What year and model is this photo.

30

Asked by jrumbold Aug 30, 2012 at 11:48 PM about the Buick Roadmaster

Question type: General

This is my mom circa 1934 standing in from of what I believe is a Buick Roadster. My father bought this vehicle and transported it to Sumatra in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). The photo was taken in Sumatra sometime between 1933 and 1939.

21 Answers

675

I'd say it's a 1934 Buick 66C Convertible Coupe

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30

I don't think it's a convertible. It looks like a hard top.

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From photos I found on the web, the '34 had horizontal trim on the engine cowling while this has vertical louvers like the '33. However, the '33 didn't seem to have spoke wheels.

675

the closest model I came across was a "1933 Buick 33-60 Sport Coupe 66 S".However I seen several 1933 Buick Coupes that did have 'spoked wheels'.

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Best Answer Mark helpful
30

Zardo: Your's doesn't seem to have the fancy radiator cap or the rumble seat (step on the fender is missing). Would you think that my dad's was also red with black fenders and roof?

10

My car have also lady radiator cap and teh ramble seat. My car is just equal to that of his father

only recently found your picture of the Buick and your mom. I own an identical buick. It is actually a 1933 series 50 model 56 sport coupe. Mine too was purchased by a man as a gift for his wife. Does your family have any connection to Spokane Washington? could it be the same car! Original color is a cream and brown two tone. These cars were sold new with the wire wheels or the 'artillery' stamped steel wheel. I hope this message will still reach you. Stan

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Thank you Stan. No connection to Spokane. My father bought the car in 1933 in New Jersey and then my parents sailed off to Sumatra in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) and they took the car with them. They returned for the last time in 1939 (mother) and 1940 (father). I suspect that he left the car in Sumatra with a colleague and that the Japanese seized it when the invaded in March 1942.

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jrumbold, A wonderful history! The only thing that would have made it better is if these two histories coincided. On a closer look at your black and white photo, your Mom's car could have been the copper tone body and brown fender combination where mine is the cream body with brown fenders. The car is truly an outstanding design, thanks to Fisher and Buick! Less than 1600 of these were produced and few buyers could afford them in the day. Thank you for sharing this picture and the history. Your Mom was a petite woman as I believe the lady who owned my car was and I marvel that they could manage such a large and heavy vehicle. Perhaps it was the vacuum assisted clutch 'red button' on the floor that Buick boasted about that year, especially to attract women drivers. Thanks again! Stan p. s. An outstanding model of this car has been recently released and can be seen on the same Google '1933 Buick pictures' site as your Mom's picture.

30

So, before my parents were married in April 1933, they did an excursion from where they lived in Passaic, NJ to the Pocono Mountains in northeastern Pennsylvania - Stroudsburg to be exact and my mother was taking driving lessons from my father and she had an accident with the Buick. I don't think the damage was too bad but what with the thickness of the steel in those days it was probably difficult to cause too much damage. Their chauffeur in Sumatra damaged the door and it took months to get a new door from the states. I would love to see that color combination you mention so I can colorize my picture.

jrumbold, Check the google site I mentioned for some original color schemes. Might help. Again, great history! My car remained in the same family for some sixty-five years. while I have some of the history, parts are vague or missing. I do have the original bill of sale. It shows that they traded in a "Stutz". Would love to know more about that. Stan

30

So, Stan, what Google site are your referring to? Do you mean just Google "1933 Buick?"

jrumbold, If you Google "1933 buick images" your Mom's car is in the sixteenth row from the top. In the thirteenth row is a four door model incorrectly identified as a model 40 and the heading on the picture is VOLCARS.COM. This is actually model 50 since the 40 did not exist until 1934. This color combination seems to be correct or very, very close per my 1933 Buick COLOR sales brochure. Hope this helps. If you succeed in colorizing it, I would love to have a copy. Stan

jrumbold, I just learned that the pics on this site may come up in a random order each time you access the site. Just go to Google and enter "1933 buick images". If your Mom's picture is on this page, then look for the car with the title above the picture VOLOCARS.COM. That's it! Stan

30

Thanks Stan. Yes, the search came up the same as it did for you. So, the sedan has dark brown, almost bronze fenders and the copper colored body. Did the coupe have chrome louvers on the engine cowling? And, did this original models have whitewalls? Certainly, my parent's version did not have the chrome and whitewalls. You notice that the coupe had the color on the roof with the copper color around the window edge. Thanks again.

jrumbold, The list of options in the 1933 brochure includes chrome plated vent doors on the hood,whitewall tires, artillery or wire wheels in paint or chrome, and a reference to "special colors" Dealers often made changes to suit the customer by swapping parts with other cars in their inventory.

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