iences and didn’t move for years. The car moved to the family farm in 1975 and spent the next 25 years in what was basically the chicken coup. The new mil- lennium brought the ragtop to the top of the family’s mind and the father/son teamed up to get the Caddy back on the road. The two worked when they could, but never got to far on the project over the next couple of decades with Daniel having a family, his own rods, and dad enjoying retirement. When Richard passed away in 2022, his son Daniel decided it was time to bring the car up to snuff and he got building with the help of his rodder friends. The 1934 to 1938 LaSalle comes with a great chassis right from the start. It was the first production Caddy with hydraulic brakes, in 1937 it had a big
322ci mono-block V-8, and beefy frame rails (they drive surprisingly well stock). Dan cleaned off the stock frame and slipped in a FatMan Mustang II IFS with tubular A-arms, 11-inch GM front brakes (aka ‘big brakes’), RideTech coilovers, and power rack and pinion. The rear suspension is a 10-bolt on a tri-link with RideTech coilovers, power GM drums, 3.08 gears, and posi. Daniel decided to slip a Blueprint 5.3 LS motor in with an LS3 intake, Blueprint heads, coated shorty headers, and it’s backed up by a Gearstar 4L65E automatic overdrive. The chassis is finished off with 15x7 and 15x9 Wheelsmith wires wearing BFG T/A rubber (215/60/15 and 275/60/15) and Cadillac moons. Daniel’s intention was to not touch any of that JUNE 2026 33
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