1905 Buick Model C

The Buick Company was named after a Scottish-born entrepreneur named David Dunbar Buick, while a Michigan bicycle merchant and a French machinist gave the company its soul. While working for a plumbing fixture company, David Buick devised a method of adhering porcelain to cast iron and became quite wealthy making sinks and tubs. His next venture was a company called Buick Auto-Vim and Power Company which made gasoline engines. Employees hired along the way included Walter Lorenzo Marr, a machinist and tinkerer who was running a bicycle shop, and a French-born mechanic/machinist named Eugene Richard. Together, they devised an engine with valves in the cylinder head, opposite the pistons (rather than alongside them). This 'Valve-in-Head' engine would become a hallmark of Buick cars to the present day.

In 1904, William Crapo Durant was given a ride in a Buick, and two months later he had become a member of the company's board of directors. Durant - a partner in the Flint, Michigan Durant-Dort Carriage Company - was so impressed with the car that he felt it worthy of investment. Durant had soon floated a $300,000 stock issue for what was now the Buick Motor Company. Later when DeWaters joined the company in 1905, his influence greatly assisted the fledgling company which was later to grow into the world's biggest motor manufacturing concern, General Motors.

Early Buick models were powered by twin-cylinder, inline engines with two-speed and reverse planetary transmission with chain final drive. Production in 1904 was just 37 cars but by 1907 this had grown to a substantial 4,641 units, second only in production terms to Ford that year.

The 1904 Buick was offered as a four-passenger touring model painted indigo blue with bright yellow wheels. Although a new company, the designs were traditional, with simple curved fenders, tall wooden wheels, a six-sided radiator, and right-hand drive. The valve-in-head engine displaced 159 cubic inches with a bore of 4.5-inches and a stroke measuring 5 inches. It had a cast-iron block, mechanical valve lifters, a single Updraft carburetor, and initially delivered 15 horsepower at 1,200 RPM. Output later improved to 22 bhp at 1,230 RPM. The engine was backed by a two-speed transmission and braking was handled by mechanical brakes on two wheels. The drive was via chain and the wheelbase initially measured 83-inches before growing to 86-inches.

Production of the two-cylinder Model B began in July of 1904 and engine improvements and larger wheelbase were introduced on October 31 of that year. Production continued through December 14th, 1904 before being replaced by the Model C. The Model C was nearly identical to the Model B but its wheelbase measured 87-inches, its 159 CID engine offered 22 horsepower (no change), and it wore a new royal blue body with ivory wheels. The service brake was now foot-operated. The $1,200 base price was the same as the 'improved' version of the Model B Tourer. Early Model B's had a $950 base price.

The 1905 Model C was replaced in 1906 by the Model G and Model F, and both relied on two-cylinder power. Both had an 87-inch wheelbase, with the Model G being a two-seat roadster, while the Model F was a revised version of the Model C wearing a new radiator design and priced $50 lower than its predecessor. For 1907, Buick offered both a two- and four-cylinder model, and this theme would continue until 1912 when Buick switched entirely to four-cylinder power.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2022