1950 CADILLAC Series 62 Club Coupe 331-2 bbl= 14 MPG City/ 17.9 MPG Hwy

oneownercollectorcar.com

Writing copyright D. S. Brown/ Research and photography courtesy and copyright William Nawrot. Source material courtesy and copyright Gilmore Museum, Hickory Corners, MI.

Metric= 5.4 L engine- 16.8 L/100 km City and 13.1 L/100km Hwy

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In this article we profile a 1950 Cadillac owned by the Gilmore Museum, Hickory Corners, MI. War heroes Brigadier General William S. Rader and his wife Major Stephanie Rader donated the car after 57 years of ownership. The museum kindly allowed William Nawrot access to the gas logs for this story. http://www.gilmorecarmuseum.org/

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GAS MILEAGE TESTS OF 1950 CADILLAC 62 WHEN NEW. 14 City/ 17.9 Hwy

The Cadillac Series 62 was introduced in 1940 but really took off when the side valve V8 was replaced in 1949 with an overhead valve V8 which was smaller but more powerful. When the sleeker bodystyle for 1950 appeared this double punch ensured that Cadillac began to surge to the forefront of the luxury car sales race.

The Cadillac V8 331 cubic inch OHV engine used a 2 barrel carburetor and 3.37:1 rear axle. The 62 Series came standard with a 4 speed automatic transmission named Hydra-Matic using a 1:1 ratio in top gear.

The August, 1951 issue of  POPULAR MECHANICS reviewed a 1951 Cadillac. PM's findings for 1951 can be applied to the 1950 model because the 1951 Cadillac was identical mechanically to the 1950 model.

The large 1951 Cadillac with relatively small V8 managed 0-60 MPH in 16.6 seconds when low and drive positions were used on the Hydra-Matic. Using the same shift technique the quarter mile took 19.7 seconds. On the open road the PM tester managed an indicated 107 MPH but found the speedometer was off by about 5 percent. PM gave statistics for the 4 door version of the 62 Series with a 126 inch wheelbase, 215.5 inch length and weight of 3,983 pounds.

The PM Owner's Report reveals that the Cadillac 62 returned 14 MPG City and 17.9 MPG Hwy with 98 percent of owners using premium gasoline. All Cadillacs used the same drivetrain although there are differences in dimensions and weight from model to model. The majority of the survey owners drove a Series 62.

The 1951 Mobil Economy Run recorded a 1951 Cadillac Series 62 logging 21.5 MPG while averaging 40.3 MPH on the route from Los Angeles, California to the Grand Canyon, Arizona and back.

PM tested a 1951 Cadillac 62 Coupe DeVille with Hydra- Matic and recorded steady speed MPG as follows:

40 MPH= slightly under 20 MPG

50 MPH= appx 18.2 MPG

60 MPH= appx 16.1 MPG

70 MPH= 14 MPG

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OOCC CADILLAC 62 SERIES ACTUAL MPG

This 1950 Cadillac 62 Series was bought new around June 24, 1950 by Brigadier General William S. Rader and his wife Major Stephanie Rader from Akers Oldsmobile-Cadillac of Alexandria, Virginia.

William Staats Rader was born May 21, 1914 in Wheeling, West Virginia. He became an aircraft commander during the Battle of Midway in the Pacific and later flew 72 missions despite a tour of duty usually ending with 25 missions. Stephanie Czech who became his wife was born in Toledo May 16, 1915. She was one of the rare women recruited to the OSS wartime spy department. As an OSS espionage agent she took considerable risk to gather intelligence on Soviet activity.

The Radars were married after the war in 1946. Stephanie retired at the rank of Major and received a master’s degree in chemistry from George Washington University in 1951. William was assigned to Cooke Air Force Base (later known as Vandenberg AFB) northwest of Lompoc, California  in summer, 1957. His next assignment was Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, west of Cheyenne, Wyoming, in July 1959.

The Cadillac was a constant throughout all these years. William returned to Vandenberg AFB in 1965 and retired to Alexandria, VA at the rank of brigadier general May 1, 1968.

