History
Hello, My name is Tom Boehm of New Albany, IN. I am in the process of restoring this unique car. I am also trying to find out where it came from. I would like to find out who had this car custom built in 1940 and why. Perhaps some vintage photos of the car when it was new exist somewhere. Perhaps a former employee of Meteor has information about woodies made by that company.
I do know the wood body was custom built on a 1940 LaSalle series 50 commercial chassis by the Meteor Motor Car Co. of Piqua, Ohio. Meteor is best known for its hearses and ambulances. The original 159 inch wheelbase of the commercial chassis was shortened to 135 inches. That's longer than the 123 inch wheelbase of a stock LaSalle. The additional length allows for three seats and a cargo area. I have a copy of the build sheet from the Cadillac Archive.
This car is one of two 1940 LaSalle Wagons that I know to exist. The other is a long, eight door model also made by Meteor. The owner lives in Detroit and his car is pictured on page 247 of the book "80 years of Cadillac and LaSalle".