1941 Buick Series 70 Roadmaster

Buick vehicles had a reputation for their quality, performance, and luxury appointments. Their realistic pricing, modern styling, and potent overhead-valve eight-cylinder engine earned the company fourth place in industry sales in 1941, an increase of 34 percent, and behind only Chevrolet, Ford, and Plymouth. 1941 was the fourth year in a row that Buick sold more automobiles in the United States than all other manufacturers, except Ford, Chevrolet, and Plymouth.

This was a monumental accomplishment under the leadership of Harlow Curtice, and the company's segment-encompassing offering spanned a price range from under $1,000 Special coupes to $2,500 Limited limousines. The entry-level Special was priced approximately $200 more than comparable Chevrolet vehicles, putting the Buick's quality, prestige, and eight-cylinder engine within reach of a broad market. Buick told buyers in 1941 that 'When better automobiles are built, Buick will build them.'

Harlow Curtice, Buick's President since 1933, was a dynamic leader whose success at Buick eventually earned him GM's Presidency and Chairmanship. He was enthusiastic about Buick and he nurtured Buick's ascendancy from relative obscurity back to the importance it enjoyed during its early years. The Special and Super models served as the company's bread and butter, and the Limited was the top-of-the-line model resting on a 139-inch wheelbase, clearly encroaching on Cadillac's territory.

Buick was part of General Motors and positioned below Cadillac, whose 346 cubic-inch L-head V8 engine had 150 horsepower, 15 horsepower less than the Compound Carburetion dual carburetor Buick Roadmaster's 165 horsepower. Compound Carburetion was the forerunner to the four-barrel carburetor and the multi-carburetor setups that would become popular following World War II. Optional on Specials and standard on all other models, a pair of carburetors extracted more power from Buick's 320 CID 'Fireball' straight eight. Producing 165 horsepower, the Buicks were the highest-powered standard production cars in America.

The 1941 Buicks wore styling that was quite different from the previous year, devoid of exposed running boards, door hinges, and fender-mounted spare tires. The headlights were completely enclosed in the fenders for the first time, instead of in separate cowlings on the catwalks. They wore attractive rear wheel skirts, and new fender lines provided a much sleeker and aerodynamic appearance. The new two-way hood opened from either side to give easy access from the radiator to the firewall.

The Buick Roadmaster Series 70 had a 126-inch wheelbase, a 215-inch length, and powered by the same 320.2 cubic-inch inline-8 powering the Century Series 60 and the Limited. it had overhead valves, a cast-iron block, a 7.0:1 compression ratio, mechanical valve lifters, five main bearings, and delivered 165 horsepower and 278 lb-ft of torque. It was backed by a sliding gear three-speed transmission with a single dry plate clutch and column controls.

Body styles on the Roadmaster included a touring sedan priced at $1,365, a convertible coupe at $1,775, a convertible phaeton at $1,460, and a sports coupe at $1,280. In 1941, Buick was among the last of Detroit's automakers to build a cataloged four-door Convertible Sedan, a 'Convertible Phaeton' in Buick's marketing parlance. Production was exclusive with just 326 (as few as 312) of these body styles built on the Roadmaster in 1941. Except for Ford, Buick sold more convertibles than any automaker in 1941. No small wonder, as it offered its widest array of body styles to-date, a total of 26 in five separate models including the Special Series 40, Super Series 50, Century Series 60, Roadmaster Series 70, and Limited Series 90.

The most popular Roadmaster body style was the touring sedan with 10,431 examples built. 2,784 examples were sports coupes and 1,845 were convertible coupes.

1941 was the final full year of production before the shortened 1942 model year brought the United States participation in World War II and the temporary half of civilian automobile production. The Roadmaster name would continue to be part of Buick's lineup, lasting until 1958, then re-appearing in 1991 and continuing through 1996.

by Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2021