1931 Cadillac V-16 Series 452A All-Weather Phaeton

The 1931 Cadillac V-16 Series 452A All-Weather Phaeton pairs openable touring coachwork with a more structured passenger enclosure. In the selected concours photograph, its roof is lowered and framed windows remain visible. That combination makes the body especially useful for comparing weather protection, passenger access and appearance across the early V-16’s different open forms.

History, identity and design

The photographed Cadillac is dark, with bright window frames and a pale side-mounted spare wheel. The roof is folded behind the passenger compartment, allowing the line of the cabin to remain low while the framed glass outlines its sides. A long bonnet and substantial front wings retain the V-16’s scale. The body looks more organized around its passengers than a simple open touring arrangement. That is a reading of the visible design, and it gives the All-Weather name a concrete context without substituting an unsupported equipment list.

Period body vocabulary does not always align perfectly with the labels used for contemporary vehicles. The useful task is to preserve the documented designation and explain the actual arrangement. The individual image record identifies a four-door All-Weather Phaeton by Fleetwood, and that source is retained. Framed side glazing and the open roof distinguish the depicted form from another phaeton chosen solely because it has a similar long bonnet. The picture is a later concours record, rather than a claim to show the vehicle exactly as delivered in 1931.

The early Series 452 and 452A records involve a production-date boundary that historians have examined through factory shipping ledgers and engine numbers. A combined bounded programme is therefore more useful here than a falsely precise body count. The profile uses that parent ceiling and keeps the All-Weather Phaeton’s exact tally unset. It does not add the same population again when comparing the convertible coupe, roadster or limousine. Those comparisons concern coachwork choices inside a shared programme.

For a collector, the framed glazing creates a practical documentation priority. Window mechanisms, roof structure, door openings and body identification can reveal more than a broad open-car label. An exterior photograph can show the arrangement, but it cannot verify every mechanism’s originality or current operation. The car’s appeal is already clear in its form: the visual freedom of a lowered roof alongside a cabin that keeps a strong architectural outline. Preserving that distinction makes the profile more useful than treating all early Cadillac open bodies as interchangeable phaetons.

Specifications and production scope

Keeping the collector record useful

A useful V-16 file separates the model story from the life of an individual vehicle. Record the body or edition designation exactly as it appears in matching documents, then keep clear front, side, rear and cabin photographs with the dates attached. Changes made during restoration deserve their own entries, including the reason for the work and the evidence used. That approach lets future readers compare the physical car with this profile without confusing a present appearance, an original factory specification and an attractive historical association.

Documentary photograph

1931 Cadillac V-16 Series 452A All-Weather Phaeton. Documentary model photograph; individual car provenance is certified only where separately stated in the article. The source image was checked for the pictured body or physical project and its file-specific reuse terms. The visible photograph caption links the photographer, original file and licence so the illustration can be traced independently of the article.

Frequently asked questions

What makes the illustrated All-Weather body distinctive?

The lowered roof is combined with clearly framed side glazing and a substantial four-door passenger body. The source identifies the Fleetwood All-Weather Phaeton directly; the visible arrangement supports that precise caption.

Why use a combined early V-16 ceiling?

The archival work discusses the shipping and year boundary between the Series 452 and 452A. A bounded parent programme supports rarity while avoiding a manufactured exact tally for this particular coachwork form.

What production scope applies to the 1931 V-16 Series 452A All-Weather Phaeton?

A conservative ceiling of 3,251 within the combined early Series 452/452A V-16 engine-number programme. Exact output for this body is not established. Shared parent ceilings are non-additive, and numbered positions are not certified completed body totals.

What should a collector document on an individual example?

Keep the vehicle’s identification, body or edition evidence, dated photographs and restoration records together. This V-16 profile explains the model subject; ownership, original finish and present condition require records that match the individual car being considered.

Does this profile provide a complete original specification?

The specification table records the supported identity and engineering context for this year. An exterior photograph cannot establish every optional feature or later component change. Preserve any matching build record before adding more precise equipment claims to the V-16 Series 452A All-Weather Phaeton file.

Who took the photograph and how may it be reused?

The bundled image is credited to Mr.choppers, under CC BY-SA 3.0 on its individual Commons file page. Keep the visible named credit and licence link. The supplied source version has no local image edits; background signage and photographer marks remain where present.

Sources

• Cadillac Database archival reference
• Cadillac Database archival reference
• Photograph: 1931 Cadillac V-16 452A four-door All-Weather Phaeton, front right.jpg

Related Cadillac profiles

Compare the body forms and clearly scoped identities in 1930 Cadillac V-16 Series 452 Convertible Coupe and 1930 Cadillac V-16 Series 452 Imperial Limousine. Each profile keeps its own year, photograph and rarity scope.