1939 BUICK ROADMASTER MODEL 80C PHAETON

Owner : MR. ZAHEER VAKIL

Year of Manufacture : 1939

Engine : Straight-eight, 320.2 cu.in, ohv

Transmission : 3-speed manual

Vital Stats :

Length - 6172.00 mm 

Width - N.A.

Height - 1997.00 mm

Wheelbase - 3937.00 mm

Weight - 2630.8 kg

Performance : 136 km/h top speed (approx)

Model History :

The Fluid Drive was one of the earliest attempts at automatic transmission and Chrysler Corporation cars equipped with this also found good acceptance here in India as well. The Dodge Fluid Drive was also assembled here in India by Premier Automobiles based at Kurla in Mumbai.

Provenance :

This car came to Pune after the Partition, a Sindhi family using it to drive down from Quetta in the North West Frontier Province with whatever belongings they could carry all the way down to Pune. It was used in Pune for some time before being locked up and stored for many years. Zaheer chanced upon it when a portion of the wall of the lock-up in which it was stored had collapsed revealing it. He patiently kept on with the owner who resolutely refused to sell it but a few years later relented, exchanging it for a Vauxhall. Zaheer restored it thoroughly and it holds pride of place in his extensive Buick collection.