1954-55 parts compatibilty

[Brad Hemingson CLC #18437]

Are the front clips i.e. hood, fenders, rad support and inner fenders interchangeable for '54-'55?

[Caddy Wizard]

Generally speaking, no.  Hood, hood lip, etc. are different. Fenders are different (in part at least because of the "lip" where the molding mounts).  Fenders on a 54 are flat (as are the doors), while on the 55 (and 56) the fenders are stepped, with the bottom half of the front fenders lying outboard of the top half of the fenders.  Attached are a pair of photos.  The first shows the front door of a 54, which is flat (all one curved "plane") from top to bottom (the fender is shaped the same). The second shows the back of a front door of a 55, clearly showing the step formed in the doors.  This same feature extends to the front fenders on a 55.


I don't know about the inner fenders.  Maybe, maybe not.  And I am not sure about the radiator core support either.

[Roger Zimmermann]

The radiator cradle has another part number for 1955 (compared with '54) . As inner fenders are welded to the outer ones, you have your answer...There is a separate inner fender part which is the same for 1954 and '55.