Rare Cadillac’s journey comes through Wichita

If not for a series of fortunate circumstances, Rick Nuckolls wouldn’t have found himself scrambling to complete restoration of a rare 1939 V-16 Cadillac Fleetwood just days before this year’s BlackTop Nationals car show.

“If it hadn’t been for Jay Leno, we wouldn’t have this car,” said Nuckolls, one of the founders of the BlackTop Nationas. He spotted the rare find, the 17th Model 90 Fleetwood of only 18 built in 1939, while visiting the McPherson College Auto Restoration Program, but wasn’t aware of its significance at first.

The big black Cadillac was in pieces, awaiting restoration.

“A guy in upstate New York had it,” said Brian Martin, director of auto restoration projects at the college. “His dad had started to restore it in the early ’80s, but he had passed away. His son took it and held onto it.

“The guy tried to sell it to Jay Leno, but he didn’t have an interest in it,” Martin said.

Fortunately, Leno, who serves on the restoration program’s advisory board, suggested that the owner contact the college and see about donating the car to the restoration program.

That was in 2011, according to Martin. The college agreed to accept the donation, but the project never got going, as the restoration program worked to cope with its rapidly expanding enrollment. Martin said the school ultimately decided to sell off some of its projects to raise funds for tools and equipment to train the 150-plus students enrolled.

“This car is definitely worth having. The only reason we sold it was that we were trying to reorganize our program,” Martin said.

The tip-off for Nuckolls was the sight of the Cadillac’s V-16 emblem on the passenger side of the grille.

“If I had just seen the other side of the grille, I wouldn’t have bought this car,” he said.

“I knew Rick had the capability to do the car … to see the project through,” Martin said.

A deal was made and the Fleetwood was trailered to Wichita, where work began on putting it back together and making it drivable.

Earl Lauer of Lauer’s Service in Clearwater, took on the task of getting the flathead V-16 engine running again. He does general auto repair and restoration work.

“I spent over a year looking for parts for this thing … all over the country,” he said. The biggest challenge was finding internal engine parts.

“I found the last three valves made for a V-16,” he said. The engine is configured as a 135-degree V-style flathead, with 8 cylinders on a side, each bank served by its own intake manifold and carburetor. Each side has what appears to be its own distributor, but only the one on the driver’s side contains the ignition rotor and points.

With no shop manuals available, learning how to time the engine was a chore, too. But when it was finally running, Lauer said he could put a cup of scotch on either air cleaner and not spill a drop.

Lauer said the V-16 produced only 185 horsepower, but provided plenty of torque to get the big car moving at steady, smooth highway speeds. He also did all the transmission, brake and fuel system work on the Cadillac.

Bernice Martling of Whitewater, Lauer’s sister, handled the job of recreating the interior of the Fleetwood, upholstering the wide front and rear seats, as well as a pair of fold-down jump seats, in supple dark tan leather. She also stitched the intricately detailed inner door panels in an off-white fabric, replicating the original designs with nothing more than a few photos to use as reference material.

Body work and paint were handled by Tony Deese of Wichita, who finished the Fleetwood in original jet black. When it was completed, the car was returned to Nuckoll’s garage for reassembly, with friends Curtis Crain, Tim Bonnell, Bob Crager and Dave and Chad Thompson pitching in to help.

The Fleetwood displays just more than 60,000 miles on its odometer, which is believed to be the original mileage.

“They sold for $7,250 back then, when most cars were in the $600 range,” Nuckolls said. He said only two of the original 18 cars are registered with the Cadillac & LaSalle Club, this being one of them.

“I’ve learned so much about cars by being around this car,” he said. “I would love to keep the car, but … my family, we have talked and this car truly deserves to be in a museum, or in a major collection. It is truly one of a kind.”

Accordingly, the decision has been made to sell the Cadillac at the Russo and Steele auction in Scottsdale, Ariz., at the end of January. Thanks to a bunch of Wichita car lovers, the Fleetwood’s story will go on.

This story was originally published November 20, 2015 at 6:31 PM with the headline "Rare Cadillac’s journey comes through Wichita."