The V8 is definitely an incredible engine, but I’ve always been in awe of the V16. Because the V16 in my head is directly associated with a car brand like Cadillac. Yes, modern realities have conquered this giant: in the 70s, rising gasoline prices, coupled with the growing popularity of luxury models imported to the United States from Mercedes-Benz and BMW, forced GM to question the magnificent paradigm of “more is better.” Already in ’76, sales of the Seville model began, and in ’82, the Cadillac Cimarron was released – these two cars are often given the dubious honor of being called the ‘first small Cadillac’, while the company itself promoted the phrase ‘international size’. It was the beginning of the end, and since then Cadillac has only rarely touched its own former greatness…
GM acquired Cadillac in 1909 and immediately signed a new brand to produce large premium cars. And that’s exactly what Cadillac was doing, which was being sung about and dreamed of by everyone who loved cars. It was that Cadillac that was the first American car to receive the British Dewar Trophy twice: for the first time in 1908 for demonstrating the interchangeability of components in a car during a reliability test, and after 1912 for using an electric lighting and ignition system in a mass-produced car. As a result, Cadillac was the first to invent headlights that could be used in both snow and rain, and then the headlight ignition system, with which the driver did not need to leave the car to turn them on. After receiving the Dewar Trophy, Cadillac began to call itself the “world standard” without any modesty, and this name corresponded to this standard. Innovation without borders, luxury without limits and no modesty. Cadillac offered the world’s first fully enclosed body with a roof and a fully automatic air conditioning system with a stove. The Cadillac was flashy and luxurious, with chrome wherever possible, figurines on the hood, and fins almost as high as the roof. Cadillac always had the biggest engine in the city and consumed more gasoline than trucks, and also occupied two parking spaces, and despite the fact that everyone dreamed of it, it infuriated everyone on the road, including its owner. That’s what the word Cadillac meant.
And, of course, it was Cadillac, albeit with a minimal advantage, but still the first to produce a car with a V16 engine. The luxurious, perfectly balanced engine was available in two versions: from 30th to 37th in volume 452, and from 38th to 40th in volume 431, moreover The second variant was much more technologically advanced and less difficult to manufacture than the first variant, but it never achieved the popularity that the 452 had. That’s why they forgot about the V16 engines, since even the significantly reduced vibration did not pay off the costs and efforts required to assemble such a unit. Although I still believe that the V16 had the potential to beat the V8 in all respects, so for many years I tried to find at least one hot rod with a sixteen-cylinder engine on the Internet.
The Dimmitmobile is a Lincoln-Zephyr with a V16 by Charles Dimmit, president of the Autocrats Club. Purely in theory, of course, it counts, but there is not a single high-quality photo of this car in good condition, and now it looks exactly like this.
Unfortunately, this turned out to be an extremely problematic task. We can start with the fact that only 4,076 Cadillacs of the V16 model range were produced, and therefore those cars that have reached our time are very unlikely to be given from the clutches of collectors to the equally clutches of hot rodders. And that’s why I realized from the very beginning that such a hot rod would come from the 40s or 50s, at least the 60s. The story just so happened that after the war, landfills were bursting with the number of pre-war cars that had to be melted down into tanks and machine guns, and even those cars that remained on the roads did not become newer. Add to this the reduction in gasoline prices and new models of iron horses – and you get a situation where the classic American V12 and V16, which are now worth fabulous money, are useless junk, for which you will also be paid extra if you take it for yourself. That’s why most hot rods with exotic American engines are cars that have come down to us since that time.
The only photos of the Dimmitmobile on the track in a racing kit and war paint - one look is enough to understand the extent of my disappointment. One paragraph of information and two vague photos don't look like an article in any way.
The Lincoln V12 car became a rockabilly hit, as Charlie Ryan could handle not only the pedals and steering wheel well, but also the microphone and guitar. A hot rod powered by Duesenberg fell into the grasping hands of Jay Leno. One auction put up for sale a car with a V16 under the hood, but it was a Howard Marmon unit! I had no luck with the Cadillac engine. All the cars that I came across on the Internet were somehow lost in time. As soon as I didn’t try to find the hot rod of my dreams! And, fortunately, I did manage to do it the other day. As is usually the case in such cases, there is not a damn thing about him, and that’s why I’ve been telling you the history of Cadillac and other things for so long. I sincerely hope that it was interesting for you to read all this and that you will not be disappointed by the lack of technical details.
So, before us is the Dodge of 1923, its year of manufacture, even before the purchase of the Dodge brothers company by the Chrysler concern. The body was shortened, mounted on a Ford ’32 frame, and a Cadillac sixteen-cylinder 452 engine was installed in it. As I suspected, the car was assembled in 1950. Information is somewhat contradictory as to who exactly, but at the moment it belongs to the Blake family, and it was they who restored it about ten years ago. Judging by the numbers and photos from the gas station, from time to time this Dodge is not averse to riding on its four, which is certainly encouraging.
The Blakes also own a hot rod with a linear eight from Duesenberg – this is the red car that stands next to the hero of our article. Dave Blake gave Jay Leno a ride on it, but for some reason he didn’t bring a Dodge with a V16. Very sorry. And although I don’t particularly like linear engines, I must admit that Duesenberg is a somewhat special case.
