1935 Buick Series 60 Sedan

David Dunbar Buick used the proceeds of an invention to finance his dream of building a motor car. He had devised a way to coat cast iron with enamel to create a late 1800's status symbol; the white bathtub. He began producing cars, but ran into financial problems and eventually sold out to William Durant who created General Motors. Buick became one of the corporation's cornerstones. Mr. Buick, however, died almost penniless in Detroit in 1929.

1935 was the last year that Buick used a total wood frame body and mechanical brakes. All body styles on the Series 60 remained unchanged. The wheelbase measured 128 inches. The body styles included a Club Sedan, Convertible Coupe, Sport Coupe, Sedan, Victoria Coupe, and a Convertible Phaeton. The engine was an overhead valve eight-cylinder engine displacing 278.1 cubic-inches and offering 100 horsepower.

During the late 1920s, many automakers in the upmarket segment had moved to eight-cylinder engines. Buick, however, stuck with their sixes until 1931, when Buick introduced not one, but three straight sixes. The three engines shared almost no tooling or parts. Chief engineer Dutch Bower delegated the design work to his protégé, John Dolza. The smallest of the engine was a 221 cubic-inch unit for the Series 50. The Series 60 had a 272.6 cubic-inch unit while the 80 and 90 Series shared the 344.8 cubic-inch powerplant that offered 104 horsepower. For the three decades that followed, Buick would build exclusively eight-cylinder engines.

Unfortunately, the Eights were introduced during the Depression, which meant few individuals were able to afford the price tag that Buicks demanded. Sales for 1932 were barely half those of 1931. The 1933 sales fell even further.

Two important things happened in 1934, the first being Knee Action independent front suspension and the other being Harlow Curtice.

The Knee Action was a coil spring setup developed by General Motors engineering. 1934 Chevrolets and Pontiacs had a system with the same name, but it was completely different. The Chevy and Pontiac system was an oil-filled spring-shock absorber developed by French inventor André Dubonnet, and licensed from him. The Knee Action system found on the Buick, Olds, and Cadillac vehicles was short-and-long arm design by British-born engineer Maurice Olley. Using the same name for two different systems was confusing, but after the Dubonnet system was found troublesome, GM was able to extend the other system to the lower-priced nameplates without lots of backtracking.

1934 Buick models also received other engineering features such as a starter switch operated by the accelerator pedal. This would remain a feature for decades. Other features included a cowl-mounted fresh-air ventilator, and safety glass. The Series 90 had safety glass as standard while it was optional on other series.

For 1935, the Series 60 adopted the folding center rear arm rest from the Series 90.

This particular example is a Buick Model 67. It is finished in dark blue, with brown cloth upholstery. It had dual side-mounted spares, woodgrain on the dashboard, and an external trunk on a rear-mounted folding trunk rack. The integral touring trunk was not available on Buick's four-door sedans by 1935. This Model 67 also has Trippe Speedlight driving lamps, and accessory directional signals have been inconspicuously fitted for improved safety in modern traffic.

The most popular style for Buick in 1935 was the four-door Five Passenger Sedan, with nearly 25,000 examples being sold. Three quarters of them were in the entry-level 40 Series. The Series 60 production was just 1,716 4-door sedans.

By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2016