1934 Oldsmobile Series L Convertible Coupe

For 1934, Oldsmobile offered a Six and Eight cylinder model, named the Series F and Series L respectively. Several body styles were available within each model. The six-cylinder models proved to be far more popular, partly due to the fact that both engines produced almost identical horsepower. (The six produced 84 horsepower while the Eight offered 90 horsepower).

The Oldsmobile marque, the second nameplate in William Durant's General Motors, overlapped market segments with several other GM marques until Alfred P. Sloan established a price hierarchy in the mid-1920s. During the 1920s, Oldsmobile's fortunes began to slip, yet they were able to survive the Great Depression by providing tangible value for the money. The cars produced were well-engineered, stylish, solid, and outfitted with many advanced features. Oldsmobile earned the reputation as the 'engineering' division of General Motors. Oldsmobile would continue to produce automobiles until 2002 and remains as the sole North American automobile manufacturer with history touching the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries.

This eight-cylinder L-34 convertible coupe is one of only five known to exist. It was restored by Anderson Restorations of Wisconsin, to award-winning standards, with AACA Senior Grand National First Prize and Senior National First Prize awards to its credit.

The car features a rumble seat, painted upper-body and wheel accents, a Haartz cloth top, dual Trippe lights, rare dual side-mounted spares, dual 'trumpet' horns, dual windshield wipers, wide whitewall tires, chrome wheel-trim rings, and Oldsmobile's beautiful Art Deco-inspired 'Goddess' radiator mascot. Inside there is a wood grain dash and deluxe gearshift ball. The car is powered by a 240 cubic-inch L-head six-cylinder engine fitted with a single downdraft Stromberg carburetor and a three-speed synchronized manual transition. It has a semi-floating rear axle and four-wheel Bendix hydraulic drum brakes.

In 2012, the car was offered for sale at the St. Johns sale presented by RM Auctions. It was estimated to sell for $60,000 to $80,000. As bidding came to a close, the car had been sold for the sum of $57,200 inclusive of buyer's premium.

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2012