1931 Cadillac V12 Complete Engine!!! $4,000

[George Smolinski]

Marketplace - 1931 Cadillac V12 Complete Engine!!! | Facebook

I have a complete 1931 Cadillac V12 engine for sale!!! It came out of a 1931 Cadillac Series 452! The only thing wrong with it is that it has a cracked valve cover. Please check out the photos! Asking $4,500 OBO!!! Please serious inquiries ONLY! ***ALL SPAM WILL BE REPORTED AND QUICKLY DISMISSED!!!*** Thanks for looking 🙂

[George Smolinski]

[m-mman]

Hummmmm….. don’t see the carburetors……🤔

maybe you can just get some Edlebrock carbs to work? 

[Xander Wildeisen]

And that is for sale in Emmett Idaho. Just up Highway 16 from my old house. Locals in the valley would call highway 16 and 44 in Star, disfunction junction. That is where the divorced couples would meet half way to drop off their kids. Emmett being in Gem county,Star in Ada. I wonder how the development is going out there? Happy to sit down with law enforcement. Growing up in the valley, Emmett was way out there, nice area used to be all fruit farms. Guessing it is all houses now. Those were simpler times. 

 

[Hans1965]

4500 USD sounds damn cheap to me for a V12 of that vintage or am I missing something? 

[alsancle]

3 hours ago, Hans1965 said:

4500 USD sounds damn cheap to me for a V12 of that vintage or am I missing something? 

It is garage art.

[Hans1965]

Nice garage art. 

You mean it will never run again, too far gone? I thought these are with the V16's Cadillacs holy grail. But I am so far away from this era.... 

[alsancle]

35 minutes ago, Hans1965 said:

Nice garage art. 

You mean it will never run again, too far gone? I thought these are with the V16's Cadillacs holy grail. But I am so far away from this era.... 

 

The V16 is.   These are cooler than a V8 but the V16 trumps them.   A rebuild for that engine is probably 75k these days.

[58L-Y8]

"...a complete 1931 Cadillac V12 engine for sale!!! It came out of a 1931 Cadillac Series 452!"  The 1931 Cadillac V12 was the Series 370-A; the Sixteen was the Series 452-A.  At 368 ci it was the least displacement V-12 of the Classic Era powerplants, except the 'Classic' Series-H Lincoln Continental V-12.

Edited December 20, 2023 by 58L-Y8
syntax corrected (see edit history)

[alsancle]

1 hour ago, 58L-Y8 said:

"...a complete 1931 Cadillac V12 engine for sale!!! It came out of a 1931 Cadillac Series 452!"  The 1931 Cadillac V12 was the Series 370-A; the Sixteen was the Series 452-A.  At 368 ci it was the least displacement V-12 of the Classic Era powerplants, expect the 'Classic' Series-H Lincoln Continental V-12.

I was always told that there was no discernible difference between driving the 12 and driving the eight. I do not know that for myself. However, a friend of mine just bought a 12 and he told me there is a noticeable difference. I had a chance to drive the car, and I should’ve.

 

I would love to hear from someone with real knowledge.

[Leif in Calif]

13 hours ago, Xander Wildeisen said:

And that is for sale in Emmett Idaho. Just up Highway 16 from my old house. Locals in the valley would call highway 16 and 44 in Star, disfunction junction. That is where the divorced couples would meet half way to drop off their kids. Emmett being in Gem county,Star in Ada. I wonder how the development is going out there? Happy to sit down with law enforcement. Growing up in the valley, Emmett was way out there, nice area used to be all fruit farms. Guessing it is all houses now. Those were simpler times. 

 

Great video! In the 70's I lived in the small mountain community of Truckee CA, which did not have addresses or mail delivery. Utilities need a service address, so mine was "the blue house on Valley Rd". We used to get a lot of directions like this! 

[m-mman]

8 hours ago, Hans1965 said:

am I missing something? 

No, the engine is missing a lot of unobtainable parts.  
I mentioned the carbs (yes there are two) the intakes are not shown, but there are some sort of aluminum manifolds(?)

Also what’s missing is a conclusion.  Buy it, find the parts, machine it ($$$$$) then what are you going to do with it? If you think about putting it into a V8 car, it will always be a “fake” car.  
That might have been acceptable in the 50s, but in the 21st century if you really want a Cadillac 12, you buy a real one, or a done one.  

