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buickevin

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Everything posted by buickevin

  1. I believe Buicks were built in Iran between 1978 and 1981 but not sure if they were CKDs or ground up builds, Either way, they may have been painted very specifically for the tastes of the market.
  2. I can certainly help. I manage both the GM Heritage Center and the Durant-Dort Factory One. I have regular contact with the Sloan Museum and am associated with the Buick Heritage Alliance. Give me a call.
  3. The best period publication, more photos than anything, is “Buick’s Busy Acres” published in 1939. It’s hard to find an original but I think you can get a copy from the Buick Heritage Alliance (maybe)
  4. In the 1930s, bodies were built by Fisher and tucked from the south side of town to the north side to The Buick. Frames were purchased, but that’s about it, as Buick had its own foundry, forge, axle, sheet metal, transmission, and engine plants. AC Spark Plug/Champion Ignition Co. was across the street. Armstrong Spring Division was also on site and absorbed by Buick. DuPont paint was across the street from Buick as well. There were a couple of assembly plants. Engines were actually conveyed from Factory 11 across Leith Street to the assembly plants. Buick was the largest GM facility in the world in the 1930s. I hope this answered your question.
  5. Factory, or sometimes called Division, 25 was Buick’s Works Engineering department. They did all of the major architectural and facilities work throughout Buick. They were located in Building 85 at the northeast corner of Leith and Division. This phone book page shows the type of work they did. There was also a very insignificant “Building 25” that probably disappeared during the post WWII renovation program.
  6. I, too, like looking through these old magazines. I can say that Buick did not produce the Reliance. However, Durant, through GM, purchased Reliance Motor Car Company, the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company, and the Randolph Motor Company. All were purchased to produce commercial and light duty trucks. Although Randolph was soon sold off, Rapid and Reliance were sold under the GMC sales banner and soon just became GMC Truck.
  7. Automakers produce two actual pace cars - one for the Indy 500 Museum and one to keep. Buick either gave its cars to the Sloan Museum in Flint or, in the case of the 1983 Riviera, kept it in their historic vehicle collection. All others are parade cars or replicas. We had a showing of the pace cars at GM Durant-Dort Factory One in Flint in 2017, along with the Buick Bug.
  8. I was a manufacturing engineer at Buick City when we built these. For the most part, Buick needed to build something like 300 cars with the special aero package, most notably the filler panel on the rear quarter glass, to make it a "production" body to be legal in NASCAR. I don't recall much more than that. Hope it helps.
  9. Glad you enjoyed the story, Terry. I cant wait to see what Pete and Cindy did with the layout. It was fun working with the whole gang not only to write it but in actually getting the wagon back home. Thanks again to Dandy Dave for getting the wheels in motion!
  10. The Durant-Dort Foundation has one on display in Flint . . . http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2014/11/a_tub_with_a_sink_see_a_1898_d.html
  11. Dandy Dave, the wagon looks great! So impressive to see the paint detail that's survived, especially in the wheels and rear axle! Thank you for all you did to make this happen. It will look great inside the old carriage factory once the rennovation is complete. Thanks also to Dave Langdon for bringing this to our attention, to Larry Schramm for his time, talent, and trailer, to Brian Heil for driving out with Larry to get it, to Nick Branoff for making the donation for fuel, to GM for the use of the truck, and to David White and Leroy Cole of the Genesee County Historical Society for other travel expenses. My apologies if I missed anyone. Now, a little gentle cleaning (or power wasing as appropriate), some historical research, an assessment of how far to go with repair, and little more sweat and toil to get it ready for display in Flint . . . the epicenter of the automotive industry! Kevin
  12. Dave, Just sent you an email. We'd love to have it in Flint and display it in Durant-Dort Factory 1. Kevin
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