1939 Cadillac Fleetwood Series 90 V-16

[Bruce Nunnally]

One of seven built in 1939...

See more: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4825833958742.1073741833.1083319661&type=3&l=e4e7eb297e

[Texas Jim]

That is a work of art...

[rockfangd]

What a beautiful cadillac. That back seat looks like the most comfortable seat in the world lol. I want it. Just stunning. Thanks for sharing

[Cadillac Jim]

I was looking at that big black box bolted to the top rear of the radiator and finally figured out that this is where two ignition coils are housed, and that the big silver cable going back to the firewall is an armored ignition wire or possibly a cable that operates an ignition switch that is inside the black box.

The engine is a 135-degree V16 with a square 3 1/2 " bore and stroke for 431 cid and develops a rated 185 hp, mountainous horsepower for the time. A flathead engine, it uses two cams, and both the intake and exhaust are on the top side of each bank like other flathead Cadillac V8 and V12 engines. The previous V12, the 452 cid OHV 45-degree V16 used in the 1930-1937 model years, probably had both intake and exhaust on the outboard side of each bank, as did the 368 cid OHV V12 version of the "452" of the same model year range.