Legacy Metrics

1930 Cadillac V-16 Murphy Custom Four-Door Convertible

7-9094roadUnited States
Engine
V16
Colour
Algonquin Green

The sole known Cadillac V-16 bodied by the Walter M. Murphy Company of Pasadena, this four-door convertible was designed by Franklin Q. Hershey and delivered new to Charles S. Howard Jr., eldest son of the celebrated West Coast Buick magnate and Seabiscuit's owner. Its coachwork combines Duesenberg-like elegance with sporting details including suicide front doors, fold-flush hood, and rear-seat instruments. After a succession of distinguished American collectors, a Brian Joseph restoration underpinned class victories at Meadowbrook in 1996, Pebble Beach in 1997, and a Best of Show Pre-War at the 2018 San Marino Motor Classic.

Ownership

  1. Auction sale
    Estimate US$1,500,000 – US$1,800,000

    RM Sotheby's catalogue lot →

  2. → 1959Acquisition unknown
    Dr. Robert N. Craycroft
    partial documentation

    Los Angeles-based early motorsport enthusiast who likely knew Howard personally; possibly acquired the car directly from the first owner. Transferred ownership to a friend around 1959.

  3. 1959 →Private sale
    Bob Gillespie
    partial documentation

    Friend of Dr. Craycroft; received the car around 1959. The car subsequently ended up stored at Fazackerly Cadillac in San Francisco.

  4. 1961 →Private sale
    Norman Taunton
    full documentation

    Purchased the car from a San Francisco dealership basement during his honeymoon in 1961 and documented the acquisition in a 1962 club magazine article. He repainted the car in the correct original green but otherwise left it largely as found, retaining original upholstery and hardware.

  5. → 1985Private sale
    Don Westerdale
    partial documentation

    Los Angeles-based owner who carried out the car's first comprehensive restoration before selling it in 1985.

  6. 1985 →Private sale
    John Mozart
    partial documentation

    Noted collector who acquired the car in 1985; described as renowned in the prose.

  7. 1994 → 2007Private sale
    John McMullen
    full documentation

    Lapeer, Michigan collector and the car's longest-tenured owner; commissioned a full restoration by Brian Joseph's Classic & Exotic Service in Troy, Michigan, which preserved original details including the Murphy floor stampings. The car won class honors at major concours events during his ownership.

  8. 2007 → 2015Private sale
    Paul Andrews
    partial documentation

    White Settlement, Texas collector; the car served as a focal point of his personal museum for approximately eight years until his passing.

  9. 2015 →Private sale
    Current owner from Andrews Collection
    partial documentation

    Purchased from the Andrews estate in 2015; commissioned a new interior and maintained the Joseph restoration to a high standard, earning Best of Show Pre-War recognition at the 2018 San Marino Motor Classic.

  10. Date unknownFactory delivery
    Charles S. Howard Jr.
    partial documentation

    Eldest son of prominent West Coast Buick dealer and Seabiscuit owner Charles S. Howard Sr.; believed to have kept the car into the postwar 1940s, with a photograph from the late 1940s or early 1950s showing the car in Mendocino County still in original green livery.

  11. Date unknownAcquisition unknown
    Brucker Family
    partial documentation

    Buena Park, California family associated with the Movieworld museum; acquired the car in the late 1960s and held it for roughly a decade before selling.

  12. Date unknownAcquisition unknown
    Jim King
    partial documentation

    Beverly, Massachusetts owner; intermediate custodian between Mozart and McMullen.

Competition

  1. 1996
    1996 Meadowbrook Concours d'Elegance
    1st in class

    Shown during John McMullen's ownership following restoration by Brian Joseph's Classic & Exotic Service.

  2. 1997
    1997 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
    1st in class

    One of several concours honors earned while the car was in the McMullen collection.

  3. 2018
    2018 San Marino Motor Classic
    Best of Show Pre-War

    Recognition earned under the current owner, highlighting the enduring quality of the Joseph restoration and subsequent upkeep.

Maintenance & restoration

  1. 1961
    Bodywork

    Car repainted in its factory-correct Algonquin Green by Norman Taunton; all original interior components including red leather upholstery and period hardware were retained unchanged.

  2. Restoration

    First comprehensive restoration of the car, carried out during Don Westerdale's ownership in Los Angeles prior to his 1985 sale.

  3. Restoration
    Classic & Exotic Service

    Full restoration undertaken during John McMullen's ownership, with care taken to retain original details such as Murphy coachbuilder stampings in the floor woodwork.

    Workshop operated by Brian Joseph, located in Troy, Michigan.

  4. Bodywork

    New interior fitted by the current owner as part of ongoing high-standard maintenance following acquisition in 2015.

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Each chassis record is compiled from public auction archives and links to its source material. Ownership, competition and maintenance entries are extracted from those catalogue listings by an LLM, which can make mistakes — please contact us with any corrections. The summary is Legacy Metrics’ own writing; we do not reproduce catalogue text.

“Full” and “partial” documentation labels indicate how well each entry is corroborated in the underlying sources, not an audit of the car’s physical paperwork. Names of recent or living owners are withheld for privacy.