1911 Buick Model 26

David Dunbar Buick was born in Arbroath, Scotland, came to the United States at the age of two, and grew up in Detroit, Michigan. He devised a method of adhering porcelain to cast iron while working for a plumbing fixture company and quickly became wealthy making sinks and tubs. This provided the financial stability to explore gasoline engine production under a venture called Buick Auto-Vim. One of his employees was a machinist named Walter Lorenzo Marr who was running a bicycle shop. Another employee was a French-born mechanic-machinist named Eugene Richard. Together, Marr and Richard would devise an engine with valves in the cylinder head, opposite the pistons, not alongside them. This 'Valve-in-Head' engine design would become a hallmark of Buick cars for decades that followed.

When the Chicago American and Examiner staged a 1,000-mile relay run from Chicago to New York in 1906, the Buick Model F was the only competitor to complete the event. The Model F earned the nickname 'Old Faithful,' soon touted in a company brochure. The Model F remained in production through 1910, the last of the two-cylinder Buicks.

The early Buick vehicles were powered by inline twin-cylinder engines with the valve-in-head design. As demand for more powerful cars increased, Buick introduced a line of four-cylinder models for 1907, designated D, S, K and H. In keeping with the company's tradition of allocating one model designation per body style, D and H were touring cars, while S and K were roadsters. The roadsters rested atop a 102.5-inch wheelbase, while the touring models were four inches longer. The H and K models had two-speed planetary transmissions, like the twin-cylinder cars, while D and S used three-speed sliding gears. All four of these models employed the same inline four-cylinder engine, with individually-cast cylinders in a T-head configuration. The 255 cubic-inch engine had overhead valves and developed 30 brake horsepower.

William 'Billy' Crapo Durant took a ride in a Buick in 1904, and two months later, he was a member of the company's board of directors. A partner in the Flint, Michigan Durant-Dort Carriage Company, Durant was impressed with the car and felt it was worthy of investment. A short time later, Durant had floated a $300,000 stock issue for what was now the Buick Motor Company. Durant would subsidize his growing General Motors Empire through the success of Buick. Before he was ousted as GM's chairman in 1911 (making a triumphant return in 1916) he brought Walter Chrysler aboard and before long Buick was producing an astounding 550 cars per day.

The 1909 Buick
By 1909, Buick was in second place for U.S. motorcar production, with 14,606 examples produced. Some of the company's less popular models were dropped from the lineup while the remaining models received additional body styles. Styling was updated with both the front and rear fenders receiving rounded edges.

The Model D, S and 5 were dropped leaving the Models 10 and 16, the 6, and the Model F & G. The Model F and G were equipped with two-cylinder, 159 cubic-inch engines developing 22 horsepower at 1,200 RPM and both rested on a 92-inch wheelbase platform. The Model F was a five-passenger tourer and the G was a two-passenger runabout.

The Model 6A had a 113-inch wheelbase for its two-passenger roadster body and was powered by a T-head four-cylinder engine displacing 336 cubic inches and developing 40 hp. The Model F listed at $1,150, the Model G at $1,250, and the 6A at $2,750.

The Model 10 was offered as a roadster, tourabout, and toy tonneau. Its wheelbase measured 92 inches and its inline, valve-in-head four-cylinder engine displaced 165 cubic inches and offered 22.5 horsepower. The three-passenger roadster was priced at $1,000 and the tourabout was $1,050.

The Model 16 had a 112-inch wheelbase and its four-cylinder, 318 CID engine produced 32.4 SAE horsepower. Both the roadster and tourabout were priced at $1,750.

The 1910 Buick
The Model F was the only two-cylinder model in the lineup and it received only minor changes - a new vertical tube radiator. The list of four-cylinder models included the 10, 7, 16, 17, 19, and 41. Four-cylinder engine displacement sizes included 255 (Model 19), 336 CID (Model 7), 165 CID (Model 10), and 318 CID (Model 16, 17, and 41). The 10 had a 92-inch wheelbase, the Model 19 at 105-inches, the Model 16 measured 112 inches, the Model 17 was slightly larger at 112.5-inches, and the Model 7 at 122-inches. The Model 41 had a limousine body and represented the company's first closed coachwork.

Prices ranged from $1,000 for the Model 10 and rose to $2,750 for the Model 41.

The 1911 Buick
Buick offered nine different models for 1911 with only the Model 21 available in various body styles. The Model 14 was a roadster priced at $550 and powered by a two-cylinder engine displacing 127 cubic inches. The Model 26, 32, and 38 were roadsters with the 26 resting on a 100-inch wheelbase, the 32 on an 89-inch platform, and both the 38 and 39 shared a 116-inch wheelbase platform. The Model 27, 33, and 39 were five-passenger tourers with the Model 27 measuring 106 inches and the Model 33 at 100 inches. The Model 21 was also offered a tourer or roadster with a rumble seat.

The Model 32 & 33 were powered by the 165 CID engine of the discontinued Model 10 and equipped with an automatic high-speed clutch release. The Model 26 and 27 received the new 210 CID four-cylinder engine. The Model 38 and 39 were essentially larger versions of the Model 26 and 27. The Model 26 Roadster was a larger version of the Models 14 and 14B, built atop a 106-inch wheelbase. The 210 cubic-inch engine developed 30 horsepower and there was shaft drive from the three-speed transmission and a multi-disc clutch to the rear axle. It had a large rear-mounted fuel tank and weighed approximately 2,100 pounds. A top and windshield were optional equipment.

The Model 21 was painted Buick green with available cream-colored wheels. The standard color of the Model 26 was battleship gray. The Model 27 and 38 received a dark blue body with the Model 27 having white wheels while the Model 38 riding on gray wheels. The Model 39 was also dark blue and its wooden wheels were painted gray.

The Model 32 roadster was priced at $800, the Model 33 Tourer at $950, the Model 26 roadster at $1,050, and the Model 27 tourer at $1,150. The Model 21 (Roadster and tourer) were priced at $1,550, the Model 38 and 39 were listed at $1,850, and the range-topping Model 41 Limousine was $2,750.

Buick produced 13,389 units in the calendar year 1911, including approximately 1,000 examples of the Model 26 Roadster.

by Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2022