1931 McLaughlin Series 90 Convertible Coupe

The McLaughlin Carriage Company was founded in Oshawa, Ontario, by Robert McLaughlin, a blacksmith. Prior to World War II, the McLaughlin Company was one of the best-selling brands of cars in Canada. They were even selected by the King and Queen of England to build limousines for their personal use.

During the early years, the company enjoyed success due to its patented steering design. They were one of the largest carriage builders in the world and by the turn of the 20th century, were producing over 25,000 carriages a year. By 1915, they were building one carriage every ten minutes.

Robert had three sons, two would join the carriage business with their father.

When the automobile industry began to thrive, the McLaughlin's went seeking existing manufacturers to make their cars in Canada. They approached companies, including Pierce-Arrow and Buick. Although they were impressed with the quality of Buick cars, they were unable to reach an agreement with William Durant, who controlled Buick at the time. Unable to strike a deal, they began building cars of their own design. After the engineer they contracted to design an engine fell ill, they returned to Durant to continue their discussions. This time, Durant was experiencing financial difficulties, and in 1907, an agreement was signed to supply the McLaughlin Motor Car Company with Buick chassis and engines.

The contract between Buick and McLaughlin continued for the next fifteen years. This worked well for both companies, as it provided Buick with additional income and McLaughlin was skilled at building bodies.

During the inaugural year, McLaughlin sold 154 cars. The bodies had been designed by one of the sons, Sam McLaughlin. The company marked the car as 'The Standard Canadian Car', although its name was not 'Standard.' They were also sold under the name Buick, McLaughlin, and McLaughlin-Buick. The company finally settled on McLaughlin-Buick and continued to sell cars under this guise until 1942 when they switched to building military supplies to aid the war efforts.

After World War II, production resumed at the Oshawa plant, this time the cars that rolled off the assembly line were called Buicks.

This particular example is a 1931 McLaughlin-Buick Series 90 Convertible Coupe. In the early 1930s, with engineers feeling that the long-lived six-cylinder engine had reached its limit in size, Buick introduced an all-new straight eight-cylinder engine for its cars. For 1931, Buicks line of cars were all powered by eight-cylinder engines, with the top of the line offering being the Series 90. It came equipped with a 104 horsepower engine that featured an oil temperature regulator to cool the engine at high speeds. It also helped warm the engine in cold weather. The Series 90 also featured thermostatically controlled radiator shutters, as found on Duesenbergs and Packards.

The convertible coupe was a mid-year addition to the Buick Series 90 line. Just 1,066 examples are believed to be built. This particular example is the only known survivor of four exported convertible Series 90 examples, as well as the only one known delivered in Ontario and badged as a McLaughlin-Buick.

The car has been restored to show-quality condition. It is finished in burgundy and cream, with a tan-colored top. It has dual windshield wipers and the original cigarette lighter. There are Tilt Ray headlights, dual side-mounted spares with mirrors, a rumble seat with a golf-bag door, a complete set of six wire wheels with wide whitewall tires, and a rear-mounted rack fitted with a matching trunk.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2015