1937 Buick Series 80 Roadmaster

Buick plunged into the 1930s by dropping its six-cylinder engines and introducing three new straight-eight engines in 1931. The smallest displaced 220 cubic inches, and the largest measured 344.8 cubic inches. No interchangeable parts were shared between the three. Wheelbase sizes began at 114 inches and grew to 132 inches, with the latter being just two inches shorter than Cadillac's eight-cylinder model (353 CID) and approximately $1,000 less.

The Series 80 Roadmaster of 1937 represented one of BUick's most elite models, resting comfortably on a generous 131-inch wheelbase chassis and offered in an exclusive roster of three body styles. Its straight-eight engine, shared with the Series 90 Limited and Series 60 Century, had overhead valves, a 320.2 cubic-inch displacement, five main bearings, mechanical valve lifters, and a Stromberg carburetor, and produced 130 horsepower at 3,400 RPM. Buick's engines were updated for 1937 with a quieter overhead valve mechanism, a new oil pump, a new cooling system, and modified intake valves.

Positioned above the Series 40 (Special) and Series 60 (Century), and below the Series 90 (Limited), the Roadmaster shared similar updated art deco styling with its siblings, highlighted by a divided grille with horizontal bars and streamlied headlight shells. Its wheelbase was 7 inches shorter than the range-topping Limited and 9 inches longer than the 'entry-level' Series 40.

All of the body styles available on the Roadmaster had four doors and seating for six passengers. The trunk-back sedan was priced at $1,515, the Formal Sedan at $1,640, and the Phaeton at $1,850. The Phaeton was approximately $200 less than the least expensive Limited body style - the trunk-back sedan.

The most popular Roadmaster body style was the trunk-back sedan with 14,637 examples sold, followed by 1,040 of the phaeton and 452 of the formal sedan.

All 1937 Buicks received a three-speed sliding gear transmission with floor shift controls and a single dry plate clutch. Each model had different overall ratios, with the Roadmaster's being 4.22:1. Braking was via four-wheel hydraulic brakes, and the suspension was independent at the front and semi-floating at the rear with semi-elliptic leaf springs.

by Daniel Vaughan | May 2024