 

Perhaps there is an equally abused 12 associated with an existing car that this one could donate to, but it is never going to stand on its own again. 

[AzBob]

 A static display perhaps? As seen at a hotel museum in Vegas 2014.

 

[JACK M]

15 hours ago, George Smolinski said:

The only thing wrong with it is that it has a cracked valve cover. 

And a bent up fan.

This item looks like it has been kicking around for awhile. Maybe dropped at some point.

But, yes, fun to look at.

[rydersclassics]

 

When I first bought this car the rocker arm dampener had been removed and the adjusters had been welded to the rockers, someone's idea of an improvement on what the didn't understand.

I purchased a parts engine ($3,500 from a good friend) for the rocker assemblies and dampeners then took a crash course in their proper adjustment.

 

That engine ran as smooth as silk with a wonderful power band.

We put 17,000+ miles on my 1932 V12 Coupe over 5 years Linda is still upset I let that one go.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Check out what this guy did with one of these engines!

Looks like 6 S&P Stromberg 97's, quite am upgrade from the 2 original equipment Johnsons.

 

@HoH...Haus of Hotrod...Austria

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/100008804346043/videos/pcb.2355619911408131/2355619011408221

 

Edited December 20, 2023 by rydersclassics (see edit history)

[edinmass]

A pair of factory carbs will cost you 10-15k. If you can find them.

[Xander Wildeisen]

26 minutes ago, edinmass said:

A pair of factory carbs will cost you 10-15k. If you can find them.

You can buy 17 Hudson’s for that kind of money.😲

[alsancle]

That belly tanker is really cool.  I wonder if it has period history.

 

Also,  your 32 3 window is the nads.  Ed will tell you 32 and up is what you want because of the carbs and mechanical fuel pumps.

 

How did it drive compared to the 8?

[rydersclassics]

In case anyone needs these here is a pair for sale. I like the Detroit Lubricator 51's better (after you replace the diecast vain blocks).

Bronze bodied versions are sweet.    

 

The production model 8's and 12's in 32 used the same chassis with adjustable ride feature so the ride is comparable, I find the 12 more advanced and a step above in smoothness and power all in all under appreciated or more likely the depression just crushed everything. Just my opinion.    

Others likely know more about driving the custom and longer wheelbase models than me. I like the eights just fine, the 12 and 16 are beautiful things to behold. 

Then the big brother 16 is in another league altogether has most of the same design characteristic.

   

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/125273624263

[jdome]

You can add a few other missing parts to the list. Water pump, valley cover, 3 of 4 exhaust manifold halves, and crank case vent cap. The intake manifolds are shown  laying on the floor in a photo to the left of a pile of "stuff", however the ends that bolt against the head are cut off and the pieces are in the pile of stuff. There is a curious casting in front of the pile that looks like it could be a hot rod manifold for 3 downdraft carbs that may fit one side of this engine. It looks like the 3-carb manifold for the other side is cut up in pieces and laying in the pile. Someone got happy with a hacksaw. Looks like the makings of another belly-pan Cadillac V12 rat rod.  Whoever buys this engine needs to root around the piles of parts and see if there are any other pieces there.

 

You can always search Ebay for the rare missing Cadillac V12 parts. OK, done laughing? I just did a search for "Cadillac V12 valve cover" and there they were. $450 for the pair, and they are real ones. So I searched for manifold. No exhaust but 2 intakes popped up for $250 each. Intakes are the same L & R but there are 2 different styles depending on where the air cleaners are mounted and the ones for sale are not a matching pair but will work. So I tempted fate and searched for the water pump.  Not nearly as lucky there. The main casting for the pump is available but it does not include the front casting or any innards.   However......... There is a more complete 32 V12 engine listed on Ebay right now with its transmission. Has all the manifolds, non-broken valve covers, and water pump. The distributor is present but missing cap. No carbs. Ad says it turns free. Price is $3,500. Yes 35 hundred with an H.

[JACK M]

22 hours ago, rydersclassics said:

 

When I first bought this car the rocker arm dampener had been removed and the adjusters had been welded to the rockers, someone's idea of an improvement on what the didn't understand.

I purchased a parts engine ($3,500 from a good friend) for the rocker assemblies and dampeners then took a crash course in their proper adjustment.

