1918 Buick E50 Series Sedan
My dad bought Buicks. He was a doctor and in his day, Buick was still the "doctor's car". Buicks got that reputation early on, because they were reliable and doctors needed reliability because, in the early years of the twentieth century, most doctors were country doctors. When the telephone rang at two in the morning to tell the doctor that Mrs. Smith had gone into labor, the doctor needed a car that would get him to the Smith farm. Doctors drove Buicks.
Other than the above, there is absolutely no reason this car, through any features, or configurations, was made for a doctor. As above, they were reliable. Then there is the Cadillac factor. Doctors were paid by patients and pulling up in a Cadillac may give them the impression that they have plenty of money, and because of this stigma, they may just not opt to pay. SO Doctors bought the Buick, as it was less ostentatious, still had plenty of luxury, and they were more apt to get paid! Offered for consignment is this Buick E50 Series sedan right out of 1918. Similar to the Cadillac of the era, but without all the ostentatious prestige that comes with Cadillac ownership, this car comes to us out of long term static display storage, but has been previously restored and is ready to have some new life breathed back into it.
Exterior
First and foremost, this tall and thin car is wearing an older restoration. It has aged well and appears to need just a simple buffing and waxing to bring it back up to snuff. Beautiful olive green dancing in between black above and below is giving a taller look to this already tall car. Starting from the roof down, classy and classic black drenches the roof and all of its support pillars before coming to an abrupt halt at the upper body beltline embossment. From here the olive green takes over, encompassing the second body bump out and dripping downward to the lowers of the body. This green also graces the long contoured dual cowled hood that is complete with side cooling louvers before ending at the blacked out capless radiator surround. A Buick badge in blue leads the way on the surround and black trimmed headlights hang off the sides, connected by a black tiebar. No front bumper, just straw colored framing and suspension that are exposed for all the world to see. Black fenders are connected by a running boards that run along each side of the car and sandwich the green nicely. 4 doors with tarnished ring style handles and a wrap-around rear tub along make up the body of this 7-window car. Four 34-inch wooden spoked wheels along with a single spare mounted to the back are seen on this car. with all wrapped in 34x4.5 wide whites.
Interior
Yards of textured check pattern broadcloth in a tan color way cover the front bucket seats, as well as the rear bench seat. The buckets sit within tan tubs and show with various tears of the upholstery, exposing what may be the original material and padding underneath. A sprawling rear bench, in the same material and color races between the mohair clad sides and while this seat has no tearing but there is substantial staining. Small folding "jump seats" appear from the back of the buckets and could double as a footrest if one chooses not to use the floor mounted board rest. Faded, tattered and soiled tan textured carpet floats this interior and the long armed shifter and parking brake handle rise from the center, just in front of the dash. More tan textured cloth adorns the door panels as well and the headliner to boot with all presenting varying degree of soiling and water stains. A wood rimmed 4 spoke steering wheel with spark advance and throttle controls rests atop the long black column and a tilt out windshield is noted above the black steel dash. Speaking of the dash, it is bedecked with a smattering of factory gauges and push-buttons for the lighting, all showing a properly aged patina.
Drivetrain
A massive inline 241.6 inline 6-cylinder Buick power plant sits under the folding hood. This mill is dressed in slightly greasy and worn straw yellow paint and is a mechanical marvel with exposed pushrods, rockers and valve springs. The engine does turn over by hand but we made no attempt to start the car or drive it. A 1-barrel updraft fuel system is seen, and this engine is overhead valve. The transmission is a 3-speed which needs to be double clutched, as most cars of this size were for the time and a 4.61 geared axle turns the back tires.
Undercarriage
A light coating of surface rust is seen underneath on the untreated components and the wooden floorboards and running boards remain solid though. The framing has a nice coating of straw yellow paint and the rest of the undercarriage follows suit with a slight but appreciable patina to it. Leaf springs give the ride for the front and back and mechanical drum brakes are on the rear, which was the standard of the industry in 1918.
A massive car when sitting next to a typical Model T. Plenty of interior space and has the potential to be a nice car with some work. The Buick sedan for the wealthy who wanted to remain fairly anonymous but enjoyed the finer things in life, now it's your turn....doctor.
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special interest automobile showroom, featuring over 850 vehicles for sale with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle barn find collection is on display.
This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914. Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the vehicle in person.
