1917 Oakland Model 34 Touring

Chassis/Engine No. D37548 

An early product of General Motors' Oakland division — later renamed Pontiac — the Model 34 was introduced in 1917 as the marque's entry-level offering, riding a 112-inch wheelbase. Despite its modest price point, it featured genuine engineering interest for its class: among the first cars with aluminium pistons, a water pump relocated behind the fan, and semi-elliptic rear springs replacing the earlier three-quarter-elliptic arrangement. Power comes from a Northway-built L-head inline six of 177 cubic inches (roughly 2.9 litres) and around 44 hp, through a three-speed manual gearbox to a full-floating rear axle, fitted with external band brakes on the rear wheels.

This car, chassis/engine number D37548, arrived in Europe from Alberta, Canada in 1996 and entered our family's ownership the following year, where it has remained since. Nothing further is known of its history before that date.

It retains the silver paintwork it wore on arrival from Canada and has not been repainted since. Mechanically it is in running order; it has seen little use in recent years but has been started once or twice annually and kept in heated, dry storage throughout — a mechanical check-over is advisable before returning it to regular road use.

Detailed photographs are available on request; the car can be viewed near Pécs, Hungary.