Today’s car is a 1914 Buick Model B-24 Roadster, which I photographed at the 2025 Annual Horseless Carriage Show at Arcadia Community Regional Park in Arcadia, California. It’s finished in a handsome two-tone combination of gray and blue-black, with a matching tufted leather interior and wheels, and a navy blue soft top. Under the hood is a 28 hp, 166 cu in inline four-cylinder engine with overhead valves and a single updraft carburetor, backed by a three-speed manual gearbox and a 4.3:1 rear axle ratio. Buick had already made overhead valves its calling card, proudly advertising itself as “The Valve-in-Head Motor Car.” Buick’s 1914 literature also shows cars like this offered with the Delco electric starting and lighting system, a real luxury at a time when many drivers were still hand-cranking their engines. Slowing this beauty down are rear-mounted two-wheel mechanical drum brakes with externally contacting bands, along with an emergency brake that is internally expanding and conveniently located in the center of the vehicle. The suspension it rides on is a solid front axle and a live rear axle with longitudinally mounted semi-elliptic leaf springs; owners often added period accessories such as Hassler spring helpers or Hartford friction shocks to improve ride control on rough early roads.
Buick’s story began in 1903, when David Dunbar Buick started building automobiles in Flint, Michigan, and within just a few years the company had earned a reputation for solid engineering and innovation. In 1908, Buick became a cornerstone of the newly formed General Motors under William C. Durant, and by 1914 it occupied an important place in GM’s hierarchy, positioned near the top of the lineup, just below Cadillac. The 1914 Model B-24 Roadster reflects that role perfectly, offering more engineering sophistication and prestige than entry-level cars without quite reaching Cadillac’s luxury territory. The Model B series was part of Buick’s 1914 lineup and was produced for this single model year, a reminder of how quickly designs and model lines evolved in the early days of the industry. Buick’s commitment to overhead-valve engines, championed early on by engineers like Walter L. Marr, had become a defining part of the brand’s identity, and the B-24 stands as a snapshot of Buick in its stride, helping shape what a quality American car looked like in the years just before World War I.
The B-24 Roadster sat nicely in Buick’s lineup, offering open-air motoring with just enough practicality to make it usable, and just enough style to make it feel special. The long hood, upright radiator, and those big, spoked wheels give it a stance that still feels right more than a century later.
In 1914 Buick built 32,889 cars in total. Of those, 30,267 were from the Model B series, and of those, 2,550 were B-24 Roadsters. The B-24 carried a list price of around $950 when new, placing it well above basic transportation of the day. With its 28 hp overhead-valve four-cylinder engine and tall gearing, the B-24’s performance matched the expectations of the early brass era, with a top speed in the 40–45 mph range and a comfortable cruising speed of about 30–35 mph on good roads, along with enough torque to tackle rolling terrain and longer tours with confidence.
What really gets me about this car, and cars of this era, is how direct the experience is. No power anything, no insulation from the world around you, just the engine, the road, and the wind. You don’t so much drive a car like this as you participate in it. Every mile feels earned.
By 1914, Buick was hitting its stride, and the Model B-24 Roadster stood as a great example of how far the automobile had come in a very short time. It wasn’t just transportation anymore; it was a confident, well-engineered car that proved it could handle real roads, real distances, and real adventures. This is a beautifully restored prewar car that would be a great addition to any GM, Buick, or prewar car show, starring at a local Cars and Coffee event, or taking a leisurely tour of Arcadia with the other pre-1932 brass cars that attended the 2025 Annual Horseless Carriage Show and Tour.
Thank you for riding along with me and for being part of the Frank’s Cars in the Hood community.
Frank
