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LOT 325

1911 Buick Model 26 Roadster Chassis no. 3613 Engine no. 2325

Sold for US$38,080 inc. premiumLot to be sold without reserve
Lot 325

1911 Buick Model 26 Roadster

Gilded Age|27 April 2024, 16:00 EDT|Middletown, Rhode Island

1911 Buick Model 26 Roadster
Chassis no. 3613
Engine no. 2325

201ci OHV Inline 4-Cylinder Engine
Single Schebler Carburetor
Est 30bhp at 1,200 rpm
3-Speed Manual Transmission
4-Wheel Leaf Spring Suspension
Rear Mechanical Brakes

*Formerly in the Roadmaster Collection
*Sporting 2-place Roadster coachwork
*Large-capacity, OHV 4-cylinder engine
*A fast and well-balanced sports model


THE EARLY BUICKS

By 1911, the company founded by David Dunbar Buick, the Buick Manufacturing Company of Flint, Michigan, was an important player in the US auto industry, both in sales numbers and success in competition. After going through numerous reorganizations and changes of management, Buick had really stepped up its game with the involvement of super-salesman William C. Durant in 1904. Durant used Buick as one of the cornerstones of his new General Motors Corporation, and it remains so today.

Buick produced 13,389 units in calendar year 1911, making it one of the industry's major producers. The 1911 Buick line was wide-ranging: from a tiny 2-cylinder chain-drive Roadster, through 10 different series and models, all of those larger automobiles with 4-cylinder engines. The Model 26 Roadster was a larger version of the Models 14 and 14B, built on a 106-inch wheelbase. Its cast-iron engine block was of 210 cubic inch displacement and developed about 30 horsepower. The Model 26 Roadster had very good power and performance for its size. There was shaft drive from the 3-speed transmission and a multi-disc clutch to the rear axle. A top and windshield were optional. The Model 26 Roadster featured a large rear-mounted gas tank, weighing 2,100 pounds, the Roadster was produced in just 1,000 examples.

THE CAR OFFERED

The Buick Model 26 looks every bit the iconic roadster form of this era that was so popularized by Mercer and Stutz and flatteringly copied by any number of producers from Ford to Hudson. It has just that right balance of looks with its big radiator out front, bucket seats and drum gas tank.

The car was acquired for its present collection ownership in an Auburn auction in the fall of 2020 and had previously resided in the Roadmaster Collection, which was a group of cars charting the history of the Buick marque from its earliest days to the 1980s. It wears a period Indiana State road registration, which rests on the riser beneath its seats and alongside a Selden plaque (no. 283487) and it still carries period features including a full set of brass lighting and windshield.

To judge from its current condition, the car appears to have been well restored after the millennium, with a decision to match the common "straw" color of the running gear which in their day enabled easy visuals for maintenance with the bodywork refinished in a striking apple green paintwork, with dark green leather seats and a black fabric top.

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  • 26 April 2024, 09:00 - 19:00 EDT
  • 27 April 2024, 08:00 - 16:00 EDT

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