Coffin’s car also has a spotlight, AM radio, regular heater and a heater under the front seat.
I got to take a short ride in the car, and it is surprisingly tight with no rattles or squeaks. The large bench seat is comfortable, and it has a beautiful dashboard.
“It’s fun to drive in the mountains,” he said, “you can cruise 70 to 80 miles an hour, and you can drive in it all day.”
Coffin estimates the current market value for this car at about $100,000, but he has no plans to sell it.
“I’m a collector,” he said. “Not a seller.”
Have an interesting vehicle? Contact David Krumboltz at MOBopoly@yahoo.com. To view more photos of this and other issues’ vehicles or to read more of Dave’s columns, visit mercurynews.com/author/david-krumboltz.
