Original mid 1930's pictures of a Buick in Europe - What's the model?

[Guest JackTheDutchman]

Hello, I'm Jack from the Netherlands, Europe. Recently I ran into some original 8 mm black and white moving pictures of my (great)grandparents holidays. In the mid 1930's they traveled Europe (Germany, Switzerland, Italy, England) from the Netherlands with their Buick. At those days such a car was very extraordinary over here. I've put some pictures of the car(s) in this Picasa-album: BuickTravelingEuropeMid1930S. I've also put some parts of the movie on YouTube. Please can someone tell me as accurately as possible year and model of the car(s).

Edited March 10, 2013 by JackTheDutchman (see edit history)

[61polara]

It's a '34 Buick and appears to have a European body from the cowl back. I'm not sure of the series, but it appears to be a large series Buick.

[Fred Rawling]

It could be a 1935 also. You can not tell the difference between 1934 and 1935 from that distance.

Up close, late 1935's had a flat grill with no fins at the inside of the grill. 1934 and early 1935's had fins on the inside of the grill so from the side, you could not look through the grill.

The side mounted spares were an option but they did not get the optional bumper guards.

[Guest JackTheDutchman]

Thanks for the replies. In case you didn't notice. The pictures show two different car's.

The car on most pictures has an "NL" country sign, suicidedoors at the back, spares behind the front wheels and a large trunk at the back.

The car on the last two pictures has other license plates, a "GB" country sign, suicidedoors at the front, a spare at the back of the car and an other type of grill at the front.

Is it a Buick too?

Edited March 10, 2013 by JackTheDutchman (see edit history)

[Marty Roth]

The car in the last two photos is not a Buick, in my opinion......

Its grille / radiator seems more similar to a Mercedes-Benz of the era, but I'm less informed on those models----now, show me some Citroens and it would be a different story...

[Guest JackTheDutchman]

OK, the longer I think about it, the more I get the idea that the car on the last two pictures is not my granddad's but just a car that happened to be lifted aboard. The Buick on the first pictures was owned by my great-granddad. He wan a lottery, bought himself a Buick, hired a chauffeur and went traveling through Europe with his wife and daughter.

Marty, your 1954 Buick is a real beauty! Do you have more (interior) pictures of it? Do you think it's the same model as my great-granddads? I studied the 1935 brochure and I think he owned a 1934 or 1935 50 Series Model Fifty-Seven. Right?

[Marty Roth]

Jack,

Yes, ours is a 1934 50 Series Model 57 which makes it the 119" wheelbase 4-door sedan. It could be the same model as your great-granddad's, however his car had a trunk fitted directly to the rear shape of the body. Ours has the accessory trunk separate from the body, bolted to the (fold-down) luggage rack. This may just be a difference in accessories. I do not know if your great-grandfather's car had a coach-built body by a European bodybuilder

I have included some interior shots of our 1934 34-57. I hope these will help

[Guest JackTheDutchman]

Marty, thanks for the picture. What a beautiful car! I really don't know how my great-granddad got the cowl back, but he badly needed it for all their holiday luggage. From here to Rome Italy it's far over 1000 miles. Back in 1936 without highways they must have been traveling for weeks to get there (and weeks to get back in Holland).

The inside of your back door differs from that of my great-granddads:

Is this door panel specific for export models? I suppose he owned an export version, although I don't know in which it differed from the USA versions.

Edited March 12, 2013 by JackTheDutchman (see edit history)

[jscheib]

It is my thought that the great-grandfather's car did have a custom body as the rear side windows seem larger than a 50 series car. The 4 door sedans did not have a built in trunk. It may just an apperance and it may be that this was a larger series car. It would appear that the trunk was custom built, or perhaps the entire body. It does appear that this car had a European rool back type roof, and it does not seem this was a roof luggage rack.

You are indeed fortunate that you have this copy of the old movies and I would hope you could copy it onto more modern media. I wonder if somewhere there might be some written documentation of the trip. That would be most interesting.

I also am quite certain that the oother car is not the Buick of the trip, but one taken while on the trip.

I would love to know more about this car.

John

[nzcarnerd]

The car in the last two pics is a circa 1936-39 Morris 25hp. I think the Buick has standard bodywork with a trunk added.

[Brian_Heil]

Great story and pictures.

Question: Are the roofline/windows/door cut/belt line that of the stock body? I'm no expert but they look correct to me. What appears is that the rear was fitted with a custom boot/trunk. These boots were often fitted with very high end custom luggage that fit perfectly into the boot to maximize the use of the space. Perfect for a long European holiday / road trip.

Also, I think I see an open roof panel with moveable top? Look close. Also perfect for sight seeing.

[Guest JackTheDutchman]

Recently I have digitalised our 8 mm home movies from the 30's. So it has been saved for our descendants. In the YouTube movie at the top I've put all movie parts with vehicles together. At 0:55 you can see my great-granddad waving through the roof. So, Brian_Heil, the car definitely has an open roof.

It doesn't seem likely to me that the car's body has been build by a European bodybuilder. I think there was almost no demand for such cars in Europe in those days. Like jscheib and nzcarnerd state, it's likely to me that the car has an American body which has been extended with a custom build trunk fitted directly to the rear shape of the body. Probably by a European 'bodybuilder'. The strait lines of the trunk don't really match with the curved body of the car. Maybe the same bodybuilder gave the car its movable top (or could such a roof be factory made?).

I have compared picture 4 with the Model 57 of Marty. Marty's car has a wheelbase/bodyheight ratio of 1.918. At my great-granddad's car this is 2.005. Assuming Marty's 57 has a wheelbase of 119" my great-granddad's car's wheelbase is about 124". Regrettably I can't find the actual wheelbase of the 1934 60 Series. However my great-granddad's car could very well be a 60 Series Model sixty-seven. Agree?

The British Morris of the last two pictures must have been filmed by chance and has nothing to do with my (great)grandparents.

Edited March 13, 2013 by JackTheDutchman
typo corrected (see edit history)

[Terry Stock]

Marvellous movie.

[Guest Rob McDonald]

Amazing quality footage of what looks on the surface to be a beautiful, simple time. Awful to think what was already brewing all across Europe. Thanks so much for sharing. How did your family fare in occupied Holland?

This ad from Colliers magazine is unusually helpful because it includes an actual photograph, not an artist's view of this great car. Assuming the advertising agency didn't use PhotoShop to make this car longer, lower, wider, it does seem to me that your family's car had a shorter wheelbase and a more close-coupled body. Maybe not. The use of blackwall tires on both cars is perfect.

Note the similarities at the rear, where that custom ducktail trunk was fitted. I agree, its construction is slightly incongruous with the compound curves of the Fisher body. However, with its vertical chrome stripes, I think it looks smashing!

None of this helps, reailly, because the ad doesn't say which model is shown. Still, I'll use any excuse to look up images of '34 Buicks, my favourites of that period.