1933 Cadillac Series 452-C V16 Gallery

As early as 1926, Ex-Marmon engineer Owen Nacker designed the V16 from two straight-8 Buick units that shared a common crankcase and crankshaft. Each bank was independently operated and only shared a common, center mounted camshaft which operated the valves with pushrods. The 45 degree angle between the banks was unusually narrow to fit inside the chassis. It was named after its 452 inch cubic displacement and produced 185 bhp which was good for 100 mph. It also used a unique hydraulic valve silencing system that reduced noise and was a novel feature in its day.

Chassis details were straight forward and borrowed from Cadillac’s 353/355 line. This included a huge steel ladder frame, rigid axles and hydraulically powered drums brakes to help with the large weight of the car.