In 1994, the couple had the Cadillac restored. William died Nov 5, 2003 aged 89. In 2007 after 57 years of ownership Stephanie donated the couple's Cadillac to the Gilmore Car Museum, Hickory Corners, Michigan where it is on display. Stephanie died Jan 21, 2016 at 100 years old.

The first entry in the logs is for June 24, 1950. Some of the entries are missing mileage or gallons. Using the price range for gasoline at the time (27 to 30 cents per gallon) it is safe to assume 28.5 cents per gallon as an average price to calculate the approximate number of gallons added. The assumption is that most of the time the tank was filled because the cost of gas added usually ends in odd numbers. There are two entries for $3.00 even on this page which are unlikely to be fill-ups. One calculated out to 27 MPG while the other was 12 MPG reinforcing this suspicion.

The first entry in the log is a combination entry for gas and oil so we don't know how much of this was gasoline. The Cadillac 62 Series has a 20 gallon tank. $6.00 of gasoline is more than 20 gallons so for certain some of that $6.00 had to be oil. A July 29 entry notes that a quart of oil cost $0.35 so this first entry would still likely be close to 20 gallons after deducting oil cost. You would think a Cadillac dealer would have put some gas in the tank!

Skipping this entry and the next few entries where mileage was not recorded, the June 30th entry makes calculating MPG possible from this point forwards.

An interesting note is that the most frequent POPULAR MECHANICS complaint of owners was that the rear view mirror was too large and obstructs rear vision. The first repair made to this Cadillac is a mirror for $6.00. I suspect that the Rader's had the mirror reinstalled in a more useful position or else substituted a smaller mirror.

Odometer  Gallons    MPG (uncorrected)

0               ?             N.A

?                7.0         N.A.

?                6.9         N.A.

580            5 appx    N.A.

?                10.0       N.A (Turnpike driving)

?                9 appx    N.A.

?                10.0        N.A. (Turnpike driving)

1,392         16.8       17.7 (Hwy MPG)

1,687         15.0       19.6 (Hwy MPG)

1,900         10.1       21.0 (Hwy MPG)

2,170         10.1       N.A (Amount added was $3.00 even/ suggests not a complete fill)

2,306         10.8       N.A (Amount added was $3.00 even/ suggests not a complete fill)

?               18.5       N.A.

3,084         17.6      21.1 (Hwy MPG)

?               15.0       N.A.

3,586         13.1       17.8

4,002         13.1      (31.7? Missing entry?)

4,250         11.4      21.7

There were no repairs noted on the page opposite the second page of gas entries.

Odometer  Gallons    MPG (uncorrected)

4,444        14.9        13.0

4,610        10.0        16.6

4,784        12.8        13.6

5,005        14.0        15.7

5,210        12.7        16.1

5,474        15.6        16.9

5,700        13.0        17.3

5,895        12.2        15.9

6,031        10.7        12.7

6,282          5.0        N.A. (Not filled- $1.50 only)

6,384        15.5        17.2

6,537         9.2        16.6

6,765        16.7       13.6

7,270        10.0        N.A. (Not filled- $3.00 added)

?               17.7       N.A.

7,883        12.2       (28?)

8,293        16.4        25.0

8,522        15.7        16.4

There were no repairs noted on the page opposite the third page of gas entries but there is an entry for Prestone which is likely a rad flush which cost $5.60.

Odometer  Gallons    MPG (uncorrected)

?              11.5 appx N.A.

?               12.0        N.A.

10,056      12.0         (43?- likely some missing entries)

10,209        9.7         15.7

?               12.0         N.A.

10,618       13.7         15.9

?               14.0        N.A.

10,959       10.0         14.2

11,135       10.0         17.6

11,335       15.0         13.3

11,498       14.2         11.5

?               13.0         N.A.

11,916       14.3         15.3

?               12.0          N.A.

12,310       16.0          14.0

?               15.0          N.A.

