1932 Buick Model 65 Sport Phaeton
The Buick Special was an automobile produced by Buick. It was usually Buick’s lowest-priced model, starting out as a full-size car in 1936 and returning in 1961 (after a two-year hiatus) as a mid-size. The Special was built for several decades and was offered as a coupe, sedan and later as a station wagon. When GM modernized their entry level products in the 1960s, the Special introduced the modern Buick V6 that became the core engine for GM for several decades and lives on in current upgraded V6 products.
Buick made headlines in 1931 with its new straight-eight engine, a design that would remain in production for more than two decades. Actually, there were three new engines, in three displacements and, amazingly, sharing few parts. For 1932, handsome new styling by Harley Earl graced all General Motors cars, from Cadillac down to Chevrolet. Other new features included Ride-Control, which adjusted the shock absorbers from the driver’s seat, and Wizard Control, a device intended to simplify shifting by combining free-wheeling with a vacuum-operated clutch.
This Buick Model 65 Sport Phaeton is one of 79 examples produced for the 1932 model year and is powered by a 272.6ci straight-eight was rated at 90 horsepower at 3,000 rpm and 200 lb-ft of torque at 1,600 rpm paired with a 3-speed manual transmission.
The dark brown leather interior features green piping and was installed. Black rubber mats cover the floors up front, while yellow carpeting and a footrest are present in the rear. Twin wood dash inserts house instrumentation including a factory-optional clock, a 90-mph speedometer, and gauges for fuel level, amperage, oil pressure, and water temperature.
No high-priced cars fared well during the early years of the Great Depression, but Buick was hit particularly hard. After 1929, this was due mostly to the economy rather than any failings of the cars themselves, which were attractive, well-built, and modern. The 1931 cars had a new line of straight-eight engines, better brakes, and a much-improved clutch design. The 1932 Buicks had lovely if conservative new styling and came in a wide assortment of body styles, offered in four different sizes. It also added GM’s new Synchro-Mesh transmission, which allowed clash-free shifting into second and third gears — a highly useful innovation.
Most pleasing of all is that long-lived reliability which is the very heart of Buick -the capacity to give more and better miles-to keep on serving finely and faithfully, as so many Buicks have done, for 150,000 miles and more.
