Plunkett’s Passion for Cars: Featuring the last Custom Cadillac Roadster
1938 Cadillac Roadster Inset shows golf club door.
Ralph Pulitzer’s Cadillac is considered the last custom-bodied Cadillac roadster ever built and the last roadster built on the Cadillac chassis. The year 1938 also proved to be the final year Cadillac offered rumble seats as well as side-mounted spare tires. In 2018, Canadian Cadillac collector Steve Plunkett presented this spectacular two-passenger open car with its sweeping low lines, rumble seat and golf club door at Canada’s most prestigious classic car show, the Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance, which showcases the best original and restored classic vehicles from across the US and Canada. When Steve acquired this fascinating car in 2003, it came with a pristine body but needed a lot of mechanical work. Steve, who loves getting his hands dirty by working on his cars, did the work himself. “I usually buy cars that have been restored, but no matter how shiny they are, I find they always need mechanical work,” says Steve. “On that, I’m a stickler. Every one of my 82 cars will start up and go to lunch.” For 15 years, Steve Plunkett turned his love of cars into a spectacular event called Fleetwood Country Cruize-In that was geared towards supporting local charities over its years, raising over $1.7 million. “Taking a passion that I love and creating an event that benefits so many people has been a blessing,” says Steve. The event drew thousands of people and cars from across North America. Nowadays, when he is not at home enjoying his sprawling estate on the outskirts of Komoka, Steve spends his time touring invitational car events and shows across North America, showcasing his many classic cars. Looking for a New Shed this Summer?
Steve and the car at the Albright Knox Museum, Buffalo NY. 2016.
In 1937, author Margaret Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel Gone with the Wind and New York newspaper magnate Ralph Pulitzer, son of Joseph Pulitzer, benefactor of the prestigious award, ordered himself a custom-built Cadillac roadster. Delivered in 1938, the Series 60 was an extremely rare Cadillac featuring custom coachwork by Brunn, a firm that rarely built bodies for Cadillac. Powered by the legendary 346 cubic-inch Cadillac V-8, the car could produce 130 horsepower. Brunn designed the body with cut-down doors that gave the car the look of a roadster from an earlier era. It featured a restyled grille in front with horizontal bars wrapping around the sides of the nose. It had an alligator-styled, front-opening hood, and three sets of four chrome bars adorned the side panel louvers. The headlights were mounted to the sheet metal between the grille and fenders. It was also one of the first cars made with a 3-speed column shifter, which became popularly known as “three on the tree,” an invention by GM to accommodate three people sitting on a bench seat. “Even automotive journalists, who have difficulty giving American companies credit for anything, have to admit no other company has introduced more technological advances than General Motors, most through Cadillac,” said Steve Plunkett.
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Issue 72 - June 2024
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