1910 Buick Model 16 Toy Tonneau

This Buick Model 16 'Toy' Tonneau, currently on display at the Swigart Museum, was purchased from L.C. Wolfe. Mr. Wolfe had planned to scrap this car, which had been stored in the Wolfe garage in downtown Altoona. Instead, it was sold to Mr. Swigart in 1948, so that it could be given a restoration.

Mr. Wolfe had fitted this car with a contraption of water pipes covered with heavy mesh wire. This was a heating system designed and built by Mr. Wolf to help keep occupants warm in the winter. The design of the heater was later incorporated into automobiles years later and evolved into the car heaters used in modern times.

This Buick is powered by a four-cylinder engine with a valve-in-head design. The 'Pony' or 'Toy' Tonneau (roof) can be removed and the rear seat is quickly detachable, thus transforming it into a roadster, for racing.

This car was given a restoration in 1953.