1937 Buick Series 60 Century

Buick weathered the Great Depression by being under General Motor's umbrella, potent eight-cylinder engines, elegant styling by Harley Earl and GM's Art and Colour Section, and the leadership of Harlow 'Red' Curtice. When Buick sales slipped in the mid-1930s, Curtice revamped the cars with modern styling, shedding unnecessary weight and improving performance.

1937 Buick Models
Series 40 Special ($910 $1,300)
Series 60 Century ($1,170 to $1,525)
Series 80 Roadmaster ($1,515 to $1,860)
Series 90 Limited ($2,060 to $2,240)

Production
Series 40 Special | 152,773
Series 60 Century | 33,457
Series 80 Roadmaster | 16,129
Series 90 Limited | 3,697

Wheelbase Sizes
Series 40 | 122 inches
Series 60 | 126 inches
Series 80 | 131 inches
Series 90 | 138 inches

Engines
Series 40 | 248 CID, 100 hp OHV inline-8
Series 60, 80, 90 | 320.2 CID, 130 hp, OHV inline-8

1937 Buick Series 60 Century
The word Century means 'a period of 100 years,' and Buick's use of the word for its 1937 Series 60 was appropriate, as it was capable of surpassing the magical '100' mph mark. Buick began using the 'Century' name for its Series 60 the previous year, in 1936.

The Buick Century was offered in seven different body styles, in open and closed configuration, and with two- and four-doors. The two-door touring sedan with seating for five was priced at $1,170 and the four-door version at $1,200. The two-door sport coupe (four-passenger) was priced at $1,190, the 2-door trunk-back sedan at $1,200 (the four-door version was approximately $35 more expensive), the 2-dor convertible coupe at $1,270, and the four-door convertible phaeton (5-passenger) at $1,525.

The most popular 1937 Buick Century body style was the four-door trunk back sedan with 20,679 examples sold, followed by 4,750 of the 4-door touring sedan. A total of 2,874 examples were the two-door trunk-back sedan, 1,117 of the 2-door touring sedan, and 2,740 of the sport coupe. The most exclusive Century body styles were the convertible coupe and convertible phaeton, with 787 and 410 examples produced, respectively.

The Century received a three-speed manual transmission, four-wheel mechanical drum brakes, and an independent front suspension with a live rear axle. The rear semi-elliptic leaf springs were replaced in 1938 with coil springs.

The interiors featured a banjo steering wheel with a horn ring, and a stylish dashboard that was frequently equipped with a speaker grille in the center.

The Buick Century offered the best performance of any car in its price class, thanks to its more powerful straight-eight engine (of the larger Roadmaster) and the smaller Special platform. It successfully combined traditional Buick engineering and quality with the company's most potent engine and the lightest platform. It was an idea that other General Motors brass would revisit over a quarter-century later to create the modern American muscle car.

by Daniel Vaughan | May 2024