The 1924 Oakland 6 - 54A Four - Passenger Coupe was publicise as the " straight Blue Oakland Six . " Oakland was the first railcar to use DuPont ’s Duco Satin Finish paint – initially usable only in Oakland Blue . This pigment not only provided a better finish , but also significantly reduced drying time , thus eliminating a major bottleneck in manufacture .
Classic Cars Image Gallery
Founded in 1907 , Oakland made solid , medium - priced cars . It was named for Oakland County , Michigan , where its car were produce . ( In 1926 , Oakland introduced a companion car nominate for its hometown – Pontiac . ) The firm attracted the attending of General Motors laminitis Billy Durant and was absorb into General Motors in 1909 .
By 1919 , Oakland was ranked sixth in the American auto industry with sales of 52,124 . But Oakland Division sales fell in 1920 and never fully recovered until Pontiac arrived . price just above Chevrolet , Pontiac was an immediate smasher and outsell its parent . By 1932 , the slow - selling Oakland was fit .
But in 1924 , New styling and a new railway locomotive helped hike up sale of the 6 - 54A to 37,080 . A 44 - bhp , 177 - cid fifty - head six replaced an ohv six of the same size of it and power . This might sound like a whole tone backward , but the overhead - valve six was expensive to build and had durability problems . The new six soon gained a report for reliability . ( In 1925 , the Oakland six was judged bad enough for responsibility in Shamrock taxis . ) The six was also smooth and give lively performance for its day . Cruising amphetamine was 35 - 40 mph .
Also new for 1924 were mechanical four - wheel brake system . Almost every railway car in Oakland ’s price range of a function made do with rear brakes only . Automatic spark advance was also an strange characteristic for the time . Most railroad car of the period had manual spark advance controls get on on the direction wheel hub . Oakland ’s elimination of the spark advancement allowed it to handily locate the throttle , choke , headlight switch / dimmer , horn , and ignition switch on the hub of a walnut tree - rimmed steering wheel . No key was ply for the ignition , but a transmitting lock discourage theft .
The four - passenger auto shew here was one of two Oakland coupe models offer in 1924 . The front passenger seat folds under the dash revealing a large warmer vent . A cutout routes exhaust through pipes in the fastball .
The price for the four - keister coupe in 1924 was $ 1,350 , but did not include step plate or the appurtenance logic gate on the running board . Expanded , this hold extra baggage .
Our featured elevator car is possess by Ken and Barbara Spencer , of Santa Clarita , California . The rouge and upholstery were professionally done , but most of the restoration was done by Mr. Spencer , his Word , and a friend .
