1941 Cadillac Coupe, 6127 🇺🇸

This Cadillac was rescued by local collector Thomas Kidd from a field in the Pocono mountains of Pennsylvania some time in the 1990s. It is unknown how long the car lay dormant in the field or how it found its way there. It was purchased by the NB Center in “as found” condition in 2000.

The restoration was underway in 2004 at Precision Motor Cars in Allentown, PA.  Because of the deteriorated condition of the car, it was not completed until 2006. Now painted in a correct shade of dark green the car looks black until the light hits the surfaces at the correct angle.

This base model Cadillac was the lowest priced offering from the brand in 1941. Despite this being the first model year for the Hydra-Matic automatic transmission, a $125 option which was installed in most of the cars, this car has the base three-speed manual transmission. The only options on the car are a radio at $69.50 and fog lights for $14.50, and a heater for the cold Pennsylvania winters,  a $59.50 extra. 

Company
General Motors

Make
Cadillac

Model
41-6127

Body Style
Coupe, 2-dr., 5-pass.

Body Manufacture
Fisher Body

Model year
1941

Wheelbase
126 inches

Length
215 inches

Engine
V8, L-head, 346 cid

Horsepower
150 hp @ 3400 rpm

Transmission
3-speed manual on the column or automatic

Original Base Price
$1,345

Brand Production
59,572

This Car Production
11,812

With  Lasalle gone from the General Motors family of brands in 1941,  the low priced Cadillac for the model year  was the series 61. As  a replacement for and based on the designs for what would have been the new LaSalle, the series 61 offered unique styling while still looking like a Cadillac.

The series 61 was offered as two unique fastback style bodies; the touring sedan and a coupe. The coupe was the lowest priced car in the Cadillac model line with a base price of $1,345. The series 61 coupe utilized the same body as a Buick Sedanette while the series 62 coupe was still the traditional notchback coupe body.

A host of major styling changes for Cadillac in 1941 resulted in a milestone of design. A new grille and front end finally fully integrated the headlights into the fenders. The full length hood wrapped down to the tops of the fenders. Fog lights were now integrated into the front of the car. Even the gas filler was innovative, now under the left side tail light that hinged up to expose the filler cap. Hydra-matic automatic transmissions became available as a $125 option. Following the lead of Luxury car rival Packard in 1940,  air conditioning also became available.

Along with the end of Lasalle, 1941 marked the end of the mighty Cadillac  V16 engine. For the first time in 15 years, Cadillac would offer only one engine. The flathead V8 that had become synonymous with Cadillac since its introduction in 1936, was already being installed in tanks as Cadillac was ramping up manufacturing war materials.

Cadillac enjoyed their best production and sales year in the company's history in 1941.