- Seller: David B (Contact)
- Location: Essex, Connecticut
- Mileage: 2,500 Shown
- Chassis #: 2596471
- Title Status: Clean
- Engine: 331 cui Inline-6
- Transmission: 3-Speed Manual
It’s wild to think cars like this Buick are now nearly 100 years old! A ton has changed since it was built, but this 7-passenger sedan isn’t all that different from modern cars. It has conventional controls, basic creature comforts, and plenty of space for the whole family. This one has 55+ years of known history, which is pretty incredible to think about, and it looks like a really nice driver. It’s being offered here as a Barn Finds Classified in Essex, Connecticut, with an asking price of $17,500.
The seller purchased this Buick as a project back in 1993. The previous owner had the car for over 20 years and, at some point, started the restoration but got distracted by other projects, and it stalled. Most of the major work was already done, including paint, engine rebuild, and upholstery, but it still needed a ton of work. The seller finished putting it back together and started taking it to shows. They believe they put about a thousand miles on it, but it hasn’t seen much use in the past 15 years. Everything still works, they start it regularly, but it’s going to need some service before it’s ready to be driven on the open road.
Over the past decade, inline-6 engines have made a comeback in SUVs and trucks. Back in 1930, an inline-6 was often the engine of choice for higher-end automobiles, as they were smooth and offered solid performance. The Series 60 was Buick’s flagship model, so it received their big 331 cui inline-6, which produced 99 horsepower. That might not sound all that impressive, but when Ford’s Model A was rated at just 40 horsepower, it was the cat’s pajamas. The seller says it runs well and starts easily.
The inside is presently in good condition, with the correct style velvetine fabric on the seats and door cards and a felt-like fabric on the headliner. The seller admits the carpets are of a more modern style than what it would have originally had, but they look nice. All of the gauges work, the heater fan blows air, the horn works, and the window wipers function. It could use a good cleaning, but otherwise it appears ready to use.
It won’t take much to get this Buick ready for shows. It probably won’t ever replace your modern daily driver. It still has its original rod-driven mechanical brakes, but it’s pretty incredible that you can climb into a nearly 100-year-old car, turn the ignition lever, hit the floor-mounted starter button, and head off to the store like normal. Seeing something like this on the road would definitely catch our attention, and it might inspire future generations to learn more about automotive history. So, hopefully, this one’s next owner will get it out on the road and let people see it firsthand! If you’d love to be its next owner, contact the seller and make them an offer.
Is it equipped with a Tommy gun?
No bullet holes? Cue “The Untouchables( 1959)” while Eliot Ness( Robert Stack) used a Willys-Knight, or a Chrysler, early 30s Buicks were used almost exclusively by the bad guys.
A Desilu production.
Here’s a car that escaped those tumultuous times somehow, and to seasoned readers, a 1930 Buick,,,well, who was sportin’ that kind of cash then? Remember, this was the height of the Depression, and Buick still managed to sell 181,743 cars that year. Wasn’t depressing for those folks that coughed up close to $2 GRAND for the fanciest ones, this I read this car was top of the line. 3 times the cost of a mere Ford or Chevy, without going the Caddy route, this was as nice as it got.
To younger eyes, it wasn’t just another frumpy old car, a Buick was the best. An amazing example here, must be tough to part with it,,,,
You beat me to this one Howard. Yes indeed, this thing has gangster written all over it. The stories this could tell!
According to the Buick Club of America, Buick sales plummeted to just over 40,000 in 1933. I believe that may have been the worst year of the Depression.
Yes, Buick was once indeed the best. And so the marque remained for decades. But sometime after the 1960s, the economic animals at GM finally had their way with Buick. They convinced executive management to accept that market trends, investor habits, and economic psychology militated against continuing Buick’s storied history of innovation and quality. For these bean counters and marketers, good business practice demanded the manufacture of increasingly boring cars that lacked distinction in appearance and performance.
A Buick aficionado since childhood, I’d rather the marque had met with the same fate as LaSalle, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac. Like them, at least it would have died with dignity, its fine reputation intact.
Good price for a very nice driver. But as we talk about these depression era vehicles, the interest is waning, a few years ago it would have brought twice as much. I’d like to have, but I’m trying to get out, not deeper in. Whoever gets it needs to drive it every chance they get!
What a car to take to the cruise at
Old Town!! I suppose you could find replicas of the Tommy guns to really wow the crowds Friday and Saturday nights. Don’t forget
to dress up in your best gangster
costume as you just might win an.award for the coolest car at the cruise. Might be in bad taste
to point those fake machine guns
out the windows while driving down the street during the cruise
today, but that’s what a lot of folks saw in 1930. People today
are too thin skinned to allow a
reenactment of a critical moment
in.our history where our government almost fell under control of the gangs in old Chicago. And yes Howard, I would put a boom box in the car
that would play the theme song from The Untouchables as the car glides by along with the sound effects of all those Tommy guns. Hope I have enough art stuff to do a print of this car. It really rocks!!
