Cadillac Brougham

Early History

Originally used for a single horse drawn enclosed carriage for 2-4 people, the “Brougham” owes its name to British statesman, Henry Brougham. Cadillac first used the name in 1916 to designate an enclosed 5-7 passenger sedan body style. In the thirties, the name was given to a formal body style with open chauffeur compartment and enclosed rear quarters, metal roof and often "razor-edged" styling. When Cadillac started offering Fleetwood bodies on some of its cars in 1925, the Brougham body style was Fleetwood bodied every year with the exception of 1926. After 1937 the Brougham name was not applied to any Cadillac for the remainder of the pre-World War II period.

The Brougham name would eventually reappear on the 1955 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham show car which preceded the 4-door Eldorado Brougham hardtops of the 1957 to 1960 model years. The 1957 Cadillac Series 70 Eldorado Brougham joined the Sixty Special and the Series 75 as the only Cadillac models with Fleetwood bodies although Fleetwood script or crests did not appear anywhere on the exterior of the car, and so this would also mark the first time in 20 years that a Fleetwood bodied car was paired with the Brougham name.

After a five-year absence the Brougham name reappeared as an option package on the 1965 Cadillac Sixty Special. The following year the Brougham moved up to becoming a subseries of the Fleetwood Sixty Special. This continued through 1970. Starting in 1971 the Sixty Special was only available as the well equipped Fleetwood Sixty Special Brougham. When the Sixty Special Series was retired in 1977, the Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham took its place as Cadillac's most luxurious owner-driven large sedan model through 1986.

The Brougham finally became a separate model from 1987 through 1992. This was the last Cadillac to be produced without airbags.

Description

Although the vehicle was identical to the 1986 model, the former Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham - the last remaining rear-wheel drive Cadillac - was renamed "Brougham" in 1987. The Cadillac Fleetwood had been introduced as a new, smaller breed of front-drive Cadillac in 1985, and the confusion over the Fleetwood name being applied to two very different automobiles prompted the name change for 1987. As it had been since the 1970s, the optional "d'Elegance" package offered even more luxurious appointments, including button-tufted seating and rear-seat reading lamps.

The rear-wheel drive Cadillac Brougham, in addition to rival Lincoln's similar Town Car, was popular among coachbuilders who manufactured stretched limousines on the Brougham's architecture. This model also proved popular with the traditional Cadillac buyer who favored the traditional body-on-frame, rear-wheel-drive configuration over the front-wheel-drive Cadillac models.

Construction of the Cadillac Brougham was performed at the Clark Street Cadillac Assembly Plant in Detroit, Michigan from 1985 until 1987; some early model year 1988 Broughams were produced there in late 1987. Beginning in 1988 and continuing through 1992, Broughams were produced at Arlington Assembly in Arlington, Texas. The 11th digit of the VIN indicates plant assembly. A "9" as the 11th digit indicates a Detroit Brougham; a "R" indicates an Arlington Brougham. Many of the Arlington assembled examples also had a state of Texas/GM Arlington decal on the rear side quarter glass.

VIN "9" Broughams were actually produced in 1987-1990 (and in 1986 as well), and, although rare, can be found as "commercial chassis" vehicles, and generally have a higher output Oldsmobile 307 LG8 Engine and different transmissions (typically the TH400 three speed), depending on the use. Generally speaking, minor differences between 1987 and 1988 (VIN 9 and Y) can be found, such as carburetor assembly. While these cars all used Rochester Quadrajet Electronic four-barrel carburetors, differences include an electronic (Detroit) versus vacuum (Arlington) Idle Load Compensator, as well as an electronic (Detroit) versus climactic (Arlington) choke system. The vin "9" engine is the high output version of the base LV2 307 vin code Y and shares most parts with it. The HO engine is the same engine that was used in the rear wheel drive Oldsmobile 442. While the engine was not powerful, it proved to be a reliable engine with proven (albeit dated) technology.

The Brougham wore a cross-hatch grille in 1987 and 1988 which was an identical re-cast of the 1981 grille. The Brougham received a new vertical-slat grille for 1989, which was similar to the 1980 grille. The 1980 grille had five horizontal sections, the 1989-1992 had three horizontal sections. A 1990 facelift (the first one since 1980), was necessitated by a re-bodied Town Car from rival Lincoln. For 1990, Brougham received a new digital dash cluster inside, and composite headlamps, contemporary taillamp lenses, flush bumper moldings, and an optional Chevrolet 350 V8. Door-mounted automatic front seatbelts became standard, as no driver's side airbag was available.

For 1991, the LV2 V8 was replaced by a Chevrolet FI V8 that produced 170 hp (127 kW; 172 PS), while the Chevrolet 350 produced 185 hp (138 kW; 188 PS). The 1992 models received no major changes, as it was its final year. The fuel injected engines proved to be reliable contenders and provided a vast power improvement over the 307 Oldsmobile engines.

The 1987 to 1992 Brougham used the 121.5-inch (3,086 mm) wheelbase D-body platform that was employed for the pre-1987 Fleetwood Brougham.

The last Cadillac Brougham rolled off the assembly line on June 5, 1992.

The Fleetwood name returned to the RWD model with a major redesign for 1993 (the FWD Fleetwood model had been renamed Sixty Special that year) and Brougham again was an option package, as it had been in 1965.

"Premiere Roof" option

Owing to the Brougham's heritage (Fleetwood Brougham), a vinyl roof covering was considered a sign of a formal and luxurious automobile and it still retains its notchback roofline, just that it looks like a convertible with a fixed roof. In 1988, the "Premiere Roof" option was available giving the standard Brougham a very formal look. Though costly at US$895, it altered the overall appearance greatly. It included a vinyl covering of not only the entire roof of the car but also the "B-pillar" and the rear quarter window surround. This option was available in 1988 and 1989 until Brougham's 1990 restyling wherein a slight variation of it became the standard roof treatment.

Engine Swapping

Due to the Brougham's massive hood (common on many American luxury cars from the 70's to the 90's), it is fairly easy to swap larger, more powerful engines into the Brougham. In the 55th episode of Roadkill, Mike Finnegan and David Freiburger were able to stuff a Cummins Turbo-Diesel engine from a Dodge Ram 3500 pickup truck into a 1991 Brougham, which they renamed the 'Bro-Hammer'.

Powertrains

Engines:

Transmissions: