1939 Cadillac LaSalle Restoration

In 1939 only 1040 Cadillac LaSalle Convertibles were produced. Of those, 22 are currently registered in the Cadillac LaSalle Club roster. One of these is owned by Fred Zwicker, founder of Tip Sandblast Equipment. Fred had previously owned a ‘39 four-door sedan version in the late 60’s, and he has always had a passion for this type of vehicle.

This ‘39 LaSalle rolled off the Chesapeake Cadillac showroom floor in Baltimore, MD with a $1395 price tag. It was one of many produced be- tween 1927 and 1940 known as the “Junior Cadillac” because of its smaller size. Later the car moved to Oklahoma and spent most of its life after that in different museums. Fred Zwicker purchased this beauty from the St Louis Car Museum in 2006. The LaSalle features an original 322 cubic inch flat-head V-8 with a 3.92 to 1 rear-axle ratio. The 3-speed transmission with column shift was one of the fastest production cars of its time. (This same powerful V-8 engine helped in the World War II war effort, as it was used to power US Army tanks and ultimately helped us win the war.)

The ‘39 was original and complete but needed a little tender-loving- care. Initially, Fred had only a paint touch-up in mind; but because of the quality and rarity of the vehicle, he soon decided that a full restoration was in order. Knowing the challenge that lay ahead, Fred asked car builder and restorer Bob Darney for his help and expertise in the project. Bob had recently restored the TP Tools Ram Jet and several other restorations. He gladly accepted the challenge. LaSalle Disassembly - The first step was to put the car on jack stands and remove the wheels, foglights, bumpers, doors, carpet, interior, and deck lid. Fred explains, “The most important thing for me was to classify and keep track of all the irreplaceable parts after removal. Bob and I kept good notes, took plenty of pictures, and kept everything in bins by alphabetical order; so when it came time to reassemble, the parts were easy to find.” Darney finished the disassembly by removing the hood, grilles, headlight buckets, front and rear fenders, and radiator. The LaSalle was now down to the firewall and rear clip. Darney checkedover the body and, amazingly, there was little rust. Both doors and deck lid had small rust holes on the bottom which would later be patched with steel, then leaded with auto body solder. Bob and Fred decided to leave the body on the frame since, with convertibles, there was a risk of the floor buckling if removed. They also left the windshield, as it was perfect.

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