1930 Cadillac V-16 Sport Phaeton
- Engine
- V16 flathead
- Colour
- Black and sable with apple green coachline striping, sable fenders and chassis
A 1930 Cadillac V-16 Sport Phaeton with documented Hollywood provenance, originally delivered new to the Don Lee dealership in Los Angeles and reputedly associated with actor Douglas Fairbanks Sr. Through a colourful chain of ownership it passed from an early enthusiast to a US Air Force colonel, whose body-swap project was later reversed by a long-term custodian who spent decades partially restoring the car back toward original specification using a correct replacement engine and front axle.
Ownership
- —Auction saleSold US$242,000
- 1930-07-19 →Factory deliveryDon Lee dealershipfull documentation
Received new from factory, based in Los Angeles. Car delivered in black and sable livery with apple green striping and dual sidemounts.
- 1935 →Private saleG. Thatcher Darwinpartial documentation
Purchased for $150 from a West Hollywood used car dealer; used the car daily for several years and made personal modifications to the windshield and suspension.
- 1968 →Private salePaul Schinnererpartial documentation
Early V-16 enthusiast who acquired both the body and chassis package; initiated a lengthy restoration effort spanning more than fifty years, reuniting the body with a correct V-16 chassis and sourcing a replacement engine and front axle.
- Date unknownAcquisition unknownDouglas Fairbanks Sr.none documentation
Attributed ownership by a West Hollywood used car dealer; no direct documentary proof. Fairbanks reportedly posed for publicity images with a closely comparable but not identical vehicle.
- Date unknownPrivate saleColonel George Van Deusenpartial documentation
Commanding officer of a Tucson air base who persistently pursued the car from Darwin, ultimately paying an elevated sum via blank check. He later transferred the body to a different flathead V-16 chassis and repurposed the original chassis as a trailer.
Competition
No competition history extracted from the catalogue.
Maintenance & restoration
- 1968Restoration
Paul Schinnerer began a multi-decade project to return the car to original form: the body was remounted on a V-16 chassis, and a correct period replacement engine (no. 701495) along with a matching front axle were fitted.
Schinnerer described the undertaking as a 'forty-year project'; the restoration remained incomplete at the time of sale, with the interior still requiring substantial attention.
- —Modification
Colonel Van Deusen transferred the original body onto a later flathead V-16 chassis, creating an unusual combination, and converted the earlier chassis into a trailer.
This modification separated the original body from its matching chassis and engine.
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