Buick Limited

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Buick Series 90
Buick Limited Series 80 and 90
Buick Limited Series 700
Production period: 1931-1958
Class : Upper class
Body versions : Touring car , roadster , limousine , Pullman limousine , coupé , convertible
Previous model: Buick series 129
Successor: Buick Electra 225

The Buick Limited was a series of passenger cars manufactured by Buick as the successor to the 129 series in the USA from 1931 to 1942 . Until 1935 the series was only called Series 90 , from 1936 the name Limited was added. In the 1940 model year, the Limited was not only available as the 90 series, but also as the 80 series, which was previously used as the name for the Roadmaster .

After the war, the Limited only appeared in the 1958 model year as the 700 series . The Limited has always been the top model in the Buick range. From 1965, Limited was only used as a nickname for the highest equipment variant in other model series.

Series

Series 90 (1931–1935)

1st generation
Buick Series 90 Model 95 Phaeton (1931)

Buick Series 90 Model 95 Phaeton (1931)
Production period: 1931-1935
Body versions : Touring car , roadster , limousine , Pullman limousine , coupé , convertible
Engines: Petrol engines :
5.65 liters
(76-85 kW)
Length:
Width:
Height:
Wheelbase : 3352-3505 mm
Empty weight : 1817-2222 kg

1931 Buick offered his superclass Model 90 Series with a large number eight cylinder engine with 5650 cc capacity and a power of 104 hp (76 kW) at 2800 min -1 to. At 3352 mm, the wheelbase was the largest in the model range.

Eight different bodies were available: a roadster, a convertible and a country club coupé with two doors each and sedans with five or seven seats, a seven-seat Phaeton and a seven-seat Pullman sedan with four doors.

In the following year the wheelbase grew to 3404 mm and there was an optional "high-performance engine" with 113 bhp (83 kW). Two bodies were also added: a two-door sedan and a two-door Phaeton convertible.

In 1933 the appearance of the car was completely redesigned. The radiator grille was given a slightly sloping V-shape, the fenders a more elegant curve, the bonnet on each side three large vertical ventilation flaps and the car became lower. The wheelbase increased to 3505 mm and the "high-performance engine" was no longer required. Only five different bodies were available: four-door sedans with five or seven seats, a sedan and a coupé with two doors each and the Pullman sedan.

After the 80 series was no longer offered in 1934 , the 90 series, whose wheelbase had been reduced to 3454 mm, inherited the coupé, cabriolet and Phaeton convertible of this series. The engine output increased to 116 hp (85 kW). The conspicuous ventilation flaps on the bonnet had disappeared in favor of three horizontal, narrow ventilation slots.

In the following year the cars got a vertical center bar on the radiator grille and all models of the 90 series got windows made of safety glass. Technically and in the superstructure nothing changed. The Buick Series 90 was the prototype for the Soviet luxury sedans L-1 and ZIS-101 in different years of construction .

43,321 copies were made in five years.

Limited Series 80 and 90 (1936–1942)

2nd generation
Buick Limited (1937)

Buick Limited (1937)
Production period: 1936-1942
Body versions : Touring car , limousine , Pullman limousine
Engines: Petrol engines :
5.25 liters
(88–121 kW)
Length: 5417-5804 mm
Width:
Height:
Wheelbase : 3378-3556 mm
Empty weight : 2024-2156 kg

From 1936 the 90 series was nicknamed Limited. This name should indicate the exclusivity of the series (limited production numbers). This car again shared the engine with the slightly smaller Roadmaster and this time with the even smaller Century . He had 5247 cc and developed an output of 120 PS (88 kW) at 3200 min -1 .

The wheelbase had grown back to 3505 mm and there were only four bodies available: four-door sedans with five or seven seats, a classic sedan with a hatchback and the Pullman sedan.

In the following year, the engine output rose to 130 hp (96 kW) and the radiator grille again received horizontal chrome bars next to the chrome-plated vertical chrome strip.

In 1938 the classic sedan was no longer available and the engine output of the other models rose to 141 hp (104 kW). The wheelbase of the cars grew to 3556 mm.

In 1939 nothing changed in the technology, but the frames of the windshield and rear window were made of stainless steel. The Pullman limousine got a lowerable pane of glass between the driver's seat and the passenger seats.

In 1940, in addition to the 90 series, there was also the 80 series taken over from the Roadmaster as a Limited. At 3378 mm, the 80 series had a smaller wheelbase than the 90 series, which was taken over unchanged from the previous year. All bodies were completely redesigned in terms of style. They no longer had running boards, but instead had headlights integrated into the front fenders. The radiator grille had horizontal chrome bars and a broad shape, strongly raised in the middle.

The 80 series offered six different four-door bodies: Phaeton convertibles with notchback or hatchback, sedans with and without a separate trunk and classic sedans in normal and sports versions. The 90 series again had the three familiar bodies from the previous year.

In the 1941 model year, the headlight housings were completely integrated into the front fenders, which had increased in volume. The wheelbase decreased to 3531 mm. The engine output rose to 165 hp (121 kW). The 80 series was no longer offered, but the 90 series inherited the classic sedan from it.

In 1942, the last year of pre-war production, the Limited also got a new look. The flat, horseshoe-shaped grille was now back on vertical chrome bars. After the war, the Limited was initially no longer issued.

Over seven years, 4,316 units of the 80 series and 16,106 units of the 90 series were built.

Limited Series 700 (1957–1958)

3rd generation
Buick Limited Series 700 Model 756 Cabriolet (1958)

Buick Limited Series 700 Model 756 Cabriolet (1958)
Production period: 1957-1958
Body versions : Sedan , coupe , convertible
Engines: Otto engine :
6.0 liters (221 kW)
Length: 5768 mm
Width:
Height:
Wheelbase : 3239 mm
Empty weight : 2085-2134 kg

Together with the completely revised model series, Buick again offered a Limited as a top model from autumn 1957. The front of the vehicle showed a radiator grille over the entire width of the vehicle, over which double headlights were enthroned. The tail fins grew gigantic and on the sides of the rear doors and rear fenders there were wide areas with 15 inclined chrome strips each.

The new series 700 had, as the sister models of the Series 60 and Series 75 , a V8 engine with 5965 cc capacity and 300 hp (221 kW) at 4600 min -1 . As with the Roadmaster, the wheelbase was 3239 mm.

Three body styles were offered: a four-door hardtop sedan, a two-door hardtop coupe and a two-door convertible. The following year the Electra 225 replaced the Limited.

In the only year of production until the summer of 1958, 7,436 copies of the 700 series were made.

Limited (from 1965)

From 1965 the respective top models of the Buick series were given the nickname Limited, for example. B. the Electra 225 or Century Limited . This name replaced the previously common designation of the top models as custom .

Web links

Commons : Buick Series 90  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Commons : Buick Series 700  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Commons : Buick Limited  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

swell

  • Beverly R. Kimes, Henry A. Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942. Krause Publications, Iola 1985, ISBN 0-87341-045-9 .
  • John Gunnell (Ed.): Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946-1975. Krause Publications, Iola 2002, ISBN 0-87349-461-X .