LaSalle Series 52/AACA Senior Badge/1 of 425 Built/Last Year Of Production

1940 LaSalle Series 52 Convertible

Boy the way Glen Miller played,
Songs that made the hit parade,
Guys like us we had it made,
Those were the days,
And you know where you were then,
Girls were girls and men were men,
Mister we could use a man like Herbert Hoover again,
Didn't need no welfare states
Everybody pulled his weight,
Gee our old LaSalle ran great,
Those were the days...

Having the pleasure of this consignment grace our hallowed halls here at Classic Auto Mall, we have for offering a 1940 LaSalle Series 52 Convertible. One of only 425 made in 1940 which would be the last year of production for LaSalle. A companion marque of Cadillac, and above Buick, this car wears an AACA Senior badge, comes with the original owner's manual, and has sales literature. Just in stunning condition, completely restored to its original glory and then some, a real must have for a well-heeled owner back in the day, and now offered for the discerning collector. The ultimate iteration of the model and style.

Exterior
Harley Earl had his hands on this design, more modern looking than many of its contemporaries. A Torpedo design from bow to stern, with a vertical grille upfront and the "catwalk" treatment between the grille and the flared in headlamps. No running boards but a wider body makes this car a breeze to get in and out of. Laser straight steel is all bathed in Homer Gray Iridescent paint that is difficult to find any flaw within. Gaps are meticulously minded, and a rear of the car as long as the front offers up plenty of trunk space as this car forgoes the rumble seat option in lieu of a rear seat. All chrome is near perfect from bezels to bumpers, and exterior lighting shines brightly when flipping the switch. Black canvas is reserved for the convertible top, and some maroon trimmings surround the edges of said top. The maroon offers up a subtle but significant highlight to this all jet-black canvas. Vincennes Red steel wheels are covered in their centers with chromed moon caps that sport art deco type-font badging in their red centers. Gray pin striping outside the moon caps, and then an additional chrome trim ring for the edges with a central red band. And this is just the wheels! Wide whites wrap these wonderful wheels and their trimmings and ground this car just beautifully.

Interior
Dealer literature states up to 6 additional inches for the front bench due to the lack of those running boards, and also states that up to 4 people can occupy this bench which back in the day was legal to do so. Red leather all smooth and supple with no cracks or even folds is at its shiniest for the covering of this front bench. Up front the massive banjo steering wheel still allows plenty of room for those with the thickest of thighs and is just perfectly shined in two toned gray and cream. With the utilization of art deco styling the dash has been greatly simplified with a lineup of bezels and clean glass which cover a horizontal speedometer, temperature, battery, gasoline and oil pressure gauge cluster in front of the steering wheel. Plenty of vertical ribs provide the background for the radio, and ash receptacle with lighter. In front of the passenger is another horizontal panel with a sweet bezel and an inserted clock, with the glovebox just below. Also, on this side under the dash is a Cadillac badged heater box. All this menagerie floats within a gray painted metal dash, and above beautiful red thick pile carpeting. A shout out to the rear seat which also offers up plenty of legroom and space for an additional 2 folks and is in the same shiny red leather. The headliner and interior lining of the canvas top is in cream and has matching sun-visors above the split windshield.

Drivetrain
Under the long V styled and vented hood is a perfectly centrally aligned numbers matching 322ci V8 Flathead engine. All is just beautifully detailed and restored and it is topped under the black oil bath air cleaner with a 2-barrel carburetor, and a 3-speed manual transmission is on back. The specification for the rear axle is 3.92 for the technical potential buyers.

Undercarriage
The AACA does not give out badges like free candy, it needs to be earned, and after a glimpse underneath you will agree, it deserves it. All fully restored, with nary a hint of road dirt, rust or anything to ruin the vista of straight shiny black painted steel. All new lines run throughout this undercarriage, and a shiny stainless-steel mufflers and exhaust is snaking its way rearward from the green block and bottom end engine. With drum brakes all around, and all the other fineries, I'd say showroom condition underneath without a doubt.

Drive-Ability
After starting this car my test cohort and I had to actually be silent for a few seconds to be sure this car was actually running. It is really that quiet, and that impressive. On the test track, this car performed beautifully with perfect shift points being 20 and 40 MPH respectively for that 3-speed. Handling was very nice, and bias free braking brought this beauty to an abrupt stop. All functions were working, and the stainless-steel mufflers were definitely doing their job, where even under acceleration, the car is silent. Gee, it ran just great!

As for examples this rare low low production last year for the moniker car, it is beautifully buttoned up, and has very few areas to frown at. It's an absolutely near perfect example of this model and presents very tastefully in the gray with red accenting. Let's just sum it up by saying Oh la, la LaSalle! Toulouse Lautrec is already sketching the scene next to the Seine.

TRIM TAG
STYLE NO 440 5267-1940 Series 52 2-4 Convertible Coupe
BODY NO 414
TRIM NO 28-Red Leather
PAINT NO 10-Homer Gray Iridescent

Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special interest automobile showroom, featuring over 600 vehicles for sale with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle barn find collection is on display.
This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914. Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the vehicle in person.