General Information

Serial #

9-4929-02502

Part Number

1

Total Parts

10

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

METAL BODY, PARTS ETC./ GLASS/ SYNTHETIC/ LEATHER/ FABRIC/ CANVAS/ RUBBER/ WOOD

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

467.0 cm

Width

167.0 cm

Height

183.0 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

1700.0

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Motorized Ground Transportation

Category

Automotive vehicles

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

General Motors

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

City

Oshawa

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Unknown

Period

1939 TO 1984

Canada

Used as tour car in various Canadian cities by King George VI & Queen Elizabeth in 1939; by government house in Ottawa 1939-1955; in private hands 1956-1984. Custom built in Canada for royal tour visit. In 1938-1939 General Motors of Canada constructed 2 of the 4 cars used for the Royal Tour visit in 1939. The cars were built from 90 series McLaughlin-Buick Limited 4-door limousine sedan bodies, which were cut down to convertible styling, & the wheelbase lengthened by 15 inches. A special folding top was added & the interiors were specially finished. The 4 Royal Tour cars were divided into 2 teams which leapfrogged from city to city between May 17 & June 15 1939. After the tour, the cars were returned to their owners, the 2 McLaughlin-Buick were displayed at the CNE in 1939. In May 1940 one from this pair (840706) was offered by GMC for the use of the Earl of Athlone (Governor General) & some modifications were made. In 1946 it was returned to the GM plant in Oshawa & ownership reverted to GM in 1952. In 1955, the car was bought by Cliff Mill Motors of Oshawa & in 1956 by Cliff Scarff Motors of Larder Lake. In 1963, it was bought by Cal & Larry Norton of Oshawa & in 1964 it was repainted by GM (Bethel 1980. See supp. Info.)

Function

Used as luxury car by King George VI & Queen Elizabeth, by Governor General & by private collectors.

Technical

Example of Canadian custom coachwork. McLaughlin Buick is one of the most important carriage makers in Canada. The Buick-McLaughlin Motor Car Company Ltd started in 1907 with an agreement between owners of an important Canadian carriage maker, the McLaughlin family, and the rising American firm, Buick Motor Co. founded in 1903. In fact, in 1908, Buick was the number one producer of automobiles in United States. McLaughlin would be importing the engine and other Buick parts and doing the car bodies. Ultimately, in 1918, the firm became General Motors of Canada.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

RED, BLUE, & ORANGE MFR'S SYMBOL ON FRONT & ON BACK, LATTER WITH METALLIC LETTERING READING 'Buick Eight'/ PLATED METAL TRIM WITH CENTRAL RED LINE RUNNING DOWN EITHER SIDE, WITH 'Limited' IN INCISED RED LETTERING ON EITHER SIDE AT FRONT END/ 'McLaughlin Buick' INCISED ON HUB CAPS/ MFR'S SYMBOL READING 'Buick Eight' ON HORN/ BLACK LETTERING ON CLOCK IN BACK OF FRONT SEAT READS 'McLaughlin Buick/ Canada'/ LETTERING ON TIRES READING 'Martin Custom Tires Corporation/ New York USA'

Missing

none

Finish

EXTERIOR: DARK BROWN-MAROON PAINT (NOTORIGINAL)/ CHROME PLATED BUMPERS, TRIM, GRILLE, HANDLES ETC./ BLACK RUBBER RUNNING BOARDS/ INTERIOR: BROWN FLOOR RUG/ MEDIUM-GREY LEATHER FRONT SEAT COVERINGS & DOOR PANELS/ WOODGRAINED METAL DASHBOARD WITH METALLIC INSTRUMENT PANEL/ RED SYNTHETIC STEERING WHEEL COVERING/ BLACK SYNTHETIC KNOBS ETC./ BROWN STAINED & LACQUERED WOOD TRIM WITH VERTICAL GOLD PAINTED LINES/ PLATED HANDLES, KNOBS, PARTS/ TAUPE FABRIC REAR SEAT COVERING & DOORS/ RED SYNTHETIC LIGHTER HANDLES/ BROWN SYNTHETIC ASHTRAY COVERS/ BEIGE CANVAS ROOF. (NOT ORIGINAL)

Decoration

N/A