Cadillac’s 1931 models, both the Fleetwood- and Fisher-bodied models, featured distinctive styling with curved door sills and ornate beltline moldings. The Series 355 models featured a remarkably well-engineered, silky-smooth V-8 engine, now mounted on a 134-in. wheelbase chassis shared with the companion LaSalle, six inches shorter than the 1930 models. Along with the new body styling, this resulted in a more sporting and visually powerful appearance.

The V-8 roadster offered here is documented by its build sheet as having been sold new in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1967 it was discovered by the late New York-based collector Lisle E. Hopkins, preserved in the shed of Cohocton junkyard owner Ted Mattice, who had the car as early as the late 1930s. As noted in correspondence in the file, Mr. Hopkins acquired the Cadillac in complete overall condition, down to the rare original configuration of a single rear-mounted spare.

It was brought to Durland Edwards’s restoration shop in Pennsylvania, where over the next 4½ years it was completely restored in the original color scheme, Indiana Gray with Ravenswood Brown fenders and Tokio Ivory striping, with the additional period accessories of Trippe driving lights, a stone guard, and a “Goddess” mascot. Afterward it was shown in Antique Automobile Club of America National competition, achieving its Senior First Prize at Goat Island in 1974.

Mr. Hopkins doted on the Cadillac until his passing in 2003, after which it was sold by his family to the current owner. Its restoration is older, but well-preserved and still extremely attractive, and has undergone considerable recent sorting, including rebuilding the carburetor and generator, adding an electric fuel pump and cut-off switch, and fitting new head gaskets. It would be ideal for enjoyment in the years to come in any number of Cadillac-LaSalle Club or CCCA activities, reflecting the grandeur that was Cadillac in the Classic Era.