1954 Cadillac first sold new in Welland, Ontario
Posted Mar 5, 2010 By EMC News
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Tweet ThisEMC Lifestyle - John Brennan of Blenheim, Ont., is the proud owner of an all-original 1954 Cadillac Series 62 4-door sedan. He purchased this classic beauty in May 2008 and knows the history of the car dating back to the day it was sold new.
The first owner, George Franklin Young, purchased this car from Maclean Motor Sales in Welland, Ontario, on Saturday, May 1, 1954. It came with no radio, just a factory installed delete plate on the dash. Exactly seven years later (May 1, 1961), a new set of tires were installed. The odometer by then showed 45,768 miles.
The car later went into storage for 20 years and was then purchased by Delbert Brough of Wiarton, Ontario, on May 17, 1999. It was now 45 years old and had gone approximately 74,000 miles.
It was later sold to the current owner, John Brennan, on May 23, 2008, with 82,240 miles. Says John: "It seems all transactions on this car always happened in May."
Cadillac for 1954 had an all-new body with a "Panoramic" wraparound windshield and "Dagmars" on the front bumpers (named for a well-endowed movie actress of that era). And with its wide whitewall tires, sparkling chrome, and Cabot Gray finish, this car is a knockout.
The modest tailfins on the rear fenders were a sign of things to come as the tailfins of the late '50s made cars look like spaceships. Tailfins first appeared on Cadillac in 1948 and were reportedly inspired by the Lockheed P-38 "Lightning" pursuit fighter. GM stylist Bill Mitchell said: "From a design standpoint the fins gave definition to the rear of the car for the first time. They made the back end as interesting as the front and established a long-standing Cadillac styling hallmark."
The tailfin on the driver's side of John's 1954 Cadillac served another function as well, as I discovered years ago while pumping gas after school at an Esso station in Toronto. If you press the round reflector just below the taillight, the entire taillight housing swings up on a hinge to reveal the gas filler cap.
The gasoline feeds power to the overhead-valve V-8 engine under the hood of John's Cadillac. With 331 cubic inches, it cranks out a very respectable 230 horsepower.
While growing up in Toronto in the 1950s, John remembers his Uncle Joe taking everyone for a ride in his gold 1955 Cadillac Eldorado convertible (top down, of course). That's when John promised himself that he too would someday own a Cadillac. Now he has one, and it's a beauty!
As a thank you, if your story is published in this column you will receive a copy of Bill Sherk's book "60 Years Behind the Wheel: The Cars We Drove in Canada 1900-1960". To share your stories or photos e-mail billtsherk@sympatico.ca or write Bill Sherk, 25 John St., P.O. Box 255, Leamington, ON N8H 3W2.
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