Buick and the Australian Gone Beauty

The 1929 Buick Roadster was built in Australia.

But what you probably don't know is that in the early days of the automotive industry in Australia, Buicks were built in that country exclusively for Australians.

One such car is John Gerdz's '1929 Buick Roadster Model 24. He is not only a big fan of the brand, but of the car in general.

There are many people in the automotive industry who know so much about a brand that they can easily document it all in a book. And instead of just talking about it, Gerdz decided to do it.

Together with fellow Buick enthusiast Eric North, he wrote the book Buick: The Australian Story, which will be published soon.

Gerdtz owned four Buicks during his years of collecting. He bought his first in 1968 at the age of 32. He now has two left, and as a vintage aficionado, he loves his roadster. It's a love based not only on her stunning looks, but also on her story.

“This particular body was never made by Buick in America, but was built here by Holden Motor Body Builders,” he says.

"I've been chasing his story and 13 confirmed ones still exist in various stages of recovery, but only five are on the way."

As far as they were able to find out, only 186 of these models were made, and Herdtz was able to trace an image of roadster bodies coming off the production line at the Woodville, Adelaide plant in 1929, which shows a very different time.

Although General Motors did not own Holden until 1931, Holden Motor Body Builders was the only company to build cars in Australia for the old American car company.

Gerdz, who bought his model 25 years ago, says he was drawn to its smaller size and love for the brand. The car belonged to a friend who started restoring it but instead decided he needed a later model.

So Gerdz added it to his collection, thinking he could work on it when he retired.

There was a lot of work to be done, and Gerdz completed a complete restoration in 12 years.

“My friend did something, but not much,” he says. "I have done a lot for this."

“Some things you cannot do yourself, but everything I could do, I did. With things like that, you never write down how much you spend, otherwise you feel too guilty."

He is currently driven by few people, as he also owns a 1978 Electra Park Avenue coupe, the best in the line. According to him, this new model is easier to control over long distances.

But just because he doesn't drive it often doesn't mean he'll be ditching his 4.0-liter six-cylinder roadster anytime soon.

“It's a vintage car and it's quite comfortable, you drive in top gear everywhere,” he says. “It's not too fast, 80-90 km/h is the top speed. And it's bright red, so it attracts attention."

Gerdz says the car isn't worth a lot of money, but doesn't want to name a price because he hasn't sold a similar one in 16 years.

"You could buy a reasonable new mid-range car for what you get for that sort of thing."

Herdz's passion for Buick cars began as a child.

His friend's father had one.

“I love early cars, vintage cars and veteran cars, they have been my passion all my years,” he says.

As one of the founders of the Buick Club of Australia, Gerdz says he was very involved in the Buick movement.

He says his family has always been involved with vintage cars, and one of his favorite Buicks was used for the weddings of his two daughters.

He says that at one time Buicks were something like the Mercedes of the time; affordable expensive car. These were the cars used by prime ministers and prime ministers. 445s were expensive in the 1920s. Gerdtz says that for the price of a Buick, you can buy two Chevrolets.

Buick production in Australia ceased when the first Holdens began to be produced and General Motors adopted a policy that only Holdens would be in Australia.

And when right-hand drive models were discontinued in the United States in 1953, it became more difficult to deliver cars here, as they had to be converted for use in this country. So while Buick's presence in Australia has been slowly dwindling, Gerdtz shows it's definitely not dead.

Photo

Buick Roadster Model 1929 24

Price is new: pound stg. 445, about $900

Cost now: around $20,000–$30,000

Verdict: There aren't many Buick roadsters left, but this car, made in Australia for Australians, is a real gem.