Recent PBS American Experience show on bank robber John Dillinger was well done, and got me to remembering years ago when a tractor-trailer came to town with a 1931 Cadillac V16 limo inside that had reputedly been his. The car was armored in the doors and had very thick bulletproof glass, which had bullet chips in it. Looked on Yahoo, but couldn't find out where it is today. Anyone know?

bobyar2001@yahoo.com

There seems to be a reason you're not finding anything.

After a good half-hour of intensive searching (and I've been trained how to use top-flight metasearch engines, not just "Ask Jaymes" or whatever), it appears that the "Dillinger Cadillac" is the creation of hucksters and/or urban legend.

The link below takes you to a page about what most Dillinger histories say is Dillinger's actual personal favorite: a 1933 Hudson Essex Terraplane 8, still in existence and sporting what apparently was one of Dillinger's own license plates.

Dillinger's Hudson Essex Terraplane 8
LNER4472@bcpl.net

The Cadillac that was mentioned in the original post may well have been an early police patrol car. Police package vehicles didn't come into being until the 1950s, so earlier police cars were often modified on an individual basis. Many of the older police cars were provided with bulletproof glass and armor plating. Another favorite modification was the flip up windshield and standard machine gun mounts.

Cadillacs and Lincolns were favorites during the Prohibition era because of their superior performance abilities. The vehicle that was originally mentioned seems to match a description of an early Denver, Colorado Police Department car. That car was a Cadillac touring car/limousine known amongst the cops as "Leaping Lena." The car was outfitted with armor plating, wide running boards allowing extra officers to ride the outside of the car, front and rear mounted machine guns, extra lights and a front bumper made of railroad rail. No information is provided on the powerplant but it could well have been a V-16.

While we're this far off topic, here are the two police cars that are possibly the oldest units still in service. The first car is the San Francisco Police Department's 1931 Lincoln phaeton. It was purchased from Ford brand new as part of an order for seven new police cars and was the chief's car. It's role now is primarily ceremonial, transporting VIPs. The second car is a 1936 Dodge employed in patrol work for the Shasta County, California Sheriff's Department. It was originally built for police service and was purchased by a Shasta Co. deputy sheriff who restored the vehicle and updated it's equipment so that it could be returned to service.

Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum
envlink@voyageronline.net

Bob, sure you don't mean Al Capone's Cadalliac? He had a specially armored V-12 Caddy, that was restored in the 1960s, and ended up in a Casino's collection. Now it is owned by the husband of the founder of Merle Norman cosmetics.

wilkidm@wku.edu

Pretty sure it was John Dillinger. This was in the early 1950s, in western Kansas. It was a big black sedan/limo, with wire wheels.

> Bob, sure you don't mean Al Capone's
> Cadalliac? He had a specially armored V-12
> Caddy, that was restored in the 1960s, and
> ended up in a Casino's collection. Now it is
> owned by the husband of the founder of Merle
> Norman cosmetics.


bobyar2001@yahoo.com