This picture of a classic 1929 Cadillac, (as identified by JPC), hard at work towing a city bus is not that exceptional. I’ve read numerous times about how the big and solidly-built classics from the teens and twenties were put to use as two trucks after their glory days were over and were just yeatserday’s cast-offs. The Locomobile was the most prized in this role, as it was built like a…tow truck.
Cheap with a stout drivetrain that had plenty of low-end torque. This was an ideal second life for these cars at the time.
The modern equivalent is a high-end BOF SUV or pickup being used as a work vehicle like any old base model.
That happened to Packards as well:
http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2019/01/1929-packard-limo-was-converted-into.html
What kind of bus is the Stutz towing?
I’m not sure what type of bus that is but it does look British or could be even Australian. Early post war single decker buses in Sydney looked very similar.
Could this photo take place in Australia or New Zealand? The Aussie-sized numberplates, perhaps the Stutz’s steering wheel on the right hand side, and the entrance and exit doors on the left side of the bus.
Are we sure this is a Stutz? I am perplexed by the hood louvers that begin so far back from the radiator. Every Stutz picture I can find does not match this pattern.
The hood looks kind of LaSalle to me, but I am not prepared to go all-in on this ID. That was a pretty common radiator shape in 1928-29, but that louver configuration was definitely not. If this picture is not from the US , then the universe of possibilities gets bigger.
I have developed a substantial list of what this car is not, but am not sure what it really is.
I tried to ID it myself, and this looked like a close match, but I could well be wrong.
And now I see a number of differences….
It is amazing how similar late 20s cars look from a distance but how different they were when honing in on the details.
I was pretty confident on a 28 LaSalle, but the cowl/body are has a lot of differences. Custom/foreign body perhaps? And the bottom of the radiator is different.
OK, even though I am showing my OCD tendencies, I am coming around to the view that this is a 1929 Cadillac.
here is another without that wire mesh that all owners of Jazz-age Cadillacs seem to need.
It is interesting that the 28-29 Cadillac got 90 horsepower out of a 341 cid V8, which seems like pretty skimpy output for that era and price class. The Studebaker President 8, just to pick an example, got 114 horses out of 336 cid. The smaller Packard 8 got an identical 90 horses out of 320 cid.
And wow, Buick got 91 bhp out of a 309 cid inline 6 (yay OHV) in 1929 and the 6 cylinder Chrysler Imperial of the same displacement got 112 bhp.
But then has anyone ever considered Cadillac’s flathhead V8 as any kind of engineering marvel? It surely, however, was pretty impressive in power compared with the scads of Model As and Chevy 6s that littered junkyards in that time. I am sure folks like in this picture used what was around, and Cadillac had sold a lot of cars.
Also, was that vintage Cadillac one of the cars with a four speed transmission? I remember reading about a short lived burst of those transmissions, hurt by the reality that it was nothing more than a three speed with a low granny gear, rather than the needed three speed with overdrive fourth.
Syke,
This is an unrelated question, but I have to ask…
A couple of weeks ago, I was driving to work along Interstate 80 near Chicago when I saw a man on a Harley who looked just like your picture. By coincidence he was looking at my old Avalon all black and freshly washed, or wondering why I was looking at him. I know it’s next to impossible but I have to ask if it was you just in case!
A low granny gear might not have been a bad thing when the car was in its tow truck incarnation.
JP, as a reminder, in the Classic Era, especially early on when dominated by non-synchromesh manual crash box manual transmissions, and prior to the advent of automatic transmissions in the late 1930’s (i.e. GM’s Hydra-Matic), low engine speed high torque production had more relevance for the buyer/user of automobiles than peak horsepower.
Flexible high torque, not peak horsepower allowed for ultimate quick shifts into high gear where the gear lever tended to remain allowing the ability of almost shift free acceleration while almost stopped in high gear to top speed. Almost like the automatic transmission driving to come in the future.
Regarding Cadillac, its V8’s underwent significant evolutionary technical improvements over time. The Cadillac engine was well thought of during the era, as a durable, well engineered product
The initial Type 51 flat plane crankshaft V8 introduced in 1914 delivered 70 bhp at 2400 rpm, and 180 ft/lbs torque at 1800-2200 rpm. Note the relative high torque value. Then in 1923 with the V-63, Cadillac introduced the then revolutionary inherently balanced two-plane 90 degree crankshaft V8 delivering smooth 83 bhp further improving the driving experience..
