1918 Oakland Model 34B Roadster

Lot details
Registration No: UN-REG
Chassis No: C23988
Mot Expiry: None

Founded in 1907 by Edward P Murphy, the Oakland Motor Car Company of Pontiac, Michigan was originally intended as an adjunct to his existing carriage building business. Designed by Alanson Brush (the man responsible for the first Cadillac and Brush Runabout), its initial model was fitted with a vertical twin that ran counter clockwise. Replaced after a year by a more conventional four-cylinder machine, Oakland sales swiftly reached the 5,000 mark. Acquiring a fifty percent stake in 1909, General Motors assumed full control the following season. Positioned between budget Chevrolet and premium Buick, Oakland was promoted as 'The Right Car at the Right Time'. Introduced in 1916, the Model 34 Sensible Six was powered by an advanced straight-six engine featuring fully-exposed pushrod-operated overhead valve gear. Displacing some 177ci (2.9 litres), the unit was praised for its 41hp output (twice that of the contemporary Ford Model T), economy and durability. Benefiting from a three-speed manual gearbox and rear wheel drum brakes, it was updated as the Model 34B in 1918. Popular in the Antipodes, Car Collector magazine estimates that half of the 300 to 400 Oaklands thought to have survived worldwide are still located in Australia.
Finished in sage green over black, this particular left-hand drive example has been part of the collection since 1998. A former exhibit at the Charlie Sens Motor Museum in Ohio, it boasts a nickel-plated radiator shell (topped by a Boyce / Oakland Motometer), bell mouth brass-rimmed headlamps, two-piece windscreen (complete with wind deflectors), twin rear-mounted spare tyres, single Zenith carburettor and Oakland branded treadplates as well as a combined gas, water and oil can rack.