Every 1938 Cadillac shared the same 346 cubic-inch V8 except the Series 75: it got a higher compression ratio for 5 extra horsepower, which meant its owners had to buy pricier high-octane gas.
Lead trim: Series 75 346 cu in V8 (1940)
Cadillac Series 751938–1940
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Cadillac Series 75 yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactEvery 1938 Cadillac shared the same 346 cubic-inch V8 except the Series 75: it got a higher compression ratio for 5 extra horsepower, which meant its owners had to buy pricier high-octane gas.
For 1938 the Series 70 and Fisher-bodied Series 75 Specials were dropped: the Series 75 used a 141 in wheelbase and now offered only Fleetwood bodies, sharing with the Series 65 a new front end with a massive vertical cellular grille, three sets of horizontal bars on the hood sides, an alligator hood and headlights between the fenders and hood; new chassis details included a column gear shift, a "Synchro-Flex" flywheel and a hypoid rear axle. All Cadillacs shared the same 346 cu in (5.7 L) L-head V8, although the 75 generated 140 hp instead of 135 hp thanks to a higher 6.70:1 compression ratio requiring higher-octane fuel. 1939 brought new grille styling and a tube-and-fin radiator core; in 1940 the one-year-only Series 72 was introduced as a less expensive companion to the Series 75 (Fleetwood-bodied like the 75 but on a 138 in wheelbase, with rectangular taillights set high on the trunk sides and recirculating-ball steering that was adopted on all series in 1941), and sealed beams became standard. Dimensions: Series 75 wheelbase 141.0 in, 220.6 in long in 1938, 225.1 in in 1939 and 228.2 in in 1940; Series 72 138.0 in and 226.7 in long; 77.6 in wide; 4,800–5,400 lb, with a 3-speed manual or (from 1940) the 4-speed Hydramatic.
Collectors Spotted in the Cadillac Series 75 Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Cadillac Series 75 yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
4 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series 72 346 cu in V8 (1940) | 1940–1940 | 5.7 L V8 | — | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Series 75 346 cu in V8 (140 hp, 1938) | 1938–1938 | 5.7 L V8 | 140 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Series 75 346 cu in V8 (1939) | 1939–1939 | 5.7 L V8 | 140 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Series 75 346 cu in V8 (1940) | 1940–1940 | 5.7 L V8 | 140 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
The 1971-76 Fleetwood Seventy-Five's cabin was so wide it set an interior-width record that no car beat for almost 20 years — not until GM's own full-size cars of the early '90s.
By 1968 the Series 75 limousine packed the biggest-displacement, highest-torque V8 of any American car — serious muscle hidden under acres of formal, chauffeur-driven sheet metal.
By the early 1960s every other Cadillac sedan had gone pillarless — except this stretched nine-passenger Seventy-Five, the one holdout still built with a proper door pillar.
The 1959 Cadillac Series Seventy-Five got a large tailfin and twin bullet taillamps, and its in-house code changed from 7500 to 6700 though the name stayed.
By 1957 the Series 75 was one of just three Cadillacs still wearing a genuine Fleetwood body — yet the Fleetwood name itself appeared nowhere on the outside of the car.
This Fleetwood's seven-passenger formal sedan carried heads of state - a 1955 example served as the Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's official car.
On the all-new 1950 Series 75, Cadillac made power windows standard but left the Hydramatic automatic transmission as an option — backwards from what you’d expect on an ultra-luxury limousine.
Of this pair, the plainer Fisher-bodied Series 67 was actually the longer car — stretching past its fancier, Fleetwood-bodied Series 75 stablemate.
Every 1938 Cadillac shared the same 346 cubic-inch V8 except the Series 75: it got a higher compression ratio for 5 extra horsepower, which meant its owners had to buy pricier high-octane gas.
This Cadillac had everything going for it — a cheaper, more powerful new V8 and a handsome Fleetwood body — but the Great Depression crushed demand anyway: only 5,248 were sold in 1936.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
This era's Fleetwood limousine rode on a stretched 134.4-inch wheelbase — over eleven feet between the axles alone, on top of everything else making up the car.
A front-wheel-drive limousine was almost unheard of in the mid-1980s — only this Executive and the Cadillac Series 75 offered the format at all.
Chrysler Limousine · Limousine (1986–1986) · 1986–1986.
Checker even pitched a prisoner-transport version of this van, the Convoy, complete with a rear-facing guard seat — nobody ever bought one.
Buick actually undercut Cadillac on price for its 1958 flagship Limited — yet Cadillac still outsold it nearly two to one. Badge snobbery beat the sticker.
The Series 90 Limited's closed cars came dressed in mohair velvet, silk passenger-compartment shades, and wool carpet throughout — despite having no V8 to back up the luxury.
Cadillac executives quietly lobbied to kill this Buick Limited, worried it crept too close to their own turf — even though Buick was building barely 1,500 of them a year.
This stretched DeVille-based limousine came with dual solid-wood writing desks and an in-car VCR with a foldaway LCD TV — luxury so extreme only 781 were ever built.