1910-11 Buick Model 14Buggyabout Chassis no. 1113

David Dunbar Buick founded the Buick MotorCar Co. in Detroit in 1903. By early 1904, Buickhad sold control of his firm to investors and hadbeen moved to Flint, Michigan, where 37 Buickswould be built before the year was out.Entrepreneur William C. Durant gained controlof the fledgling car builder in November, 1904.With “Billy” Durant at the corporate wheel,Buick soon became one of the best-known andbest-selling automobiles on the market.

A horizontally opposed 2-cylinder engine powered early Buicks. Featuring a patented overhead valve(OHV) design, it made an impressive 22 horsepower. The engine was mounted under the body, at thecenter of the chassis. Buick would use this 159-cid engine in some models through 1910. During 1908,Buick introduced the Model 10, a smaller car powered by an 18hp 4-cylinder OHV engine. Priced around$1,000, the Model 10 was an immediate success. Basking in Buick’s accomplishments, Durant set out tocreate a conglomerate that would blanket the auto market top to bottom. Incorporated on September 16,1908, his new company was called General Motors. According to Buick historian Larry Gustin, the BuickBuggyabout was probably developed by Alanson P. Brush, during his brief employment at Buick. Brushhad joined the automaker in 1909, at Durant’s behest, to fill in for legendary Buick engineer Walter Marrwhile the later was ill. Brush had worked with Cadillac founder Henry Leland and then designed andproduced his own small car before coming to Buick.

Although rumors of a new small Buick were published in 1909, it wasn’t until late in 1910 that the Model14 Buggyabout first appeared. It was a small roadster, built on a 79-inch wheelbase and was about thesize of a horse-drawn buggy (sans horse). The Model 14 was powered by a new 127-cubic inch OHVtwo-cylinder engine producing 14.2hp. (Historically, the Model 14 remains the smallest Buick evermade, and its engine is still of the smallest displacement ever used in any Buick automobile.)

The Model 14 engine was mounted under the front hood, with its crank atthe front. The hood side panels had special bulges, to accommodate thewidth of the horizontally opposed OHV engine’s cylinders. A 2-speedselective sliding gear transmission with disc clutch was utilized, with dualchains driving the rear wheels (the Model 14 was the last Buick to have a 2cylinder engine and chain drive).

Weighing just 1,425 lbs., the Buggyabout originally listed for a bargain $550. Despite its lateintroduction, production of the 1910 Model 14 reached 2,048. During 1911, the Model 14B appeared. Theonly major change was that the fuel tank was now mounted at the rear, instead of under the seat. Anadditional 1,252 Model 14Bs were built in 1911, the final year for the Buick Model 14.

One of the last Buicks to befully trimmed in brass, thepetite yet sporty Model 14Buggyabout is a historicallysignificant and scarce car.