1932 Buick 4-Door Club Sedan Model 91 🇺🇸

The 5 passenger Club Sedan model 91 was a new body style for 1932. The style was similar to a shortened sedan, but with a large trunk in the back, with a folding luggage rack and dual side-mounted spare wheels. With a production of 2,237 units, the Club Sedan was the best seller in the large 90 series lineup, with a price of $1,820.

The uniqueness of this car is in the hood with vent doors and the tilted windshield. This club sedan is still a largely original car with 74,400 miles. Under the hood there is still its engine, a 344.8 cubic inch inline eight with ride regulator system and wizard control.

The Nicola Bulgari Car Collection purchased this Buick back in 2001 from a large collection in Chicago. The car for the most part is original, and will not be restored. After all, cars can be restored many times, but are original only once.

Company
General Motors

Wheelbase
134in

Interior trim
Brown cloth

Brakes
front and rear drums

Make
Buick

Length
197.5in

Engine
inline 8 - 344.8cid

Tires
7.00x18

Model
Series 90 Club Sedan - Model 91

Width
78in

Carburetor
1 Marvel TD 3

Original Price
$1,820

Body style
4-door sedan

Weight
4620lbs

Horsepower
104hp @ 2800rpm

Production
2,237

Model year
1932

Exterior paint
Green and Black

Transmission
Synchro-shift 3-speed manual

The story of the Buick Motor Company dates back to 1903, where a plumber named David Dunbar Buick decided he had enough of his job and started a car company. Things were not easy at first, but by 1908 Buick was the largest auto manufacturing company in the US, selling more cars than Ford and Cadillac combined. The merits for this success can be ascribed to William Durant, a wagon maker in Flint who was a great salesman. Durant reorganized the Buick company, promoting technical excellence and reliability. The cars enjoyed huge success, and Durant used Buick’s name and reputation to gain control of several car companies, forming the basis for General Motors Corporation. The twenties saw Buick’s reputation grow all around the world, and in 1923 the one millionth Buick was built. Not a bad achievement for a car that was in the mid-price segment. The market strategy indicated by Durant had placed Chevrolet at the bottom, fighting with Plymouth and Ford as low price leader. Just one step up on the ladder there was Pontiac, and one more step up there was Oldsmobile. At the top was Cadillac, and Buick was positioned just below it. The middle class were Buick’s most loyal customers; doctors, lawyers, small business owners all saw Buick as a way to demonstrate their success in life. So when the stock exchange crash came in 1929, initiating the great depression, the middle class was struck very hard. Changing cars was not a priority, and an expensive car like a Buick was out of question. So sales fell dramatically, with 196,000 cars built for the 1929 model year, 119,000 for 1930, 88,000 for 1931 and 41,000 for 1932. The Buick management tried very hard to gain sales, introducing a new engine for 1931. Gone were the old six-cylinder engines of previous years, to make room for a new straight-8 . Actually there were three distinct engines, used in four series. They were all similar in construction, with overhead valves, but with different displacements. The largest engine was a 344 cubic inch, 104 horsepower masterpiece that was used in the 80 and 90 series, the most luxurious Buicks that year. All engines were very powerful for their size, and were able to propel the car to a maximum speed of over 90 miles per hour. But technical improvements were not limited to the engines. Transmissions were now synchronized, emergency brakes were on all four wheels, and shutters on the radiator were thermostatically controlled. With all the mechanical improvements, the styling remained almost the same as the previous year.
In 1932 all the attention was on appearance, with new slanted windshields without exterior visors, updated front and rear treatment, and  hood sides equipped with louver doors. In comparison with other cars of the day, the Buick cars were ultra conservative looking, and this certainly didn’t help sales. The only mechanical innovations were an increase in displacement in the 50 series engines,  and the Wizard Control, a complicated combination of free wheeling and automatic clutch. This device, when engaged, allowed the driver to shift from second to third without using the clutch. However, due to reliability problems, it was canceled at the end of the model year.