Please note that this engine has spark plugs in the center, and the intake is on the sides. It’s a very cool unit. I wonder how to attach a supercharger to such a thing? Do I really have to take it off every time if I suddenly need to check the candles?..
But all in all, I was extremely happy just to finally see this car. I hope that you have felt at least some of my delight and shared it with me.
The history of a Dodge with a Cadillac V16 engine has been found!
(Updated on February 17th, 2020)
While searching for a completely different car, unrelated to either the Cadillac brand or the V16 engines, I suddenly came across a book called Cadillac V-16’s Lost And Found: Tracing The Histories Of The 1930s Classics. The book was published in 2014. Why the search engine didn’t give me this book before, the devil knows, but the bottom line is this: in addition to other interesting information for me, the book contained a detailed history of the hot rod and the Blake family described in this article, along with a couple of new photos. I’m posting all this new information in this update – finally, this article will be able to tell not only about the history of the V16 engine, but also specifically about this blue hot rod.
So, the hero of this article was built in 1950 by a nineteen-year-old guy named Leon Moore, who at nineteen was already quite famous for his ability to work with metal, and his friend George Perry. This is a 1923 Dodge Brothers coupe built on a 32nd Ford frame with a 1930 V16 engine. For several years, it was Moore and Perry who drove this car, even stopping at the drag strip in Perryville a couple of times. Perryville was an abandoned army airport that the local government had declared a place where young car enthusiasts could gather and race legally, clearly hoping to reduce the number of speed enthusiasts on public roads.
Unfortunately, there is no information about the results, but this car objectively represents an example of the philosophy of the original hot rod: put a light body from which everything that can be removed is removed on an equally light but strong frame, and then screw into it the most powerful engine you can find, and check how much It’s all going to go fast. Used spare parts and cars were preferred, as custom-made spare parts require much more time, money and experience. Abandoned and forgotten, the most exotic engines ever built were waiting for their new owners- people with an idea and motivation, but with a limited budget. Of course, this car was not the only hot rod with a V16 engine. The Street Rodder’s Handbook writes that of the 95 hot rods listed in the Southern California Timing Association as early as May 19, 1940, one car had a V16, and another boasted a V12. “They ran well,” the author reports. “but these engines were too expensive, and therefore did not attract the general public.”
Anyway, in the mid-50s, Bob Blake and his buddy Ken Dobbs bought Dodge from Moore and Perry. The new owners planned a rail dragster, a car that essentially consisted only of a chassis, engine, and seat. Fortunately, these plans did not come true, and the car remained a classic roadster. Urban Portery, a longtime friend of Blake’s, still remembers the moment when a Dodge with a V16 parked outside Bob’s Big Boy restaurant on Phoenix Central Avenue. In the early to mid-50s, the above-mentioned place was a popular hotspot among hot rodders, and the appearance of an unusual car caused them genuine delight and considerable interest. Ken Dobbs, as a student at Arizona State University, used Dodge as an everyday vehicle, probably being the center of attention of many other students. People often asked, “Is this Allison?”, recalling the large V12 from General Motors that was in many American military aircraft during World War II. Moreover, sometimes the same question is asked these days. The answer remains the same as it was seventy years ago: “No, it’s a Cadillac V16!”
Such diners have often become gathering points for speed enthusiasts, but Bob's Big Boy remains so these days: one of their restaurants hosts a weekly vintage car show, where, of course, you can see a lot of hot rods and oil cars.
At one time, this car had a smaller radiator with a body, but it was not enough to cool the 7.4 liter sixteen-cylinder engine. Then Moore and Perry installed a radiator from a truck that was too big for the original body, but they never got around to building a new one. When Blake and Dobbs bought the car, the radiator was still without a casing, and that’s exactly how it remains today. One day, the Blakeys drove a car to a roadster show in Los Angeles, which they were not allowed to attend precisely because the rules strictly prohibited cars with open radiators. The Blakes didn’t drive away, but parked nearby, off-site-and the Dodge got more attention than any other car on the show.
In addition, the hot rod’s doors and trunk were sealed at the time of purchase. Bob released them, and also swapped the original upstream carburettors for a pair of 48 Strombergs. The latter had a very positive effect on the performance of the car. A little later, Ken Dobbs moved to California, and Bob Blake kept the hot rod. Bob continued to monitor the car for several decades, and at some point decided to overhaul the car. Among other things, it was decided to tighten the engine, for which it was disassembled, after which, unfortunately, Blake Sr. died.
Dave Blake has been working with his father since he was five years old in 1961. Dave was always amazed at how much his father remembered, and according to Blake Jr., Bob spent most of his life building and repairing things with his own hands. After his father’s death in October 2004, Dave couldn’t get back into hot rod driving for a long time: Dodge was too much a part of Bob and reminded him too much of his recent loss. But time not only kills, but also heals: in the end, Blake Jr. accepted what had happened and took up the old car again. In June 2007, Dodge appeared in public again: Dave had not yet completed all the planned work, but the car was already in excellent condition, guaranteed to gather people around him at any auto show.
Sources:
https://www.zcar.com/forum/13-car-talk-forum/268075-v16-hot-rod-roaster.html (June 7, 2007) https://leblogusadedom.com/wp/2018/10/car-show-au-bobs-big-boy-burbank/
