1940 La Salle Convertible Sedan Information Needed

[Lukaszek]

Hello CLC members, I am new to this forum and CLC and this is my first post.  I recently acquired a collection of antique and classic cars, one of which is a 1940 La Salle Convertible Sedan, another a 1958 Cadillac Convertible. I understand the La Salle is quite rare being 1 of 75 built and the last year for La Salle but I have not found any reliable valuations.  I am looking to sell this one but I'm unsure if I should take it to auction and let the bidders decide or determine it's value and post it for sale, any help with valuation would sure be appreciated. I received a bunch of documentation and receipts with the car and have summarized it as follows:

1940 LaSalle Series 54 Convertible Sedan
Chassis Number 4E11459
332ci Straight Eight 130hp
1 of only 75 Convertible Sedans produced in 1940 (Last Year of LaSalle Motor Company)
Navy Blue, Red Leather Upholstery, Beige cloth top
Clean Clear Arizona title indicates mileage unknown; Odometer currently reads 2652 miles

Documented History:
Older Concours Restoration to showroom condition
First shown at the 1994 Meadowbrook Concours d'Elegance
Later shown at the 2004 Cranbrook Concours d'Elegance
2006 – Sold at RM Auction Amelia Island $60,500
2013 – Listed for sale by Hyman, Ltd. Classic Cars - St Louis, MO for $62,500
September 2013 – Purchased by Paradise Valley, AZ auto collector for $56,000
September 3013 through March 2024 – over $10,000 spent on service and maintenance
March 2024 – Acquired as part of the entire collection. Carburetor was rebuilt starts, runs, drives, and still looks great.
All receipts, documented history, and an original shop manual are included.

Thanks in advance for any and all information and/or offers.

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

The trick is to sell private party & not have to pay usurious auction fees. Also the # you list is NOT the VIN. It's the engine unit #. The VIN is stamped on the LH frame rail near the cowl.
HTH, Bob
 

[Barry M Wheeler #2189]

I have heard from friends that selling on "Bring a Trailer" will sometimes bring good results. Although, I would also place a reserve on the car, as even very nice older cars aren't bringing what one might have expected some years ago. One thing they mentioned was to take lots and LOTS of pictures.

Even with the known 60K result some time ago, it is possible that you might not realize anything close to that figure nowadays. So, you might have to make a couple of stabs at disposing of the car. Best of luck.

[Tom Boehm]

Bob is right, That is the engine unit number, not the vin/chassis number. The frame serial number/vin is on the top of the frame, left side, but on the diagonal closer to the steering box.

Also I'm pretty sure you have a series 52 Lasalle. There was no such series 54 Lasalle.

The serial number confusion is due to the fact the surface on the engine where the engine unit number is stamped also is where the serial number/vin is stamped. The serial number is a 7 digit number with no letters. If the serial number on the engine and the frame match, then that car has the original factory engine. If not then the engine has been  changed at some point. If that is the case, then the serial number on the frame should be the vin number on the title in my opinion.

[Lukaszek]

Thank you for the conversations and information. The Series statement was my typo mistake, it is indeed a Series 52 and all documentation reflects that. The VIN vs engine number is interesting,  all prior sales documentation only refers to the engine number that I have referenced and even the AZ title has this number documented as the VIN.  I'll need to get back down to the storage unit and put some eyeballs on the recommended places to identify the correct numbers.  Thanks again!

PS - I kind of thought the prior owner paid top dollar for this one because he fell in love with it.  I did not expect to net what he paid for the car now but my ballpark thoughts on a reasonable price is 40-50k?

[Tom Boehm]

In my opinion, I would leave the present VIN alone. Especially if you are going to sell the car. There is a history of trouble free ownership transfers with the present VIN. The unit engine number is not the ideal VIN, BUT it is unique to that engine/car and is not technically incorrect.

If a future owner changes the engine for some reason then the VIN on the title would need to be changed to the frame serial number.