 

That engine ran as smooth as silk with a wonderful power band.

We put 17,000+ miles on my 1932 V12 Coupe over 5 years Linda is still upset I let that one go.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Check out what this guy did with one of these engines!

Looks like 6 S&P Stromberg 97's, quite am upgrade from the 2 original equipment Johnsons.

 

@HoH...Haus of Hotrod...Austria

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/100008804346043/videos/pcb.2355619911408131/2355619011408221

 

Maybe someone with better eyes could point out a cooling system on this thing.

 

 

[jdome]

I don't think it needs cooling because he might not run it enough to get hot. All I saw in the video is him backing up the hill. Maybe he just coasts down the hill and only runs the engine to go back to the top.

I need this machine. I used to fool with go carts as a kid and I have a couple V12 Cadillics now. This machine is both rolled into one.

[BlueDevil]

I have had a few 12's (not Cadillac) and If you think about it, there are 4 power impulses/revolution on an 8 and 6 on a 12.

 

The power output is smoother and continuous. Reminds me of an airplane.

[JACK M]

32 minutes ago, jdome said:

I don't think it needs cooling because he might not run it enough to get hot. All I saw in the video is him backing up the hill. Maybe he just coasts down the hill and only runs the engine to go back to the top.

I need this machine. I used to fool with go carts as a kid and I have a couple V12 Cadillics now. This machine is both rolled into one.

Kinda makes it seem worthless if he can't take it out for a ride.

[jdome]

18 minutes ago, BlueDevil said:

I have had a few 12's (not Cadillac) and If you think about it, there are 4 power impulses/revolution on an 8 and 6 on a 12.

 

The power output is smoother and continuous. Reminds me of an airplane.

The 12's & 16's are both smooth & quiet, but they have a slow throttle response. You can punch the pedal to the floor but they will spool up on their own time. 16's are noticeably slower than 12's.  The later engines have better carbs and improved distributor with centrifugal advance and I think the new distributor improved the response but they are still slower than the 8.  Starting my later 12's sounds like firing up an old B52 when the start one engine at a time. 30/31 has a pair of vacuum tanks that are equal distance to feed the carbs. But the later cars have a single fuel pump on the front left side at carb height. Its only about 1 ft long horizontal line to feed the left carb but the right side is about 6 ft long and goes down around the front of the engine and back up to the right side. If the pump & bowls are dry it can take awhile to feed the right side. Long enough that you can hear the left side sputter and come alive before the right side sputters up.  Really, really cool.

[rydersclassics]

If you look closely at the go-cart belly tanker, ( early rear engine Indy racer prototype? ), you will see the radiators tucked under the left side exhaust header behind the side frame rail. The walk around video also shows the shaft driven water pump spinning.

 

There are a few videos around Facebook of him driving this thing on the road.  

 

https://www.facebook.com/100008804346043/videos/pcb.2494361214200666/2494358720867582

[jdome]

45 minutes ago, JACK M said:

Kinda makes it seem worthless if he can't take it out for a ride.

I don't think a hot-rodded Cadillac V12 would be very roadable. I can't imagine the stock bearings and valve train could withstand high compression and high RPMs or produce the kind of power response demand of a hot rod. 

[jdome]

5 minutes ago, rydersclassics said:

If you look closely at the go-cart belly tanker, ( early rear engine Indy racer prototype? ), you will see the radiators tucked under the left side exhaust header behind the side frame rail. The walk around video also shows the shaft driven water pump spinning.

 

There are a few videos around Facebook of him driving this thing on the road.  

 

https://www.facebook.com/100008804346043/videos/pcb.2494361214200666/2494358720867582

In this video someone's either making popcorn over the manifolds or there is a misfire.

[JACK M]

5 minutes ago, rydersclassics said:

If you look closely at the go-cart belly tanker, ( early rear engine Indy racer prototype? ), you will see the radiators tucked under the left side exhaust header behind the side frame rail. The walk around video also shows the shaft driven water pump spinning.

 

There are a few videos around Facebook of him driving this thing on the road.  

 

https://www.facebook.com/100008804346043/videos/pcb.2494361214200666/2494358720867582

Ah Ha,

I do see it now. A really small aluminum radiator. Easier to see in the link.

I always like that kooky and bizzarro stuff.