1936 Buick Roadmaster Convertible Sedan - Model 80C 🇺🇸

This Roadmaster convertible phaeton was dismantled for restoration in 1992 in Springfield, Illinois. Correspondence between the car's owner and the restoration shop made it clear this was a big project and the car was missing a lot of parts. Some parts were substituted with Century parts but the expense of the project proved too much for the owner and the project was moved on to other hands. It took several owners and attempts before the car was finally completed in 1995 by a shop in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The car found its way into the collection of Norman Wolgin in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Wolgin used the services of a shop outside of Allentown, Pennsylvania and the car was seen in that shop in 2006. A deal was quickly made and the car was driven across town to its new home at the NB Center. 

Company
General Motors

Make
Buick

Model
80C, Roadmaster

Body Style
Convertible Phaeton, 4-door, 4-pass.

Body Manufacture
Fisher Body Company

Model year
1936

Wheelbase
131 inches

Length
N/A

Engine
inline-8, OHV,  320.2 cid

Horsepower
120 bhp @ 3200 rpm

Transmission
3-speed manual

Original Base Price
$1,565

Brand Production
157,623 + 10,973 export, model year

This Car Production
1064

1936 was the pivotal year for Buick in all areas. The styling was all new and modern. The engineering was improved and refined. The Buick organization was reorganized and re-energized.  Buick was back from the brink and literally firing on all cylinders.

In addition to all the new styling and engineering improvements, Buick assigned model names to their cars for the very first time. The entry level series 40 was now the Special. The next level up series 50 was dropped completely. The series 60 got a major revision to fill the series 50 gap and was now called the Century. For the first time since 1933, Buick returned the near luxury series 80 to the line-up now call, Roadmaster. Finally, the line-topping luxury offering series 90 was named the Limited. These names would become synonymous with Buick until the last of them disappeared in the late 1990’s.

The new series 80 Roadmaster utilized the 320 cubic inch displacement inline-eight engine of the Limited but in smaller bodies with a standard wheelbase of 131 inches. For the 1936 model year, only two body styles were offered in the Roadmaster, a six-passenger four-door sedan or a six-passenger convertible sedan. Together the two body styles accounted for 16,049 cars or just under 10% of production.

The Roadmaster convertible phaeton was the only convertible offering in either the Roadmaster or Limited series. At a base price of $1,565 the convertible phaeton was nearly $1,200 lower in price than the lowest priced Cadillac convertible sedan. A buyer could purchase  this Roadmaster convertible phaeton and a Century convertible coupe, combined,  for less than the cost of the Cadillac. It seems no wonder that such a well priced offering would find 1,064 buyers even as the effects of the  Great Depression lingered on.