2. 1929 Buick Models

Historical Pictures

Old Photos featuring 1929 Buicks
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An original 1928 photo of a Buick dealership in Pittsburg, PA. and several things are interesting: 1)  All 10 Buicks have the radiator badge put on 29’s before then factory discontinued attaching them on Sept. 19, 1928. 2)  None of the cars show any exterior options (rad caps, sidemounts, rims, spotlights, etc.) Even the showroom car appears to have no sidemounts. 3)  All cars appear to have the factory standard issue artillery wood rims (today, often confused with the optional demountable at the hub, wood wheels). 4)  There appears to be a variety of car colors (B&W shades). 5)  There is a Silver Anniversary poster in the showroom window. 6)  All the Buicks, with the exception of one, have a note on the passenger front widow (price?). 7)  The original Buick sign, shown on the building, sold for $9,500 in early 2019 ! (Thanks to Norm McKendry)
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An original 1928 photo of a Buick dealership in Pittsburg, PA. and several things are interesting: 1)  All 10 Buicks have the radiator badge put on 29’s before then factory discontinued attaching them on Sept. 19, 1928. 2)  None of the cars show any exterior options (rad caps, sidemounts, rims, spotlights, etc.) Even the showroom car appears to have no sidemounts. 3)  All cars appear to have the factory standard issue artillery wood rims (today, often confused with the optional demountable at the hub, wood wheels). 4)  There appears to be a variety of car colors (B&W shades). 5)  There is a Silver Anniversary poster in the showroom window. 6)  All the Buicks, with the exception of one, have a note on the passenger front widow (price?). 7)  The original Buick sign, shown on the building, sold for $9,500 in early 2019 ! (Thanks to Norm McKendry)