The page opposite the fourth page of gas entries lists a $18.80 entry for Carburetor. The second word may be 'cleaning'. There is another $1.00 listed 'Stuff for Carburetor".

Odometer  Gallons    MPG (uncorrected)

12,751       15.4       14.5

?               12.0       N.A.

?               11.6       N.A.

?               17.0       N.A.

?               17.0       N.A.

?               14.0       N.A.

13,781       12.7      12.2

13,971       14.1      13.5

?               13.0       N.A.

14,324       16.7      11.8

14,536       14.8      14.3

?               11.0       N.A. (entry may say Fort Meyer)

14,830       11.0      13.3

?               18.5 approx (entry may say Fort Meyer)

15,279       14.0      13.8

15,461       15.0     12.1 (entry may read Fort Wood)

15,697       16.9     13.9

15,912       16.8     12.8

16,044        9.7      13.6 (entry may say Fort Meyer)

There were no repairs noted on the page opposite the fifth page of gas entries.

Odometer  Gallons    MPG (uncorrected)

16,209       11.2        14.7

?               12.0 appx N.A.

16,649       16.8         15.2

16,847       17.8         11.1

17,019       13.5         12.7

?               12.0          N.A.

17,424       14.0         15.6

17,663       15.0         15.9

18,058       14.0         28.2

?                 8.5 appx N.A.

18,420       15.0         15.4

18,702       18.0         15.7

18,820        6.0          19.7

19,073       15.0         16.8

19,348       15.3         17.9

19,596       16.7         14.8

19,860       15.4         17.1

20,136       17.4         15.8

The page opposite the sixth page of gas entries lists a $5.20 entry for spark plugs. Filed among the gas logs an oil change is noted at 21,935 miles on July 3, 1951 which is about 1 year after the car was purchased.

Odometer  Gallons    MPG (uncorrected)

20,387      13.7        18.3

20,581      12.8        15.1

20,788      11.7        17.7

21,024      16.7        14.1

?                8.0         N.A.

21,414      15.8        16.2

21,577      12.0 apx  13.6

21,737       9.4         17.0

21,935      12.0        16.5

22,219      18.4        15.4

22,501      16.2        17.4

22,724      15.4        14.5

22,800        4.0        19.0

22,929      10.0        12.9

23,064      12.2        11.1

23,197       9.4         14.1

23,506      17.0        18.2

23,603       4.5         21.5

The page opposite the seventh page of gas entries lists no repairs, but at 26,054 miles within the log maintenance is noted- grease. 26,606 has a $2.10 notation in the column beside the fuel cost.

Odometer  Gallons    MPG (uncorrected)

*Note says 210 miles missing

23,969       10.0        N.A. (see note above)

24,103       13.2        10.2

24,265       13.3        12.2

24,615       14.6        23.9

24,713        8.1         12.1

24,941       14.9        15,3

25,002       14.0         4.4

25,275       15.6        17.5

?               13.0         N.A.

25,577       11.2        12.5

25,759       14.8        12.3

25,952       15.0        12.9

26,137       16.3        11.3

26,315       14.0        12.7

26,437        8.0         15.2

The page opposite the eighth page of gas entries lists an exhaust repair for $1.59, a 'glass shade' for $1.00 and a bulb for $0.25.

Odometer  Gallons    MPG (uncorrected)

26,618      13.2         13.7

26,975      16.0         22.3

27,148      11.0         15.7

27,369      14.4         15.3

?               6.7 appx   n.a.

27,939      14.0         27.5

28,069        8.3         15.6

28,294       14.7        15.3

28,379        7.0         12.1

28,736       15.9        22.5

28,877        8.5        16.6

29,115        5.0        n.a.

29,173       14.6       15.1

29,405       10.0       23.2

29,844       13.0

The page opposite the ninth page of gas entries lists 2 gallons of Prestone, no price.

Odometer  Gallons    MPG (uncorrected)

The page opposite the 10th page of gas entries lists a $2.00 filter. There is also some maintenance listed in with the gas log.