Hi Ken, I realize this has to be looked at by the staff, but some viewers may not know what we are talking about, it sure violent for us young toddlers. That theme was composed by Nelson Riddle.I think the truck causing the road block( my job) is a Diamond T or a Federal. I’m sure there’s a Buick in the bunch. All these cars were provided by collectors and still are. Background look familiar? Desilu Studios,(?) same as Andy Griffith.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZTjQ7SLvUk
Cat’s pajamas for sure!
And undoubtedly the bee’s knees.
In my High School Class of 1972, some enterprising students were making a film about gangsters. They dressed in appropriate fashion, found a 1930’s car, and set out with fake tommy guns to the classic 1920’s bank. While parking in front of said bank, local citizens called the police. The police were not amused. But since these classmates were from the wealthy enclave of our town, they had no legal consequence.
Great looking Buick for its age and to take to shows!
There were lots more Buicks owned by people who weren’t gangsters, but I’m glad you all had a chance to relive The Untouchables. I liked it too-
By the way, this is a cool car!
THIS one, I LOVE! For SOME reason, Buicks of this vintage survived well, and were still seen, driven by the very elderly, as late as the early 1970s. I imagine that this one would be reliable transportation, despite its age.
Very reliable when the person behind the wheel reads the gauges and doesn’t run it out of gas .. LOL
Yeah, that was me during my test drive of this car.
I’m representing the car for the owner, he’s thinning his collection a bit and this one is the first to hit the market.
He is rather negotiable, would rather it go to a great home than get top dollar.
I have over 350 photos and several videos if anyone is interested.
Please use the Contact Seller icon to ask.
Any questions, please don’t hesitate to tag me here in a comment.
and it would make an AWESOME gangster car for Halloween!
Thanks everyone.
Yeah Howard, I remember watching The Untouchables on Friday nights after the Hollywood
Palace on ABC. Violent? It certainly was but we watched it every week and nothing ever happened to us. We learned from
our parents that it was only a TV
program and that we should never do the things the actors did
on that show. My Dad was a police officer and was trained on
how to use a Tommy gun as there
were many departments out there that were still using them into the 1970s. He told me that what they showed in the gunfights was 🐂 💩. He said that there was no way in hell that
you could hold the gun straight out and be accurate at hitting someone in a real firefight. He told me that it was the tendency of the barrel of the weapon to climb up each time you pulled the
trigger. He was taught to angle the barrel downward when pulling
the trigger to compensate for the
tendency of the barrel to climb while you used it. The Normal PD
had several of the models with the 50 to 100 round drum magazines on them. He also said that shooting one was like
holding a jackhammer in your hands due to the constant recoil
that resulted from all those .45
caliber ACPs being let go all at once. But alas, thanks to our nanny state censors, you’ll never
see that kind of action ever again.
Not much to say other than this is a beautiful car and I hope it goes to a great new home.
Now I want to watch The Untouchables. My grandfather made it back from WWI and then went into the Buick business with his father, long before my time, and I never met him because he died shortly after my dad was born. I would love to have this car, wish it wasn’t so far from NE Kansas, it would be fun to drive to town now and then.
Hey Candace,
I work with several transport companies that would get you a great price to get it from CT out to Kansas.
The price on the car is rather negotiable .. he’d rather it go to a good home than grab high dollar on it.
Thanks for the info.! Could you share the info. about the transport companies you referred to?
The car would have a great home and would be kept inside.
Boy would my kids be surprised the next time they visit to see such a beauty! This car may be from the time of my late relative Harold Lloyd, who was a silent film star in the early ’20s. What a character he was!
I can’t share that info directly here in the comments, however, if you go to the website that is shown in the photos here, you can contact me directly through my website.
Thanks!
Look forward to hearing from you.
I think we have a winner!!! Candace,,you are a breath of fresh air, I hope the sale goes through, a bit before my time, but by 1930 it was actually a very modern car to drive. I wouldn’t be intimidated by the mechanical brakes, ( Ford insisted his mechanical brakes were safer) and the “crash-box” transmission might take some getting used to, NE Kansas, should be no stranger to them. And don’t kid yourself, I bet there were plenty women gangsters. :)
Be advised, transport is a “get what you pay for” deal, and on something like this, please don’t skimp. Thanks for visiting the site. Let us know if you get this magnificent automobile.
I’m going to second what Howard said. This beauty deserves a good home. Secondly, it’s really worth it to ship it in an enclosed trailer if at all possible. It’s a beautiful car, and you want it to arive in one piece. You definitely get what you pay for.
I really like this car and the stories it could tell! If I drove something like this some wise cracker would ask” did you buy the car new?”even though this car was almost forty years old when I was born. This would make a nice addition to someone’s collection.
This is me, I’ll be 84 next month, But, This is me !!
I GET it!!! I would LOVE to own and drive this car!
I GET it!!! I would LOVE to own and drive this car!