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1940 LaSalle 5019
4D Sedan
59,900 original miles
VIN 2320971
Exterior: Ivory/Brown two-tone
Interior: Tan Cloth
NUMBERS MATCHING ORIGINAL
346 c.i. Flathead V-8
3 speed manual transmission

Estimates: LOW - $20,000 HIGH - $30,000

Description

LaSalle, "Cadillac,s companion car", was the brainchild of young General Motors stylist Harley Earl, who was hired away as a consultant by the growing American automaker in 1926. Two of GM’s main brands, Oakland and Buick, had lesser, sister, cars in Pontiac and Marquette, and it was clear that in the coming year, Cadillac would have a step– down model to fill the gap between Cadillac and Buick. Earl was to be the father of the first LaSalle, which was itself the first automobile designed not by engineers but by a studio– based stylist.

More sporting than the Cadillac or Buick between which it was positioned, the LaSalle offered a car with Cadillac mechanicals and a more sporting character but without the grand luxury of a Cadillac, not to mention the Cadillac price tag. A few years later, the Great Depression hit the American economy like a sledgehammer. No up– market car sold well, but the LaSalle was positioned well as a lower– cost alternative second only to Cadillac during these difficult years.

In 1934, LaSalle received a major restyling from the aging 1920s design elements found on the previous year’s car to a move towards GM’s turret top construction. These all– steel Fisher bodies would be on every GM product within a few short years, well ahead of competitor Ford. LaSalle also used a straight– eight cylinder engine for two years that followed while Cadillac’s new V8 was still in engineering development. By 1937, LaSalle and Cadillac shared the same powerplant though the LaSalle had slightly smaller displacement, 322cid versus 346cid.

For 1940, what would be LaSalle’s final year on the market, a very new front end redesign emerged, and with it a completely new bodystyle, the Series 52. Ahead of Cadillac by a year, LaSalle’s headlamps moved to the outside of its one– piece front clip on both Series 50 and 52 cars. The new Series 52 sold very well while the older Series 50 bodystyle used since the advent of the turret top was no slouch either. Designs were in the modeling stage for the 1941 LaSalle lineup when the winds of war heralded GM’s decision to end production of the sister brand and create a Series 61 model within the Cadillac lineup as a low– cost alternative.

This 1940 LaSalle is a three– owner survivor– grade car that until 2005 does not seem to have ever left a 100 mile radius of the Wilmington, NC area. Its original owner had a fleet of delivery trucks in the same non– original colour scheme and it is believed that the car has worn these colours from new. Exhibiting only slight signs of minor refreshing to include paint, trim and interior work, the mileage on the odometer is believed to be original and still less than 60,000 miles.

Within the last three years and 300 miles since completion, a comprehensive overhaul of all mechanicals has been undertaken. The slightly– worn original 322cid V– 8 was bored out to the standard Cadillac bore of 31/2" to bring displacement up to 346cid. All rotating parts were balanced carefully before installation making for an even smoother engine than before. All new wear parts were used throughout. A unique one– off full– flow oil filtration setup was added to the engine prior to installation – this involved serious modification of the engine while it was apart. The transmission, suspension, brakes and differential were also gone through. The original radio was overhauled with solid state internals and the FM bandwidth, and the ignition system was also modified to a Pertronix hall– effect electronic pickup to replace the original points and condenser. Riding on radial tires, the LaSalle drives and handles better than it did when new, making it an ideal tour– ready automobile for the classic car enthusiast.

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