1913 Buick Model 25

David Dunbar Buick invented a means to porcelain-coat cast iron bathtubs, earning him a fortune that allowed him to explore other challenges and business ventures. The automobile company created by Mr. Buick would become a biography of many influential names in America's automotive industry, including Harlow Curtice, Jonathan Maxwell, 'Billy' Durant, Charles Nash, Walter L. Marr, Walter P. Chrysler, Alfred P. Sloan, and Charles Chayne. Perhaps the most significant early contribution to the automobile industry was the adoption of the advanced and powerful 'valve-in-head' OHV engine design of Walter L. Marr and Eugene Richard.

General Motors was founded in 1908 by 'Billy' Durant, who had acquired Buick in 1904. The Durant-Dort Carriage Company built automobile bodies for Buick by 1910. Charles Nash had been hired by Durant in 1890 and, within a decade, became vice president and general manager of the Durant-Dort Carriage Company. Nash introduced the straight-line belt conveyor into the assembly of carriages. Nash and Walter P. Chrysler later oversaw the production of Buick automobiles, helping it become an efficient and affordably priced product, which in turn, helped keep General Motors afloat throughout its turbulent period under Durant, Wall Street bankers, and Alfred Sloan's duPont-backed leadership.

The Buick Model 25
The Model 25 was a four-door tourer introduced in 1913 and produced through 1915. It replaced the Model 35 Tourer of the previous year but continued to employ its 165 cubic-inch four-cylinder engine. The Model 35 used a 101.75-inch wheelbase, while the Model 25 rested on a 105-inch wheelbase platform. Priced at $1,050, a total of 8,130 examples were built during its inaugural year.

The overhead-valve four-cylinder engine had a 3.75-inch bore and stroke, a cast iron block, mechanical valve lifters, and a Marvel carburetor. It developed 22.5 (N.A.C.C.) horsepower and was paired with a three-speed sliding gear transmission with a cone clutch, shaft drive, and floor shift controls. Mechanical brakes on the rear wheels provided the stopping power.

Buick introduced a six-cylinder model to its lineup by 1914, but the bulk of production remained its four-cylinder product. Buick's four-cylinder line consisted of the Model B-24 Roadster and B-25 Four-Door Touring on a 105-inch wheelbase length with power delivered by a 165-inch OHV four-cylinder engine producing 22 horsepower. The Model B-36 was a roadster, the B-37 was a four-door tourer, and the B-38 was a coupe; they all rested on a 112-inch wheelbase chassis and were powered by a 221 cubic-inch four-cylinder engine offering 35 horsepower. The large and prestigious Model B-55 was a four-door tourer on a 130-inch wheelbase and powered by a new 331 cubic-inch six-cylinder engine.

The 1914 Model B-25 Tourer quickly became a very important model for Buick due to its affordability, attractive styling, and five-passenger accommodations. Priced at $1,050, it came standard with a top and a windshield. Production reached 13,446 units of the B-25 Tourer in 1914, greatly exceeding the popularity of the B-37 Tourer - the company's second most popular model - of which approximately 9,050 examples were built.

Production of the Model 25 (dubbed the C-25 for 1915) continued into 1915, with production increasing to 19,080 units - again, the most popular model in the lineup. Buick would switch to six-cylinder power in 1916, ending its four-cylinder range and with it, the Model 25.

by Daniel Vaughan | Apr 2024