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Please help me identify this vintage car 1929-1932?


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Keiser31 is correct.  It's a 1929 Buick model 54CC - a 4 passenger convertible coupe.  One of 19 different models offered that year.

 

This car has the optional Artillery Wood wheels and also an after-market light of some kind near the top front of the driver's door.

 

Check out <https://www.29buickphotos.com/1929-Buick-Models/Photos-of-Models/i-N4wzsCm>

 

Bill McLaughlin

1929 Silver Anniversary Buick Club.

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On 3/30/2020 at 10:52 AM, keiser31 said:

1929 Buick. May have a custom body.

The 'puffy' belt-line and lack of belt molding is typical of all '29 Buicks and the subject of the minor controversy because it was atypical when closed car bodies were simply one continual surface from sills to top.  These were nicknamed 'pregnant Buicks' at a time the word was considered indecent to speak in polite society.   But, one supposes saying "a Buick in the family way" just didn't have the same affect!

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Maybe a trick with the light but both the headlamp and the park lamp bodies look to be painted black. Records show that all of the roadster, sport coupe & tourer bodies had chrome lamp bodies, plus all of the 50 series cars, including this 54CC. Normally only business coupes and sedans in the 20 and 40 series used the painted lights.

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All "Buick" bodies by Stewart had chrome headlight shells. They built all of the open model tourers and roadsters in all series; 116, 121 and 129. The convertible coupe is sedan based and is a Fisher bodied car but as it is a 129 series model it had chrome headlights. Both my 1929's have the chrome shells for headlights, park lights and tail light.

Here in Australia we mainly see tourers and roadsters so seeing chrome light shells is more common. Not too many sedans survive and we did not get any coupes here except a handful of the convertible coupes similar to the photo. The painted shells are steel and suffer from rust-out, the chrome shells are brass and suffer from stress cracks.

I keep looking at this photo and see painted shells and wonder why they are there. Production change in the early models or a buyers preference? The hand spotlight is nice and brightly chromed!

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I really appreciate help you have each provided! This was a picture that came to my wife as she is the oldest survivor in her family. Other than knowing it was her mother (infant) and grandmother parked in front of their home, little else is known. I have enjoyed your post as I worked on cleaning up the picture a little. Here is what I have at this point. I may take another shot at it later when I have fresh eyes for it again. Thanks!

FamilyCarRetouched.jpg

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Rick is right, and corrected me recently, that all 29's in Australia had chrome head, parking and tail lights.

 

In North American production,  in the 116" models, the models 25 and 26S had chrome and rest (20, 26 & 27) had black, painted head, parking and tail lights.

 

In the 121" series, the models 44, 46S had chrome and the rest (41, 46, 47 & 48) had black.

 

In the 129" series, all models (49, 50, 50L, 51, 54CC, 55, 57 & 58) had chrome.

 

The 54CC body was made by Fisher while the rest of the open bodies (25, 44, 49, & 55) were made by Stewart.

 

The 54CC came in 3 main body colours:  Distingue Blue (Upper body Colour:  Cairo Green, Wood Wheel felloe: cream; spoke: black), Nomad Tan (UB:  Storm brown, WW: Buick Ver. and Black) and Dynamic Red (UB: Black, WW: gold and black).

 

Here are some photos of restored 54CCs (all with wire wheels) and 1 out of the Dealer Catalogue.

 

Bill Mclaughlin

1929 Silver Anniversary Buick Club

MacKinnon's-M.jpg

29-54CC-L-1.jpg

1929 Buick 54CC (2)-S.jpg

29-54CC-L.jpg

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And, I have no idea why the head and parking lights on this car are black.  Could be an early production model and no black lights were available or perhaps a customer order (though that would have been a downgrade to the car).

 

Bill McLaughlin

1929 Silver Anniversary Buick Club

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