1905 Buick Model C

1905 Buick Model C brings a defining early chapter of Buick engineering and manufacture. This profile explains its history, specification, production scope and collector significance with named sources and credited photographs.

Record: BUI-002 · Buick · 1905 · Archive.

1905 Buick Model C: history and background

The Model C carried Buick beyond the tiny Model B programme and into a more substantial first production era. The change is easy to miss when early touring cars are grouped together as anonymous brass-era machines. GM preserves a Model C in its collection and identifies it as the oldest Buick model represented there, since the preceding year’s production cars have not survived.

Specifications and production scope

Design and engineering

The Model C retained a two-cylinder valve-in-head engine, with GM specifying 159 cubic inches and 22 horsepower. Its open touring body placed the mechanical parts and passengers in plain view. A top, lamps, trim and upholstery can vary across surviving restorations; those variations need to be read against early photographs and documentation rather than treated automatically as different factory editions.

Model identity and rarity

The reported 750-car output belongs to the 1905 Model C, not to every early Buick touring car. GM’s small survivor estimate describes surviving automobiles and must not be substituted for the number originally produced. Factory identity, serial information, restoration provenance and the provenance of major assemblies are the useful foundations for discussing a surviving example.

Collector significance

A Model C makes the early Buick story tangible. It offers a bridge between the archive-only Model B and the much larger business that followed. Its collector importance lies in survival, early overhead-valve engineering and documented history. The photographs in this profile illustrate named museum/show examples; they do not create a serial-number register or establish an untouched-original claim.

Compare related verified Buick profiles

Read this 1905 Model C beside the 1904 Buick Model B and 1907 Buick Model D to place its open touring car in context. The related entries retain their own years, model identities and production scopes, so their figures are not added to this record.

• 1904 Buick Model B
• 1907 Buick Model D
• 1908 Buick Model 10

Frequently asked questions

How many Model Cs were built?

The early-model reference guide reports 750 touring cars for 1905. This is a reported historical production figure, separate from GM’s survivor estimate.

What engine did it use?

GM specifies a 159-cubic-inch overhead-valve two-cylinder engine rated at 22 horsepower.

Why is the Model C important to GM’s collection?

GM identifies the Model C as the oldest Buick model in its collection and notes that no preceding 1904 production cars survived.

Why is the Model C included as a rare Buick?

750 Model C touring cars reported for 1905; survivor estimates are not production totals. The scope is tied to this specific year, body or original project. It does not confer the same rarity on every car carrying the broader Early Buick name, and it does not describe how many survive today.

What records help identify an individual Model C?

Begin with the documented year and open touring car. Read the original model/body identification and surviving factory or collection records together. Record replacement components and restoration work separately. For a concept or racing car, its physical-car provenance is especially important; for an optioned production model, retain the equipment paperwork.

What photographs and credits accompany this profile?

The bundled photographs are retrieved from named Wikimedia Commons file records. Each image has a visible photographer or archive credit, its own licence link and an accurate subject caption. The pictures illustrate the documented model; they do not establish ownership, present condition or every component’s originality.

Sources and photo credits

Production figures retain the scope and qualifications of the named references. Manufacturer and museum records establish project identity; auction and historical model references supply additional body-specific context.

• GM Heritage — 1905 Buick Model C
• Classic Automobile Appraisal and Resource Guide — 1903–1907 Buick model table

Photo: Daderot / Wikimedia Commons · CC0. No local cropping, retouching or content removal. A source-supplied size variant is used where available.

Photo: Greg Gjerdingen from Willmar, USA / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0. No local cropping, retouching or content removal. A source-supplied size variant is used where available.