1949 series 7533x Limousine questions

[maddiecaddy]

I own a '49 7533X imperial limo, and upon the removal & reupholstery of the rear compartment I found the words "SHOW JOB" written by hand on the back of each and every piece of upholstery, and also on the seat tags. The car's id plate reads:

49-7533X
Fw 325
Trim 83
Paint 1 KU

I know how to read the tag, but I do not know what "KU" stands for, and I also don't know what significance "SHOW JOB" has in the history of this car. I haven't done much research, but I'd love to know if anyone might be able to enlighten me as to which show it may have been built for, etc...

Thanks!
JIM ADAMS

[Doug Houston]

You're sort of in this area....I'm in Ortonville.

The thing that will help you the most is if you can get hold of the invoice from the factory to the distributor dealer when the car was built. My guess right now, before we really know anything, is that the car was an early build, and was probably destined for an auto show at introduction. The car probably has a low body number on the body plate.

The reasoning behind that, is that, while the car is  a 1940 body carried through to 1949, that year,  was the year that the new engine was introduced, and the 75 series had that engine, along with the rest of Cadillac's line.

Unfortunately, the Classic Car Club doesn't consider 1949 cars as Classics, as their dates end at 1948. That might change in future years, though. They have themselves painted into a corner, and never would admit it. They have no clue where more classic cars will come from. However, that would never dull my appreciation for a car like yours!

This is  loose definition, but look at the dates on the windshield, if the pieces are still original. In general, the car will have been built within a month of he glass date on the windshield sections.

But, the best information you can have is the invoice, mentioned above. I have 9 Cadillacs, and have the invoices on all of them, I believe. The invoice doesn't tell who the original owner was, but it does tell the date the car was shipped, the destination (Yours could have been Detroit branch....?), the accessories, shipping means, key codes, and if it hasn't been obliterated, the price to the distributor.  This invoice is usually called a "build sheet", which it is not.

I don't know who has this data right now, but I think it's the GM Heritage center. They'll hit you for 50 bucks now, but I got mine free, several years ago, right from a contact at the factory, and didn't have to pay anything.