Maybe it was something in the water at the turn of the 20th century, but there was no shortage of larger-than-life characters involved in the automobile industry. Many of them were self-made men who made (and sometimes lost) fortunes greater than we could even fathom. Two of them were directly responsible for this 1918 Buick.
It’s popular lore among automotive history fans that General Motors was founded in Flint (with Buick as its centerpiece) by super salesman William C. Durant. In 1918, Durant was back in charge of GM after being ousted in 1910, but he would unfortunately lose his company for good in 1920. His biography by Lawrence Gustin is worth reading if you’re interested in that kind of thing. What may be less well-known is that Walter P. Chrysler was the president of Buick for several years in the 1910s, resigning in 1919 and…you probably know what he eventually accomplished.
Therefore, this barn-find Buick has a lot of automotive history baked into its purchase price. The seller gives us little information about the car itself, but (appropriately) includes 18 pictures in the ad. It was last registered in 1978, has a maroon body with black fenders, is rust free, and is being sold on a New Hampshire bill of sale.
The E-34, along with the E-35 Touring, was the lowest-priced Buick in 1918, with a list price of $795. It came with mechanical brakes on the rear wheels and a sliding gear three-speed manual. Only 3800 E-34s were built for 1918; that’s not the rarest Buick of the year, but the top-selling model sold almost 60,000 units. The interior of this one looks as if it would clean up fairly well.
The engine is a 170 cubic-inch four cylinder with 35 horsepower, but the ad unfortunately doesn’t say whether or not it runs or spins freely. As a side note, these Buick engines had valve cages, and that exposed valvetrain is how they were designed. If you’re interested in mechanical history, here is an interesting discussion about keeping these old Buicks running.
Once again, the ad doesn’t mention if this car is operational. If it is, a good cleaning would result in a real attention getter; after all, who doesn’t love a barn find? If not, you might get to learn how a valve cage works. You win either way! This Buick is for sale on Craigslist for $11,500. Thank you to Rocco B. for the tip.
Not much into these old cars but looks like this one might be worth cleaning up
Love these old cars and wish that I had the room for this Buick!
Wonder if ya had stop and get out to oil that valve train every 20 miles or so?
another great unrestored car. Hope someone doesn’t buy it and make it brand new. The unrestored patina is the best selling point.
I like it and wish I had the garage to park it in for a winter project I have never had the opportunity to drive a car like this where you can advance the spark from the steering wheel it would be fun to learn
WOW, $11.5 and they couldn’t give the poor thing a bath? Having dealt with vehicles of this vintage, they will own this car for decades to come as they have reached a point of almost zero value. The only people who love this era and in nursing homes and pushing up daisies at this point. No one cares to learn how to work on one, parts are extinct, and driving one is as much fun as driving my lawn mower, which by the way is faster and stops better! Its sad as there was a time this would have been someone’s golden years retirement project, but they are all dead now…….
$795 new to $11,500 old
God Bless America
What cost $795 in 1918 would cost $16410.64 in 2024.
Also, if you were to buy exactly the same products in 2024 and 1918,
they would cost you $795 and $33.82 respectively.
Interesting car for a few people. But I believe that the prices is probably VERY agressive. I hope I am wrong.
$11,500 for a oil can, sounds like a good deal. Best of luck.
Hi ACD! No truer assessment ever posted up here. Tried to email you a
couple of times but my phone said your email didn’t work. As for the car,
where do you wanna start. Now lessee, before you even go to kick ‘er
over you need to prime both the valve
train and the cylinders with oil and gas respectively. Next, move the spark forward just a tad to ignite the
fuel you primed the cylinders with.
After that, close the choke to draw fuel from the tank. Once you get it
Started, back the spark off a bit and
slowly open the choke to slow the idle. And get ready to have fun finding the gears in a sliding gearbox.
You’ll be grindin’ til ya’ find ’em. And
oh, BTW, You double clutch in every
gear too. Now for the steering–armstrong all the way! Who needs an
expensive gym membership when all
you have to do is heard this beast around awhile and you’ll have arms like Ah-nold Schwarzenegger. I’ve got
more than enough nice pics to make
a decent print of this car and I might
just try after I get caught up doing the
two 4X4s and a Mini so that I can send them on their way. But wait…
there’s more! I forgot to mention those wooden spoke rims that’ll fold
up like an accordion when you take
too sharp a turn. And since no one’s
said it, I’ll say it now. Jay Leno, your
next project is waiting!
To all of you folks crying that the sky is falling, I reckon there are about as many people interested in this car as there are existing specimens. Potential buyers aren’t as thick on the ground as they used to be in this big country but the thing about people, for better or worse, is were keep making more of them every day.
All of you mystic seers and fortune tellers here are a boring annoyance to the rest of us who are actually capable of prognosticating the future.
What did you say? Your command of language is?
In regards to Paolo, the sky IS falling, but I think there are enough folks left that can and will take this on. We aren’t all dead yet. Next time around, however, not so sure. For 1918, this car was surprisingly modern. The sliding gear, another name for non-synchro, the OHV motor were novel at the time. Okay, the exposed valve gear is a bit intimidating, but these were low rpm motors, and a squirt here and there was good enough. I thought these had a removable valve cover, maybe not, but something we clearly take for granted today. To be perfectly honest, sadly I see more interest in a mud fence today, than this.
Fabulous early survivor. Please leave it as is,only original once.
More interesting facts and insights about a similar 1918 Buick Model E-4-34 being brought back to life:
https://forums.aaca.org/topic/313572-1918-buick-model-e-4-34/
Thanks for a great read!
Already SOLD…..Well that didn’t take long……A great early seldom seen Buick…