1929Buickdealer004

  • Pic. #7 of 7 (sent by Rick Beazley): This photo was taken for a newspaper article about the newly fitted car radio (big news back then) and shows the original owners.
  • Popular Mechanics after-market Buick spotlights.
  • '29 Buick 50 ambulance conversion in LA. Note the after market Buick trunk rack (see next photo).
  • After-market Buick trunk rack on '29 Buick 50 ambulance conversion in LA. (See previous photo).
  • '29 Buick after-market vacuum shift system.
  • '29 Buick 54CC converted to burning coal dust in London (1939 WW2). Note: Disc wheels, early radiator cap and late hubcaps.
  • An original 1928 photo of a Buick dealership in Pittsburg, PA. and several things are interesting: 1)  All 10 Buicks have the radiator badge put on 29’s before then factory discontinued attaching them on Sept. 19, 1928. 2)  None of the cars show any exterior options (rad caps, sidemounts, rims, spotlights, etc.) Even the showroom car appears to have no sidemounts. 3)  All cars appear to have the factory standard issue artillery wood rims (today, often confused with the optional demountable at the hub, wood wheels). 4)  There appears to be a variety of car colors (B&W shades). 5)  There is a Silver Anniversary poster in the showroom window. 6)  All the Buicks, with the exception of one, have a note on the passenger front widow (price?). 7)  The original Buick sign, shown on the building, sold for $9,500 in early 2019 ! (Thanks to Norm McKendry)
  • (1 of 3). The above photo, featuring the new 1929 Buick, model 29-25 with Holden body, is courtesy of Vickie Dibble, George Tannerhills’ granddaughter (Vickie Dippel Family Album), John Gerdtz (who wrote the story) and John Forster (who published the story) and the Pre-War Buick Magazine. George Tannerhill was working, likely for the Stewart Body Company in Flint, MI, which was also owned by GM, when he was seconded to Holden Motor Body Builders of Adelaide, Australia in 1928. GM purchased HMBB in 1931 and George returned to work at Fisher Body in Detroit. The professional photo is from George’s collection. It has a risqué presentation for 1929. Not seen previously, and judging by the nature of its content, it is unlikely that it was used in any media material. It is thought to have been posed at the 1929 Silver Anniversary Buick dealer’s release function, which likely would have been a very “blokey” affair. It was first assumed that the National Dealer release conference was held in Adelaide, however recent research strongly suggests it was held at or near Fishermans Bend, which was GM’s Australian HQ and later Holden’s HQ.  We now know George Tannerhill was reposted to Fishermans Bend for approximately the last 18 months of his stay in Australia. Further information from Rick Beazley: This photo was taken on the 17 November 1928 at West’s Picture Theatre in Hindley Street, Adelaide, South Australia. The new Silver Anniversary Buick was officially announced on the 31 October 1928 Australia wide. An article in The Advertiser (Adelaide) 17 November 1928 states that the first local Silver Anniversary Buick had just been sold and that “a Buick car will be taken on the stage at West’s Pictures today in connection with the ballet”. Yes the photograph was published in the newspapers. The Advertiser (Adelaide) printed it on the 24 November 1928 with the tile “The Buick Ballet”. It states “the clever ballet at West’s Pictures has scored a success this week with a novel specialty in honor of the Buick Silver Anniversary”. The photo was used again, slightly modified, in the Sunday Times (Sydney, New South Wales) on the 23 December 1928 with the title “Demonstrating The Fine Points of Buick”. The comment reads; “a bunch of beach girls giving the new Buick Silver Anniversary the necessary summer atmosphere. The girls gave the Buick a good kick-over, after its announcement in Adelaide, and used the car in their turn on West’s circuits”. Probably need to point out that November and December are summer down here, hence the bathing costumes ! (Also see pictures 2 & 3).
  • (2 of 3). Further information from Rick Beazley: The original photo (1 of 3) was taken on the 17 November 1928 at West’s Picture Theatre in Hindley Street, Adelaide, South Australia. The new Silver Anniversary Buick was officially announced on the 31 October 1928 Australia wide. An article in The Advertiser (Adelaide) 17 November 1928 states that the first local Silver Anniversary Buick had just been sold and that “a Buick car will be taken on the stage at West’s Pictures today in connection with the ballet”. The photograph was published in the newspapers. The Advertiser (Adelaide) printed it on the 24 November 1928 with the tile “The Buick Ballet”. It states “the clever ballet at West’s Pictures has scored a success this week with a novel specialty in honor of the Buick Silver Anniversary”. The photo was used again, slightly modified, in the Sunday Times (Sydney, New South Wales) on the 23 December 1928 with the title “Demonstrating The Fine Points of Buick”. The comment reads; “a bunch of beach girls giving the new Buick Silver Anniversary the necessary summer atmosphere. The girls gave the Buick a good kick-over, after its announcement in Adelaide, and used the car in their turn on West’s circuits”. Probably need to point out that November and December are summer down here, hence the bathing costumes ! (Also see pictures 1 & 3).
  • (3 of 3). Further information from Rick Beazley: The original photo (1 of 3) was taken on the 17 November 1928 at West’s Picture Theatre in Hindley Street, Adelaide, South Australia. The new Silver Anniversary Buick was officially announced on the 31 October 1928 Australia wide. An article in The Advertiser (Adelaide) 17 November 1928 states that the first local Silver Anniversary Buick had just been sold and that “a Buick car will be taken on the stage at West’s Pictures today in connection with the ballet”. The photograph was published in the newspapers. The Advertiser (Adelaide) printed it on the 24 November 1928 with the tile “The Buick Ballet”. It states “the clever ballet at West’s Pictures has scored a success this week with a novel specialty in honor of the Buick Silver Anniversary”. The photo was used again, slightly modified, in the Sunday Times (Sydney, New South Wales) on the 23 December 1928 with the title “Demonstrating The Fine Points of Buick”. The comment reads; “a bunch of beach girls giving the new Buick Silver Anniversary the necessary summer atmosphere. The girls gave the Buick a good kick-over, after its announcement in Adelaide, and used the car in their turn on West’s circuits”. Probably need to point out that November and December are summer down here, hence the bathing costumes ! (Also see pictures 2 & 3).
  • November 1928: Here is very rare photos of 37 - 1929 Buicks sent in by Norm McKendry (54CC). “I think this is the largest number of '29s ever captured in surviving photos! It is from an internal Newsletter of the Howard Automobile Buick collection, who in 1928, claimed to be the largest automobile (Buick) distributor in the world ! Also, a description of all of the background details of this remarkable event follows in the next 4 photos. It is interesting to note that the only performance problem was a flat tire and that the vast majority of the Buicks in the photo have no side-mounts and even by November 1928, few cars appear to have radiator emblems.
  • Jan. 29 Ad featuring the 37 - 1929 Buicks.
  • Description of the 37 - 1929 Buick tour by thge Howard Dealership in Oakland, CA.
  • Info on the Howard Buick Dealership.
  • Participants of the 37 - 1929 Buick Tour by the Howard Dealership in Oakland, CA.
  • 29-27 (?) circa May 2021, in Australia. Looks very original. Has a West Motors Lic. plate surround.
  • An original 1928 Flint factory picture of the Buick parts bins.
  • Norm McKendry zoomed in and tried to identify some of the detail. Everything is subject to interpretation but most items were obvious. The main takeaway (supported by other factory photos) was the factory hose clamps were the lock roll type (as sold by Bob's Automobilia) and the cloth tool bags seem to be light in color (B&W photo) with a dark tie. I'm pretty sure the original photographer never imagined anyone looking through these bins some 92 years later !
  • Norm McKendry zoomed in and tried to identify some of the detail. Everything is subject to interpretation but most items were obvious. The main takeaway (supported by other factory photos) was the factory hose clamps were the lock roll type (as sold by Bob's Automobilia) and the cloth tool bags seem to be light in color (B&W photo) with a dark tie. I'm pretty sure the original photographer never imagined anyone looking through these bins some 92 years later !
  • 29 Buick with rear mounted spare tire carrier but no tire. Arazona in the mid to late 30's. Can't you just taste the dust in this photo ?
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