This is a beautiful older restoration that has been lovingly maintained and used. One owner of about 35 years restored the car and it has been used regularly at parades and car events.  It is in very nice cosmetic and mechanical condition.

This car was purchased 45 years ago in Mexico by a banker from Iowa.  Once he had it shipped to Iowa he commenced a comprehensive restoration.  The frame off restoration was completed back in the late 1970’s.  Twenty years later he refreshened the restoration.

The banker passed away in 2000 and was bought from the estate by the bank.  In 2002 it was bought by the present owner and the car is presently in Iowa.  The present owner has done proper maintenance, acquired the trunk and replaced the convertible top.

Everything works well on the car, including the fuel gauge.  The manuals and history are included with this fine motorcar.

About Marquette
At GM, Billy Durant came and went once more, then founded Durant Motors.  By the time this company under his own name was foundering.  Even before the Stock Market Crash of 1929, the heads at GM decided to re-introduce the Marquette name as a lower-priced Buick.   Buick’s Marquette, this time built in Flint, was poised to fill in the less-expensive market niche of the model line.  Intended to compete against the DeSoto, in reality the Marquette ended up cutting into Oldsmobile sales.

The first 1930 model Marquette, nicknamed “Baby Buick,” rolled off the line in June of 1929 (and it appears that many were registered as 1929-model cars).  These cars came to the public priced at an affordable $990 — some $200 below the least expensive Buick.  But few people if any had predicted the sudden economic disaster, and now the public was in no mood to spend money on new cars, let alone new marques.

In all, 35,007 U.S. Marquettes were built, along with an additional 3,418 cars produced in Canada at plants in Oshawa, Ontario and Regina Saskatchewan.  A total production run of nearly 40,000 cars is fairly impressive for a new marque, considering that it was  introduced at the worst of times.  Nevertheless, GM’s business fell by 33% from 1929 to 1930, according to Alfred Sloan’s memoirs.

All the Marquette cars were built on a 114-inch wheelbase chassis and were powered by a 212.8 cid, 67.5 hp (at 3000 rpm) six-cylinder flat-head sidevalve engine.  The motor was basically borrowed from Oldsmobile at little engineering cost, though the word is that Buick engineers did not like the flat-head six from the beginnning.  GM advertised the Marquette as having “acceleration from 5 to 25 mph in 8.8 seconds.”  It was a light car capable of 70 mph, and test proved it was quite a performer.  One such road test covered 778 miles from Death Valley to Pike’s Peak.

The Marquette’s herringbone radiator grille set it off from all other GM offerings, which was precisely the strategy of the new “Art and Color” department at GM as well as of Buick president, Edward T. Strong, if not of the head of engineering at Buick, Ferdinand “Dutch” Bower.

Statistics:

Engine L-head in-line 6, cast-iron block, water cooled,4 mains, pressure & mist lubrication

Bore & Stroke 3.125 x 4.625

Displacement 212.8 cid

Compression ratio 5.2:1

Electrical system 6 volt

Wheel base 114 in.

Overall length 176 in.

Curb weight 2640

Fuel consumption 17-19 mpg

Fuel tank 16 Gallons

Performance 10-25 mph 6.3 sec.

Top speed 70 mph approx.

It is very rare to see a nicely restored and preserved Marquette Model 34 Roadster.  For more information please call Harry at 602.245.7200 or email us at harry@classicpromenade.com.