Cadillac & LaSalle Club Discussion Forum

Cadillac & LaSalle Club Forums => General Discussion => Topic started by: carlhungness on December 29, 2020, 06:09:18 PM

Title: How Much Does My 1937 LaSalle Coupe Weigh? And a 76' Eldorado?
Post by: carlhungness on December 29, 2020, 06:09:18 PM
   The headline says it all. I'm having a hard time locating the weight through my internet searches. I say it weighs almost as much as a '76 Eldorado so would like the weight of both considering I have a 76 Eldo engine in it now. Near as I recall, the flat head weighed just about the same as the Eldo engine.
Title: Re: How Much Does My 1937 LaSalle Coupe Weigh? And a 76' Eldorado?
Post by: Big Fins on December 29, 2020, 07:03:09 PM
Take both cars to the local truck stop with certified 'Cat" scales and weigh them. You'll get a print out of the whole vehicle and what weight is on each axle.
Title: Re: How Much Does My 1937 LaSalle Coupe Weigh? And a 76' Eldorado?
Post by: Bobby B on December 29, 2020, 07:49:42 PM
1937  Lasalle  =   3850 lbs.      Engine approx. = 900-1050 lbs.
1976 Eldorado =  5080 lbs.       Engine appox.  = 573 lbs.

Shaving 400-450 lbs. off your back would be a Racer's Wet Dream......
                                           
P.S. Have Fun.....
                             Bobby

       
Title: Re: How Much Does My 1937 LaSalle Coupe Weigh? And a 76' Eldorado?
Post by: cadillac ken on December 30, 2020, 10:45:32 AM
I have the same numbers as Bobby.  As you already know, Carl, I have a 500 (1970 Eldo motor) in my 37 Caddy coupe.  Doing the final tune in.  Will be on the road today. I'll let you know how it runs! 

But keep in mind I went with a low rear ratio.  About 2.80 to be able to do freeway speeds without it's tounge hanging out!  ;D

Cheers, Ken
Title: Re: How Much Does My 1937 LaSalle Coupe Weigh? And a 76' Eldorado?
Post by: TJ Hopland on December 30, 2020, 11:20:06 AM
What size tires?   People often seem to forget to take that into account when thinking about gear ratios.   I know tires started out big but then got small for a while before growing again.  Just don't know where in that curve a 37 was or if its still got stock tires on it in this case.     

The 425 cuin engine era (77-79) they were often using a 2.2x  rear end and those cars were not that much lighter than the 71-76's. 
Title: Re: How Much Does My 1937 LaSalle Coupe Weigh? And a 76' Eldorado?
Post by: Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621 on December 30, 2020, 11:27:23 AM
Quote from: TJ Hopland on December 30, 2020, 11:20:06 AM
     The 425 cuin engine era (77-79) they were often using a 2.2x  rear end and those cars were not that much lighter than the 71-76's.

1977 models w/425 were ~ 20% lighter than 1976 versions.
Title: Re: How Much Does My 1937 LaSalle Coupe Weigh? And a 76' Eldorado?
Post by: carlhungness on December 30, 2020, 12:14:15 PM
   Thanks for all the replies, this is a great forum/club. Am glad to see Ken getting his car on the road, she's a real beauty and he's a good craftsman. My car should make steady progress now that I've just sold another sculpture, my Wheel of Life. Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal bought it, so now I'm looking for a buyer for my second Strad violin copy and will then have enough money to fully finish my coupe.
Title: Re: How Much Does My 1937 LaSalle Coupe Weigh? And a 76' Eldorado?
Post by: plutonos on May 09, 2022, 11:16:27 AM
Quote from: Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621 on December 30, 2020, 11:27:23 AM
1977 models w/425 were ~ 20% lighter than 1976 versions.
WOW! I didn't know about this. I knew that cars in the past were very heavy, but in just one year, Cadillac was able to get a twenty percent lighter car is great progress. My father has an old Cadillac, and it is fully made out of hard metals. Every detail of the car is very heavy. W started to recondition the car, and before painting the parts, we weighed it with the weight scale we got from vont.com (https://www.vont.com/product/smart-scale-bathroom-scale-weight-scale/). We were shocked at how heavy the parts of this vehicle were compared to the modern analogs.
Title: Re: How Much Does My 1937 LaSalle Coupe Weigh? And a 76' Eldorado?
Post by: scotth3886 on May 09, 2022, 11:27:22 AM
https://www.automobile-catalog.com/make/cadillac/eldorado_1971-1978/eldorado_1971-1978_convertible/1976.html

https://www.automobile-catalog.com/make/cadillac/eldorado_1971-1978/eldorado_1971-1978_hardtop/1977.html



Title: Re: How Much Does My 1937 LaSalle Coupe Weigh? And a 76' Eldorado?
Post by: Cadillacdave on May 25, 2022, 11:23:31 AM
The 77 Eldorado weighed about 130 lbs less, at 4950 lbs, than a 76 Eldorado at 5080 lbs. A 20% reduction would be approximately 1000 pounds less
Title: Re: How Much Does My 1937 LaSalle Coupe Weigh? And a 76' Eldorado?
Post by: Roger Zimmermann on May 26, 2022, 03:06:50 AM
Till 1978, Eldorado models were about the same, same weight or just a small reduction. The main difference between 1976 and 1977 standard models (de Ville, etc.) was due to the reduced dimensions and method of construction.
Title: Re: How Much Does My 1937 LaSalle Coupe Weigh? And a 76' Eldorado?
Post by: bcroe on May 26, 2022, 04:36:44 PM
Quote from: carlhungness
   The headline says it all. I'm having a hard time locating the weight through my internet searches. I say it weighs almost as much as a '76 Eldorado so would like the weight of both considering I have a 76 Eldo engine in it now. Near as I recall, the flat head weighed just about the same as the Eldo engine.

That 37 just feels heavy, for lack of horses and no
torque converter in the trans.  Bruce Roe