Then in 1925 the V-63 V8 was replaced with the Series 314 V8, a new less weighty fresh design V8 of 314 c.i.d, weighing 714 lbs, yielding 85.5 bhp. This V8 family would grow in displacement size to 341 c.i.d (in series 341 and in series 341b) with 90 bhp at 3000 rpm and torque of 208 ft/lb (net). This engine family would eventually grow to 355 c.i.d. with a maximum power of 130 bhp in 1934.
In 1929 with the Cadillac Series 341 V8, like this towing Cadillac in the Australian pic, (remember 208 ft/lb torque (net), Cadillac introduced the Industry game changing transmission the 3 speed Syncro-Mesh manual transmission (syncro’s on the two top gears) when combined with robust engine torque allowed for easier driving and shifting reducing the need for double-clutching. This transmission design was used with the later V-16 and V-12 Series.
For those concerned about seemingly non competitive Cadillac power compared to rival manufacturers, in January 1930, Cadillac introduced the Series 452/452A sixteen cylinder V16, 452 c.i.d. rated at 165 bhp at 3400 rpm, and 320 ft/lb torque at the low figure of 1200-1500 rpm. Notice how much higher the Cadillac torque values are compared to the horsepower values. Then torque mattered more than peak horsepower. Reported Cadillac power figures were only bested by published,reported Duesenberg values. So Cadillac was now at or near the top of power peak generation then available, if you could spend the money.
The V16 and the later derived Cadillac V12 (introduced as Series 370/370A in September 1930 produced a reported 135 bhp, later improved to 150 bhp in 1934—torque values unavailable) covered price and power levels greater than the Cadillac V-8’s.
In 1929 , the Packard Standard Eight (inline eight cylinder, 319.2 c.i.d) yielded 90 bhp at 3200 rpm. The 1929 Packard Custom Eight (inline eight cylinder, 384.8 c.i.d) yielded 106 bhp at 3200. Torque values for these Packard engines weren’t able to be found. The Packard Twin Six V12 introduced in January 1932, 445.47 c.i.d, produced a reported 160 bhp at 3200 rpm and 322 ft/lbs at 3200 rpm, comparable to the Cadillac V16, but at a higher engine speed.
So Cadillac engineering and power was more than competitive in the Classic Era where torque was king for driveability.
Thanks for your research on this. I was curious about comparing torque on those various engines but was unable to find the figures. I agree that torque was what mattered then, but how odd that torque figures generally went unpublished/unheralded.
Cadillac certainly did valuable work as one of very few who developed V8 engines for smoothness and power (as opposed to Ford who focused on cost).
And to bring Cadillac and torque back around to the present: Cadillac has recently announced their engines are going to be badged with a (approximate) torque number rather than the traditional displacement designation.
My Uncle bought one of the bigger pre-War Wolseley’s to tow launch gliders, later replaced by a a series of two P4 Rovers. It’s sometimes useful to have something heavy! (and that doesn’t matter if it gets a bit muddy).
After all the work put into identifying the car, I Googled “Arnold’s tow truck.” The very first result was the subject picture from the Flickr page of the State Library of New South Wales. The caption reads:
“Motor bus being towed to Queensland, 1929 Cadillac tow truck, Sydney, 1 December, 1938.”
It feels good to be confirmed in my sleuthing, but I could have saved a lot of time.
By today’s standards, that’s pretty crazy that the pictured Cadillac tow truck is maybe 10 years old when that photograph was taken. I guess it goes to show how fast things were changing in the automotive world back then that no one wanted a Cadillac that wasn’t even 10 years old, except to cut it up and use it as a truck.
I must say it does make an attractive looking tow truck.
That’s long tow! Google maps shows Sydney to Brisbane is 913 km. I think the caption writer made a mistake.
Further info on the 1929 Cadillac tow truck photo.
http://archival.sl.nsw.gov.au/Details/archive/110018176
Interesting that H.C. Sleigh was mentioned in that link.
The owner of the old Golden Fleece petroleum company.
Poor old Cadillac.
And incredible how much weight those spoked wheels could carry.
Used Cadillacs were sourced by Newmans co from the US and turned into buses in NZ very few survive from being buses they pretty much just drove them into the ground though an unrestored example is at a museum near Christchurch its a complete vehicle but a complete wreck.
The Nairn company ran Cadillac buses across the desert between Palestine and Iraq in the 20s and 30s with a reliable schedule theres little wrong with them mechanically work as a tow truck would be suitable employment, tough old cars.
Edit Beruit to Baghdad was the run via Palestine they packed it in when the zionist terror groups made travel in that area dangerous.
Alamy, a stock image retailer, has another view selection of this Cadillac towing the bus at their site.
The ironic part about such “luxury towtrucks” is that many survived to be appreciated as the classics that they are, and were restored to their former glory. Had they not been pressed into wrecker duty, many would have been lost.