Hello, this is my first post here but i've been lurking for a while. I finally got my first old car a few months ago. She is a 1940 Cadillac LaSalle, 4-door. I haven't quite decided what I want to do with it yet. Right now it runs and drives well enough to drive a few miles up the road but that is about as far as I normally go. Many people have said that I should just drop the body onto a different frame, and others have different opinions. In the end I would like a more dependable car. Can anyone make any recommendations or have any past experience with a LaSalle or similar car as to what my best options may be? Thanks
Leave it stock. Don't try and make it into something it's not. That flathead motor is plenty reliable, just expensive to fix. Replace it when it blows, like the old sain goes," don't fix what aint broken."
There is nothing to be gained by replacing the chassis, when compared to extreme amount of work it requires to be done correctly. GM chassis for upper line cars of that era were very stout, much stronger than more modern frames. The stock suspension if rebuilt with quality parts and some really good shocks will drive fine. While I don't know aboslutely for sure, I suspect you car has the front (and maybe rear) shocks of the lever style. The fronts being integral with the upper control arms. It is possible to fit tubular shocks by fabricating suitable mounts. A disc brake upgrade would bring you into modern performance standards on that score. These were really nicely styled cars, in my opinion, and hard to improve upon other than through restoration of the body, paint and trim. Good luck Ray
As above these are good solid cars, but old, and maybe a little cranky. If the motor isnt making bad noises, clouds of smoke or steam, just drive it. If it goes then check that the brakes are good so it will stop. Most important things first. There will be a lot of little things that will need to be fixed as you go along. Enjoy an old car, they are neat, to drive.
I have to agree with the other three on this one. On this one it would probably be better to leave it stock and just drive and enjoy it if the engine and trans are in good shape. If the engine craps out you can swap in a later model engine and have a damned nice road car. I'm not a fan of frame swaps just to be swapping frames. If the frame is damaged, missing too many parts or parts are way too hard or expensive to find, then a frame swap might be in order. Drive it for a while and form a master plan if you decide you want to make changes and upgrades and think out each change to the max. A hacked up frame swap takes a nice old car and makes it an almost worthless old car most of the time. I'm not a restorer by any stretch of the imagination and as you can see my truck is chopped, dropped and has suicide doors and a late model engine but some cars are better off left stock if they are pretty complete to begin with.
You are starting out with as good of a trans as any ever built, so even if the motor is toast, there are adapters for many old motors, and the old stuff is reliable, It just needs to be put togather right, it isnt like they didnt drive it when it was new
Thank you all for the advice. The LaSalle is a smooth riding car and will run 60+ mph without any trouble, it does seem to have a little misfire after letting off the throttle, I'm hoping that it's a simple fix. I know it will hurt my ride quality but I would like to lower the car a bit, I don't want it slammed to the ground or anything just a few inches lower than now.
I,m glad to see others think along the same lines as i do. Some old cars are better for hot rodding than others. Your Lasalle is rare just as it is and just getting it into a really good running condition, is first and formost, and seems like it is a good one. These big ol, premier cars were top of the line in thier day. Their transmissions were strong, independant front end was a rather new improvement back then, nothing wrong with them now, just a little more $$ for parts but once rebuilt will outlive most of us. Disc brakes are available, and is the one mod that should be done for todays traffic safety, modern shocks, and tires will help a lot also. The Caddys, Lasalles, Buicks, had stout drivelines, and bodies, as a result they were kinda heavy. But they were the cars that were used to pull the race cars and crews up the mountain grades to the dry lakes, etc. If the engine goes out, then I would suggest a transplant of a more modern engine, the new 1949 and up, Caddy overhead was the Chevy big block of its day, it is suitable, and dependable even for todays traffic and is a bolt in. Most any modern engine can be bolted to that Lasalle box.I recall in the early 60,s we went to the Long Beach drags cruising the freeways in my buddys 37 Lasalle, we used these big ol classics to make a statement that we were car guys too. I had some Buicks, that were drivers, and since I couldnt afford any racing I still was part of the old car scene. back then I always had a oldie that I could drive. make a driver out of it first then enjoy, it will be fun.
Here's another pic of her from the side, sorry about the low quality cell phone pics, I didn't have any others uploaded.
She is totally "Gangster"! Glad we all seem to on the same page about saving an elegant old survivor. I shiny black paint job would really be cool. Would love to roll up to some of the local swing dances, here, with me and my gal all dressed to the nines, in this. JT
hmm... could make a really sharp cruiser out of that... I say no to the frame swap.. most people who do frame swaps will tell you they'd never do another one.. if they even finish the first one.. I'd say either freshen up the original suspension, and figure out how to set it a little lower.. or swap in an ifs that fits nicely, and a later model rear end.. If it was me i'd freshen up the old stuff, drop in 50's OHV Cad (hooked to the factory trans).. lower it 2-3inches.. freshen up the chrome, deep dark red paint job, and a set of Caddy wires on wide whites.. and probably a nice tan leather interior (fancy carpet, soft leather, wood grained dash, hidden stereo, bench seats, with lots of cushion) could be pretty sweet...
I was just on the 2010 Glidden Tour for pre-war cars in Holland Mi. The long distance prize this year went to a '40 LaSalle coupe. I forget where he drove in from, but there were Model A guys who had driven up from Texas, that didn't win anything. My point is these cars were reliable when new, and can be again. If it was cut up or missing stuff, I'd go for roddin it, but as it is, I'd leave it stock.
Left turn, I like your ideas, I don't think I want it that fancy anytime soon but I would like to freshen up the suspension, lower it about 5 inches or so, and probably swap engines or rebuild the original. Thanks for the tip on the 50's engines! I am getting ready to build a shop and then I will be able to start working on her.
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